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Ukraine: Bomb Hits Mariupol Theater Serving As Shelter; Attacks On Civilians Intensify In Kyiv, Across Ukraine; Family Makes Flak Jackets For Ukrainian Territorial Defense; Russian State T.V. Journalists Speaks Out Following Protest; Ukrainian Refugees In Romania Wonder What Lies Ahead; Ukrainian Refugees In Romania Wonder What Lies Ahead; Zelenskyy To U.S. Lawmakers: We Need You Right Now; Asian Stock Markets React To U.S. Rate Hike. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired March 17, 2022 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[00:00:17]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to our viewers around the world and in the United States this hour. I'm Hala Gorani coming to you live from Lviv in Ukraine.
Well, as you can see behind me, the sun is rising this hour to reveal yet another day of devastation. Entire cities in ruins across the country, neighborhoods destroyed and perhaps most shocking, civilians targeted and killed by Russian airstrikes and shelling.
Authorities in Mariupol along the Southern Coast say the Russians bombed a theater where hundreds of people were taking shelter from the fighting. It's still not clear how many were killed or wounded.
And to the North in Chernihiv, witnesses say 10 people were killed when Russian shells hit a group lining up for bread. Video of the scene shows lifeless bodies on the ground and others being carried away. Russia is denying responsibility.
In Central Ukraine, a civilian convoy heading for Zaporizhzhia came under artillery fire from Russian troops. Local officials say at least five people were hurt, including a child in serious condition.
And in the capital Kyiv, Russian shells hit a 12-storey apartment building wounding two people. The attack sparked a major fire, you see the fireball there filmed from a distance and it damaged as well another residential building nearby.
A U.S. defense official says Russia has launched almost a thousand missiles since the invasion of Ukraine began. An advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reports Ukrainian forces are now beginning counter strikes against Russian forces in several directions.
Yet again, a frightening situation for journalists as well. These are with the Russian language network current time. They came under Russian artillery fire northwest of Kyiv.
Fortunately, they were not hurt but a scary episode, no doubt.
President Zelenskyy brought his plea for more help directly to the U.S. Congress in a virtual speech on Wednesday. He referred to pivotal moments in U.S. history reminding lawmakers of the urgent response to Pearl Harbor and the September 11th attack. He reiterated his request for a no-fly zone saying Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death.
Finally, he had a message directly for President Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: 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)
GORANI: Well after Mr. Zelenskyy's speech, President Biden signed off on an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine. It will include -- and this is something that I've heard many officials asked me -- tell me they need to defend themselves, anti-aircraft systems, drones, grenade launchers, guns and ammunition as well of course, but the aid stops short of a no-fly zone or fighter jets over concerns that that would lead to direct conflict with Russia.
But the U.S. president did make his harshest condemnation yet of letting of Vladimir Putin, a remark the Kremlin called unforgiveable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is Putin a war criminal sir? Are you ready to call Putin a war criminal?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: oh, I think he is a war criminal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, we're still waiting for word on the fate of hundreds of people who were taking shelter in a theater in Mariupol when it was hit by a Russian bomb.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has our report.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The flicker of flame here where Russia's barbarism peaked and an airstrike hit a bomb shelter hiding hundreds beneath a theater, said local officials.
The damage so complete, the entrance was reduced to rubble. This satellite image from two days earlier, showing the building standing with children written large outside in case you're still thinking nobody knew who was here.
Videos had been circulating for days of the hell inside. How over a week of siege and shelling had forced those still living into a space so tight and dark, it must have felt like a tomb.
[00:05:05]
Here he says it's where we give out food to children, women and elderly first. This is the converted cloakroom, the theater. If this looks like how you imagined the end of the world for these children packed in, that may have been the case when the bombs struck. Russia claimed Ukrainian radicals calls the blast.
In this room, 15 people, the narrator says. Little comfort any parent can give, by the lie (PH) this will be over soon.
And below this store, there are yet more. An entire city forced underground. Little aid allowed in and few allowed out.
People hear us, here with children. He says his appeal is for food, help. Perhaps unaware it may have led Russian bombs straight to them.
The swimming pool was also hit. A place where this narrator says a pregnant woman was trapped under the rubble. And were only expectant mothers and those with under three head.
The Kremlin wants to break or flatten this port. But it's defenders still exact a cost. Still keep them out. This drone video shows the moment Ukrainian fighters hit a Russian tank. The shots come again and again. Removing one of the tanks tracks.
The crew is later seen hit as they try to flee. No room for mercy in a city that has little space left for life itself.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Odessa, Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Joining me now from Brisbane, Australia is Peter Layton. He's a visiting fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute. Thanks for being with us.
I mean, when you see those satellite images of that theater in Mariupol with very clearly written so that it can be read from the air, the word children, and yet that very target is hit by Russia. What does that tell you about their methods?
PETER LAYTON, VISITING FELLOW, GRIFFITH ASIA INSTITUTE: It certainly tells me that the Russian full forces are not fighting this war in accord with the laws of war. Certainly, the senior military commanders in the field will be -- will be -- will be very well aware that they are breaking several of the rules of war.
However, the the attacks on Mariupol appear to me -- appears to be the model about what the Russians plan to do in the future. At the moment, their forces are stalled and the Ukrainian forces are certainly holding their own.
The Russian forces really haven't been moving now for almost for almost a couple of weeks. So, the war that's being waged (PH) now against Mariupol as the model and Mariupol is likely to be captured relatively soon.
The Russians will extensively use missiles, rockets, cannons and archery to bombard these areas and then try to force a surrender without them having to mount a major urban assault.
Now, bear in mind, the Russian army needs to keep up this pressure on the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Russian army cannot retreat. It is tracked forward, the army has low morale, and a retreat will be likely -- will likely to quickly turn into a route, the army is likely to break and run that situation.
GORANI: Got that. If Mariupol as the model, what you're saying is basically that because their ground forces are not advancing as quickly as they would like, they're going to mount air attacks against civilian targets, terrorize the civilian population, keep on bombing theaters and maternity hospitals until they can subdue the population that way by breaking basic laws of war in order to then move it -- I mean, that basically then Vladimir Putin is essentially flattening entire cities. He says he's come to liberate in order to subdue the population there. I s that what you're saying? Is the model going forward for other Ukrainian cities?
LAYTON: Yes, I am because the Russians started this war hoping for a quick, easy victory. That certainly did not happen, and they're now resorting to their tactics that they used in Syria.
Very much as I said, the Russians can't withdraw easily now, any with -- any withdrawal would be a withdrawal under fire and would quickly turn into a disaster for the Russian army.
So, to a certain extent, they're trapped in Ukraine and they can't get out. So, they're trying to cause the maximum damage that they possibly can trying to in some way get the Ukrainians to surrender.
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GORANI: I spoke to a Ukrainian Member of Parliament yesterday. She told me, well, if the West will not impose a no-fly zone, let us impose our own no-fly zone. We need more anti-aircraft weaponry. We need help in terms of -- we need more fighter jets. We know that's not on the table right now.
But President Biden is authorizing anti-aircraft weapons, there are stinger missiles coming into this country as well.
Can the Ukrainians defend themselves if they get enough weapons in order to take out we see them shooting helicopters out of the sky? Can they defend themselves? Can they reverse this trend if they get the right weapons? LAYTON: Now, bear in mind, those anti-aircraft weapons won't help that much against the rockets and the missiles and certainly, not against the artillery either. So, the anti-aircraft weapons will sort of go up against helicopters and demand fixed wing aircraft, say bombers. But they'll be of limited use for the kind of war the Russians are waging now.
It certainly won't -- it certainly won't stop those long-range missiles coming in that are being fired from Russia.
GORANI: Sure, Peter Layton thanks very much for joining us live from Brisbane, it's at 2:10 p.m. where you are, and it's 6:10 a.m. where I am right now in Lviv, Ukraine. Thank you so much.
The war in Ukraine has turned life upside down for nearly everybody in this country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VITALY GOLOVENO, BODY ARMOR ORGANIZER (through translator): We have to defend people's lives from the enemy, from the killers who for some reason want to kill me, my little daughter, my grandmother, and so on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Why this man is pinning his hopes on a seamstress, her family and some scrap metal, stay with us.
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GORANI: Well, the war here in Ukraine has touched the lives of nearly everyone in the country. Even retired seamstresses.
Ivan Watson met a family that's making body armor for those putting their lives on the line to protect their land.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A melody in a time of deep uncertainty. A family hard at work turning their living room into a makeshift workshop, producing locally made armor for the Ukrainian military.
This is heavy. This is a flak jacket.
These flak jackets are the work of this grandmother and former seamstress. Russia's invasion of Ukraine pulled 68-year-old Erina Prochenka (PH) out of retirement to work as a volunteer sewing flak jackets for Ukrainian soldiers.
Edina says she sews these flak jackets with love. And it's with that love that she hopes it'll help protect defenders save their life.
In the kitchen, Erina 's son a lawyer, crafts the blue and yellow armbands that security forces wear on their arms to identify themselves.
How many do you make in one day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 200.
WATSON: 200?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WATSON: This family workshop part of a larger improvised production chain that sprouted up in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia.
It's the brainchild of Vitaly Goloveno (PH). He takes orders from soldiers and members of the Territorial Defense requesting armor before they head to the frontlines.
Before the war, Vitaly was a lawyer and an amateur reenactor of scenes from the First World War when Ukrainian nationalist fought against Russian Bolsheviks.
Several days into this modern war, Vitaly says he asked his mother-in- law Erina to help saw armor when his son's godfather couldn't find a flak jacket before heading off to combat. This operation relies on donations and improvisation.
This is some padding for the flak jackets to go around the armor plates. And they're made from the material that used for floormats for cars.
The armor plates come from scrap metal scavenged from old cars, welded and reworked by volunteer mechanics and field tested.
So, Alyek (PH) has taken out plates to a firing range. And this is six millimeters in width. And they tried different kinds of firearms and rounds, and it was able to block some rifles but a sniper's rifle punched right through, as did a machine gun. They're not using this width for their flak jackets.
The team settled on a width of eight millimeters. Vitaly says this newest model will go to a new fighter within the hour.
GOLOVENO (through translator): My normal work is to defend people in a court of law. But now, we have to defend people's lives from the enemy, from the killers who for some reason want to kill me, my little daughter, my grandmother, and so on.
WATSON: This is just one example of the collective war effort that has sprung up here. Ordinary Ukrainians doing their part protect on their homeland.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Vinnytsia, Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, you'll remember the Russian state television journalist who protested the war in Ukraine during a live broadcast. Well, she has said that it was impossible for her to stay silent anymore. You'll recall she rushed the set of a newscast on Russia's Channel One Monday, holding a large sign that said no war.
On Wednesday, she told my colleague Christiane Amanpour, that the act has changed her life forever.
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: I just want to know, on a human level, how do you feel? Are you feeling scared right now?
MARINA OVSYANNIKOVA, NEWS EDITOR, RUSSIA CHANNEL ONE (through translator): No, you know, I don't feel scared. But at the moment, of course, I feel a huge burden of responsibility. And I realized that my life has changed irrevocably.
I don't think there's some sort of sad fate in store for me for the demolish on air. But I'm hoping that I won't face criminal charges.
I wanted to show to the world that Russians are against the war. The majority of Russians are against the war. And even if they support the Kremlin policy, they are pacifists. They hate war inside themselves, everybody in Russia is scared by what's going on. Everybody's confused. Our life changed overnight. Russians are really scared by what's going on. And their faces show fear and confusion.
I don't know yet what to do next, what my steps will be. At the moment, my children are safe. And of course, I fear for them very much, but I hope they will be OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That is a pretty bold move on her part. So far, she has not been charged for the on-air protest itself. But a Moscow Court did find her guilty of organizing an unauthorized public event for a video statement that she recorded prior to the incident. She was fined nearly $300.
Well, one of Russia's top ballerinas is also taking a stand leaving the world-famous Bolshoi Ballet to protest the war. Olga Smirnova left Moscow for the Netherlands, where she joins the Dutch National Ballet with her first performance already scheduled for April, the prima ballerina had been with the Bolshoi for more than a decade, where she climbed to the position of principal soloist. Regarding the choice to leave Russia, Smirnova says "I never thought I would be ashamed of Russia. I have always been proud of talented Russian people, of our cultural and athletic achievements. But now I feel that a line has been drawn that separates the before and the after".
Well, do stay with us, millions of Ukrainians have fled across borders to get away from fighting at home. But as they find safety for themselves, they worry about the loved ones who stayed behind, that story is ahead.
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GORANI: Welcome back, I'm Hala Gorani live in Lviv, Ukraine. A U.S. defense official says the Russian offensive in Ukraine is "generally stalled". But that hasn't slowed Russia's relentless shelling of Ukraine's civilian population.
In fact, probably one of the most shocking attacks, a theater being used as a shelter with many children inside in the coastal city of Mariupol was reduced to rubble on Wednesday, and there was no doubt as to who was sheltering in that building. The word children had been painted on the outside, and hundreds of people were believed to be inside at the time of the Russian attack. The number of casualties is not yet known.
And to the North and Chernihiv, witnesses say 10 people were killed when Russian shells hit a breadline. Video showed lifeless bodies on the ground and others being carried away. Russia is denying that its forces were responsible for this carnage.
And in the capital Kyiv, Russian shells hit a 12-storey apartment building, wounding two people. The attack sparked a major fire and damaged another residential building close to the one that was originally hit.
Kyiv's mayor had very harsh words for Russia's military.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Putin says he's only targeting military targets.
VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV MAYOR: Sorry. Where's military target? This building is military target?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, and as the fighting rages on at home, more and more Ukrainians are finding refuge abroad. We've been telling you about this refugee story. More than three million of them have done that so far, including over 460,000 who fled to Romania. They say Romanians have welcomed them with open hearts. But as Miguel Marquez reports, what is next is obviously still an open question for many refugees.
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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A stream of Ukraine refugees, old and young, even a dog named Oprah. Some looking for a hot meal, others a place to stay for a night or two.
Who are you with here?
Svetlana Karpova (PH), her husband and two kids, David (PH) and Maxim (PH), 11 and two, David has autism.
How do you explain what's happening? I explain that there is a war but they don't really understand, she says. It's important for David for both of us to be with him.
[00:30:08]
The family from Odessa has now found a house here and plan to stay. Their lives, up in the air.
"I hope there will be no people like Putin anymore," she says. Then adds, in English --
SVETLANA KARPOVA, REFUGEE FROM ODESSA, UKRAINE: Putin to heil Hitler. To Hitler.
MARQUEZ: The city of Brasov in central Romania's Transylvania region, hosting up to 250 Ukrainian refugees.
FLAVIA BOGHIU, BRASOV VICE MAYOR: Well, you could see on them they're being more and more affected about what's going on. We've had stories about -- with people trying to contact their beloved ones for two days in a row and seeing them walk around, seeing them worried about what's going on back home.
MARQUEZ: A business center two weeks ago, now, an oasis of support. A place to sleep, eat, get a change of clothes. There's even a play area and childcare, all free of charge.
BOGHIU: Next week, we're having a kindergarten group starting in Ukrainian. With a Ukrainian volunteer.
MARQUEZ: Natalia Votamandu Tarenko (ph) is from Mykolaiv, a city under relentless artillery and rocket attacks.
"Putin united Ukraine with this war," she says. "Ukraine is now united in its tragedy in pain."
MARQUEZ: Natalia lives in Brasov, but her sister, cousins, half- brothers and friends are all back home in Ukraine.
"Every morning when there's an attack," she says, "we check in on our shared chat to see if everyone is OK."
Ana Polyshok (ph) arrived here on March 8 with her daughter and their friends. Her husband, who was a driver, is now fighting on behalf of their country.
"We're all worried, especially my daughter," she says, "but there is no other choice, and I'm proud he's defending our country."
MARQUEZ: Ukrainians united. Those who come here leave messages like, Thank you for the care. All people were nice to us, and we never felt hungry, cold, or lonely.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, Brasov, Romania.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Well, if you would like to assist people in Ukraine who may be in need of shelter, food or water. Go to CNN.com/impact, and you can find plenty of ways on that page to help.
I'll have more from Lviv at the top of the hour. But first, let's bring in John Vause in Atlanta -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, and thank you. A British Iranian woman detained in Iran for more than six years is now back home with her husband and daughter in the U.K.
Charity worker Nasadeen Zakari Ratcliffe (ph) stepped off a Royal Air Force plane early Thursday. With her, another British Iranian, Anuz Ashiri (ph). An Iranian court sentenced him to 10 years in jail.
Zakari Ratcliffe (ph) was taken into custody in 2016 while visiting relatives in Iran. She received a five-year sentence for espionage, a charge she denies.
Iranian authorities do not say why she was released, but it came after he U.K. announced it had settled a long-standing debt owed to Tehran, dating back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
At least four people are dead, more than 100 injured after a strong earthquake in Japan. The 7.3-magnitude quake was centered east of Fukushima. That's where an earthquake and tsunami led to a meltdown at a nuclear power plant 11 years ago.
Japan's prime minister says Wednesday's quake caused no issues at any of the country's nuclear plants. A tsunami warning was issued just after the quake but was later canceled.
Still to come here, Ukraine will not be getting a no-fly zone any time soon, but after President Zelenskyy's address to Congress, he's getting almost a billion dollars in new military aid, and new weapons, including long-range anti-aircraft defenses systems. More on that, when we come back.
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VAUSE: The Ukrainian president made a virtual appearance before the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, and while his speech moved some to tears and all to a standing ovation, he did not get what he wanted most, a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
Instead, U.S. President Biden signed off on $800 million in new military aid. And for the first time, called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, a description the Kremlin later said was unacceptable and unforgivable. CNN's M.J. Lee has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Today, the Ukrainian people are defending not only Ukraine. We are fighting for the values of Europe and the world.
M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, President Biden responding to an impassioned, extraordinary speech from his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He speaks for a people who have shown remarkable courage in the face of brutal aggression. Courage and strength that's inspired not only Ukrainians but the entire world. And the world is united in our support for Ukraine and our determination to make Putin pay a very heavy price.
LEE: Hours earlier, the Ukrainian president addressing a joint sentient of the United States Congress virtually from Kyiv. As Russian attacks intensify across this country --
ZELENSKYY (through translator): Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities.
LEE: And the civilian death toll continues to arise
ZELENSKYY (through translator): It went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values.
LEE: Zelenskyy imploring the U.S. to do more, once again asking it to support a no-fly zone over his country, despite the U.S.'s repeated refusal.
ZELENSKYY (through translator): Is this a lot to ask for, to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine? To save people? Is this too much to ask?
LEE: Biden stopping short of endorsing a no-fly zone, but announcing an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine. That package includes Stinger anti-aircraft systems, Javelins, and weapons like grenade launchers, rifles, machine guns, and body armor.
The president also putting this new label on Vladimir Putin.
BIDEN: He is a war criminal.
LEE: With American lawmakers looking on, Zelenskyy invoking some of the darkest moments in America's modern history.
ZELENSKYY (through translator): Remember Pearl Harbor? Terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you? Just remember it.
Remember September 11, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories, into battlefields? When innocent people were attacked from your air?
LEE: At the end of his attacks, Zelenskyy switching from his native tongue to English to speak directly to President Biden.
ZELENSKYY: 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. LEE (on camera): On President Biden referring to Vladimir Putin as a
war criminal, White House press secretary Jen Psaki saying that he had been speaking from the heart and that he was responding, in part, to what he saw as barbaric actions unfolding across the Ukraine.
We have in recent days seen U.S. officials increasingly using the language "war crimes," including the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and other U.S. lawmakers. There are some legal processes in place to determine whether somebody has committed a war crime, and those investigations are ongoing.
M.J. Lee, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: David Sanger is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a CNN political and national security analyst, as well as White House and national security correspondent for "The New York Times." And it's good to see you.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to be with you, John.
VAUSE: In his address to the U.S. Congress, President Zelenskyy pleaded for a no-fly zone over Ukraine yet again. So what he's really asking here for is air supremacy over Ukraine. I mean, it's like blowing up Russian air bases, anti-aircraft batteries, missile sites, as well as Russian warplanes, right?
So he asks, is that too much? At this point the answer seems yes, but under what circumstances could that change?
SANGER: Well, the answer so far has been yes. And that's pretty understandable. This no-fly zone sounds pretty passive -- you know, sounds like it's sort of mapping out an area, telling everybody don't go there. But somebody has got to enforce it.
And when you enforce it, you've got the risk that you would have American or NATO planes in dogfights with Russian pilots coming in to go over Ukraine, presuming that those Russian pilots don't respect the no-fly zone.
And part of enforcing a no-fly zone means, as you suggested, taking out the antiaircraft batteries on the ground. And guess where those batteries are? They're all in Russia. So you'd end up blowing up bases and anti-aircraft emplacements inside Russia. It does sound like a good way to start a broader war, doesn't it?
VAUSE: Absolutely. So he did not get his no-fly zone. But he does get the package behind door No. 2. Here's the U.S. president, Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: It includes 800 anti-aircraft systems, to make sure the Ukrainian military can continue -- can continue to stop the planes and helicopters that have been attacking their people. And to defend the Ukrainian airspace.
And at the request of President Zelenskyy, we have identified and are helping Ukraine acquire additional longer-range antiaircraft systems, and munitions for those systems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So there seems to be agreement that those anti-aircraft weapons are more effective than a no-fly zone would be. Not least because the Russians have been firing long-range missiles from within their own airspace.
So these are details which Zelenskyy presumably knows. So what's the point in continuing to ask for something he won't get. That's less effective than what he's already got?
SANGER: I think the point of it is that sometimes you ask for something you know you're not going to get to negotiate a better Plan B. And I think that's what he's getting.
The anti-aircraft does make a lot of sense. It's obviously been pretty effective. If you can get the long-range anti-aircraft, then I think it may create the equivalent of a no-fly zone in at least major parts of the country, because Russian pilots will be worried about going up against it.
Now, the question is, can you assemble those anti-aircraft fast enough, get them in place fast enough? And can you make a convincing argument that while airplanes, MiG fighters that you -- that Poland wanted to give, were offensive weapons, that these are purely defensive? It's a pretty thin line, because both of them are being manufactured and provided by NATO countries.
[00:45:10]
But the White House is insisting that a MiG jet, because it can fly into Russian airspace, is a lot more offensive a weapon then an anti- aircraft battery.
VAUSE: Wednesday the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, he spoke with his Russian counterpart. Takes this highest level of non- contact, I guess, between the U.S. and Russia in weeks, and Sullivan was adamant about, you know, warning Russia about the use of chemical weapons. So what was the response?
SANGER: We don't know what the response was. If you read the American read-out of the phone call and the Russian read-out of the phone call and hold the two pieces of papers next to each other, you're going to wonder if you're reading about the same phone call.
The Russian account is, we told the Americans that they should get right with history and help us rout out the neo-Nazis.
The American version of it is that the United States warned Russia that it's unprovoked and illegal war has to stop immediately. And that if it uses chemical or biological weapons, it will suffer supreme consequences. It didn't specify what the consequences were.
And it didn't make mention of nuclear weapons. While we know, of course, that many in the administration are concerned that, if NATO entered the fray or if President Putin got truly frustrated in where he was in the war, that he might turn to some weapon of mass destruction's to make his point.
VAUSE: Now, David, thank you. Quite the note to finish on. But we appreciate your time, David Sanger, from "The New York Times" and CNN national and security analyst. Thank you.
SANGER: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, and so it begins. The first increase in interest rates in the U.S. in almost four years as the Federal Reserve looks to slow the economy, control inflation and avoid causing a recession. We'll have more on the Fed's high-wire act when we come back.
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[00:51:24]
VAUSE: Russia has avoided a sovereign debt default and made good on interest payments which fell due on Wednesday. The finance minister told state media the $117 million payment came from Russia's foreign reserves, which have been frozen by the U.S.
A treasury spokesman says the payment will be allowed to go through, but there's still trouble ahead with a $2 billion debt falling due early next month.
The International Energy Agency says an oil supply shock could be on its way. The agency says Russia could be forced to limit output by 30 percent as demand in Russia slumps and major oil companies, trading houses, and shipping companies reject Russian exports.
Unless Saudi Arabia and other exporters increase production, the IEA warns the global economy is facing its biggest supply crisis in decades.
OPEC Plus, which includes ten non-OPEC countries which are major oil exporters, has modestly increased oil output in recent months but often fails to meet targets.
Well, to the absolute surprise of no one, on Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point, the first rate hike since December 2018. And the Fed indicated six more could be on their way by year's end to try and slow the economy and bring down the highest inflation rate in 40 years, which has seen prices on everything from gas to groceries surge. Add to that, the economic uncertainty caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: The implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine for the U.S. economy are highly uncertain.
In addition to the direct effects from higher global oil and commodity prices, the invasion in related events may restrain economic activities abroad and further disrupt supply chains.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Live now to Hong Kong. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout. And Kristie, stock markets in the U.S. rallied on the news. What's the sentiment right now in Asia?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the era of Fed tightening has begun. And markets across the Asia Pacific region here are factoring in this new reality.
On Wednesday, as expected, the Fed hiked interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point in order to tame inflation. It's at its highest levels since the 1980s.
And they also announced a series of aggressive moves in the year ahead in order to obtain rising prices.
Let's bring up the data for you to see how markets across Asia responding. And you will see some strong gains across the board. And a lot of color that matches the blazer that I'm wearing this day.
The Nikkei up three and half percent. Australia, the S&P gaining more than 1 percent. The Seoul KOSPI up 1 and three-quarters of 1 percent. And in Shanghai you see about 2.6 percent gain.
Here in Hong Kong, a gain about 5.8 percent.
I should add that on Wednesday, China's shares had their best day in years on the back of the announcement from Chinese officials that they pledged to boost the economy. They also pledged to stabilize the markets.
Earlier on in the week, we saw quite a sell-off. A heavy sell-off in Chinese shares over concerns over the ongoing COVID outbreak in China. The current one is the largest one that China has seen since the start of the pandemic in Wuhan in early 2020.
And also concerns over tension between the U.S. and China over Russia and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Now, from Asia, we're also keeping an eye on U.S. futures. Let's bring up that data for you. And on Wednesday, U.S. stocks rallied. It was a volatile day of trading.
Right now, you see a mixed bag. NASDAQ futures up about a tenth of 1 percent. Dow futures down a tenth of 1 percent. S&P 500 futures also down by a similar margin.
Analysts say that the impact of the invasion by Russia and the war of Ukraine, on the related sanctions, as well, the impact that's all going to have on global economic growth is unclear. But they're also urging investors not only to be cautious but to stay balanced.
I want you to listen to this.
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KERRY CRAIG, GLOBAL MARKET STRATEGIST, JPMORGAN: We would argue that the hardest decision right now is to do very little and actually think more around about the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) portfolios. So it would be a case of being very patient when it comes to being (UNINTELLIGIBLE). And just holding firm when it comes to sort of the more neutral stance of portfolios rather than moving out of the risk completely. Given that, you know, there is no clarity around exactly what might happen in the coming weeks or months.
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STOUT: You know, all throughout the conflict, the war in Ukraine, we've seen prices of energy, of commodities soaring, including commodities like wheat, a key export from Russia and Ukraine.
And all this could weigh on global economic growth if consumers say, do you know what? We want to hold back on spending.
Back to you, John.
VAUSE: Well, we know that China is now steadying (ph) its interest rates, which is one day they're going to boost their economy, I guess. Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout there, live in Hong Kong.
That's all we have time for this hour. I'm John Vause. We'll be back live with Hala Gorani in Lviv, Ukraine, after a very short break. You're watching CNN.
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