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Biden In Brussels For NATO, European Council, G7 Summits; U.S. Formally Declares Russia Has Committed War Crimes; Ukrainian Forges Fight To Take Back Territory In Kyiv Suburb; U.S. Official: Ukrainian Push Russian Forces Back Near Kyiv; NATO: Up To 15,000 Russians Killed In Ukraine Invasion; City Of Dnipro Digs Graves For Ukraine Soldiers; Sound Of Russian Drone Interrupts CNN Interview; EU Looking For Ways To Share The Burden Of Refugees; 3.6 Plus Million People Have Fled Ukraine Since Invasion Began; UNICEF: One In Every Two Ukrainian Children Displaced; Fighting Against The Odds; First Deliveries From New U.S. Package Arrive In Ukraine; Ukrainian Fighter Plot Speaks To CNN; Ukraine Military: We Want Any Western Aircraft; Fighter Pilots Defending Ukraine's Skies Against Russia; Russia's War on Ukraine; Biden, NATO, European Council, G7 in Brussels for Series of Emergency Summit on Russia-Ukraine Conflict; Ukraine Reflects Afghanistan During '80s Soviet-Afghan War; Additional Sanctions on Russia to be Imposed by Western Leaders; Hesitation of Some European Nations to Impose Energy Sanction on Russia. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired March 24, 2022 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:22]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers around the world, and in the United States this hour. I'm Hala Gorani reporting live from Lviv in Ukraine where it is just past 8:00 in the morning.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine hits the one-month mark, Western leaders are gathering to consider more ways to support Ukraine without directly entering the conflict. The American President, Joe Biden is in Brussels right now for a full day of crisis meetings with NATO, the European Council, and the G7.
He's expected to announce new sanctions against more Russian politicians and oligarchs. Leaders will discuss ways to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian energy going forward. And this is where sanctions could hit a sticking point.
NATO will approve the deployment of four battle groups to further protect the alliances eastern flank, and the U.K. is set to announce a support package that includes 6,000 missiles, and $33 million in military backing.
Now, ahead of these urgent meetings, the U.S. took a major step but formally declared that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, as Russia's attacks increasingly strikes civilian targets. And we are now seeing the carnage left behind after days of fierce
fighting. We want to warn you, some of the images that you're about to see are graphic in Izyum, the east of the country. And then filming video shows us charred buildings, splintered trees, and bodies as well lying in the streets.
To the south and the hard-hit city of Mariupol, new video shows a street littered with debris, a number of damaged cars and several bodies as well. In the city of Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv, these are the first images following intense shelling by Russian forces. You can see rubble in the streets, badly damaged buildings, fires still actively burning
Northwest of the Capitol, CNN teams witnessed the barrage of outgoing fire. Ukrainian forces have been fighting to take back territory from Russian troops in Irpin where the mayor says Ukrainian forces now control 80 percent of the city.
And meantime, a Senior U.S. Defense official says Ukrainians have pushed back Russian forces on the frontlines east of Kyiv. Now, these are both signs of progress as Ukraine's President or just people around the world to demonstrate in support of his country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: I thank everyone who acts in support of Ukraine, in support of freedom, but the war continuous. The acts of terror against peaceful people go on, one month already, that long. It breaks my heart, heats of all Ukrainians, and every free person on the planet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, is-- President Zelenskky there has addressed many parliaments around the world, Japanese parliament, he's addressed the Bundestag, the French National Assembly.
Kevin Liptak is in Brussels with the very latest on. How these countries are likely to try to shore up their support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against this Russian attack?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and we should know. We expect President Zelenskyy to also address leaders of NATO behind closed doors virtually today. We expect him probably to deliver the same request that he's been making to all of these governments including the American Congress, which is to help enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
That's something that NATO members, President Biden have stopped short of supporting, saying that they don't want to put their troops in direct conflict with Russian troops. President Biden saying that it would amount to World War III.
But leaders gathering here do have a number of other items that they are prepared to unveil, they have been discussing them behind closed doors. Their officials have been discussing them behind closed doors for the last several weeks or so. Among them is bolstering NATO's force posture along its eastern edge.
That includes in the short term these new battle groups going to countries like Hungary, Slovakia, countries on the southern part of the eastern edge. But they will also discuss some more permanent bolstering of the force posture on NATO's eastern flank. They'll task their defense ministers to come up with plans for that, and then they will sort of decide on them at a more official NATO summit that's due to take place in Madrid at the end of June.
I know when the President meets with the members of the G7 he's also expected to discuss sanctions, he will announce new sanctions on new Russian oligarchs. He's also expected to sanction members of Russia's Parliament.
[02:05:10]
LIPTAK: One other important thing that they'll discuss is sort of plugging the holes in the existing sanctions sort of to ensure that people who have been sanctioned aren't able to evade punishment, and then he will come here to the European Commission. He will discuss the big issue here, which is European dependence on Russian energy.
That's something that the President has been nudging Europeans to loosen their dependence on Russian energy. That's something that the President will discuss. But certainly the question looming over all of this is whether it will have any effect and Vladimir Putin. U.S. official status words at a stalemate, and they are increasingly worried about what he will do on the battlefield to sort of unblock that going forward, Hala.
GORANI: And certainly the concerns that perhaps heavier weapons, even weapons of mass destruction might be used. Kevin Liptak, thanks very much for that. Live in Brussels.
NATO officials estimate as many as 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in this war on Ukraine. That is a staggering number in just four weeks. Obviously, there are thousands more who are wounded or missing.
The city of Dnipro has largely been spared from the fighting but it is collecting the bodies of Russian soldiers and burying its own war dead, all while trying to keep the city running.
A warning, our report from CNN's Ivan Watson contains some graphic content.
IVAN WATSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Scarred military cemetery stands on a windswept field on the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Rows of graves, a reminder of the stark reality Ukraine has lived with for years.
All of these crosses marked the graves of Ukrainian soldiers killed fighting against Russian backed separatists in the Donbas Region since 2014. And these are new graves for Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th of this year.
MIKHAILO LYSENKO, DEPUTY MAYOR, DNIPRO, UKRAINE: A lot of Ukrainian guys.
WATSON: My guide here is Mikhail Lysenko, Deputy Mayor of the City of Dnipro.
LYSENKO: It's Mihailo (ph).
WATSON: Yes.
LYSENKO: A very, very young man. Very, very young man.
WATSON: Born in 1997.
LYSENKO: Yes, yes, yes, yes. It's very hard for us for our city and for people from Ukraine.
WATSON: Nearby rows of freshly dug graves that are so far empty.
These are preparations in case there are more casualties.
LYSENKO: Yes.
WATSON: This deadly war presents a bizarre challenge to Ukrainian officials like Lysenko. On the one hand, they have to fortify city defenses and support the armed forces, and at the same time provide basic services like garbage disposal, and running city buses.
LYSENKO: If you look on our street, now we have a clean street.
WATSON: How do you manage a city and fight a war at the same time?
LYSENKO (through translator): It's complicated, he says, but we have experienced because this is the second war we fought against Russia.
WATSON: The ground war has yet to reach the eastern city of Dnipro, and its population of nearly 1 million inhabitants. Sometimes the city looks almost normal, though there is a strict 8:00 p.m. curfew, and instead of advertisements, billboards defiantly curse at the Russian military. These days, city officials carry guns.
This is because of the war that you have weapons.
LYSENKO: Yes, yes. It's a normal for me. It's normal for me.
WATSON: Why is Ronald Reagan his portrait in your office?
LYSENKO: Yes. Because this guy he is a very charismatic guy. And this guy destroyed Soviet Union.
WATSON: To see another side of the conflict, the deputy mayor brings me here to one of the city's morgues to see a parked refrigerator truck.
LYSENKO: And in this fridge, they have 350 dead Russian soldiers, in another morgue we have 400. I can't open this truck because this truck, this fridge truck a lot of dead guys. I don't want to show his face, his legs, his-- any pieces of body. WATSON: Lysenko says all of the dead Russian soldiers gathered from
frontlines across eastern Ukraine are stored here it Dnipro before eventually being shipped to Kyiv.
Why is the Ukrainian government collecting the bodies of Russian soldiers?
LYSENKO: They cannot leave this body on our fields, on our streets, or another place. It's not normal.
WATSON: As we speak, we hear something in the sky.
LYSENKO: --this guy was innocent.
WATSON: What's that noise?
LYSENKO: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[02:10:15]
WATSON: Where do we go?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come over here.
WATSON: From just now, we had a little alert because there's a sound that Mikhail says was sounded like a Russian drone.
Warded (ph) and the threat of enemy drones are of everyday life now in eastern Ukraine. Ivan Watson, CNN, Dnipro, Ukraine.
GORANI: So, the European Union was quick to open its doors to Ukrainian refugees when Russian bombs began to fall. One thing though, EU leaders are now looking at ways to share the burden of hosting the millions of fleeing Ukrainians.
One estimate puts the cost of caring for them at a quarter percentage point of the European Union's entire GDP. But for the individual host countries, the economic toll could be much greater. Russia's invasion has driven more than 3-1/2 million people out of Ukraine.
EU leaders plan to take up the issue in a meeting on Monday. And nearly all of those who fled are women and children, because men are being conscripted. We want to get some perspective on that. I'm joined by James Elder of UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.
Let's talk about some very, very jaw dropping numbers here that you can share with us that one in every two Ukrainian kids had been displaced.
JAMES ELDER, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: Yes, Hala, it's mind boggling. So since the start of the war a month ago, out of every boy and girl in the country, one out or-- one out of two now has had to flee their homes.
It's a number, it's a situation we've not seen before, not in living memory, you know. And it's almost impossible to deal with now. I have to say that, whether it's from blankets to water purification tablets, to generators, to medical supplies, obstetric kits, because moms are giving birth at hospitals.
GORANI: Yes.
ELDER: You know, UNICEF on the back end, have to-- had a 100 incredible Ukrainian colleagues are trying to meet the supply. But unless the war stops, unless the indiscriminate attacks stop, we're going to see more children from their homes under bombardments.
GORANI: And every crisis, there's the short term need, and then there's the much longer term need. The longer term need could be psychological assistance, fighting school-- finding schooling for these kids who for many of them for two years were out of school because of COVID.
ELDER: Yes, you spot on. They've already come out of a really difficult period like children all around the world. Moms and dads will appreciate that.
They've now also seen either bombardment, or listen to their parents talk about going to a country they've never heard of. They stand there. And I've seen of thousands of these as I'm sure you have.
GORANI: Yes.
ELDER: Moms and dads in that last embrace.
GORANI: Yes.
ELDER: Father's trying, trying in vain to explain to the little seven-year-old, why dad's going there, and they're going off to another country? And hands on windows at trains and then they disappear and children don't know where they're going to see their dads again, that figure in their life is gone.
GORANI: Yes. And one of the things we were talking about before the show is that sometimes the most painful childhood memories aren't even about the violence. It's about having, or seeing, or experiencing a separation with a-- an authority figure, a father or a mother. And millions of these kids are have to go through this every day.
ELDER: Millions. I mean, again, one in two, we've not seen it. And so if they're (INAUDIBLE) dad, but just at a time when they need him because we've seen this whole change in warfare as well. We are seeing warfare come to cities. We are seeing warfare in populated areas, as you've just been showing.
So we've seen children flee the bunkers. And that often means stopping on the way and being covered by mom.
GORANI: Yes.
ELDER: And we're seeing them try to understand that war is on their doorstep at the same time that dads not there. This is the continued scenario and it's going to worsen for children so long as you know, particular people decide not to stop this war.
GORANI: So people who are at home and feel so hopeless and helpless and they want to do something, what can individuals do?
ELDER: Well, I think first and foremost, for an organization like ours, there's no magic pot of money. So when I-- as yesterday when I see medical supplies, obstetric supplies because I was in a bunker with pregnant women.
GORANI: Yes.
ELDER: Those supplies that we are taking to 40 plus hospitals in nine districts, they come from the generosity of moms and dads of companies. So that's a first place for people to start for sure.
GORANI: Get some donations there. Let's talk a little bit, last question about the long term needs because if this war, God forbid, drags on for years. What then? Because these kids are in neighboring countries where they don't speak the language, they're out of school. How can organizations like UNICEF help?
ELDER: What then? It's the question that keeps us awake at night. What then? In terms of the risk of trafficking which we know because the sheer number.
GORANI: Yes. I've heard that a lot. Yes.
ELDER: Yes.
GORANI: The risk of human trafficking, and gender-based violence.
ELDER: Exactly. Exactly, Hala. And the Secretary General of the U.N. said it darkly, candidly which was in a war for traffickers. It's not a tragedy. It's an opportunity.
[02:15:12]
ELDER: That's terrifying. Millions of kids without clear access to school countries are trying, but Poland's taken a million refugees, that's an incredible amount to add, and trauma and stress. Those things aren't just terms, they mean that a child if the war doesn't stop, we'll have mental health issues going forward. May well, you know, be able to earn less income.
These things affect this young growing nation as does a brain drain of children fleeing, or young men going to the frontline.
GORANI: Yes, absolutely. James Elder of UNICEF. Thanks so much and thanks to all your teams on the ground doing the great work that they do.
And we were talking with James about ways ordinary people can help. We've compiled a list of organizations on cnn.com/impact, a curated list for you where you can, you know, choose organizations or funds that you'd like to contribute to.
When the invasion started Russia expected to own the skies above Ukraine, but Ukraine's Air Force had other ideas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It was a flight when we flew three against 24. It means there three fighters repelled the attack of their 24 aircraft.
GORANI: How an outgunned and outnumbered military refuses to relinquish air superiority. That's after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:20:24]
GORANI: The first parts of a new $800 million military aid package from the U.S. have arrived in Ukraine. They include weapons aimed at securing Ukraine's airspace like armed drones and anti-aircraft systems. Ukrainians have been asking for those from the beginning.
That is also the mission of a Ukrainian fighter pilot who spoke exclusively to our Fred Pleitgen.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Counted out early in the war but still going strong. Against all the odds, Russia has not managed to ground Ukraine's Air Force.
We spoke to fighter pilot, Andriy who was in an undisclosed location and hiding his identity for safety reasons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): At first Russian pilots dominated in quantity of fighters and newer equipment. Now they're starting to refuse to fly because we're shooting them down. We try to work with tactics.
PLEITGEN: Andriy says he flies an Su-27 Air Superiority Fighter. This is video provided by the Ukrainian military of the same model an older plane but one that's still effective.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I shut down Russian planes. Unfortunately, I cannot say which and how many and how exactly I shut them down. Air to air missiles, ground to air missiles were repeatedly fired at me. There was a flight when we flew three against 24. It means our three fighters repelled the attack of their 24 aircraft.
PLEITGEN: It's impossible for us to verify those claims, but during our interview, we heard what seemed to be a Ukrainian jet taking off.
Andriy says the U.S. helped teach him and his fellow airmen how to beat the Russians.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We have our tactics. We conducted the clear sky exercise with our American friends. We now are using some of the tactics we learned from the Americans.
PLEITGEN: The U.S. and its allies initially believed Russia would own the skies over Ukraine just days after their invasion. But the spokesman for Ukraine's Air Force says they were ready. YURI IGNAT, SPOKESPERSON, UKRAINE AIR FORCE (through translator):
We've been preparing for this scenario for eight years. It cannot be said that our military did not think this does not happen. We've destroyed a 100 aircraft and a 123 helicopters already.
PLEITGEN: A lot of Russian aircraft have been taken down by shoulder launch missiles supplied by Western allies. But the Ukrainians also still operate longer range systems like the s-300. The Air Force spokesman says Ukraine wants Western missiles and U.S. jets.
IGNAT (through translator): I'm talking about NATO Integrated Air Defense Systems an F-15 Eagle or F-16 Fighting Falcon. They may be unused or decommissioned ones but they could serve the Ukrainian military.
PLEITGEN: For Andriy, the battle for the skies over Ukraine is personal both his mother and his wife are helping in the effort to fend off the Russians, he says, and that he too is willing to sacrifice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): Everyone's afraid of being killed. It's one thing to die with honor. Another thing is to die without honor.
PLEITGEN: The U.S. had said Ukraine's Air Force remains largely intact and combat ready. The battle for the skies another area where this outgunned nation is persevering against all odds. Fred Pleitgen, CNN Kyiv, Ukraine.
GORANI: Well, Ukrainian troops who were cheered around the world for standing up to a Russian warship in the first days of the war could be freed in a prisoner swap.
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister says she hopes the 13 servicemen who had been stationed on a strategic bit of rock known as Snake Island could be exchanged for some Russian sailors and Ukrainian custody.
Back on February 24th, the troops on Snake Island refused Russian orders to lay down their weapons, and we heard audio of them swearing at the Russian warship. You'll remember, "Go F yourself." The troops were presumed dead at the time, but Ukraine later announced that they'd in fact surrendered.
The war in Ukraine is now a month old with no sign that either side is prepared to back down. Western leaders are now set to hold a number of urgent meetings on the crisis. We'll bring you the latest.
Plus, the determined resistance in Ukraine echoes the bitter fighting that the Soviet Army faced 40 years ago in an entirely different conflict in Afghanistan. A closer look at those two wars when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:29:47] GORANI: In just a few hours, Western leaders will begin meeting in Brussels for a series of emergency gatherings on the war in Ukraine.
Today marks one month since the fighting began. U.S. President Biden and his Western counterparts are expected to announce new sanctions on Russia and more weapons and supplies to Ukraine.
NATO members will also decide how to shore up defenses in Eastern Europe.
On Wednesday, the U.S. formally declared that the Russian military had committed, in its estimation, war crimes and Ukraine. And now we're seeing new footage of some of the carnage on the ground. And we should warn you, some of the images are quite graphic. In Izyum, in the East of the country, a man shooting video shows us charred buildings, splintered trees, and bodies lying in the streets. A U.S. defense official told CNN that Ukrainian fighters are trying to push Russian forces out of that town.
And in the South, in the hard-hit City of Mariupol, video shows a street littered with debris, damaged cars, and several bodies. The driver of this vehicle had to speed away when it apparently came under fire. Ukraine's President calling for global demonstrations denouncing Russia's aggression.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Come to your squares, your streets. Make yourself visible and heard. Say that people matter. Freedom matters. Peace matters. Ukraine matters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: If NATO's estimates are correct, Russia's war casualties, after just one month in Ukraine, may be as high as all 10 years of the Soviet-Afghan war in the '80s. CNN's Nic Robertson has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN'S INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voiceover): Nearly 43 years ago, Moscow ordered troops into Afghanistan. Over the following decade, some 15,000 Soviet red army soldiers would die there. Their war and eventual retreat led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Today, the death toll of Russian troops in Ukraine could already match those killed over 10 years in Afghanistan. 498 dead in the first week of war, according to Russia's defense ministry. And despite no updates since, NATO officials say, that after a month of fighting, the Russian death toll is now as many as 15,000.
Across dozens of Russian cities, more than 15,000 people have been arrested for protesting the war. Recently, anxious parents of troops have begun showing up. Putin's Achilles' heel is the perception, soldiers are dying unnecessarily. It's why he's tightened reporting laws and swamped Russia with Kremlin propaganda and it's why the Ukrainian military shows off battlefield gains. Like knocking out Russian tanks or captured Russian soldiers, because they know bad press back home is what got the red army out of Afghanistan.
What sank for the Soviets on '80s, was the Afghan's determination to fight for their homeland and that the United States supplied the Afghan fighters with stinger surface to air missiles. The shoulder launched weapons turned the tide of the war. Russian helicopters were easy prey. They lost air superiority. And with it, the will to endure high casualties and anger back home. Two years after an ignominious pull out in 1989, the economic cost of war overpowered the ailing Soviet economy, and seven decades of communist rule collapsed.
Afghan parallels with today's war in Ukraine are clear. Like the Afghans, the Ukrainians are ferociously battling to save their homeland from Moscow's army. And as they did with the Afghan fighters, the U.S. and allies are supplying the Ukrainian army with U.S. made stinger missiles to shoot down Russian helicopters and jets with success.
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: The airspace is contested, and it's contested because the Ukrainians are making it that way. And they're being very smart about how they're marshalling and using there are defense resources.
ROBERTSON (voiceover): Tank busting U.S. made javelin missiles are also helping Ukraine keep Putin 's arm at bay. Russia's enemies, if not Russia, have learned the lessons of the Afghan war. No one yet, though, predicting the collapse of Putin's power.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Brussels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, I'll have more from Lviv at the top of the hour. Bur for now, I'll turn it over to Rosemary Church at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Rosemary.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANCHOR: All right. Thank you so much Hala. And still to come, a packed day for U.S. President Joe Biden, as he discusses Russia's invasion of Ukraine with NATO and G7 leaders today. We are live in Brussels, that's next.
[02:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. We have new updates on U.S. President Joe Biden's trip to Europe. Mr. Biden will speak at an extraordinary summit of NATO leaders in the coming hours. The meeting is being held to discuss the ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And it's expected to conclude with the announcement of more sanctions on Moscow. NATO leaders also plan to send more troops to its Eastern flank. And here's more from NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: I expect leaders will agree to strengthen NATO's posture and all domains. With major increases to our forces in the Eastern part of the alliance.
[02:40:00]
The first step is the deployment of four new NATO battle groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Joining me now from Brussels is David Sanger, CNN Political and National Security Analyst, and White House National Security Correspondent for "The New York Times". Good to have you with us.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be back with you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, on a day that could be NATO's biggest test in decades. Member states gather for this emergency summit to show their solidarity and, of course, support for Ukraine, with more sanctions against Russia for its brutal war but also additional military aid, as we heard there. How far might NATO go in offering military support to Ukraine, do you think?
SANGER: I think right now, Rosemary, what you're going to see is more of the same. An intensification of what we've already seen so far. Which is to say, more flows of weapons into Ukraine. Obviously, the Ukrainian military is doing a better-than-expected job with what they're getting. But you're going to hear from President Zelenskyy the -- seeing this -- battle groups that are being put together in new NATO states, or relevantly NATO states near Ukraine.
You're seeing that the message to President Putin is, you will get the exact opposite of what you are hoping to get, which is to say, more of a Western presence. I think the nervousness underlying all of this is how Putin is going to react. And that's why you heard Mr. Stoltenberg, President Biden, all expressed concerns about the possible use of chemical or biological, or maybe even a battlefield nuclear weapon by President Putin to sort of warn everybody to stay away or attacks on those weapons come to us.
CHURCH: Yes. And presumably, I mean, that threat of the possibility of, certainly, the nuclear option or chemical weapons could perhaps change the calculus here of the decision-making process. But I did want to ask you this, because while all 30 NATO countries remain united in helping Ukraine militarily, when it comes to sanctions, many of them haven't stopped buying Russian oil and gas. So, Putin hasn't felt sufficient pressure to stop this war. So, how likely is it that more NATO nations will be convinced to support blanket sanctions on Russia's energy sector, because that is the only thing that's really going to make Putin feel this? SANGER: Well, I think Putin is feeling it. But if you were truly trying to implode the Russian economy, which is overly dependent on oil and gas exports, clearly that's the revenue source that you have to turn off. I think you will see. probably today. a ban on coal imports from Russia. That is interesting and directionally important, but it's not a huge amount of revenue. The big problem is that Germany, Italy, a few other key members can't live for now without Russian gas. And, you know, I think that when the history books are written here, I think, Rosemary, what you'll see is that the great strategic error that the West made after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, even before that, was becoming more and more dependent on those gas pipelines from Russia. And we're really paying the price now. So, I think that you will see a lot of commitment to long term energy independence from Russia. But emphasis on the word long term.
CHURCH: Yes. And that's the problem, isn't it? They're going to need to find alternative energy sources, and it's a bit difficult to do that with so little time really. But I did want to ask you this too because --
SANGER: That is right, you need to build a lot of facilities.
CHURCH: Yes, yes.
SANGER: You know, particularly LNG facilities.
CHURCH: I mean, we know Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom is looking to Saudi Arabia. But at this point, too, a month into this war, and the world now realizes that Russia's army isn't as mighty as previously thought. It's stalled right now. Running out of food and fuel. An estimated 15,000 Russian soldiers have apparently died, because Ukrainians are putting up this incredible resistance. And now a top Russian advisor has quit and Putin's defense minister is apparently missing. All this, while some brave Russians protest this war at home. It's not looking good for Putin. Where do you see all of this going?
[02:45:00]
SANGER: Well, that's both the good news and the bad news at this. The good news of this is, if you think back to a month ago today, when the war really began in earnest, we thought that the Russian military was 10 feet tall. Today, no one thinks that. We thought Vladimir Putin was a master tactician. Today, no one thinks that. We thought that NATO couldn't get its act together to bring weapons in on a broad basis, there's been remarkable unity.
The difficulty that we are facing, Rosemary, is we know that Vladimir Putin, when cornered, tends to double down. And what we've seen over the last four weeks, is a cornering. And so, a good deal of what they've got to go do today, is come up with a common strategy if he lashes out. That's why we reported in the "Times" last night, that President Biden has created, what they call, a tiger team, that's supposed to look at these scenarios, including some of the most terrifying of them, and come up with common responses. And I think that with the big question is, when those leaders get into the NATO room, when their aids are --
CHURCH: All right. David, I'm sorry --
SANGER: -- when their cell phones are put away --
CHURCH: -- I'm going to have to interrupt you --
SANGER: -- and they come up with --
CHURCH: -- I'm going to have to interrupt you because NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is about to speak. Let's just bring up the audio there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STOLTENBERG: And we will address this crisis together and address the threat that it means for Ukraine, for NATO. and for the whole international roof space order. President Zelenskyy will address the NATO leaders. And the leaders will focus on our support to Ukraine. Allies have provided support to Ukraine for several years. And we have stepped with more military support, financial support, humanitarian support to help Ukraine uphold its rights for self-defense.
NATO's core task is to protect and defend all of us. We have increased our military presence in the Eastern part of the alliance. The NATO leaders will, today, address the need for a reset of our deterrence and defense in the longer term. And the first step is the establishment of four new battle groups in the Eastern part of the alliance in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.
We need to do more and therefore we need to invest more. And there is a new sense of urgency and I expect that the leaders will agree to accelerate the investments in defense. To meet the pledge, we have made to invest more in defense. And I welcome that several allies have all made announcements on investing more in defense.
The meeting today will demonstrate the importance of North America and Europe standing together. Facing this crisis. And we are the strongest alliance in the world. And as long as we stand together, we are also safe. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: CNBC.
HADLEY GAMBLE, CNBC ANCHOR: Good morning, Secretary General. Hadley Gamble with CNBC. I want to get a sense from you of NATO's understanding of President Putin's actual mental state at this point. Because what we understand, of course is that, even his central bank governor is trying to leave her post and he's being -- he's seeing some defection, if you will, from his inner circle. What's your sense of his mental state at this point?
STOLTENBERG: President Putin has made a big mistake. And that is to launch a war, to wage war against an independent sovereign nation. He has underestimated the strength of the Ukrainian people. Their bravery of the Ukrainian people and their armed forces. And therefore, they also meeting much more resistance than they expected. We need, in order to address the actions that we see Russia is doing in Ukraine, and that's also the reason why we have significantly stepped up the support to Ukraine. And why we have increased the presence of NATO troops in the Eastern part of the alliance and increase the readiness of our troops. We do so to be able to respond and address any threat, any challenge to our security.
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And what kinds of decisions and what kind of -- the decisions they may make in Moscow. I'll not speculate further about that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But are you worried about a nuclear threat?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) from Ukrainian media. It's been talked about. Can you explain if not or why not or if yes in what conditions?
STOLTENBERG: NATO allies provide significant military support to Ukraine. NATO allies have trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who are now on the frontline fighting against invading Russian forces. The Ukrainian army, it's much better equipped, much better trained, and much better commanded now than in 2014.
And the combination of training and support from NATO allied countries with the bravery and the courage of the Ukrainian armed forces is enabling the Ukrainians to really resist and actually fight back the invading Russian army. We provide Ukraine, also, with advanced air defense systems, with anti-tank weapons, with ammunition and fuel. So, allies are providing many different types of support.
Be we have also made it clear that we will not send in NATO troops on the ground, or NATO planes in the air. We do that because we have a responsibility to ensure that this conflict do not escalate beyond Ukraine. That will cause even more suffering, even more death, even more destruction. And to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine, means that we need to impose it. And to impose a no-fly zone means that we need to massively attack Russian air defense systems, in Russia, in Belarus, and in Ukraine. And also, be ready to shoot down Russian planes. And then the risk for full-fledged war between NATO and Russia will be very high, and that will cause more death and more destruction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You mention said yesterday that if chemical weapons were used in Ukraine, it could have a direct impact the NATO countries. Could this be considered an attack on a NATO ally?
STOLTENBERG: I will not speculate beyond saying the following, that any use of chemical weapons would fermently change the nature of the conflict. It will be a blatant violation of international law. And it will have widespread and severe consequences. The seriousness of using chemical weapons, of course, becomes even more obvious knowing that the risk -- there is risk always for contamination for -- that chemical agents are spread over bigger areas.
So, this will be a catastrophe for the people of Ukraine. But, of course, there is also the risk that we can see the spread of chemical agents also into NATO territory. I will not speculate beyond the fact that NATO is always ready to defend, to protect, and to react to any type of attack on a NATO allied country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How concerned are you worried about China's role in this? And the second question, does -- what does the new military posture of NATO mean in terms of national defense spending?
STOLTENBERG: Well, national defense spending, I see a new sense of urgency among allies. So, that they all understand that since we now need to do more, we face the most serious security crisis in our generation. So therefor, we need to invest more in our security. And the allies understand that the only way to do that is also to allocate more money for national defense budgets.
And I expect allies to agree to accelerate the implementation of the commitments we have made to invest more in defense. And I welcome the decision, for instance, by Germany to spend 2 percent of GDP on defense. This will really make a difference, because Germany has such a big economy. So, the increased investments by Germany makes a difference for the whole alliance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: China --
STOLTENBERG: Well, what we -- we call on China to join the rest of the world in, clearly, condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And not provide political support and, of course, neither provide any kind of material support to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you unanimously ask you to stay on as general secretary today, would you say yes?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: All right. We were listening there to NATO Secretary General Jen Stoltenberg, emphasize -- he was emphasizing there that no NATO troops will go on the ground in Ukraine, and they won't be in the air.
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He was also emphasizing more investment for European countries when it comes to defense and security.
So, we will continue to follow this scene. They're saying there, the importance of unity. This, of course, ahead of this emergency meeting of NATO members. All 30 members will be there in just a very short time, and they will be there to discuss sanctions to be applied on Russia as a result of Putin 's brutal war in Ukraine, and increased military support for Ukraine.
We'll continue to follow this. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. More of our breaking news in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN. More people get their news from CNN than any other news source. JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: They may look similar, they may taste similar, but sweet potatoes and yams have some differences. These root vegetables are not even related. True yams are native to Africa and Asia. Most yams today, 95 percent, are harvested in West Africa. While many of the yams sold in the U.S. are typically grown and Caribbean countries. And yams are closely related to lilies and grasses. While sweet potatoes are native to the Americas and are part of the morning glory family.
Now, when it comes to your health, both of these root vegetables are low in calories and high in nutrients. One half of a large sweet potato, has just 81 calories. And the flesh of a medium baked sweet potato has enough vitamin A, that's in the form of beta carotene to meet your entire recommended daily amount. Yams tend to be starchier. They also are good sources of nutrients like vitamin C.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
GORANI: Hello. Welcome to our viewers around the world and in the United States this hour. I'm Hala Gorani reporting live from Lviv in Ukraine, where it is almost 9:00 am --
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