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Air Raid Sirens, Explosions In Kyiv As Curfew In Effect; Ukraine's Zelenskyy To Address U.S. Congress; Biden To Announce New Military Aid For Ukraine; Polish, Czech, Slovenian Leader Meet Zelenskyy In Kyiv; Four Killed In Russian Strikes On Kyiv Neighborhoods; Kyiv Under Curfew As Russia Steps Up Deadly Attacks; Residents Flee As Russian Forces Aim To Surround Mykolaiv; Doctors Work In Dark At Mykolaiv Hospital Amid Shelling Fears; Deadly Russian Attacks Hits Cities Across Ukraine; Biden Planning Trip To NATO Summit Next Week; Zelenskyy And Biden To Give Major Speeches In Hours Ahead; Russian Journalist Fined After Protest Disrupted New Cast; IOM: More Than 3 Million Refugees Have Fled Ukraine; Lviv's Mayor Says Ukraine Will Be Victorious. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired March 16, 2022 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:46]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers around the world and in the United States this hour. I'm Hala Gorani live in Lviv, Ukraine.
Day 21 of Russia's invasion of this country with air raid sirens and a busy night of explosions in the Capital Kyiv. The city is under a curfew until Thursday morning as Russia intensifies its strikes on residential neighborhoods.
Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver a virtual address to the U.S. Congress in the coming hours. He's expected to ask for more military aid as well as a no-fly zone over the country which NATO allies have resisted.
The source tells CNN the U.S. will announce another $800 million in security assistant. President Joe Biden traveling to Brussels next week to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine with NATO leaders is another of the key developments.
Now, despite the fighting in and around Kyiv, the Prime Ministers of Poland, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic made their way in person to the city to meet with President Zelenskyy. You're seeing footage of that meeting on Tuesday on your screen. They say they wanted to let him know that Ukraine is not alone in its fight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETR FIALA, PRIME MINISTER, CZECH REPUBLIC: You are fighting for your lives, your freedom. But we know that you are also fighting for our lives and our freedom, and it's-- for us very important. JANEZ JANSA, PRIME MINISTER, SLOVENIA: We are bringing here full support for your future not only European path (ph), but EU membership.
MATEUSZ MORAWIECKI, PRIME MINISTER, POLAND: It should be agreed over the next couple of days or weeks, and the candidate status should be given to the end of this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, meanwhile, outside the safety of that very secretive meeting, Russian forces blasted a number of neighborhoods. Local officials say at least four people were killed when shells hit this apartment building.
Kyiv's Mayor, Vitali Klitschko wore a flak jacket as he walked through the streets surveying the damage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV, UKRAINE: We never think to leave, it's our homes. We defend our children, family, our buildings, our city, and our future, future for Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, the curfew in Kyiv is intended to prevent civilian casualties. People are not allowed to leave their homes without special permission unless they're heading to bomb shelters.
Authorities in the eastern city of Kharkiv say one person was killed in strikes on Tuesday, the officials reported 65 instances of shelling in one day with 600 residential buildings destroyed.
And in another part of the country to the south, the Deputy Mayor of Mariupol says that Russian forces are holding doctors and patients against their will at a hospital there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEI ORLOV, DEPUTY MAYOR, MARIUPOL, UKRAINE: Russian army use doctors and patients as their hostages in this building. So we do not have any access to them. And of course it's war crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: While the Ukrainians are fighting back farther west and Kherson, Planet Labs says these satellite images show the airport where Ukraine's military it says has destroyed at least three Russian helicopters and a number of vehicles.
Now, people in Mykolaiv are desperate to escape as Russian forces close in. The port city in southern Ukraine is a critical route on Russia's advance toward ADESA. And now fears are growing better ground assault on Mykolaiv could come at any time. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has our report. NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: This is the road down which Russia's war of annihilation may lurch. And its emptiness speaks only of what is to come from Russia unhealed Kherson up here to the vital port of Mykolaiv. They know what it is to be in Russia's way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Out of 18 homes, 10 are left in our village, she says. No electricity, gas, water or heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The only ones left those who can't leave, another answer.
WALSH: They're young, edgy, guns raised. Unsure who we are. Press written on our vests, and our press cards, slowly calms them down, and they apologized.
But this is not an army in full of control of its destiny. The trenches aware the rockets land every night, some from Odessa Moscow's eventual target here, others from just down the road.
[02:05:55]
WALSH: He's saying his house is just over there.
It's important to see what tools Ukraine has been left with by a world that seems so concerned. They fight for their homes, but tell me they captured Russians who seemed unaware why they were even here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They said they can't understand what's going on. He said they can't go back because back there they're being shot for retreating. So they advanced or surrender.
WALSH: Dust in Mykolaiv has sounded this way for weeks. But unbroken morale takes different forms. And this is a police chief driving a birthday gift to the governor with a captured Russian machine guns soldered onto it.
It does not distract from the seriousness of the twilight world in which his colleagues work. Any drunk or man changing his car battery after curfew could be a Russian saboteur they fear. There really is no way to check by looking at phones and in trunks.
The city is dark, but there are lights, and the flash of a distant enemy's bonds.
An urgent hospital called for blunt has gone out. They rushed to help. The savagery of Russia's targeting measurable in how dark this four floor hospital keeps itself at night. Invisible not from a power cut, but to avoid Russian bonds.
Mykolaiv has been fearing encirclement for days. There is heartbreak for those who leave. Amid the shared agony still a tussle to get onto buses to Moldova. The men stay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is my wife, Zenya (ph), and my daughter, Evanwara (ph).
WALSH: And she goes to Poland?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She go to Poland.
WALSH: How about you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to come back. Of course, I have to come back.
WALSH: But what will you do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I go to the-- this is my country. This is my country. What I must do it, go to the Poland, no Poland, this is my home.
WALSH: And there is heartbreak for those who stay. Svetlana (ph) lost her husband in a rocket attack, Sunday that killed nine outside a shop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) In a moment, everyone gone.
WALSH: The violence here is a chain of moments of blinding grief.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) The rockets landed and my husband just exploded, and the blood came out from his head. And he is still lying there in the blood. And they took me here. In pieces.
WALSH: Pieces left to wander alone. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Mykolaiv, Ukraine.
GORANI: Peter Zalmayev, Director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative. And he joins me now from Near Kyiv. Thanks for being with us.
PETER ZALMAYEV, DIRECTOR, EURASIA DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE: You're welcome.
GORANI: You're staying in the country. You've told our producers you have no intention of leaving. What's morale like, right now among Ukrainians near the Capitol?
ZALMAYEV: Well, that is what you heard in the previous segment that the boy say, you know, "I don't want to go to Poland. This is my country." As brutal and as barbaric as the bombardment of Ukrainian cities has been.
There's no question in Ukrainians minds that what they're fighting for. They're fighting for their home, they're fighting for their future, they absolutely reject any idea that Russia will be imposing its own system, you know, its philosophy of life and governance on Ukraine.
If there was ever a doubt about Ukrainians identity, about Ukrainians willing to live in a liberal democracy, those doubts have disappeared once, you know, Russian tanks started crossing the Ukrainian border on the morning of February 24th.
GORANI: But you must have some concern for your family's safety. But despite that, and I'm hearing that from many Ukrainians, by the way that we're talking to here in the western part of the country, I guess your position is this is my country. And I have no intention of becoming a refugee because you're an American-Ukrainian. So you could legally leave, but you're choosing not to.
[02:10:55]
ZALMAYEV: No, I'm choosing not to, obviously, this is place to be. You know, right now, Vladimir Putin is trying to, you know-- he said he was trying to impose control over all of Ukraine when he talked to President Macron, Erdogan of Turkey. I don't think he has the forces to do that, but he certainly has the forces to keep terrorizing the whole country.
It's a calculated risk, obviously, you know, for me to remain in Ukraine. But I believe that Ukraine shall prevail, I have no doubt in my mind, and there will be a lot of need, you know, for folks like me to try to, you know, bring it up to speed, to try to start rebuilding Ukraine, to try to bring back the millions of Ukrainians that have left.
You know, it's estimated that already the Ukraine has suffered close to a $100 billion of damage. Much more is expected obviously, as violence escalates is campaign of terror. You know, he is clear that he has suffered significant setbacks on--
GORANI: Yes.
ZALMAYEV:-- the fields in military-wise, he has no plan.
GORANI: Yes.
ZALMAYEV: His only plan is to keep terrorizing civilians to try to bring Ukrainians to their knees.
GORANI: Right. But that's not going to be enough to take over the country to continue to occupy it. What do you see as a possible off- ramp for Putin's military here? Because there-- where is a potential exit here if Vladimir Putin at some point realizes? Because some people say he's maybe even a bit delusional about his army's advances in Ukraine.
But at some point, what if he realizes this is not a fight that you can win militarily? Where is the diplomatic open door? How do you force? What does that look like potentially?
ZALMAYEV: Well, everyone is questioning, you know, and I asked you that question. I think that we will not be able to see that off-ramp for as long as I've been tweaking things that he will-- his actions in Ukraine will go unpunished. You have to be, obviously, sending the right signals.
But Mr. Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President has already done, so he has declared his willingness to consider neutrality status for Ukraine, to consider saying no to NATO plans. This is ostensibly, like equipment demands, even though I don't believe that's really been the case.
It's-- the NATO expansion thing is more of a red herring for Vladimir Putin. And this is a war of conquest for him. But, you know, the Ukrainian side is definitely, you know, trying to claim the initiative in this process. Zelenskyy will be addressing members of Congress.
So while he's sending these signals diplomatically that he's willing to sit down and actually offer on this-- an off-ramp without, you know, a muscular show of strength, Vladimir Putin will not sit down.
So we're talking about bolstering Ukraine's defenses, which include possibly providing Ukraine with Russian made surface to air missile defense systems. Since Washington has pretty much ruled out, Ukraine as request to close the airspace.
So that is the next step, the next best option that Washington must do to help Ukraine.
GORANI: Yes, certainly. Thank you very much. Peter Zalmayev joining us from Near Kyiv.
ZALMAYEV: Thank you.
GORANI: Appreciate it.
ZALMAYEV: Thank you.
GORANI: After Mr. Zelenskyy's speech to Congress, the American President is expected to announce another round of assistance to Ukraine. This comes as Joe Biden plans a trip to Europe next week to attend a meeting in person of NATO leaders and an extraordinary meeting, as well as meeting with European Council leaders. Kaitlan Collins has details from Washington.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. President Zelenskyy and President Biden both expected to give major speeches on Wednesday. First, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is going to address the United States Congress where we know he's going to thank the United States for the support that they've given to Ukraine since Russia invaded.
But he's also expected to ask the West for more assistance, and two of his major demands have been to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and also to send the Ukrainian Air Force more fighter jets. Two things that have been firm knows from the White House so far citing conflicts that they believe that could draw the United States into, and, of course, the high risk situation of transferring planes into Ukraine as Russia is attacking it.
Of course, Zelenskyy could ask for other assistance in the speech that he is going to give to Congress. And we will hear from President Biden later on where he is going to announce $800 million in new assistance to Ukraine that would bring the total in the last week to about a billion dollars in new lethal assistance that the United States has provided to Ukraine.
Obviously, they will try to get that in as quickly as possible. We'll still wait for specifics from President Biden on what that's going to look like whether or not it includes those armed drones that Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials have talked about that they need at this time.
And of course, both of these speeches come as the White House says President Biden is preparing to travel to Brussels for an extraordinary meeting with the leaders of NATO next Thursday on March 24th.
[02:15:57]
COLLINS: That's going to happen before European Council meeting as well, and potentially a trip to Poland where of course, President Biden could come face-to-face with some of the millions of refugees who have fled Ukraine. Kaitlan Collins, CNN, The White House.
GORANI: The Russian journalist who was arrested after a dramatic anti- war protest during a live TV show is speaking out about what she endured in police custody.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIANA OVSYANNIKOVA, JOURNALIST AND PRODUCER, CHANNEL ONE RUSSIA (through translator): These were indeed very difficult days of my life. I literally spent two days with no sleep. The questioning lasted over 14 hours. I wasn't allowed to contact my relatives or friends. I wasn't provided with any legal assistance. So I am in quite a difficult position.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, so far she's been spared prison time instead she was fined 30,000 rubles a little under $300. But that fine wasn't for breaking onto the TV set. It was for a message she pre-recorded before her on air protest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OVSYANNIKOVA (through translator): Dear Russian people, thinking in smart, and it is only in our power to stop all this madness. Go to the rallies, and do not be afraid, they cannot arrest us all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, her protest on Monday came and made a crackdown on anti- war messages in Russia. A new law passed earlier this month quite draconian, allows up to 15 years in prison for anyone convicted of spreading what the Kremlin considers fake news about the invasion.
So to come on the program, the refugee crisis only continues to grow, as the number of those fleeing Ukraine reaches yet another staggering milestone. And while 10s of 1000s of people flee Ukraine each day in search of
safety will introduce you to some women who are headed back into the war zone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:21:53]
GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani live in Lviv, Ukraine. The refugee crisis keeps growing by the day. The UN says more than 3 million people have now fled Ukraine since the invasion started nearly three weeks ago.
Poland has taken in the most refugees by far almost 2 million as of Tuesday. And this map shows you the other neighboring countries where Ukrainians are fleeing. Some of them are going onto third countries.
As we've reported, the majority of people leaving are women, children, and the elderly. Even as the refugee numbers continue to grow, CNN has found that some women are now heading back to Ukraine to lend their support in the fight. Here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The rail line from Ukraine ends at Platform 5 at the train station in Przemysl, Poland. After refugees walk off, this same train will go back.
For weeks it's mostly been men returning to join the Ukrainian fight against Russia, but in front of the sign reading train for Ukraine, women are waiting hours for a ride back into the war zone.
Near the front of the line, we found Tatiana Verumchenko (ph). She came to Poland three days ago to bring her two adult daughters to safety. Now, the 40-year-old is going home to a town in Eastern Ukraine near the Russian border.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Ukraine is equally important for men and women, she says. We're the real Ukrainians. Women have the strength and will, and the heart as well.
LAVANDERA: By our count, women accounted for about half of the passengers in this line waiting to cross the border back to Ukraine. Edena Orel (ph) brought her grandchildren to Poland. She's returning now to be with her family in Odessa.
How worried are you about your safety?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm anxious, she says. But the feeling has become dull over time. I just want to be next to my family.
LAVANDERA: Do you feel like this is a way of fighting for your country?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Of course, she says, we have all become united during this time. Each one doing what they can to help our military. Women are doing it and men as well. LAVANDERA: Standing with several women, we met Mariia Halligan. She's
going to Kyiv to be with her husband and family to fight in her words, "Russian terrorists."
MARIIA HALLIGAN, KYIV RESIDENT: If you know what you need to do, it's impossible. I feel nervous or something like this. If I have to do this, I will do it for my country, for my relatives, for my friends.
LAVANDERA: And what stands out to me in this line of people going back to Ukraine is that there are so many women. Why do you think that is?
HALLIGAN: I'm not a man. I can't kill. I'm a woman. And my work keep balance, and help, and be kind, and care about relatives, family, friends and all the caring. But now it feels like all Ukrainians are my relatives.
LAVANDERA: Before she leaves, Mariia shows us a heart shaped Ukrainian flag given to her by Polish children to protect her. Those returning walk past a carriage that reads, "Safety above all." The train leaving Platform 5 disappears into a warzone, where safety is a dream. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Przemysl, Poland.
GORANI: Well, still ahead. As explosions ring out in Kyiv, the city is under a strict curfew aimed at preventing even more civilian casualties.
Our Breaking News coverage of the war in Ukraine continues after a break.
[02:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN.
GORANI: Welcome back. I'm Hala Gorani, live in Lviv, Ukraine. Our top story this hour, CNN crews in Kyiv have reported a busy night of multiple explosions in the capital as air raid sirens blared through the night. The city is now under a strict curfew until Thursday morning. The mayor says, residents will only be allowed to leave their homes if they have a special permit or if they're trying to get to a bomb shelter.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will address American lawmakers in the coming hours. He's expected to ask them for more help, including additional weapons for Ukraine and a no-fly zone, something that the U.S. and NATO have ruled out.
And CNN has learned that the U.S. President Joe Biden, is expected to announce even more security aid after Zelenskyy's speech. The White House also announced, Tuesday, that Mr. Biden will travel to Europe, next week, to meet in person with world leaders and discuss Russia's invasion.
On Tuesday, several European leaders traveled into Ukraine meeting with Mr. Zelenskyy and reaffirming their support for Ukraine's fight. Ukraine's President saying, their visit sends a powerful message. Listen to Zelenskyy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I would like to thank you for what you are during such a difficult time. Your help is greatly appreciated. These ambassadors of wonderful European countries have come to Ukraine during a full-scale invasion of our country by the Russian Federation. You do not fear anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: While Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, there hosting those European leaders, meanwhile, here in Lviv, the city's mayor is also appealing for international aid. As the city tries to cope with the influx of people fleeing the war. I spoke with him earlier on how his city is coping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI (voiceover): Meet the Mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi, if you can keep up with him. From a morning meeting with the Polish Mayor of Lviv's twin city and a Ukrainian aid organization. We follow him at a fast pace into a waiting van. And it's off to the main Lviv train station to check on Ukrainians evacuating to Poland. He has five free minutes, so he calls the Mayor of besieged Mariupol in Southeast Ukraine. No answer. A quick call to another friend, the Mayor of Mykolaiv.
OLEKSANDR SYENKEVYCH, MYKOLAIV MAYOR (through translator): Hello?
ANDRIY SADOVYI, LVIV MAYOR (through translator): Sasha, hello. How was your night? How are you?
SYENKEVYCH (through translator): It was OK. We were bombed a bit in the evening and before the morning. Basically, we are OK.
SADOVYI (through translator): Are they attacking? Are they hammering you or are you hitting back?
SYENKEVYCH (through translator): We're defending our positions, and we are hitting back.
GORANI (voiceover): At the station, a lightning visit. Handshakes, hellos to some of the people in line for trains to Poland, and an update on the situation from volunteers. Sadovyi is a wartime mayor now. His city hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced Ukrainians.
SADOVYI: People happy about peace city.
GORANI (on camera): I think one of the ladies and said, I am happy to be alive, she said.
SADOVYI: Yes.
GORANI (voiceover): We finally catch up with him long enough to ask a few questions on the station platform. Not as packed as in the first days of the war with chaotic scenes of Ukrainians fleeing the bombing. They have a system to evacuate people now, he tells me.
GORANI (on camera): What do you think your responsibility is today?
SADOVYI: It is my responsibility, arrive everyone citizen, like, my mother, like my father.
GORANI (on camera): You're convinced, you told me earlier that this will end in victory for the Ukrainian people.
SADOVYI: I believe in our victory 100 percent. It is --
GORANI (on camera): You have no doubt?
SADOVYI: -- great.
GORANI (on camera): No doubt?
SADOVYI: No. Never give up. Only victory.
GORANI (voiceover): Shortly after the station visit, it's on to a church for the funerals of three of the service members killed in Sunday's attack on a training facility in Yavoriv in Western Ukraine, not far from the city.
[02:35:00]
Mayor Sadovyi touches the casket of a fallen soldier while reciting a prayer and bows in gratitude to troops attending the funeral service.
But the moment of reflection doesn't last long. An air raid siren goes off outside the church. And the mayor and staff return to city hall and down to the basement shelter where they discuss housing for Ukrainians displaced by the war.
A priority for the Mayor of Lviv, whose city has already welcomed more than 200,000 people, with the expectation that 100,000 more would join him. But there is no time to linger on that thought too long, Mayor Sadovyi has no time to waste.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI (on camera): Well, there you have it. The Mayor of Lviv has become a wartime mayor, practically overnight. Back to you Rosemary Church in Atlanta.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR: All right. Thank you, Hala for your reporting. We'll get back to you very soon. Appreciate it.
Well, still to come, China isn't taking kindly to threats of U.S. action if Beijing gives assistance to Russia. We'll analyze Moscow's deep ties to Beijing when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEGGY CALLAHAN, CEO, VOICES4FREEDOM: We all know that freedom is priceless. But a school for freedom is one hell of a deal.
I'm Peggy Callaghan. I'm the cofounder and CEO of Voices4Freedom.
Voices4Freedom is an antislavery organization. We are working in India and we help people to freedom through a project called, "Schools for Freedom". It turns out that between 110 and 190 people can come to sustainable freedom over three years with their children being educated for a little less than $13,000 a year.
In 2017, we took CNN to one of the villages that we are working in Uttar Pradesh, India. And they got to see with their own eyes how the system works. How the schools work to help free people. What the conditions people are living in. They get to meet people and know them for themselves. And it really helped that they told the story. It has helped the organization and explain it to lots of other people. And today, every single person they met in that village is free.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:40:00]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, Beijing says, it will continue its economic relationship with Russia despite threats from the United States. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said, his country shares mutual respect with Russia. Beijing has come under fire for not denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Actively pushing back against what officials call, attempts to smear its reputation over the matter. U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, makes the U.S. stance very clear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Without going into the specifics of what we'll do, we've made it very clear that that's not something that we're going to take sitting down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Jamie Metzl served on the U.S. National Security Council and at the State Department. He was also the Deputy Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations when it was chaired by then Senator Joe Biden. And he joins me now from New York.
Jamie Metzl, good to have you with us.
JAMIE METZL, U.S. GEOPOLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you.
CHURCH: Now, you and I have talked previously about China's role in Russia's war on Ukraine and you said that President Xi Jinping gave President Putin the greenlight to go ahead with his invasion. Now, we've learned that Russia has asked China for military and economic assistance. And China is, apparently, considering doing just that. Why would China want to be dragged into Putin's deadly and faltering invasion of Ukraine?
METZL: It's really difficult to understand. But you can get that China sees the United States as its main strategic enemy in the world. And on February 4th, China and Russia signed an agreement of partnership where they said, there were no limits to what they would do together in the world. And now, that is being tested. And if China does end up sending arms to the Russians to use in Ukraine, that would shift China from an accomplice in the invasion to a full co-combatant. And I hope that the Chinese government is taking that possibility very seriously.
CHURCH: And of course, it's worth pointing out that China has not yet condemned Putin's deadly invasion. But if the country, if China, goes ahead and assists Russia with drones and other military aid, how should NATO respond to that?
METZL: Certainly, we should begin a process of leading toward a very full decoupling -- economic decoupling with China. We live in a world today where we are seeing there's a very significant difference between the way that free and open societies functions. And the way that authoritarian societies functions and what this crisis has shown us. We in the free world are too reliant on goods or products or trade from the authoritarian world. That is going to create a vulnerability, not just for us but for others around the world.
If China makes the strategic choice to be all in with brutality, with genocide, with human rights violations, around the world, whether Xinjiang, Tibet, Ukraine, there have to be consequences. And we have to think about what is the kind of world we like to build and who are the partners we'd like to build it with.
CHURCH: And, Jamie, when you and I spoke last week, you said that China's President Xi could end this war in Ukraine, immediately with just one telephone call to Russia's President Putin. As a result, I received a lot of reaction to that on social media, as I'm sure you did, too. Many rejecting the possibility that China's leader had that control over Putin. What would you say to those who just can't wrap their minds around the possibility that China's leader does have that level of influence over President Putin?
METZL: Well first, there's just no possibility that President Xi and Putin signed the February 4th agreement saying there were no limits to their partnership immediate two weeks before invasion of Ukraine and the possibly of an invasion of Ukraine wasn't discussed. As a matter of fact, the agreement between China and Russia was the greenlight that Putin needed to know that he could take this aggressive step and China would have its back.
[02:45:00]
If China announced that it no longer had Russia's back, and was no longer supporting this brutal attack on the people of Ukraine, then Russia would have absolutely no choice but to withdraw. It's the possibility of future trade with China, and future support from China that is giving President Putin the ability to move forward.
CHURCH: Yes. Of course, the question will be whether President Xi would ever do that. I did want to ask you this so, too, because President Biden will attend an extraordinary NATO summit on Ukraine next Thursday in Brussels, alongside other NATO leaders. How significant is this? And what might come out of that meeting? And also, President Biden's response to the upcoming address to a joint session of the U.S. congress today of Ukraine's President Zelenskyy.
METZL: What we are seeing now is a revival of the Atlantic Alliance. For many years, people around the world, and here in the United States, were starting to feel that America was no longer able to stand up for our value. That the Atlantic Alliance was dying. That European countries didn't stand for anything, other than commerce and getting rich.
What we're now seeing is that our entire world rests upon a foundation of peace, of democracy, of open societies and innovation. And President Biden is taking an important step along with Europeans, not just to support President Zelenskyy for what he represented in Ukraine, but to support President Zelenskyy for what he represents for our entire world.
This is a battle about freedom, it's about the future of our world. And I think President Biden and the leaders of Europe and the free world are standing together to say, this is a fight we must win and we will win.
CHURCH: Jaime Metzl, always a pleasure to talk with you and get your analysis. Many thanks.
METZL: Thank you.
CHURCH: And still to come, Pfizer and BioNTech are seeking approval for a second COVID booster shot for older adults. Details on why the company say, this will reduce the illness. That's next.
Plus, China changes its tactics to fight COVID, as the worst outbreak since Wuhan sweeps the country. Why officials say, it is becoming more difficult to contain the virus.
CAMERON BARR, FOUNDER AND CEO, CRAFT & TAILOR: The Omega Seamaster is the longest running product line that's still produced by Omega. The Omega Seamaster was first introduced in 1948 and it was loosely based upon designs that were made for the British Royal Navy towards end of World War II. What's interesting is most Omega Seamasters will have a seahorse adorned case back. So, at the back of the cases of the watch, you'll see a seahorse and this actually pays tribute to Neptune, the Roman God of the sea. The seahorse logo was actually -- by the engraver, Jean-Pierre Borle, who also has a bit of history with the sea and also from an artistic perspective. And he was actually inspired by an image of Neptune driving a chariot hold by seahorses which is why the seahorses are, again, depicted wearing rattles on the back of Omega's Seamaster base watches.
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MARLEEN OBERHEIDE, SALES ENGINEERING LEAD EMEA, ONETRUST ESG: I'm Marleen Oberheide, and I am lead solutions engineer at OneTrust ESG. What's really great about leaders coming together at events like this is that you can really have that conversation amongst peers. You can learn from each other's expertise. At the end of the day, sustainability, to me at least, shouldn't be a competition between companies. It is about collaborating. It is about working together to be more sustainable, to reduce our common footprint, to achieve the targets that we need to achieve as society at large. And therefore, having events like this, having this exchange, having discussions and learning most of all is very, very valuable. And it's great to be back face to face after COVID as well and be able to look at each other in the eye, and have those important conversations.
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, Pfizer and BioNTech are requesting emergency use authorization for an additional booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine for older adults. The companies say, their submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is based on data from Israel that show an additional dose lowers rates of infections and severe illness. These studies have not been peer reviewed yet. But Pfizer and BioNTech say, this additional booster did not result in any new safety concerns.
The husband of the U.S. Vice President, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff has tested positive for COVID. His symptoms are mild though, according to one of his Tweets. Which also said, he was vaccinated and had received a booster. The positive test result made his wife, Kamala Harris, did not attend a White House event on equal pay, Tuesday night, even though earlier she had tested negative.
A wave of new COVID infections in China has forced some changes in Beijing's pandemic playbook. Health officials say, isolation and testing policies will be eased for patients with mild and asymptomatic cases. The move is designed to ease some of the pressure on the health care system.
CNN's steven joins me now from Beijing with more. Good to see you, Steven. So, China is changing the way it fights COVID as it struggles with its worst outbreak since Wuhan. What is the latest on that? And could we see a departure, perhaps, from its zero COVID policy you think?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BIEJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Rosemary, this timing of the release of these updated guidelines is very interesting because of the highly contagious nature of Omicron, which is, you've mentioned, is raging across China. This is seen by many as the health authorities here are prepared to ease things up somewhat, as you mentioned. Not only by changing where they're going to put mild and asymptomatic cases but also in terms of discharge criteria as well as health monitoring requirements after their release.
But on the other hand, this has been published at a time when the Beijing leadership seems to be doubling down on their zero-COVID policy. As we are again seeing millions of Chinese people across this country being placed under some form of lockdown. And that now applies to Shanghai, the country's biggest city, which up to this point had prided itself on their less disruptive approach to COVID containment. But now, residents in Shanghai are telling us, the authorities there seems to be adopting a so-called, rolling lockdown strategy. That means, they're locking down a batch of neighborhoods at a time. Sealing off residents to their homes for at least 48 hours and requiring everyone to undergo two rounds of COVID testing. And they would only reopen those neighborhoods when everyone inside tests negative twice within two days. And also, local officials are already warning about possible delay in these reopening because of the cities increasingly strained testing capacity.
And keep in mind, this is considered the most lenient form of COVID response in this country. Now, of course the Beijing leadership is aware and concerned about the possible economic impacts from those continued harsh policies.
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But I think the bottom line here is they want to ensure absolute social stability before the ruling communist party's national congress later this year. That's when Xi Jinping, of course, is expected to take almost unprecedented third term paving the way for him to rule for life. So, that is their undisputed top priority. And before that happens, everything else seems to be secondary. Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right. Steven Jiang, joining us live from Beijing. Many thanks.
Well, for many people in the United States, setting clocks forward an hour is not just a rite of spring, it is the bane of their existence. Senators, apparently, feel that way too, because they unanimously passed a measure making daylight savings time permanent across the United States. Now, that would put an end to the twice a year time changes in the spring and in the fall.
But first, it has to pass the House and be signed by President Biden to become law. The proposed change would take effect in 2023, and then clocks would never again have to be adjusted. Many will be very happy with that outcome.
And thank you so much for being with us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Our breaking news coverage continue after a short break. Stay with us.
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JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: They may look similar, they may taste similar, but sweet potatoes and yams have some differences. These root vegetables are not even related. True yams are native to Africa and Asia. Most yams today, 95 percent, are harvested in West Africa. While many of the yams sold in the U.S. are typically grown and Caribbean countries. And yams are closely related to lilies and grasses. While sweet potatoes are native to the Americas and are part of the morning glory family.
Now, when it comes to your health, both of these roost vegetables are low in calories and high nutrients. One half of a large sweet potato, has just 81 calories. And the flesh of a medium baked sweet potato has enough vitamin A, that's in the form of beta carotene to meet your entire recommended daily amount. Yams tend to be starchier. They also are good sources of nutrients like vitamin C.
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ion people have now fled Ukraine since the invasion started nearly three weeks ago>
