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President Biden Meet with European Allies; Ukrainian Troops Regained Control of Irpin City; Ukraine's Navy Hit a Russian Landing Ship; Millions of Children Displaced by War; Morale is Low Within Russian Military; Russian Ship Damaged by Ukrainian Navy; U.S. and European Leaders Meet in Brussels; Germany Not Ready to Detach from Russian Oil; MOEX Starts Trading; Taliban Stops Girl's Education; North Korea Launched Its 11th ICBM. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 24, 2022 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers around the world and in the United States this hour. I'm Hala Gorani, reporting live in Lviv, Ukraine where it is almost 9 a.m. local time.

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. U.S. President Joe Biden is in Brussels for a full day of crisis meetings with NATO, but also with the European Council and the G7.

He is expected to announce new sanctions against more Russian politicians and oligarchs. Leaders will discuss ways to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian energy, and this is where sanctions could hit a sticking point. Not everyone is in agreement about how to address that problem.

NATO will approve the deployment of four battle groups to further protect the alliance's 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 those urgent meetings, the U.S. took a major step. It formally declared that Russian forces in its estimation have committed war crimes in Ukraine as Russia's attacks increasingly strike civilian targets.

And we're now seeing the carnage left behind after days of fierce fighting. I want to warn you as always, some of the images are graphic. In Izyum in the east of the country, a man filming video shows us charred buildings, splintered trees and bodies lying right there in the streets.

To the south in the hard-hit city of Mariupol, new video shows a street littered with debris, a number of damaged cars and several bodies. Mariupol has suffered tremendously over the last several weeks. And in the city of Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv, the capital, these are the first images following intense shelling by Russia. You can see rubble in the streets, badly damaged building, and fires still actively burning.

Well, northwest of the capital, CNN teams witnessed this 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 front lines east of Kyiv. Now both signs of progress as Ukraine's president continues to urge 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 continues. The acts of terror against peaceful people go on one month already. That long. It breaks my heart, hearts of all Ukrainians, and every free person on the planet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, now to Brussels for the latest on the trio of emergency summits. Kevin Liptak and Natasha Bertrand are both there covering the meetings. Let me start with you, Kevin. What is Joe Biden coming with in terms of new ideas, new sanctions to put more pressure on Russia? Because they've really almost played every card they have in that regard.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and you really do see the west kind of butting up against the limits of what they're willing to do in order to punish Vladimir Putin and also provide support to Ukraine. And when you think about these types of summits, ordinarily organizers have months and months to prepare for these so-called deliverables.

U.S. officials and European officials have only had the last couple of weeks or so to come up with this package of announcements that they are expected to unveil today. Now, when the president goes to NATO, he is expected to discuss ramping up NATO's force posture along the eastern flank of the alliance, both in the short-term, those four battle groups that are expected to go to the southern countries on the eastern flank and in the long-term, tasking their defense ministers with coming up with more permanent changes to NATO's defense force posture there on the eastern flank.

And when the president meets with the G7, he'll discuss additional sanctions, but he'll also discuss very importantly plugging the holes in some of the sanctions that are already in place to sort of prevent people who are on the sanctions list already from evading punishment.

And then when he comes here, where I am to the European Council, he'll discuss European dependence on Russian energy. That's something the president has really been nudging European countries to loosen their dependence on energy. And we do expect before he departs Brussels to announce that the U.S. is providing some natural gas to Europe to help ease the burden.

But of course, the question looming over all of these talks is whether they will have any effect on Vladimir Putin. U.S. officials have been very clear that they see this war reaching a stalemate, and they are very concerned about what Putin might do to unblock that stalemate going forward, whether he or not he would deploy a chemical or a biological or even a nuclear weapon on the battlefield.

[03:05:08]

And that's something that the leaders will discuss at all of these meetings. The contingency plans should that come to pass. And whether or not that would change the calculus for NATO countries to reevaluate their involvement in this war.

And so, President Biden, European leaders will have to discuss these contingencies, not necessarily make a decision on them, but certainly raise the possibility of this going forward, Hala.

GORANI: And Natasha, how much concern is there that because Vladimir Putin is on the back foot in terms of his ground offensive in Ukraine, that he might choose to use heavier weapons, more dangerous weapons, even chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. And if he does cross that line, what would the response be?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the concern is very high here, Hala, especially when it comes to something as simple as a miscalculation, as simple as simple as an errant drone or an errant missile strike that might land in NATO territory. And so all contingency plans are being made for such an event. But it remains unclear what the remains would be.

Of course, NATO has not wanted to kind of back itself into a corner by issuing some red lines because they would have to stick to them, right? And so, it's unclear given the very large nature of this alliance, of course, whether they can all get on the same page about how to respond, if one of those so-called red lines were crossed.

For example, if there were chemical weapons or biological weapons attack. Now, I do want to read you something that Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO chief said yesterday when I asked him what the response would be if there were an attack by Russia using a weapon of mass destruction.

He said, any use of chemical weapons would totally change the nature of the conflict, and it would have far-reaching consequences. Now that is pretty dramatic from him. That is the farthest that we've heard him go in terms of saying that a chemical weapons attack would have this kind of far-reaching consequences by the NATO alliance if it did occur.

But of course, they're not detailing that yet because they, a, again, they don't necessarily know for sure how the entire alliance would get on the same page about responding. And of course, they dent want to show all of their cards to the Russians at this point. They want to show that they do have, you know, some defensive posture and reserve here.

And so, what we're seeing here today is a discussion not only about how to respond if Russia does employ these kinds of weapons in Ukraine, but also about how to protect the alliance. Right? This is the main topic of discussion today.

And Stoltenberg again just this morning said that NATO is facing the most severe security crisis in a generation. So that's really going to be the focus of the talks today here is how to protect those eastern flank NATO countries, in particular, who are feeling very threatened right now by Russia's aggression against a potential Russian attack, whether it's on purpose or whether it's even inadvertent, Hala.

GORANI: All right. Thank you very much, Natasha Bertrand and Kevin Liptak, both in Brussels covering the diplomatic angle of this story.

All right. Well, we've been working hard to clear this information for you just in to CNN. Ukraine's navy says that it has destroyed a large Russian ship which appears to be a landing ship in the occupied port of Berdyansk. So, what we're seeing on social media are images of the ship on fire.

Joining me now is Stuart Crawford, a defense analyst and former British army officer, he joins me now live.

If it is the case and it appears according to all of the images that I'm seeing circulated online, though we're still working to confirm that a Russian landing ship has been hit by Ukrainian forces on fire and was forced to retreat. What does that tell you about how effective the Ukrainian resistance is, at least in the naval field of operations?

STUART CRAWFORD, DEFENSE ANALYST: Good morning. Well, you're ahead of me in the news, I'm afraid, because I haven't seen any reports of that so far. But if it is indeed true, then it just shows you that the Ukrainians are far from beaten. Most military analysts don't expect a landing on the southern coast around Odessa or anywhere like that.

But the fact that the Ukrainians still have the facilities and the means to destroy a large ship like that is from their side of the argument very encouraging.

GORANI: So, I know you haven't seen the video, so I won't ask you any more questions. Just kind of theoretically, what weaponry would it take? What kind of weapon systems do you need to hit a ship, just for my own information?

CRAWFORD: Well, ideally, and most likely I would think it would be some sort of cruise missile. Probably actually of Russian origin, which the Ukrainians had either bought or captured. But also, long- range could do it.

[03:10:01]

And there is the outside possibility of some sort of air attack, whether that be by manned aircraft or unmanned combat aircraft.

GORANI: OK.

CRAWFORD: But I don't -- I can't speculate because I don't actually know.

GORANI: No, we can't. No, no, no. Just kind of what -- for my own -- for my own information, because I'm not an expert and you are, wondering what caliber of weapon, what size of weaponry you need.

Let's move on to what we do know, which is around Kyiv, we'll get to Mariupol in a minute. But around Kyiv, we're seeing Ukrainian ground troops push back the Russians. So not just defend existing positions, push them back, in some cases, potentially, isolate some unites, some Russian unites from their supply lines. Could you react to that development?

CRAWFORD: Well, again, from the Ukrainian point of view, that's very encouraging because it shows that they are far from defeated. And also, I suspect shows that the Russians are -- have come to the point where they know that they're not going to make any further progress.

And depending on the state of the units that are involved, whether they be conscript units or professional units, it's just an indication that they're not winning at the moment. I mean, the war is far from over, but it's very encouraging to see the Ukrainians still being strong enough and having enough weaponry to be able to push their attackers back.

GORANI: How much staying power, how much energy to continue on this level does the Russian military have in Ukraine? Especially considering they're cut off, the country is cut off from most of its sources of raising funds -- the central bank, the ruble is collapsing, et cetera, et cetera?

CRAWFORD: Well, I don't think there is any doubt that they're beginning to run low on supplies. I think the Ukrainian line is that Russia has sufficient military supplies, ammunition and all the other aspects of making modern warfare for another three days.

I think that's probably slightly optimistic, because Russia is a vast country and it has vast resources in manpower and material. But the war can't last forever because they're going to run out of particularly smart munitions, unless they get them from elsewhere. And of course, there's been already some movement on that with the Russians trying to secure weaponry from China. But also, at home, --

GORANI: Yes.

CRAWFORD: -- you know, there are already cues for food. So, it can't go on forever.

GORANI: What did you say about China there, that they're procuring?

CRAWFORD: Well, there is --

(CROSSTALK)

GORANI: Weaponry.

CRAWFORD: There is speculation that Russia has approached China for military supplies and that -- and I think --

(CROSSTALK)

GORANI: Yes, we -- but, my understanding was that China was not willing to jump in with military help.

CRAWFORD: Well, that may be the position at the moment. I suppose it depends on how China sees the balance of power globally being affected.

GORANI: All right, got it. Stuart Crawford, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time.

And Stuart and I were discussing this new development that what appears to show a Russian warship on fire after having been struck by Ukrainian forces. This is what we can show you in Berdyansk, Ukraine. This is posted by the Ukrainian navy.

It shows what appears to be again, I keep saying it appears to be because we need to confirm the exact details of this, but a Russian landing ship in the port of Berdyansk, that was then, we understand, forced to turn around and make a pretty hasty retreat. And if you -- if you can hear the pop pops, that would suggest perhaps that there is ammunition on board of this vessel. We'll continue to work on that story and bring you the latest as it becomes available.

Now the European Union was quick to open its doors to Ukrainian refugees when Russian bombs began to fall, but one month in, E.U. leaders are now looking at ways to share the burden of hosting the millions upon millions of fleeing Ukrainians.

One estimate puts the cost of caring for them at a quarter percentage point of the E.U.'s entire GDP. But for the individual host countries, the economic toll could be much greater. Russia's invasion has driven more than 3.5 million people out of Ukraine. E.U. leaders plan to take up the issue in a meeting on Monday.

And a new report from UNICEF finds well over half of Ukraine's children have been displaced in this war, 4.3 million in all forced from their homes. UNICEF says it's one of the fastest large-scale displacement of children since World War II. And remember, we're just one month into this war.

I spoke with James Elder from UNICEF who says the trauma a child faces could last much longer than the war itself.

[03:15:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES ELDER, SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: In a war for traffickers, it's not a tragedy, it's an opportunity. That's terrifying. Millions of kids without clear access to school. Countries are trying, but Poland has 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 will 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: James Elder of UNICEF. Still to come, amid reports of low morale among Russian troops CNN gets exclusive access to the readout of a meeting between U.S. military officials and a Russian general. His reported reactions to the Russian invasion just ahead.

[03:20:00]

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GORANI: CNN was given an exclusive inside look at a Russian military leader getting unusually emotional while meeting with U.S. military officials last week. According to a readout of the encounter that was obtained by CNN. In the document, U.S. officials describe what they viewed as a revealing moment from a Russian general.

And as CNN's Barbara Starr reports, defense officials say this could hint at growing morale problems inside Vladimir Putin's armed forces.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With Russia's war in Ukraine stalled and the U.S. saying morale is a problem for Russian forces, CNN has learned of a rare meeting in Moscow between U.S. and Russian military officials which according to a U.S. readout of the meeting contained a, quote, "revealing moment from Russian major General Yevgeny Ilyin, a general with extent of experience dealing with Americans."

As the meeting ended, the readout said, an attache on the U.S. side casually asked about Ilyin's family roots in Ukraine. According to the readout, the U.S. officials said that general's stoic demeanor suddenly became flushed and agitated. Ilyin replied he was born in Ukraine and went to school in Donetsk, and then said according to the readout, the situation in Ukraine is tragic, and I am very depressed over it. Before walking out without shaking hands. The attache wrote in the readout the fire in his eyes and flustered demeanor left a chill down the spine.

Meetings with Russian officials are typically scripted, but the two attaches said they had never witnessed such an outburst by Russian counterparts at an official meeting. The readout by the officials concludes, at the very least, it is clear that morale problems among Russian forces are not limited to frontline troops.

The readout describes only the impressions of the U.S. officials and does not definitively explain Ilyin's behavior. Such readouts are typically too sensitive to be made public.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Readouts of this type are important because they give us an insight, a potential insight into what the Russians are really thinking. But it also shows that there is some kind of a morale problem within the Russian hierarchy, and it extends possibly all the way up to the top.

STARR: The Russian ministry of defense did not respond to a CNN request for comment on the meeting or the readout. But the Kremlin has denied reports of low morale among its forces in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON: You would probably have to doubt this information. You have to doubt it and you have to think twice, whether it is true or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: As Russia faces stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces, if the Americans are correct and morale is an issue, it's a challenge the Russians can ill afford.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We've seen increasing indications that morale and unit cohesion is a problem. And, yes, that absolutely translates into potential military effectiveness issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR (on camera): A Russian general flushed and agitated according to the Americans. Just one more mystery about what really may be going on behind Kremlin walls.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

GORANI: Interesting. Nina dos Santos joins me from London with more on the morale, and also on some high-level departures from the Russian circles of power.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that right -- that's right. There have been some high-level departures. Obviously, there was Anatoly Chubais who left yesterday. He even left the country. He was responsible for an environmental brief. But there's also been some question marks over the future of many members of the military as well, with reports that one of them might be under house arrest.

There is lots of speculation about the whereabouts of Sergei Shoigu who's the defense secretary of Russia who hasn't been seen in about 12 days now. As of course this rising number of casualties appears to grow by the day for Russia.

And just going into the numbers here, NATO has been saying they estimate the number of 40,000 Russian troops are either dead, wounded or missing in action or have been captured in Ukraine. Ukraine itself estimates that the casualties among Russian soldiers could be as high as over 15,000.

[03:24:54]

And Russia itself just interesting enough, Hala, last week I'm sure you remember, accidentally may have revealed casualty numbers themselves when one of the state news companies accidentally put out a report saying that the defense ministry confirmed that there are almost 10,000 Russian soldiers who have lost their lives. That was quickly retracted.

So far, the official estimate hasn't been really updated for a couple of weeks from Russia when it said that there were hundreds of soldiers who had lost their lives in what it calls, continues to call a special military operation in Ukraine that the rest of the world calls an invasion.

And what's also important when it comes to morale is the command structure of the Russian military, which is known for being notoriously hierarchical or that many defense analysts have said means is that it brings more senior generals to the front of the action in combat zones like Ukraine, and that is where we've also seen a number of losses. About several Russian generals have lost their lives so far in Ukraine. And then scores of other colonels and other officers as well.

So, all of this contributing to question marks over morale. There has been reports about Russian soldiers suffering from frostbite because their military kit isn't as good as the Ukrainian defending soldiers' military kit. Many of them reportedly hungry when they have been captured beside I Ukrainian soldiers.

And then of course, as I said, the big question mark is the fate of their defense minister, Sergei Shoigu who hasn't been seen, and I was saying before about 12 days, now 13. Hala?

GORANI: All right. Since March 11th. So, yes, that's a mystery. Nina dos Santos, thank you so much.

Still to come this hour, a look at western efforts to cut their dependence on Russia energy. Those types of things never happen overnight. What they could mean for the price of oil, though. That's a more immediate question.

Plus, Moscow's stock exchange has resumed limited trading after being shut down for almost a month. We'll have a live report from London on how international sanctions are weighing on that market.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Within the past hour, we have received word of a large explosion in the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk, which is held by the Russians. Ukraine's navy is claiming that a large Russian ship has been severely damaged. We will bring you more information as we get it.

Some of the reports are that this was a landing ship, but there you see some of the social media video that has been circulating online. A large plume of smoke and explosion. And what you can hear are the -- what sounds a little bit like what could be exploding ammunition on that ship. That's one of the working theories. We will continue to keep our eye on that.

In just a few hours, western leaders will begin meeting in Brussels for a series of emergency talks on the war in Ukraine. Today marks one month since the fighting began, since the invasion 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 the Russian military had committed war crimes in Ukraine, and now we're seeing new footage of the carnage. And we should warn you, some of the images are quite graphic.

In Izyum, first off, in the east of the country, a man filming showed us charred buildings, splintered trees, and also bodies lying in the streets. A U.S. defense official tells anyone that Ukrainian fighters are trying to push Russian forces out of that town.

In the south, in the hard-hit city of Mariupol, video shows a street littered with debris, damaged car, several bodies as well. The driver of the vehicle had to speed away when he apparently came under fire. Ukraine's president is calling for global demonstrations in support of Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Come to your squares, your streets. Make yourself visible and heard. Say that people matter, freedom matters, Ukraine matters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, cutting dependence on Russian energy will be a major priority for U.S. and European officials meeting this week in Brussels. The threat of new sanctions on Russia has helped push the price of brent crude more than 10 percent higher in the past week.

The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers in Berlin that cutting off Russian energy too quickly could plunge Europe into a recession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: We will end this dependency as quickly as we possibly can. But to do that from one day to the next would mean plunging our country and the whole of Europe into a recession. Hundreds of thousands of jobs would be at risk. Entire branches of industry would be on the brink.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: The Moscow stock exchange has reopened for the first time in almost a month, and it could give us a better sense of the economic damage caused by western sanctions these past two weeks. Partial trading resumed almost 45 minutes and 33 stocks including major names like Gazprom, Lukoil, and VTB Bank.

The White House says reopening the Moscow exchange is a charade to artificially prop up share prices.

[03:35:03]

CNN's Anna Stewart is live this hour in London with more. So how have these stocks performed since the Moscow exchange reopened, Anna?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, given before it was closed around a month ago that share price in the MOEX, which is the main index fell 33 percent, you would expect to see some hefty falls here. But guess what? It reopened. The MOEX was up 11 percent at one point. It's just come back a little bit. It's still up nearly 8 percent today.

Now, this reopening definitely had some limitations, for instance, there is a ban on shore selling, which isn't surprising. I guess that would stop any kind of negative spiral. Also, a ban on foreign investor selling shares. There may be more intervention from the state here as well.

Just looking at those share prices they do not reflect the economic situation on the ground in Russia. It does not reflect the huge sanctions we've seen impose on Russia and the impact that will have had on all Russian companies, particularly those big ones that are listed on that stock exchange.

And it's interesting that the White House has called this reopening a charade. Deputy national security adviser also saying that this is not a real market. It is not a sustainable model. And he says that only underscores Russia's isolation from the global financial system.

Now this isn't the only sort of big story today. Overnight, President Putin said from now on they want unfriendly countries to pay for their gas contracts in rubles. That would certainly be one way to try and shore up a currency that has of course lost so much of its value since the invasion of Ukraine.

It would probably rate gas contracts, I'm not sure it would be legally allowed. However, if you consider some of those European nation who were so reliant on Russia for gas, this could put them in a very sticky situation. Hala?

GORANI: All right. Anna Stewart, thanks very much. Reporting live from London.

Well, that will do -- that will do it for me in Lviv, Ukraine for now. I'm turning it over to our Rosemary Church at the CNN center in Atlanta.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: And thank you so much, Hala for all your reporting. I appreciate it.

Still to come in other global news, the Taliban's decision to postpone reopening schools for older girls has been condemned worldwide. But is the government in Kabul even listening? The details just ahead.

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the Taliban's decision to delay the return to school of Afghan girls above sixth grade is being condemned worldwide. The U.N. secretary general is describing it as deeply damaging for Afghanistan. And the U.S. is calling it a betrayal of public commitments made by the group.

CNN's Paula Newton has the details.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For the first time in more than seven months, Afghan schools reopened Wednesday for a much- anticipated return. But it was the day that ended in heartbreak, tears and anger for many. After the Taliban announced girls above sixth grade must stay home.

That decision came just hours after schools had reopened. Many eager female students arriving back only to find they wouldn't be let inside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: (through translator): why are they playing with our future? We have rights. They're humans from this country. We want to be free. We just want to continue our education. Is it a sin that we are girls?

NEWTON: A Taliban news agency said the delay is so uniforms can be designed according to Sharia and Afghan customs, but the decision is viewed by many as an excuse as condemnation rings out across the globe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: This is a betrayal of public commitments that the Taliban leadership made to the Afghan people and to the international community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: In a tweet, Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai says I had one hope for today, that Afghan girls walking to school would not be sent back home, but the Taliban did not keep their promise. They will keep finding excuses to stop girls from learning because they are afraid of educated girls and empowered women. Others also expressing dismay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAVINA SHAMDASANI, SPOKESPERSON, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: This is of grave concern at a time when the country desperately needs to overcome multiple intersecting crises.

STEPHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESPERSON, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: No country can grow by excluding women and girls from education. I mean the fact that we still have to say this in the 21st century.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: In recent months, the Taliban have repeatedly insisted they would not go back to how things were in the late '90s and early 2000s, when women and girls were banned from working or going to school. It has been seven months since this now iconic scene of thousands stranded at the airport in Kabul desperately trying to leave after the Taliban's takeover.

Now those left behind seeing human rights withering away. Among them, the tearful schoolgirls whose hopes of an education are now shattered.

Paula Newton, CNN.

CHURCH: And we're back after this short break. You're watching CNN.

[03:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. We are also following breaking news from the Korean Peninsula. The Japanese prime minister's office says North Korea has fired a possible ballistic missile into the waters east of Japan. South Korea's joint chiefs of staff also reported the launch but said it was still trying to determine how many projectiles Pyongyang fired. If the missile launch is confirmed, it would be North Korea's 11th this year.

So, let's turn to Paula Hancocks. She joins us live from Seoul, South Korea. Good to see you, Paula. So what more are you learning about this?

[03:49:57]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, we've just been hearing from Japan's ministry of defense. And the vice defense minister there has confirmed that they believe this was a new kind of ICBM, intercontinental ballistic missile. So, a long-range missile.

Now, this is the sort of missile that puts mainland United States within its range. And it's certainly one that both South Korea and the United States have been expecting over recent weeks. So according to the MOD in Japan, the details we have at this point, and we are waiting for more details, they believe it had an altitude of 6,000 kilometers. And we also understand that it was just about two hours ago that this

was launched, 3.45 in the afternoon. North Korea time. And so, what we're waiting for is how long it was in the air, what the range could have been. And that will tell us exactly what kind of missile this is.

But as far as the Japanese are concerned, at this point, they do believe it is a new type of ICBM. It will be one that will concern Washington certainly as it puts the United States within range.

We did hear from the Pentagon spokesperson a couple of weeks ago as North Korea has been carrying out a number of missile launches. It says that it has been for a reconnaissance satellite. Certainly, one in February, one in March.

Now John Kirby, the spokesperson said that those two were in fact elements of a new ICBM that were being tested by North Korea, and they referred back to a military parade we saw back in October of 2020 when a massive ICBM was paraded in that event shown to the world and shown to the North Korean people.

And we also heard from North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un that his own self-imposed moratorium on launching these long-range missiles, these ICBMs and nuclear tests in fact was going to be lifted. So, it is something that experts and Washington and Seoul have been waiting for, but it's certainly something that is not going to be welcomed. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Indeed. And of course, the timing is significant here. Paula Hancocks joining us from Seoul in South Korea. Many thanks.

Well, the U.S. Senate judiciary committee is expected to vote in less than two weeks on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court. But it's looking less likely that she'll get any votes from Republicans, even if the full Senate splits 50-50, Vice President Kamala Harris holds the tie-breaker, meaning Judge Jackson would be confirmed.

Republicans spent a second day grilling her on what they consider light sentencing in child pornography cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): This is a case where you had an 18-year-old who possessed and distributed hundreds of images of 8-year-olds and 9- year-olds and 10-year-olds, and you gave him, frankly, a slap on the wrist sentence of three months. Do you regret it?

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: Senator, I don't remember whether it was distribution or possession --

(CROSSTALK)

HAWLEY: It was both. Do you regret it?

JACKSON: In the law -- in the law there are different crimes that people commit in this area. (CROSSTALK)

HAWLEY: Judge, you gave him three months. My question is do you regret it or not?

JACKSON: Senator, what I regret is that in a hearing about my qualifications to be a justice on the Supreme Court, we've spent a lot of time focusing on this small subset of my sentences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well, the day wasn't all bad for Jackson. She wiped away tears when Democratic Senator Cory Booker talked about the obstacles she had overcome as the first black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as America's top diplomat has died of cancer. Albright and her family fled what was then Czechoslovakia just 10 days after the Nazis invade, eventually emigrating to the United States in 1948.

Nearly 50 years later, Albright was appointed secretary of state by then U.S. President Bill Clinton. She worked to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to expand NATO. Albright was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. She was a champion of human rights and female solidarity, famously warning over the years, quote, "there is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a lengthy tribute saying in part, Madeleine was a force for goodness, grace and decency and for freedom. He added that she was proudly American, and ordered flags at all federal buildings to be flown at half-staff in her honor.

[03:55:01]

Well, in a few hours, New York's mayor is expected to lift the COVID vaccine mandate for the city's athletes and performers. Currently, anyone working in person or interacting with the public must provide proof of at least one vaccine shot.

The measure has kept unvaccinated athletes like Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving from playing home games. The mayor's announcement of course means unvaccinated baseball players can take the field when the Major League season starts next month.

And thank you so much for being with us. I'm Rosemary Church. We'll continue our breaking news coverage after this short break.

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