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U.S. Citizen Killed in Ukraine; ICRC Evacuates Staff from Mariupol; Bill Nelson is Interviewed about NASA. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired March 18, 2022 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:32:01]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: This just in to CNN. We've learned President Biden's secure video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping started at 9:03 a.m. Eastern Time, so just under a half hour ago, according to the White House -- an official says. We will, of course, continue to bring you those updates as they come into us here at CNN.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

HILL: Meantime, we are learning more about the American killed in Ukraine. His sister says James Whitney Hill, known as Jimmy, was among several people killed while waiting in a bread line when Russian artillery opened fire on civilians in Chernihiv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATYA HILL, SISTER OF U.S. CITIZEN KILLED IN UKRAINE: As things were deteriorating in the city, that and the food at the hospital, my brother was the one that was going out to the store to bring back what food he could find.

My brother was the helper that people find in a crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: You see her wearing the colors of the Ukrainian flag there.

CNN national security correspondent Kylie Atwood joins us now from the State Department.

Kylie, one thing his family has said was a struggle, getting his remains home. Listen, it's a war zone there. What more are we learning about him, why he was there, what he was doing there, and also what happens next?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, that's one thing that his sister spoke about last night on CNN, the challenge being that they don't know where James Hill's body is right now. Of course, you said this is a war zone. There are many bodies, many Ukrainian bodies that are lost right now.

But she spoke about the fact that it's hard for the family to have closure because they don't know where his body is, and they can't have, you know, a traditional funeral service as a result. She asked for help in finding his body. We'll watch and see if they're able to locate it.

But, James Hill was in Ukraine because his partner was a Ukrainian, and they had gone to Ukraine to get treatment at a hospital for multiple sclerosis. She wasn't doing so well. She had been brought into the hospital just days before the Ukraine war broke out, and he stayed there with her throughout this entire thing over the last few weeks.

And as the Russian bombardment continued to happen, he was the one who would go out to the store to get food for those who were in the hospital. His sister described him as being the person who brought back treats to the nurses to try and, you know, give them a dose of positivity in the face of just this horrific, horrific crisis that they were facing, of course, as they were also treating people with illnesses like his partner, Ira (ph), who had multiple sclerosis.

And we also heard from his sister last night that he was the person who was the helper that you find in times of crisis. Now, I believe that CNN has video of the scene where he was horrifically killed. And we will continue to watch to see what more we can learn about James Hill, who seemed like he was an extraordinary person. Folks said that he was really a true humanitarian.

[09:35:03]

He didn't want to leave his partner who was receiving that treatment, and that's why he didn't leave Ukraine when this all began to unfold.

Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes, just yet one more attack where civilians paid the price there.

Kiley Atwood, at the State Department, thanks so much.

Still ahead, we're going to speak with the International Committee of the Red Cross, forced now to leave the hard-hit city of Mariupol in the south. What's the situation there, coming up.

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HILL: Officials say nine humanitarian corridors have opened up in Ukraine to evacuate civilians from war torn areas of the country today. Now, those roots include safe passage from the hard-hit city of Mariupol, where humanitarian aid groups say the situation is dire. Many people going without food and water.

Joining me now from central Ukraine is Florian Seriex with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

You know, it's good to have you with us this morning. I know there were dozens of ICRC staff members and their families who

were in Mariupol. They were able to get out a couple of days ago as part of a convoy.

Give us a sense, what are they -- what were they telling you about the situation there on the ground because it's very tough to get information out of Mariupol?

FLORIAN SERIEX, SPOKESMAN, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS: Well, like thousands and thousands of people, they were sheltering in different places in Mariupol. So they managed to together -- to be all together in (INAUDIBLE) sheltering in the basement. But with little water, little food, really little supply, and more and more dire situation by the day. So, as much as they could, they delivered all the supplies that they had. So it was like about food, it was water, some (INAUDIBLE) to the city council and to different individuals, and there -- and there was an option two days ago to leave with a convoy the city. They -- they managed to do so.

So we are really, like, extremely happy to know that finally they are out of the city, and we are now like positioning some stock, some supply. So as soon as there is an opportunity, we can go back and help the people there.

HILL: Do you have any idea of when that may be?

SERIEX: Well, unfortunately for such a thing to happen, there must be a clear agreement between the parties to the conflict so aid can come inside the city and people can continue to go out.

HILL: How are you -- how are you managing with these emergencies, you know, not just -- we're not just talking about Mariupol, but this is, of course, across Ukraine. How are you finding that this compares to some of your work in other regions where there are still ongoing conflicts?

SERIEX: Well, it's (INAUDIBLE) to comment, but what I want to highlight is that there are some situations like the one in Mariupol that are extremely, extremely complex, and extremely difficult for the people who are going through it. And there are some moments that are more positive, like today for the second time we are able to support the safe passage of civilians out of the city of Sumy. And offer about like 1,000 civilians who are now going in the direction with another city named Luvni (ph), southwest of Sumy. So there are also, like, positive moments when finally people manage to get out of very complex situations.

HILL: When we look at what is happening, those positive moments, as you point out, so important to highlight as well when people are getting out of those situations. More than 3 million people, 3 million Ukrainians are now refugees, right? They have left the country because of what's happening there. I know the ICRC is calling for more funding for humanitarian aid.

What more would you like to see countries step up and do? What more do you feel is needed in this moment? SERIEX: Well, you (INAUDIBLE) the people who are managing to leave the

country, and there are, obviously, like a lot of concerns for all of those people to finally find a safe place and have all the things that they need most. What we see is also, like, inside the city, you know, like extreme need. And I was mentioning those people who managed to leave Sumy earlier today. And you see those people, they -- they just leave with a small bag and little supply, maybe a bottle of water, a few clothes, their papers, and that's basically it. So they leave with a lot of questions. We have a lot of concerns about, like, what they are -- all their life they are leaving behind them, and they don't know exactly what they are going to find in the next place.

So, it's important to be able, of course, to support the people who are able to go outside of Ukraine, but let's not -- like there are also millions of people right now inside the city who continue to be in basements, sheltering, people who are on the move, people who are in collective shelters who are displaced, people who are right now staying also in hotels but they may also, like, come out of money to pay for the hotel rooms. So there are a lot of people who are currently like in great distress.

HILL: Great distress.

We appreciate all of the work that you and your colleagues are doing, Florian Seriex. Thank you for joining us this morning.

SERIEX: Thank you very much.

HILL: If you would like to help the people in Ukraine, they need shelter, they need food, they need water.

[09:45:04]

As you just heard from Florian, the needs are great. You can log on to cnn.com/impact and there you're going to find links to several organizations that have been vetted who are doing work on the ground. There are ways that you can help.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

Still ahead, as NASA prepares to unveil one of its most ambitious missions yet, can space be immune to the political tensions back here on earth? NASA administrator Bill Nelson, he's going to join me live, next.

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SCIUTTO: In the next hour, three Russian cosmonauts will head to the International Space Station.

[09:50:02]

They are at least trying to leave behind the tensions on earth as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine.

This week, NASA's manager for the space station emphasized how critical it is for the station to remain interdependent above any political tensions back here on earth. Later this month, an American astronaut will return to earth on a Russian spacecraft.

Joining me now, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Bill, we should note, what's behind you over your left shoulder here, the historic Artemis 1 Moon Rocket. It's got a moon mission coming up. And I want to get to that in a moment.

I do want to start, though, with the space station, this decades old partnership between the U.S. and Russia in space. Can it survive the current tensions down here on earth?

BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: The short answer is yes and the longer answer is, when we're in the civilian space program, it is a professional relationship between the astronauts and the cosmonauts. And that's been going on, Jim, since 1975 in the middle of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

We had a Soviet spacecraft and an American spacecraft rendezvous and docked and they lived together for nine days. And that cooperation in civilian space has continued ever since, despite all of the problems we're having with president Putin now.

SCIUTTO: Yes. We hope that continues.

So let's talk to the next mission to come.

Artemis 1. Right now the rocket out there for a test. But soon it's going to go back or go back to the moon and soon after that the intention is go back to the moon with astronauts on top.

Tell us what happens next.

NELSON: Well, this one is the test flight. It will be about a 30-day mission. Then, in two years, we'll have the first astronaut crew. They will orbit the moon. And then the third one is, it will orbit the moon, the astronauts will get into the lander in lunar orbit and go down to the surface. And then you're going to see about one a year that will be going to the moon.

SCIUTTO: Wow. It's also reminiscent of the Apollo missions more than 50 years ago.

What is the intention to go back to the moon? What is the hope? What are the goals?

NELSON: We're going back to learn how to live and work in a hostile environment, use the resources of the moon to exist and all of this is in preparation, we're going to Mars. The moon's only a quarter of a million miles away. Mars is millions and millions of miles away.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

NELSON: And that's what we're going to do on the moon.

SCIUTTO: And many, many months of travel.

Now, these missions are, we should note, they're behind schedule. When do you think, realistically, one, astronauts will walk on the moon again, and, two, astronauts might walk for the first time on the surface of Mars?

NELSON: 2025 for our first human landing. And that will be the first woman on the moon and the first person of color. And then on to Mars. We should be on Mars with humans by 2040.

SCIUTTO: OK. When you start recruiting, by the way, I am going to raise my hand. I want to -- I want to make sure I get on that list early. But, before we get there, one new factor in all this, right, if you compare it back to the Apollo program, is how much cooperation there is between the U.S. government and private companies on here.

How has that worked and how has that helped?

NELSON: A dozen years ago we said, what we need to do is to get the U.S. and international businesses, industry, a workforce off of the face of the earth up into space. That's what we've been doing on the International Space Station, preparing for mining, manufacturing, research, pharmaceuticals. We're going to turn over the space station into commercial stations at the end of this decade, and then you will see that commercial activity go further out in space, mining asteroids. It's an exciting time, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Just very quickly before we go, the European space agency, it announced on Thursday it is suspending the Russia/European Mars mission because of the invasion of Ukraine. Is that a worrisome sign for you? Do you think it's the right move?

NELSON: No, they feel very strongly about that and yet we have the participation just along with the Russian cosmonauts of European space agency astronauts.

[09:55:09]

So, up there right now are four Americans, one German astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts. And, Jim, today, three Russian cosmonauts are launching from Bicanor (ph) in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station.

SCIUTTO: Yes, remarkable, that continues. Well, let's hope they find a path to peace.

Bill Nelson, there in Florida, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

NELSON: Thanks, Jim.

HILL: Just ahead here, President Biden's critical call with Chinese President Xi Jinping underway now in The Situation Room. We're going to take you live to the White House.

Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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