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Putin Gives Speech to Russians; Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) is interviewed about Ukraine; U.S. Departments Launch New Task Force; Airfares Increase as Jet Fuel Costs Skyrocket. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired March 17, 2022 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann joining us now.

I mean it was quite the speech, rambling in many ways. He's increasingly, Jim, lashing out here, these warnings to Russian citizens who don't support the war.

What are we hearing about the reaction to that and what its real impact is?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, I can only wonder what the average Russian was thinking when they heard their president last night speaking in the fashion that he did.

Let's just play a little bit more of it, just to give you an example of how kind of unhinged the president was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN (through translator): But any people, the Russian people especially, are able to distinguish true patriots from bastards and traitors and will spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths.

I am certain that this necessary and natural self-cleaning of our society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, togetherness, and our readiness to answer any calls to action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BITTERMANN: So, I think despite the powerful Russian propaganda machine, at least some of this may be getting through to the people on the street that, in fact, the president is not sounding like he's particularly calm at this moment and that they're, of course, seeing what they've been seeing.

You mentioned the kinds of sanctions that are being put on their own personal finances. No Visa or MasterCard. There's a $10,000 limit on money taken out of the country. Probably facing sanctions if they travel abroad. So, it's a -- it's, I think, for the average Russian now, it may be a reflection of what Vladimir Putin was responding to in that speech. It may be that he's starting to feel the pressure from the streets.

Erica. Jim.

SCIUTTO: It's the language of fascism, frankly, talking about cleansing people who oppose him.

BITTERMANN: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Jim Bittermann, thanks so much.

Coming up, I'm going to speak with Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger on why he believes that Ukraine is not yet getting all the aid it needs to defend itself and fast enough. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:36:45]

SCIUTTO: Take a look at this video. It's new. It shows Ukrainian forces, well, destroying a Russian tank. This as sources tell CNN the Biden administration will provide Ukraine with another weapon in its arsenal, what are known as switchblade drones. That's a picture there. Also known as suicide drones. In other words, they can fly into a target and destroy it.

While we don't know which model Ukraine will get, the largest is capable of hitting targets some 20 miles away. One of an array of weapons that the U.S. and NATO partners are now sending in.

My next guest, though, says more needs to be done by the U.S. and NATO and now.

With me now, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger from Illinois.

Congressman, thanks for taking the time this morning.

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): Yes, you bet. Thanks for having me.

So, you have been forward leaning on the support that the U.S. and NATO have to offer, including keeping up with the possibility of a no- fly zone. They have now are and have sent in a host of air defense systems, including the S-300, which is high altitude.

And I spoke with your colleague, Mike McCaul, yesterday, who said that that combination of things could allow Ukraine to in effect establish something close to its own no-fly zone. And I wonder if you agree with that.

KINZINGER: Yes, I do.

I mean, look, I think the -- you know, they're -- we can always find things, and I do that I disagree with the administration on and areas where I think they should do something different or speak differently about it. But there is no doubt, this is very forward leaning. And, you know, short of a no-fly zone, giving Ukraine all the tools they can to defend.

I think the key is to remember this. A lot of the times people think about, like, the air space in Ukraine contested as a given thing. Russia has no right to close Ukraine's air space. Ukraine has every right to defend their air space, even to invite in allies, which is why I'm supportive of a no-fly zone.

But that said, I think we're doing the next best thing. You know, I think the idea to have been able to fly in humanitarian aid, and it's not going to war with the Russians, it's simply saying Ukraine has a right of the owner of this air space to receive aid. So, look, I -- there's more, of course, I think we should do, but yesterday's aid package was a significant step, I think.

SCIUTTO: You raise a subtle point there about the difference between a humanitarian no-fly zone, where in effect the U.S./NATO would put the onus on Russia attacking, right? Fly the aid in, say this is Ukrainian air space, as opposed to, in effect, pick a fight as it were between NATO and Russian jets in the air and say we're going to shoot you down if you're in the air. That's a difference. And I wonder if you think that is a risk worth taking, and that the U.S. and NATO can take, in effect, call Russia's bluff.

KINZINGER: So, look, I'm a believer that Russia will continue to advance until we present a brick wall. You know, one of my criticisms of the Biden administration has been repeatedly saying what we're unwilling to do. And, you know, as you know very well, Jim, how foreign policy works, to be able to use diplomacy against an adversary, in many cases that takes a military back stop.

And so I think if you said, look, Ukraine has a right to its air space. We're going to deliver, not even just humanitarian supplies, even if we were going to deliver military supplies, the point is, they have every right to protect its skies and we could say simply here's the path we're flying and it's on Russia if they challenge us.

[09:40:07]

And I'm just a believer that Russia is going to escalate whether it's chemical weapons, God forbid tactical nukes, which is not strategic nukes, they're going to escalate anyway if Ukraine beats them versus, you know, somehow there's only -- only they'll fight NATO, I guess.

SCIUTTO: If -- and, by the way, we should note that some of the weapons they're already using can kill arguably just as many people as say a chemical weapons attack and yet they are using them deliberately on civilian targets.

But do you believe, if Russia were to take that qualitative step of, say, using phosphorous bombs, as they've used in Syria before, that the U.S. and NATO should directly, under those circumstances, engage Moscow?

KINZINGER: A hundred percent. It's the only way to stop it from happening.

I mean, look, if Vladimir Putin is failing at his objective in Ukraine, his backup goal is to destroy and kill everybody. Basically clear out the country, which is what you're seeing, his army has stalled but they have plenty of shells to use to destroy and kill humans, including children, including in the theater, including who are buried today by the way.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KINZINGER: So, if we don't put a red line down that says, look, it's sad that we say, you know, OK, we're going to tolerate, you know, shelling, but not -- but you have to pick somewhere. If we put a red line down and say, the use of anything like white phosphorous or chemical weapons or, of course, a tactical nuclear weapon, that is a red line and we will have to engage directly, that makes them using that stuff far, far less likely. Right now I fear the only people we're deterring is ourselves.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this. As you have heard publicly, the former president, as well as his allies, say that somehow had he still been president, Putin would not have dared to attack. This despite the fact that, as you well know, and, by the way, you've said you regret your vote now against impeaching Trump for withholding military aid from Ukraine in 2019, what's your reaction to that argument?

KINZINGER: Look, he was an awful president. And he was awful on this issue. I mean, yes, there is something to the fact that, you know, nobody knew what Donald Trump was going to do but that was just because he didn't know what he was going to do. But that was not a deterrent to Putin.

You know, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Xi of China, were getting everything they wanted with Donald Trump. And I think, as John Bolton has said, Vladimir Putin was waiting until Donald Trump was re-elected and then pulled us out of NATO for this attack. And, of course, with Joe Biden he didn't have that opportunity.

Look, if anybody tries to look back and say that somehow Donald Trump would have been better at this, it is just utter garbage. And I think anybody in their right mind can't truly believe that. And I think it's time to start telling people the truth. You know, you can be a Republican, you can dislike Joe Biden, but don't pretend like Donald Trump was any good.

SCIUTTO: Final question, if I can.

You are among the names mentioned who might challenge him for the nomination in 2024 should he decide to run. And it looks more and more like he will, along with Liz Cheney, perhaps Mike Pence. Do you believe there will be a competitive GOP primary, that you will get the opportunity to do so? We saw steps in 2020 where the GOP closed the path to challenges. Do you believe that will happen again or will you get a shot?

KINZINGER: Well, I don't know if I'm interested in it. It's not something I'm pursuing. I just I want our party to be better. I want this country to be better.

In terms of, yes, I think somebody will carry the torch of -- of what I call actually pro-American republicanism. And I don't know who that necessary will be. I'm focusing on the country first stuff. There's a lot of desire out there for something different.

But, look, if Donald Trump gets the Republican nomination, there are many of us that will move heaven and earth to ensure he doesn't win. I think that's the most important thing, he cannot be president again.

SCIUTTO: Congressman Adam Kinzinger, thanks for joining us this morning.

KINZINGER: You bet. See you.

HILL: Still to come here this morning, yachts, jets, real estate, all targeted. The new ways the U.S. is going after Russian oligarchs with its foreign allies. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:48:36]

HILL: Next hour, the White House will begin markups of several bills targeting Russia and Belarussian officials, including Russian oligarchs. Now, those bills would advance one aspect of this multiprong response from the U.S. Yesterday, Justice, Treasury Departments launching a multilateral task force with their counterparts in Europe and Asia.

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans joining me now.

So, putting this altogether, right, how does this all work? I was having this -- I told you this in the break.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.

HILL: I was having a conversation with a friend. OK, so they seized the yacht, but what does that really do? We're learning a little bit more.

ROMANS: Sure. It's taking away Putin's friend's toys and it's going after ill-gotten gains inside of the Russian Federation. It's also really cracking down on these sanctions. Anybody who's violating the sanctions, you're going to lose your stuff.

Look, the government announcing 50 people who are on this list. It released the names of about half of them. So, some of them we don't know yet. But it's essentially seizing assets and forfeiting assets from all of these people. And these are a bunch of countries together that are going to collect and share information in getting these things and then also prosecuting the violators. So it's a lot of cooperation to freeze these assets and really ratchet up the pressure on Russian officials.

We had heard last month about this klepto (ph) task force, right, where they were going to go after -- that was using the Justice Department and prosecutors and money laundering laws in the United States to really go after people who break sanctions and so many of these people on these sanctions list.

[09:50:04]

This goes a little bit further. This is repo. This is finding their stuff with the help of folks all around the world because we know that the Russians -- the Russian oligarchs, really for the past 30 years, have been very, very savvy at hiding their assets, right?

HILL: Right.

ROMANS: And that's one of the complaints, how do you -- how do you really have teeth in these sanctions and really punish Putin's inner circle if indeed you can't find the stuff? This is the government, multiple governments saying, we're going to find it.

HILL: It will be interesting to see (INAUDIBLE) --

ROMANS: There's even a rewards program.

HILL: Right.

ROMANS: That's what I -- it's like -- it's like, you know, Crime Stoppers for oligarchs, right?

HILL: For oligarchs.

ROMANS: I mean there's -- there's going to be a reward program, too, for people that turn in information about where these things are hiding.

HILL: It will be fascinating to see who does that, too.

ROMANS: Yes.

HILL: They might be scared to do so.

Also want to ask you about the latest jobless numbers.

ROMANS: Yes, these were good. Unemployment benefits -- first time unemployment benefits, just 214,000. That's down from the prior week. That's a good number.

And it's one of the reasons why I think we're seeing the Fed comfortable enough to raise interest rates. The Fed raised interest rates yesterday by a quarter basis point.

We knew this -- you know, we knew this was going to happen, a quarter of a percentage point. This is a very strong jobs market. Still, a very strong U.S. economy. The Fed raising interest rating to fight inflation.

That interest rate hike, it might sound like, you know, it's, you know, econo-babble to you at home, but it isn't. It means a lot of things are going to change for you. Higher interest rates. Borrowing on just about everything. Mortgages and equity lines of credit, those are already going up about 4 percent now there. Credit cards, student debt, car loans. Borrowing money isn't going to be next to zero any more. It's going to be more expensive. And this is going to happen probably throughout the rest of the year.

Again, this is how the Fed, the inflation fighter fights inflation by raising interest rates. And so we're just at the beginning of that process.

HILL: So it begins.

Christine, appreciate it. Thank you.

ROMANS: Yes. Nice to see you.

HILL: You too.

Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, rising fuel costs tied to the global market are hitting airlines hard and that could be passed on to you and me soon.

CNN's Pete Muntean reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Spring break starts at the airport where people are flying more than ever since the start of the pandemic, and they are already paying more.

MUNTEAN (on camera): Are these friends of yours?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, this is my friend here.

MUNTEAN: Hi.

MUNTEAN (voice over): Deleah Sharp of Michigan was about to treat herself for her birthday next month.

DELEAH SHARP, TRAVELER: And I was deciding to go to Aruba. And in two days it went up $300.

MUNTEAN (on camera): That's a lot.

SHARP: And I missed the $300 less. So, I decided not to go.

MUNTEAN (voice over): Jet fuel has spiked to its highest level in more than two years. A CNN analysts of federal data found filling up a Boeing 737 has shot up $6,800 since the invasion of Ukraine and $13,000 in the last year. Delta, United and JetBlue all say they will pass the cost on to consumers.

DARIUS DOLL, TRAVELER: If it became unreasonable, I think people would forgo traveling. It would just depend on how much it would be and how bad you want to go somewhere.

MUNTEAN: To conserve costs, airlines like Alaska and Southwest say they will slash some flights from schedules. But airline experts say do not be shocked if carriers get even more creative, charging more for things like wi-fi, food, or seat selections.

HENRY HARTEVELDT, ATMOSPHERE RESEARCH: If you're paying 75 percent more than you were a year ago to gas up your car, I think you can relate to the plight airlines are facing when they have to pump tens of thousands of gallons of fuel into every one of their planes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Well, the question of course, now, is as oil prices fall, will that also be reflected at the gas pump and the jet pump?

Thanks so much to Pete Muntean for that report.

Still ahead, we will speak with a Ukrainian member of parliament with the latest assessment of Russia's advance, or as new intelligence is suggesting, lack thereof. Remarkable news from the ground.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:58:15]

HILL: A new version of the omicron variant picking up steam in the U.S. This as millions remain at risk for severe infection because of their vaccination status.

SCIUTTO: CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen live with more.

Elizabeth, BA.2, that's the new variant. What do we think? Is it more contagious? Is it more deadly? Or are vaccinations keeping up with it?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to U.K. data, Jim, it is more contagious. Let's take a look at transmissibility data from the U.K. They've really been ahead on measuring this. So, what they found is that it is actually 80 percent more transmissible than the original omicron. BA.2 is an omicron, but not the original. So, remember, we know how contagious omicron is. This one's even more contagious according to British data.

Twenty-three percent of new infections last week in the U.S. were this BA.2. And it was only 14 percent the week before that. So that's a pretty big jump in just one week.

Now, BA.2 is making an even stronger appearance in the U.K. and in Hong Kong. Take a look at that green line. That's Hong Kong. You can see that they have a way higher case increase. U.K. is also higher there in red. U.S. is in the bottom in blue.

Here's the issue in the U.S. When you look at senior citizens with third doses of Covid-19 vaccine, it is really quite low. In the U.K., 81 percent of seniors have had a third dose. In the United States, only 60 percent. That leaves millions of U.S. seniors at risk because either they've only had one dose or their second dose was more than five months ago. You know, their vaccine status is not ideal.

Jim. Erica.

SCIUTTO: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much for keeping on top of this.

[10:00:04]

A very good morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

HILL: And I'm Erica Hill.

Remarkable news this morning out of Mariupol.