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Zelenskyy's Plea For Peace Negotiations; Mariupol Residents Forcibly Taken To Russia; Russia's Hypersonic Missile; Ukraine: Another Russian General Killed; Ten People Shot Dead In Arkansas; Going Back Home: Ukrainians Returning To Ukraine To Join The War Against Russia; Biden To Meet With NATO Leaders. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired March 19, 2022 - 21:00   ET

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

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[21:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And on this Saturday night, the horror of Russia's invasion now includes an ominous claim from officials in Mariupol, Ukraine. The city council says that over the last week Russian, troops forced several thousand people from Mariupol out of their homes and took them to camps in Russian territory. Their phones and papers were checked before some were sent to remote Russian cities. Now, the fate of the others from Mariupol is unknown.

And in Mykolaiv, a missile strike hit military housing there, killing dozens of Ukrainian troops. We're about to show you a video that you may find disturbing. But it's important to show, so here it is. This is the scene at a hospital packed with survivors from the attack. Reports say, Russian fighter jets may have dropped five bombs on that city.

And in a historic turning point, U.S. officials confirming to CNN that Russia launched hypersonic missiles, like this one against Ukraine, Friday. The U.S. was able to track the launches in real-time. And they are the latest weapon in a war that has claimed at least 847 civilian lives in Ukraine, including 64 children. We're going to have more on the missiles in just a few moments. But first take a look at this.

This is such a powerful image. You see this mother with her one-month- old daughter that she shielded with her own body when their building was shelled. A children's hospital says, the mom and her husband, on the right, were at their home in Kyiv and heard the shelling grow louder and closer until it finally reached them. Shattered glass hit them. The mom needed surgery. The baby wasn't injured. She also noticed a shell landed next door at a kindergarten.

CNN's Sam Kiley is in Kyiv tonight where air ride sirens have been going off for hours there. Sam, we've just heard that Ukraine is claiming it has killed another Russian general in fierce fighting in the South of the country. What else do we know? SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's take these Ukrainian claims first, Pamela. This is the claim that they've killed the commander of the eighth army near Kherson as part of the battle of Mykolaiv. They also claim in that same combat that they attacked an airfield where the eighth army headquarters were, knocked out or destroyed several helicopters. And we have seen helicopters destroyed in the past. And we have heard, and it's being confirmed in the past, that we've seen the Russians lose generals.

This, though, would be the fifth general, and the highest-ranking general is a lieutenant general, from the Russian army to have been killed in this war that is now just over three weeks old. On top that, the Ukrainians are claiming, again, we have no independent verification on this, to have killed about 14,000 Russian troops. Now, of course, they're on one side of a war. So, we have to take, what they say, with a degree of caution.

But they are also claiming that they are managing to interrupt the logistics chain to Russians. That they have been ambushing very frequently Russian convoys here on the outskirts of Kyiv. These pictures relate to dead soldiers, Russian soldiers, filmed in the last 24 hours on the outskirts of Kyiv during an offensive -- a counteroffensive that the Ukrainians have been conducting, Pamela, against the Russians to try to push them back from threatening the capital here.

They've been doing so in the Southwest, West and East. They even claim to have pushed them 70 kilometers back in the East but it's not, as you were saying in the into, they're going all the Ukrainian way at all. They've lost a number of people, several dozen soldiers in Mykolaiv. They continue to get pounded around the country.

[21:05:00]

Kharkiv, that major city with the 75 percent Russian speaking population, being pounded on a daily basis. Mariupol, not just hit with five blast -- five bombs at that barracks but being hit with missiles and other artillery.

So, heavily the rescue operations have been hampered. The people are reported -- dead people are reportedly left dying in the streets. So, it remains a deeply miserable situation. But one that, I think, that the Ukrainians would not have imagined a week ago, in some areas, they believed they're on the front foot, Pamela.

BROWN: Sam Kiley n Kyiv. Thanks for bringing us up-to-date on what's going on the ground there in Ukraine.

And more now on Russia's fire power, U.S. officials tells CNN, the Russian military, for the first known time in combat, is using hypersonic missiles. Now, the Kremlin claims the missiles destroyed a military warehouse Friday in Western Ukraine. We don't know if yesterday's launch was from a plane. But these images, we're showing right now, they're from last month.

Multiple sources say, Friday's launch is likely were meant to test the weapons and also to send a message to the West about Russian capabilities. Hypersonic weapons, they're difficult to detect. They can travel at five times the speed of sound and at a lower trajectory than high arching ballistic missiles. And they can evade missile defense systems.

I spoke earlier with retired Army General Spider Marks about the threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The key thing is that, there is no radar capability that's ground based that's effective against picking this up and then trying to direct something against them. Any defenses that the Ukrainians would have or anyone would have against a hypersonic weapon is not fast enough and maneuverable enough.

And so, we're at the stage of immense vulnerability if Russia continues to use these. We simply don't know how many hypersonic they have in their inventory. But it is a game changer and that it can be launched from distance and the munitions on the tip of that could be conventional or it could be inert. It's just the speed does immense damage when it hits its target. But it's not good against maneuvering targets, and that's what the Russians have demonstrated. They don't have any tactical intelligence, targetable intelligence. They're only going after facilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And in addition to the new weapons, Russia is also literally digging in to protect its military positions Northwest of Kyiv. Those new satellite images from Maxar Technologies show a protective structure constructed around the military equipment there.

And in Mariupol, we are getting a new look at the massive destruction to the theater that was serving as a shelter. As many as 1,300 people were believed to be inside when a Russian air strike hit. And this new satellite image from Maxar shows two-thirds of the building destroyed, just the Western section is still standing.

And you can still see the Russian word for children printed in large letters on the ground near the front entrance. To really understand the scope of the damage, look at the before and after pictures we have here. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says, 130 people have been rescued from the theater.

Well, Vladimir Putin has said many things about Ukraine. Initially, of course, that he would not invade. Remember that? That the country is ruled by Nazis. That he wanted to defend Russian speakers from genocide. None of those are true. So, why did he invade and what are his goals? Carlos Lozada, "Washington Post" book critic has analyzed Putin's writings and speeches. He joins us now with some answers.

Hi, Carlos. So, you know, we always think about Putin keeping his plans close to his vest. But you've talked about how there's already out there -- so much out there in the public sphere that Putin has either said publicly or written about. So, what can we glean from that?

CARLOS LOZADA, OUTLOOK EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes. Putin has published books and essays and obviously given many speeches, including leading up to the war in Ukraine. He talks a lot about how he thinks of war and how he thinks of wartime. Obviously, World War II is a recurring touchstone in his thinking.

His family suffered it greatly in the Siege of Leningrad. And he emphasizes the great sacrifices of the Russian people. He says that everyone makes mistakes in war but you can't dwell on those. He says, when you're fighting and you keep thinking about the mistakes around you, you'll never win. You have to keep thinking of victory.

And when he looks back on his brutal crackdown on in Chechnya in the 90s. He says, you have to stay firm. He writes, if you become jittery, your enemies will think they are stronger. The only thing that works is to go on the offensive. You must hit first and hit so hard that your opponents will not rise to their feet. So, in his writings, at least, he likes to paint himself as this undeterrable figure.

BROWN: It's interesting that you a say that because the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said today that he is in total panic.

[21:10:00]

That was a quote from him fearing a pro-democracy uprising in Moscow. Do you think that's true?

LOZADA: Well, I think the perpetuation of Putin's own power is always the foremost goal. You know, he obviously talks about wanting to reunite Ukraine and Russia, which he sees as, you know, one people and one culture and one language. Obviously, the Ukrainians disagree. And he's always talking about how he wants to essentially, like, rebalance the world after the imbalance that came at the end of the Cold War, which he still sees as a great tragedy.

But overall, it really is him wielding power and remaining in power, that is foremost in his mind. There is a phrase he brings up a lot, and that is the paralysis of power. When the Cold War ended, he basically thinks that that's what happened. That the Soviets blinked and the Americans took advantage. And so, power, to mean anything, in his mind has to be wielded. It can't paralyze. And he's wielding it to a disastrous effect in Ukraine.

BROWN: And so, from what you can tell from his writings and what he has said, he is not going to slowing down or capitulate, right? I mean, you now, it's just interesting because you have President Zelenskyy, in this latest video message calling again for negotiations with Russia saying, it's time to meet.

It's time to talk. It's time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine otherwise Russia's losses will be so huge, that several generations won't be enough to rebound. And, in light of the context you just gave us, I'm wondering how you think Putin would receive this kind of appeal from Zelenskyy. LOZADA: I wish I knew. I mean, people keep talking about an offramp

for Vladimir Putin as if that's necessarily what he's seeking. You know, if anything, he seems much more inclined to step on the accelerator. Rhetorically, he's obsessed with the notion of Russia's decline, which is something that he fears and laments and denies all at the same time.

Just before becoming president at the end of 1999, Putin published a lengthy essay, they called it his millennium messages. And even then, he was most worried about Russia sliding into a second or third tier status in the world. And, really, for him the way to avoid that was to build a strong Russian State. And it seemed pretty clear who would be at the top of that strong Russian State.

Putin writes of himself in very grandiose, you know, historic terms. When he was a municipal official in St. Petersburg in the early 90s, you know, everyone -- all the office workers had the standard portrait of Boris Yeltsin, the president, in their offices. Putin had a portrait of Peter the Great. That's where he took inspiration. That's how he, kind of, saw himself. And so, any outcome that leaves him looking weak or leaves him looking like he has blinked or seeded ground, it seems to be something that he would not find all that acceptable.

BROWN: Yes. Because as you said, he would view that as, I think, which is paralysis of power. I want to go to this viewer question. This viewer asks, what do you think will be the end game with all of this? How long are we looking at? I know it's hard. You don't have a crystal ball. But given what you know about Putin, what would you say to this viewer?

LOZADA: Well, I mean there are biographies and intelligence analysts who would give far more informed views. You know, mine is based on what he has written. You know, it's very hard to estimate or guess how long this conflict will go on. But when you think of an end game, I think you end up with various unthinkable scenarios, right?

The Ukrainians have shown that relinquishing their sense of nationhood is unthinkable to them. Even if they are unable to militarily fend off Russian forces over time, there's a possibility of a protracted insurgency stile conflict. Of course, the prospect of a wider conflict between NATO and a nuclear armed Russia is similarly unthinkable.

And maybe why the Biden Administration is so intent on not getting dragged into one. And for Putin, really, backing down and puncturing the mythology of his own power is similarly unthinkable because that mythology is what keeps him in charge. And so, trying to find a thinkable outcome that doesn't step on all these unthinkable scenarios is really our challenge here.

BROWN: All right. Carlos Lozada, thank you.

LOZADA: Thank you, Pam.

BROWN: And what do you, the viewer want to know about Russia's war on Ukraine, send me your question, you can e-mail me, PamBrownCNN@gmail.com. And I may ask it to our experts this weekend.

Well, we have told you about the millions of Ukrainians fleeing the war. And now we are going to telling you about the people who are going back to fight.

Also tonight, CNN investigates Vladimir Putin claims he makes $140,000 a year. But he may be one of the richest people on the planet.

[21:15:00]

And how worried you should be about the new COVID variant. Dr. Saju Mathew is here to weigh in. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll be right back.

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Well, Vladimir Putin has claimed that he makes only $140,000 per year as President of Russia. But the reality is he might be one of the richest people on the planet. A CNN investigation examines Putin's secret wealth, including an opulent palace overlooking the black sea. CNN's Drew Griffin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): On the shore of the Black Sea, it can only be described as a palace, 190,000 square feet. From the air, you can see the church, tea house and amphitheater, and reportedly an underground hockey rink. With a no-fly zone and no boat zone.

This, according to an investigation last year, by the jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's group. They claim that this gilded luxurious palace fit for a king was built for Vladimir Putin.

MARIA PEVCHIKH, HEAD OF INVESTIGATIONS, ANTI-CORRUPTION FOUNDATION: This palace is very much a symbol and miniature of Putin's Russia. He no longer sees himself as government employee, as an elected figure. He sees himself as a czar, as a king of some sort. And that -- and then, you know, Russian czar, of course, deserves a palace.

GRIFFIN (voiceover): CNN can't independently verify Putin's connection to the palace. And Putin's spokesman denies the Russian leader owns it or any palace.

[21:20:00]

Maria Pevchikh from Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundations says, they have proof. That their sources and documents all point to the palace as an example of how the oligarchs corruptly enrich the Russia's president.

PEVCHIKH: It's -- has been paid for by Russian oligarchs, by Russian state-owned companies. Money from Russian people, from regular people was stolen and diverted into building, this horrendous thing on the Black Sea. GRIFFIN (voiceover): According to the investigation and a whistleblower who came forward, the money for the palace came from a Russian investment fund company that solicited charity donations from the Russian oligarchs.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: There are these rumors about Putin being the richest man in the world. And he may be. It's very, very hard to try to understand what his wealth is and where it's held.

GRIFFIN (voiceover): Rumored to be worth more than $100 billion, officially Putin claims an $800 square foot apartment, a few cars and modest salary in 2020 valued at about $140,000. But his official income is irrelevant. Russia watchers say, Putin controls Russia by determining who gets money and who doesn't, who gets to run business, who skims profit, and how the wealth is passed. He doesn't need any assets listed in his name says journalist Tom Burgis. It's all his when he asks.

TOM BURGIS, AUTHOR, "KLEPTOPIA": It's closer to something like the godfather. But ultimately, they owe everything they have to the boss. And with the click of a finger, as he has shown in the past, Putin can take everything from an oligarch, however rich and however influential they may seem, they are ultimately dependent on him.

GRIFFIN (voiceover): Fight the system, interfere in politics, and face his wrath. Exiled Russian oligarch, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was convicted of tax evasion and fraud spent 10 years in a Russian prison. He says, for not playing Putin's game. He claims Putin is paranoid, dangerous and must be stopped.

MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, FORMER RUSSIAN OLIGARCH & OIL TYCOON (through translator): All of the accounts of all the oligarchs who function as Putin's wallet must be stopped. They must all feel the pain right now and it must continue until the war ends.

GRIFFIN (voiceover): Newly imposed sanctions from the West have now made it hard for many of the Russian billionaires to do business outside of Russia. Yachts, bank accounts frozen. Inside Russia, the economy shows signs of crumbling. But chipping away at Putin's brutal hold on power through economics will take time. And from his actions, observers believe Putin's strategy is far beyond personal riches.

DOUGHERTY: He wants to rebuild Russia as a great power. And you almost have to go back to the czarist days to understand that.

GRIFFIN (voiceover): Just look at the gates of Putin's purported palace, a golden two-headed ground eagle. A symbol of Russia, similar to the two-headed ground eagle that is atop the gate of the winter palace that belonged to Russia's last czar.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BROWN: And that was CNN's Drew Griffin reporting.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says, Putin is in, "Total panic," over the idea of a pro-democracy uprising in Moscow. It would be hard for him to be a secret billionaire in a free Russia.

And up next, we're learning that as many as 10 people have been shot at a car show in Arkansas. Details just now coming into the CNN NEWSROOM. We're going to have more on that breaking news in just a moment. Also, ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEX YAKYMCHUK, VOLUNTEER FIGHTER: We're trying to do this also to show people that it is possible, not only to leave the country but also to come back to the country and to fight for this country, because it's worth it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Ukrainians who are returning home to help defend their country. Hear their stories coming up.

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[21:25:00]

This is just in at CNN, a mass shooting outside a car show in Arkansas. State police say, as many as 10 people may have been wounded. This happened in Dumas, Arkansas. That is about 80 miles Southeast of Little Rock. And we're working to learn the condition of the victims along with who may be responsible. So be sure to stay with CNN for updates on this breaking story. Again, at least 10 people were reported hurt in a mass shooting outside a car show in Arkansas.

We brought you the stories from some of the millions of Ukrainians fleeing the war. But some are now returning to help fight. A retired tennis player, who was once ranked 13th in the world, is one of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX DOLGOPOLOV, RETIRED UKRAINIAN TENNIS PLAYER: You can't just watch how they shoot your people. I mean, once it's not a fight against armies, then it becomes a fight against, you know, the whole nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And he's not the only one. CNN's Hala Gorani brings us that story.

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HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): We've all seen images of Ukrainians fleeing the war. But there is a lesser told story. Those Ukrainians who travel in the opposite direction.

YAKYMCHUK: We're trying to do this also to show people that it is possible, not only to leave the country but also to come back to the country and to fight for this country, because it's worth it.

GORANI (voiceover): Les and Olena were students at Ohio University. A Ukrainian couple who decided to head into the war zone when Russia invaded their country. They took first aid classes in America, collected donations, flew from Columbus to Warsaw and drove to Kyiv. Not even telling their parents so they wouldn't worry.

OLENA ZENCHENKO, VOLUNTEER FIGHTER: When I was at the door, so I called them and say, don't freak out. Please open the door.

GORANI (on camera): Oh, gosh.

ZENCHENKO: They freak out. This was a really combined feeling. So, my father was crying on me like, you're an idiot. Why are you doing it? But in the same time, he was smiling.

GORANI (voiceover)0: They now drive the roads they've known since childhood, delivering supplies, Les is conscripted, so could be drafted at any time.

[21:30:00]

YAKYMCHUK: It is my choice. It is my choice to stay here because this is my place where I grew up, where I was raised, where I was born. It is something more than just, like, you know, be safe and study and trying to protect everything I can and everything that I am. I mean, I am these places. I mean, this coffee shop, this downtown of Kyiv.

GORANI (voiceover): There are those who fled in the first days of the war, like Marc Wilkins and his wife Olga. But after a few days, safely resettled in Berlin, they say, something didn't feel right. So, they drove right back to Ukraine.

GORANI (on camera): What was that -- like, what was your frame of mind that day?

MARC WILKINS, DIRECTOR, FILMMAKER: It felt good. We felt determined. Certain. And happy to be back, finally, to be able to make ourselves useful.

GORANI (voiceover): A British-Swiss filmmaker who moved to Ukraine in 2016. He is now using his skills to create profiles of ordinary Ukrainians who've become resistance fighters overnight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's my city. I need to defend it --

GORANI (voiceover): All to raise funds for the war effort.

WILKINS: I'm not a soldier. I don't know how to handle a gun. But I'm a filmmaker. I'm a communicator. And this is what I'm doing now.

GORANI (voiceover): Now, the couple has decided to stay in Ukraine. Not yet back to their home in Kyiv, but in the relative safety of an apartment in Lviv, in the Western part of the country.

And then there are those like Illia Shpolianskyi. Settled in Berlin with his wife and three kids. He knew from day one of the Russian invasion that he would head back to the home City of Mykolaiv. ILLIA SHPOLIANSKYI, VOLUNTEER FIGHTER (through translator): This is my second time, because I also volunteered to join the army in 2014. This is why I think from the first moment when the war had started, my wife knew it was inevitable, and she would not be able to stop me.

GORANI (voiceover): Shpolianskyi starts his day at dawn, distributing basic supplies like medicine, gloves, boots, sleeping bags, walkie- talkies. What troops need to keep up the fight. His hometown is in the cross-hairs of the Russian assault, between Kherson and Odessa. Fierce bombardments and shelling have caused devastation throughout the region. But the Ukrainians are pushing back.

SHPOLIANSKYI (through translator): It doesn't matter that I live in Berlin. It doesn't matter if I live in any other city. Ukraine is part of my soul, and I can't imagine life without the existence of Ukraine.

GORANI (voiceover): Three stories, three journeys, all one destination. Back home to a country at war. Hala Gorani, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BROWN: I want to bring in Kader Garnier, he is with Team Rubicon which is an international organization specializing in disaster response. He's been coordinating the group's efforts in Ukraine. And just returned from Poland where he set up a base for medical teams.

Hi, Kader. Great to see you. So, talk us about what you -- talk to us about what you have experienced. You've led teams responding to cyclones in Mozambique, COVID teams in Uganda. Has any of that helped with what you were seeing in Ukraine?

KADER GARNIER, INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS MANAGER, TEAM RUBICON: I mean, it's two different environments. And I think for Team Rubicon is a premier to lay teams in such difficult environments. We did response, as you say, in Mozambique and Uganda, Haiti, in very challenging environment. But in an active war, this is a different ball game for us. But we'll been building up our capacity to be able to respond to this time of medical response.

BROWN: So --

GARNIER: And then today -- yes?

BROWN: Go ahead. I'm just wondering, so how are you responding right now? How is Team Rubicon helping on the ground there?

GARNIER: So, now we have two medical teams on the ground in Lviv and around Lviv. Helping with the originally displaced person camps that are around near blasts, around the States, around Lviv. And we also have team deploying now into Hungary, to help also the refugees that crossed the border with Hungary. And this is how we respond to the medical needs of the refugees and the internally displaced person inside Ukraine.

BROWN: How do you prepare yourself and the medical personnel you are sending in for what is an increasingly dangerous war zone?

GARNIER: It's very interesting. I mean, I don't know if you can fully prepare to go into Ukraine. But we have a set of process and training that help our volunteers to be prepared. So, we have a set of training session. We also have a full week ever training that we do here in Texas that help them prepare mentally to be able to perform the medical expertise in such a different -- difficult environment.

[21:35:00]

BROWN: So, just tell me a little bit about more what you experienced. You were recently in Poland. What do you want people to know about the reality of what is going on right now, not just, obviously, the devastation we see in these pictures with the war, but the refugee crisis too and amount of help people need right now?

GARNIER: I mean, the number of people that left Ukraine is more than three million people. I mean, it's a huge scale humanitarian need. And it's not only the people that left the country. The people that are moved -- are moving through the West of the country because they do not want to leave their country. The Ukrainians, for what I saw on the ground is that, they are staying close, they are staying to the border in Poland. Even the Polish -- to be able to come back. They want to come back.

But all this movement of people put a lot of stress in the outskirt system of the different countries, the neighboring country. But also, we're seeing Ukraine, where this afflicts of people, full -- a huge train on the health care system and then that's where Team Rubicon can come in help with doctors, physician, paramedics, nurse that help to relieve this health care system that is just very strained right now.

BROWN: So, in light of that, what do you think is the biggest need right now? There are people watching right now. I know I've heard -- from a lot of our viewers, they just want to help. They want to provide some -- something, if they can. What could that be

GARNIER: I think there is a lot of organization that are doing great work in and around Ukraine right now. And the nation is what helps right now. Because those organization are already organized around the U.N., the OCHA, W.H.O., these are providing help, you know, organized nation to donation. If you want to donate to Team Rubicon, it's teamrubiconusa.org, and click donation. Donate, I mean, that will be, today, what we need.

BROWN: All right. Kater Garnier, thank you. And thanks for all of your hard work.

You can learn more about what Team Rubicon is doing, as he just pointed out, to aid Ukraine at teamrubiconusa.org. Thanks again, Kater.

And also, you can help people in Ukraine get shelter, food, and water by going to cnn.com/impact. There you'll find links to several vetted organizations that are working on the ground. And still ahead tonight, an uptake in coronavirus cases spreading across Europe. We have been here so many times before. I know what you're thinking right now. But we have to ask the question. Should the U.S. now be preparing for the next wave already? A reality check on the newest variant, up next.

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[21:40:00]

We're going to get back to our continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine in just a moment.

But let's update you now on the coronavirus pandemic and the lessons we can learn from what's going on overseas right now. It is a mixed bag. In the UK, they're scrapping all of COVID-19 travel measures regardless of vaccination status. But cases are rising again, particularly in Asia where infection rates are sharply rising. And if we've learned anything over the past two years, it's that the U.S. tends to follow suit. So, how worried should we be about another wave in? Dr. Saju Mathew has been on the frontline in the COVID fight through the pandemic.

All right. Dr. Mathew, good to see you. Give us what are the medicine we need on this. I know we're all just tired of hearing about COVID and what's going to happening. But what predictions can we make about this new variant? How it's developing overseas and how it might impact the U.S.?

DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN AND PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALIST: Yes. Good evening, Pamela. Listen, I've got good news and not so good news. The good news, is that about 40 percent of the U.S. already has been infected with Omicron and we know that his new variant, the BA.2 subvariant is a cousin of Omicron. We do have some immunity in the community, so to speak. We do have a decent vaccination rate. So, even if BA.2 takes a stronghold in our community, we should be much better protected than when we were with Omicron.

But here's the not so good news. It's about 40 to 80 percent more contagious, not more deadly, but more infectious. So, that's means, potentially, that a lot of people can get infected, especially, in communities that are not vaccinated or boosted.

BROWN: So, what do you think this should mean for mitigation measures like masks?

DR. MATHEW: You know, I've been very outspoken, Pamela. I've called on other people on TV that have changed their minds about masks. And this is why, I think, masks need to be part of our game until we get this pandemic into an endemic. Number one, it's just a minor inconvenience.

Just a recent study, Pamela, showed that in schools where the mask mandates were basically enforced, there was a 70 percent drop in transmission within schools compared to schools where the mask mandates were optional. I mean, I can go on and on about the benefits of wearing a good mask, by the way. An N-95 or KN-95. The mask has to fit you right.

So, I think through this pandemic, until this becomes endemic, wearing a mask should be a no-brainer. And I think that the CDC's latest guidelines confuse people in the midst of a pandemic, we're giving people the impression that it's OK to burn your masks, so to speak. So, I think that absolutely vaccines are going to be important. Booster shot. We may be in-line for another booster shot yet for people 65 and older. But masks need to be part of that layered approach.

BROWN: And what protection does the existing vaccine give us against the new variant?

DR. MATHEW: So, that's also a good portion of the segment that we can talk about, which is that there is data from Israel that actually shows that there is very good protection in hospitalizations. So, while a lot of people could get infected, Pamela, those people may not necessarily go into the hospital. So regardless of which variant we're talking about, so far, the vaccines and the booster shot absolutely holds up against hospitalizations and severe disease.

[21:45:00]

BROWN: If you were heading up President Biden's COVID task force, what would your strategy be?

DR. MATHEW: My strategy, first of all, would be to tell Congress that it is not a good idea to cut about $15 billion the White House had outlined towards pandemic preparedness. Listen, at the end of the day the entire world is largely unvaccinated. America is largely unvaccinated. And we are going to see a disparity in people that can afford to pay for an oral anti-viral drug, like Pfizer's, drug versus communities that cannot afford it.

So, this $15 billion slash of funding, I think is going to be very dangerous. So, I would encourage President Biden to keep pushing for that. We are fighting two wars. One war that we could see, the Ukraine/Russian war that is so painful. But at the same time, we are fighting an invisible war, a war that we cannot see where most of the pain is happening in ICUs and hospitals. But we need to take heed. Just like you mentioned, the Europe -- Europe has warned us five times previously, this is the sixth warning, and we need to be ready for this.

BROWN: And we learned this week that two doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine cut the risk of Omicron infection by only a third among children age five to 11. What should you tell frustrated parents who are looking at the number and say, what, only 31 percent?

DR. MATHEW: Yes. I think that what we're looking at in that specific study is the fact that we have given a lower dose to kids below the age of 11. So, a 12-year-old gets the adult does of 30 micrograms. But an 11-year-old, which doesn't seem to be that far apart in age, only gets a third of that dose. So, what we're looking right here now for is potentially a third vaccine will most likely be on the horizon. But, listen, this should be a three series vaccine to begin with, with the potential booster shot, that 65 years and older must get. But for parents with young kids, I would say, just hold on, we're going to get more data. And a couple more studies, actually, show, Pamela, that even if you get -- the kids get the shot, it may decrease the amount of time that they're infected and also decrease the spread of the virus. So, the vaccine still works. It doesn't work as well as it does in the older kids.

BROWN: All right. Dr. Mathew, we always appreciate your expertise. Thank you.

DR. MATHEW: Thank you.

BROWN: And still ahead, hackers join the fight against Russia. How they're using every day smartphone tools and apps to get around Putin's iron digital curtain.

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Well, in Russia there is a ban on sayings the words, war or invasion, to describe the truth the situation in Ukraine. But online activists in Poland have created a new tool to get around Vladimir Putin's digital iron curtain. And people across the world are trying it out. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan reports.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, you should be here, in Poland. You should see all the people, refugees from Ukraine. People like you and me.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Hackers fighting against Russia's information war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We knew there were people, all around the world, who would like to do something. But since they can't buy a gun and fight against Russia, we decided to let them use their smartphones instead.

O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): This man part of so-called, Squad 303, online activists in Poland who have built a tool that allows anyone to send text messages and e-mails to Russians to give them information about the war in Ukraine. An attempt to get around Vladimir Putin's growing digital iron curtain. Russia recently cut off access to Facebook and Twitter.

TITAN CRAWFORD, ONLINE ACTIVIST: There's a new group that came out with a website to allow you to text Russian cell phones.

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): So how many text messages, do you think, you've sent to Russians over the past few weeks?

CRAWFORD: 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, 6,000. I couldn't even count. It just keeps going. O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Titan Crawford, a truck salesman in Oregon has spent hours messaging Russians. He says, most of his texts don't get a response and some people will tell him to go away but others engage.

CRAWFORD: It's been a mixed bag. I had a gentleman pretty early on that reached out to me and sent me a picture of where he's working. And then I sent him -- we've -- how we like to travel. So, I sent him pictures of my travels. He sent me pictures of his travels.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from a generation of Radio Free Europe. And we all remember of how it is to live in enslaved country, where you do not have proper information, real information about the world. I can remember the time when we used to listen to Radio Free Europe, the only voice from the free world for enslaved people in Poland.

THOMAS KENT, FORMER CEO, RADIO FREE EUROPE: It's named after --

O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Thomas Kent is the former CEO of Radio Free Europe and an expert in Russian disinformation.

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Do you think some people in Russia will be receptive to these messages or will they say, why is there an American sending me a text message?

KENT: Well, a certain number of people are going to say, yes, absolutely this is hostile propaganda. This is spam. This is an attempt at psychological warfare against us. But many others will be grateful for some information that they're having trouble to get. And maybe, be affected by the fact that there is someone out at the end of the communication who really would like to hear from them.

O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Other, so-called, hacktivist taking a different approach on the Telegram app, a group called the Ukraine IT Army has amassed 300,000 members. It sends out lists of Russian websites to attack.

[21:55:00]

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): You're a coder not a gunner?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's true.

O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): We spoke to an organizer of the group over the phone. He said, he is in Ukraine.

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): So, I think I saw over the weekend, you took down some food delivery services, like for takeout in Russia. I think I saw you guys targeted some banking services in Russia. I mean, what you're doing is targeting Russian citizens, people in Russia. Do you think that's fair?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's exactly the point that I wanted to convey, right? We want those people feel that the war has started. And not only the Ukraine's involved in that. Because many people in Russia, they don't feel that the war is there, and we want them to feel that. O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BROWN: Still ahead, President Biden prepares to meet NATO allies face- to-face. As world leaders are now weighing Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest deep demands. We're live at the White House after a quick break.

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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has become the face of resistance in his country. And for some people, he is the face they see before bed. Take a look at this. A Czech designer is making pillows with Zelenskyy's face on them and his signature green tee.

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