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Ukraine: Russian Ship Destroyed in Port of Berdyansk; Ukrainian Forces Fight to Take Back Territory in Kyiv Suburb; Biden in Brussels for NATO, European Council, G7 Summits; NATO Leaders Meeting Today to Discuss War in Ukraine; U.S. and Europe Look to Cut Russian Energy Dependence; Moscow Stock Exchange Reopens for Partial Trading. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 24, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church in Atlanta. We are following the breaking news coverage of the war in Ukraine. Just ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: It breaks my heart, hearts of all Ukrainians and every free person on the planet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Russian forces are indeed committing war crimes in Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much more war crime you want to see if you will continue just observing passively and not fighting against this war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If freedom has a name, its name is Ukraine and the Ukrainian flag is the flag of freedom today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHURCH: It is March 24th, one month since Russia invaded Ukraine. This hour U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to arrive at NATO headquarters for the first of a series of emergency summits. NATO is set to deploy more battle groups to protect the alliance's eastern flank and will send Kyiv equipment to defend against biological, chemical or nuclear weapons.

The G-7 and European Council will consider more sanctions. President Biden will travel to Poland Friday to highlight the growing refugee crisis there and he will hold a bilateral meeting with President Andrzej Duda on Saturday.

Ahead of the urgent meetings in Brussels, the U.S. took a major step and formally declared that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine as Russia's attacks increasingly strike civilian targets. And we are tracking new reports of fighting on the ground. In the last few hours Ukraine's navy says a large Russian ship has been destroyed in the in the Russian held port of Berdyansk in the country's southeast. This as we see more signs of progress in Ukraine's counter offensive. A senior U.S. defense official says Ukrainians have pushed back Russian forces on the frontlines east of Kyiv, up to 35 kilometers or 21 miles in one day.

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. The mayor says Ukrainian forces now control 80 percent of the city.

And we're now seeing the carnage left behind in other Ukrainian cities after days of fierce fighting. These are the images coming out of the Izyum in the east of the country where bodies were seen in the streets amid the widespread destruction.

And we're getting video from the hard-hit city of Mariupol. And we want to warn you, some of it is graphic. This video was filmed by someone driving through the city and you can see the streets filled with debris as the sound of sporadic gunfire rings out. There is a body near a burned-out car, then you see more debris as the driver quickly speeds away.

And there's even more evidence of Russia's relentless assault on Mariupol. This time a scene from the air. This drone video showing the absolute devastation left behind by weeks of heavy bombardment. Ukraine's president issued this warning about Russia's intentions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKY: Russia is trying to defeat the freedom of all people in Europe, of all the people in the world. It tries to show that only crude and cruel force matters. It tries to show that people do not matter as well as everything else that make us people. That's the reason we all must stop Russia. The world must stop the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And for more on these developments, we have Phil Black in Lviv, Ukraine. Kevin Liptak is traveling with the president in Brussels and Natasha Bertrand is at NATO headquarters. Good to see you all. Natasha let's start with you. President Zelenskyy, we've seen him -- he has been appealing to lawmakers all around the world. So, how far will NATO nations likely go militarily when they meet soon to discuss additional support for Ukraine?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, t's so unclear, Rosemary. And of course, we expect President Biden to make an appeal to the NATO member countries to keep sending the lethal equipment to Ukraine so that it can defend itself against this Russian onslaught.

[04:05:00]

And of course, President Zelenskyy is expected to address the NATO leader summit today virtually. And he will again be making this plea for more defensive systems that they can use against Russia. But I think it's important to remember that this is a very kind of

fraught topic because the West did not necessarily anticipate the Ukrainian military to remain standing for this long. Many officials have told us that they expected Russia to take the city of Kyiv for example in the matter of days. So, supporting a large military -- the Ukrainian military -- against another large military in Ukraine for this long -- for about a month now -- has become very difficult.

And so, the question of increasing that weapons supply and even keeping the weapons flowing is of course, going to be top of mind. Because the Ukrainians they need ammunition, they need anti-air systems. They need Javelin antitank systems. So, they still need a lot in order to defend themselves against the Russians.

But one of the big questions that we have been asking, of course, is what the redline is for NATO to potentially get involved in the conflict. Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO chief, said yesterday that weapons of mass destruction, the use of weapons of mass destruction by Russia would result in very severe consequences. Something that he reiterated just this morning when he arrived at NATO headquarters, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: President Putin has made a big mistake. And that was to launch a war, to wage war against an independent sovereign nation. Any use of chemical weapons would fundamentally change the nature of the conflict. It will be a blatant violation of international law and it will have widespread and severe consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: So obviously the NATO alliance is not previewing of course what the consequences would be if Russia did wage -- use those weapons of mass destruction in wage a chemical weapons attack. But it's very clear here that this is top of mind for them because they do feel Russia given how unpredictable they have been and given how Putin might have a propensity to do this, they want to be prepared for every potential contingency -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Absolutely. And Kevin, what's extended the sanctions that President Biden is proposing for Moscow? And how far might efforts go to cover Russian energy?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the president does plan to expand the list of Russians that are under sanction while he's here in Brussels. That includes oligarchs, members of the Russian Parliament. And the president very importantly also wants to plug holes in some of the existing sanctions that would help people who are already on the list evade punishment.

And now the leaders of the G7, they are starting to arrive here. We saw the French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to NATO. That will be a topic of discussion when that group meets later on today. And of course, the whole reason that the president came here on this very last-minute trip to Europe, is to really underscore this unprecedented unity between the Western allies on the sanctions, on this resolve and confronting Vladimir Putin.

And perhaps more importantly to ensure that as the allies reach some of the limits on these sanctions, that they are able to manage their differences going forward in order to sustain the pressure on Vladimir Putin. And some of those differences will be on display on the front of mind when the president meets at the European Council where I am later today. And this question of European dependence on Russian energy will really be a main topic of discussion.

President Biden has been nudging European leaders to reduce their dependence on Russian energy. The United States, of course, already banned imports of Russian oil and gas. That's something that's a lot harder to do here in Europe where countries are much more dependent on it. The president is expected to discuss that very intensively with European leaders. And we're told that there has been a very intense back and forth between officials on this topic in the leadup to this summit.

And now yesterday the EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen did say that she wanted the U.S. to commit to help to provide Europe with natural gas for the next two winters. It we do expect President Biden to announce before he departs Brussels some help in easing the burden there.

Another question in all of this is whether it will affect Vladimir Putin. Looking on from Moscow at this series of summits, whether he will still see this unprecedented unity that you've seen or where he'll see some cracks somewhere. Certainly, the president in coming over here hopes to smooth over some of those differences while he's here -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Certainly, a critical part of it. As you were speaking of course Canada's Prime Minister Trudeau arriving there for this NATO meeting. Phil let's go to you. You're there live in Lviv.

[04:10:00]

Ukraine's navy says a large Russian ship has been destroyed in the Russian occupied port of Berdyansk. What more are you learning about that.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, Berdyansk is on the Sea of Azov. You're right, it is Russian control. It felt to Russia in the early days of the war. Pictures from Berdyansk this morning show there has clearly been a large explosion. The Ukrainian navy says that Russian landing ship, the Orsk, was destroyed. A few more details some civilian officials in the area -- Ukrainian civilian officials -- who said that it was 7 a.m. that Ukrainian military forces destroyed this ship, damaging two others. They say that a fuel tank was also destroyed and a fire spread to an ammunitions endeavor. That's all we have at this stage. It's what the Ukrainians haven't said -- assuming they did this -- is how they did it. What weapons did they deploy to destroy this Russian navy vessel -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Just extraordinary images there. And what other news from across the country?

BLACK: Well, it seems that the town of Izyum has been the center of some pretty severe fighting. You talked about some pictures earlier, which showed the level of destruction that has taken place there. These are the first images that we've seen that really give a sense of that. This is one local man's walking tour through the aftermath of this fighting. He's clearly visibly shocked and disturbed by what they're seeing. There is still the sound of shelling in the near distance.

This is a location that according to the U.S. Defense Department was the site of a Ukrainian counterattack. We don't know what the status of that particular conflict is on that front just there.

Kyiv, around the capital -- we've been talking in recent days about Ukrainian gains there. Again, counterattacks that have clawed back territory from the Russians, notably to the west and northwest. According to the U.S. defense official we've had heard that they've also made significant gains to the east really pushing Russia back a fair distance in just one day of fighting. Although the Ukrainians are yet to acknowledge any particular gains on that front themselves -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, Phil Black, Natasha Bertrand and Kevin Liptak, many thanks to all three of you for bringing us up-to-date on the situation.

So, still to come, a look at Western efforts to cut their dependence on Russian energy and what that could mean for the price of oil.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: We are following President Biden's trip to Europe where he will speak with NATO allies in the coming hours. Joining me now to discuss this, Timothy Garten Ash, fellow at St. Anthony's College at Oxford University. Good to have you with us.

TIMOTHY GARTEN ASH, FELLOW, ST. ANTHONY'S COLLEGE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY: Good morning.

CHURCH: So, Russia's President Putin has certainly been shocked by the solidarity shown by NATO and the EU in the midst of his brutal war on Ukraine. How critical was this unity in response to Putin? And how long will it likely last given the pressures that lie ahead?

ASH: Yes, I think the transatlantic unity has been enormously impressive. Europeans have really woken up to the fact how much they still depend on the United States for their defense. The EU unity has also been impressive. And unprecedented package of sanctions that you're already seeing two big rifts.

One -- your correspondent mentioned a moment ago -- which is about energy imports from Russia. Quite shockingly since the beginning of the war EU member states have paid more than 20 billion euros, about $22 billion to Russia for oil and gas imports. And the EU is divided about whether to stop that, have an embargo on oil and gas.

The second big difference is that President Zelenskyy keeps asking the EU to accept that Ukraine will one day be a member of the EU. And I'm afraid -- I think it's a great pity -- that EU states are still divided on that. So, there are at least two big divides still visible.

CHURCH: All right, let's tackle those. Because I wanted to ask you what should come out of this emergency NATO summit in terms of harsher sanctions on Russia. Particularly when it comes to Russia's energy sector. Because as you mentioned, there's a reluctance on the part of some NATO countries to go that far given they're still buying Russian oil and gas because they are so reliant on it.

ASH: Well, roughly 1/3 has a primary energy supply from Russia -- 55 percent of it is natural gas. So, it's a hell of an ask to say you should stop it overnight. Nevertheless, I think and I think a growing number of people in Europe feel that it is just totally unacceptable that 20 billion euros have flowed effectively into Vladimir Putin's war chest while he's waging a war of terror in Ukraine. So, I think pressure is building up to have an oil and gas embargo. Which would mean putting economies like the German economy on a kind of emergency footing -- almost a semi war footing. So, a big ask. But I think that if what would happen, should happen and that would certainly be a very, very strong message to Vladimir Putin.

CHURCH: Right, and the U.S. is planning to help in that regard in providing some energy requirements there.

So, let's turn militarily then. Because Ukraine's President Zelenskyy wants NATO to go further with a no-fly zone and aircraft that he's been requesting. But that's not going to happen. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg making that clear when he spoke ahead of today's meeting. So, how far should NATO's military support go and how far do you think it will eventually go?

[04:20:00]

ASH: So, everything now depends on the ability of the Ukrainians with their upwardly extraordinary military and civil resistance to hold off the Russians and increase the costs to Vladimir Putin. The issue I think is not so much the no-fly zone -- which NATO is not going to do -- but things like getting in more anti-attack missiles fast, more anti-aircraft defenses, the more sophisticated anti-aircraft defenses. And we simply have to get in as much as possible of the most relevant equipment as fast as possible. In some EU member states are rather dragging their feet on that. Others -- and also Britain by the way -- are way out ahead in making really enormous military supplies to Ukraine.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. We've seen that already. Timothy Garten Ash, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your perspective. Appreciate it.

Well, as we mentioned, cutting dependence on Russian energy will be a major priority for U.S. and European officials meeting this week in Brussels. The White House says there's been an intense back and forth on how to accomplish that. The threat of new sanctions on Russia has sent oil prices higher of late and on Wednesday Brent crude jumped 5 percent after Russia said a major oil pipeline could be out of service for more than a month due to storm damage.

Two more major companies are cutting ties with Russia in protest over the war in Ukraine. Swiss multi-national Nestle says it's stopping sales of Nesquik and KitKat, among other brands in Russia.

And French automaker Renault is suspending all activity at its Moscow factory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called out both companies in the past few days for their ties to Russia.

And despite the growing business pullouts, the Moscow stock exchange has reopened for the first time in almost a month. Partial trading has resumed in 33 stocks including major names like Gazprom, Lukoil and VTP Bank. But the White House calls it a charade. Intended to artificially prop up share prices after February selloff.

And CNN's Anna Stewart is live this hour in London with more. Good to see you, Anna. So, as we mentioned, Moscow's stock exchange partially resumed trading today. How is this looking? Is this a charade?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: You would expect to see a massive selloff here given it's been closed for nearly a month now. And actually, in the last day of trade, which was right after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, you saw the main stock index fall by 33 percent. And yet after lots of Western sanctions, after we've seen a real toll be taken on the Russian economy, it reopened today and the MOEX right now is trading, oh, nearly 10 percent higher. And actually, it was even higher than that earlier this morning.

Why? Well, there's certainly is a partial trading today. Only 15 percent of the stocks on the index are actually trading. Short selling has been banned. Foreign investors are not allowed to sell their shares. And I think there could also potentially be some sort of state intervention here as well. That's certainly what the White House has suggested with their comment. We can bring some of that to you. This is from the deputy national security advisor.

And he says what we're seeing is a charade -- a Potemkin market opening. This is not a real market and not a sustainable model and it really only underscores Russia's isolation from the global financial system.

What you cannot really obscure is the economic pinch that everyday Russians will be feeling in Russia. Cities where all sorts of shops, they're leaving their high street, the ruble has lost so much of its value and inflation is so high -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: And of course, as we've been discussing, some European countries are really feeling the pressure to stop purchasing Russian energy and become less dependent on it -- which is difficult to do overnight. And this as President Putin is asking for payment for gas in rubles. What all can you tell us about this?

STEWART: Well, it's interesting. Last week the EU vice commissioner said that actually Russia is using Europe's sort of reliance on energy as a weapon against them. It's something there very aware of. They haven't of course, following on the U.S. and U.K. in terms of trying to cut off all ties and meaning no embargo there.

Really interesting last night President Putin suggested he now wants unfriendly countries -- which of course would be the EU and the U.S. -- to pay for their gas contracts with rubles. Now the EU is even more reliant on Russia for gas than it is for oil. That would almost certainly be a breach of contract.

And actually, we've had comment from the German economy minister. He said the announcement to pay rubles is first of all, a breach of contract. We will discuss it with our European partners how to deal with this. This is clearly an attempt by Russia to try and shore up their ruble which has lost so much of its value since the invasion of Ukraine. It's unlikely that that would be allowed. But of course, we get to that thorny issue. Europe is so reliant on Russia for energy, it's in a key position -- Rosemary.

[04:25:00]

CHURCH: Yes, it certainly is. Anna Stewart joining us live from London. Many thanks for that.

Well, we're also following breaking news from the Korean Peninsula. The Japanese Defense Ministry says North Korea has fired a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile into the waters east of Japan. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff also reported the launch. South Korean President Moon Jae-in strongly condemned North Korea for breaching it's self-imposed moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missiles and calls it a serious threat to the Korean Peninsula and the international community. We'll continue to follow the story.

Still to come, NATO says the number of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine could be in the thousands. After the break we'll have the latest estimates. As well as why Russia isn't taking calls from the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. And if you're just joining us, here's an update on our breaking news on the war in Ukraine this hour.

We are just minutes away from U.S. President Biden's arrival at NATO headquarters. Where Western leaders will begin meeting for a series of emergency meetings on the war in Ukraine. We're also following reports of a Russian warship attacked in the southeastern Ukrainian port of Berdyansk which is held by the Russians. Ukraine's Navy says the large ship was destroyed and we will of course bring you more information on this as we get it.

And we should warn you, this next video is graphic.

[04:30:00]