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Russian Forces Continue to Attack Ukraine; President Biden Meets with Allies in Brussels; Ordinary Ukrainians Choosing to Fight However They Can; Boxing Champs Fighting for Their Homeland; United Nations: Nearly 3.7 Million People Flee Ukraine Since Invasion; Biden To Visit Polish President And United States Troops In Poland; Conflict In Ukraine Worsening Global Food Insecurity; Greek Child Prodigy Plays Message For Peace. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired March 25, 2022 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is "CNN Breaking News."
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Hello and welcome to our viewers around the world and also in the United States this hour. I'm Hala Gorani reporting live from Lviv in Ukraine where it is just past eight in the morning.
We begin this hour with reports of heavy fighting north of Kyiv, but Ukrainian forces say they are managing to recapture territory east of the capital, reversing some Russian gains.
We have new video to show you from Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, showing huge clouds of smoke, buildings on fire as well. The mayor tells CNN the city has come under heavy rocket fire from Russian forces, but that Ukraine's army still controls 80% of the town.
And we have some new satellite imagery from the eastern city of Izyum showing the damage from days of fighting. You can see there, if you look, a massive crater with a burnt-out school on one side. Part of a hospital across the street is also destroyed. Other images show damage to an apartment complex and a church.
Also, the regional governor of Kharkiv reports six people queueing for aid were killed when a Russian missile hit a shopping mall parking lot there.
The fighting in Ukraine did not stop while U.S. and European leaders gathered for three emergency summits in Brussels. The meetings produced a stern warning to Russia against using chemical weapons in Ukraine. The American president, Joe Biden, said he supports expelling Russia from the G20, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the U.S. to supply him with a thousand anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles a day. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Ukraine has asked for planes so that we don't lose so many people. And you have thousands of warplanes. But we haven't been given any. You have at least 20,000 tanks. Ukraine asked for one percent, one percent of all your tanks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI (on camera): Well, western leaders held fast in their opposition to fighter jets and a no-fly zone for Ukraine. They are not willing to go there right now. But they said their unity against Russia is making a difference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Putin was banking on NATO being split. My early conversation with him in December and early January, it was clear to me he didn't think we could sustain this cohesion. NATO has never, never been more united than it is today. Putin is getting exactly the opposite what he intended to have as a consequence of going into Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI (on camera): CNN's Natasha Bertrand is live this hour in Brussels with more. So, as we told our viewers and we have been telling them for several weeks now, western leaders just are not willing to consider a no-fly zone at this stage and the U.S. has opposed to additional fighter jets, though that idea was floated initially by Poland. How much farther did they go this time in trying to put pressure on Russia?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Hala, it really remains to be seen. So, they obviously spoke really tough language about how Russia should immediately cease its operations in Ukraine, and they said that they are going to -- Biden said that more sanctions will be imposed and more weaponry is going to be sent to Ukraine. That was the message that all of the allies said yesterday was that they are willing to continue, that military support to Ukraine.
But ultimately, it remains unclear whether they are going to be able to send what Ukraine actually needs in order to sustain this conflict, right? One of the big questions looming over this is, how long can the west sustain Ukrainian military, a major military, against another major military? The Russian army, of course.
Western leaders did not necessarily anticipate the Ukrainian army to hold out for this long. They thought that, by now, they might be arming an insurgency rather than a full-on military with incredibly complex needs like air-defense systems, like those fighter jets, like hundreds and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
So, so that is one of the big questions here, and that is what Zelenskyy has been pleading for, of course, is if you can't implement a no-fly zone, if you are refusing to do so, then at least give us what we need to close our own skies and to take back control of our country. And of course, key to that will be those air-defense systems which, of course, he did ask for again yesterday.
But look, the leaders here -- they are saying -- they are staying steadfast in their opposition to putting any kind of NATO forces on the ground or in the skies in Ukraine, and they said that they are willing to maintain that support to Ukraine, but really, it remains to be seen whether they are able to maintain that support given how brutal the Russian tactics have become here.
[02:05:00]
BERTRAND: The Russians are obviously trying to pummel these Ukrainian cities into submission, into surrender. And the Ukrainians are saying, look, we are the last kind of buffer zone here between the west and Russia. Who is to say that Russia will stop at Ukraine? So, we are not only fighting for ourselves, we are fighting for Europe, we are fighting for NATO.
And that was also a main topic of discussion yesterday, of course, was how to protect the NATO alliance against a potential Russian attack even if it's accidental. Top of mind for the alliance right now is the idea that a Russian missile could land in NATO territory. I mean, we saw just last week that a missile was -- missiles were attacking a city roughly 10 miles from the Polish border.
So, clearly, they understand the gravity of the situation and how they need to maintain support for Ukraine in order to fend off this Russian onslaught. But the question is, are they going to give -- continue to give Ukraine what it needs and what it wants in order to effectively fight off the Russians? Hala?
GORANI: All right, Natasha Bertrand, thanks very much, live in Brussels.
The U.S. says it's likely Ukraine did exactly what it has claimed, and that is strike a Russian warship, turning it into a fireball on Thursday. We reported this to you yesterday morning, you might remember. A U.S. defense official adds that it's still unclear what weapon the Ukrainians used in this attack.
Phil Black has this story, but we warn you, some images in his report are graphic.
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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Russian military says it's in control of this port. That fiercely burning ship suggests otherwise. The landing vessel Orsk began exploding in Berdyansk not long after sunrise. Other boats and warships can be seen scrambling to get away from the fire as debris falls in the water around them.
Ukraine says it destroyed the Orsk and the fire spread to a weapons depot. Ukraine hasn't revealed what weapons it used to carry out the attack.
At Izyum, fiercely fought over territory in the east, a local man inspects what is left of his city, pointing out bodies when he sees them, while shells continue to fall nearby. Russia's military says all this is in their control now. Ukraine says the fight for Izyum isn't over.
Driving through Mariupol is an apocalyptic experience. Bodies and debris lie on the road. Someone is shooting. The driver slams his foot down to get away. Being outside in this besieged city is dangerous. But after weeks of Russia's blockade and constant bombardment, people in Mariupol have no choice but to line up outside for food.
This video from Kharkiv proves the risk. It's the panicked aftermath of a Russian strike on a parking lot with people were also waiting for aid. The region's governor says six people were killed.
And this tour is through what remains of Chernihiv in the country's north. The city's mayor is driving. He says complete carnage has been unleashed here. Civilians across Ukraine's towns and cities are documenting their devastated communities because they want people everywhere to see and understand.
Phil Black, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI (on camera): Well, while millions of Ukrainians have left the country, many ordinary civilians are choosing to stay and not just stay but help actively.
Valerriy, restaurant owner and restauranteur in Kyiv, he is here in Lviv busy raising money for food, medicine, but also equipment that the military might need on the front lines. Valerriy, thanks for being with us.
VALERRIY SOZANOVSKIY, RESTAURATEUR: Thank you.
GORANI: Talk to us about just in a few weeks how your job has changed overnight from having a series of cafes, restaurants, opening a brewery to suddenly being someone who helps frontline troops.
SOZANOVSKIY: Yeah, I have decision in one day to make all my connection, all my social network to help people, to help army. We got big, big network of people who can -- who could help.
GORANI: Yeah.
SOZANOVSKIY: They go and announce the new business before the war and it was for us like something new, something bigger. One night, they took all from us. So, I decided to use all my power of social media, all my knowledges to help people, army and police.
GORANI: And you are -- have been gathering not just -- I mean, because you are a restauranteur, so you are giving people advice on how to keep food and things like that, but you are gathering and distributing body armor, medical kits to the front lines.
SOZANOVSKIY: Yeah.
GORANI: How are you managing this?
SOZANOVSKIY: It's all my social media again. I have nice connection with all the world who can help. If I need something, I just text.
[02:09:59]
SOZANOVSKIY: We have got -- we've got like groups. We've got, like, stories in Instagram. I need something, people find someone who I need --
GORANI: Yeah.
SOZANOVSKIY: -- like medicines, armors, ambulance car, et cetera, et cetera.
GORANI: How do you source these things? Presumably, as a restauranteur, you didn't have to worry about that about body armor a month ago.
SOZANOVSKIY: It was like 24/7 for me. But now, it was crazy, like, I was burned out. Now, I have, like, 17 people who help me manage some questions. So, it's like a network of my workers now.
GORANI: This is -- you were telling me before the program today that this is your way of resisting, that you are not someone who can handle a weapon necessarily, but that this is your way of helping those men and women who are fighting the fight against the Russians.
SOZANOVSKIY: Yes, it's like -- it's my call of duty. I have to help people, my country. I love all our nation. So, it just my call of duty. I have to do it.
GORANI: And financially, I was asking you who is funding this. You said I opened my own bank account.
SOZANOVSKIY: I opened my bank account. So, I opened a donation list. I have like a digital currency and people from all around the world and Ukraine started helping me. So, every day, I manage what we done and what we buy for the people.
GORANI: And one of the things I am seeing on your Instagram, which, by the way, you have over 130,000 followers, so when you say that you are using your social media networks, that's where you can make a difference. There is a post here on telling people how to keep their food, so that some food perishes quickly, eat that quickly. Here's what you can cook that you can put in the refrigerator, that you can put --
SOZANOVSKIY: Long term.
GORANI: -- in the freezer long term. So, you are putting your expertise also to use.
SOZANOVSKIY: Yes, because the first five or six days, people started to send in food like crazy.
GORANI: Yeah.
SOZANOVSKIY: And I saw that a lot of foods, they throw it to the bin.
GORANI: Yeah, of course.
SOZANOVSKIY: And it's, whoa, whoa, whoa, stop. You have to make long terms because we don't know how long resistance will be. Maybe they could come closer, army of Russia, into Kyiv. I don't know. Maybe not. But you have to keep, like, seven days' minimum of products.
GORANI: Yeah.
SOZANOVSKIY: Better, six months.
GORANI: And you have a family. You -- your -- you had a small kid, a 2- 1/2-year-old, you told me, who one night woke up and said, I'm afraid, daddy, and that's when you realized, I have to send them to safety.
SOZANOVSKIY: Yes. It was on the sixth day, at night. She was crying, like, daddy, I'm scared. And it's for me, it was decision to grab all my family and bring them to the west of Ukraine.
GORANI: Yeah.
SOZANOVSKIY: It was, like, one-second decision.
GORANI: Yeah. And so, they're thankfully safe. But you are going back. You are going back to this area.
SOZANOVSKIY: I'm driving on West Ukraine to the border with Romania, to Poland to grab some medicines, humanitarian convoys, lot of stuff that they could help.
GORANI: So, your life is on hold now?
SOZANOVSKIY: Oh, yes.
GORANI: For possibly a long time, possibly.
SOZANOVSKIY: It's okay.
GORANI: Yeah.
SOZANOVSKIY: I am in my place. I know I am the man who connects all the stuff.
GORANI: Well, yeah, overnight, this all happened. You have your Instagram, I am on it now, with all these followers that you have and they are able to stay in touch with you and follow also your work.
SOZANOVSKIY: Yeah.
GORANI: Sozanovskiy on Instagram. You are also on other platforms. Thank you so much for joining us.
SOZANOVSKIY: Thank you.
GORANI (on camera): We really appreciate it. And your teams on the ground are doing very important work, Valerriy. We are going to take a quick break.
When we come back, they are former boxing champions. They are now fighting for their homeland against the Russians. After the break, we speak exclusively to the Klitschko brothers, so do stay with us.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): You're some of the prime targets for the Russians, you know. They are out to get you. Why do you do it? What motivates you?
VITALI KLITSCHKO, MAYOR OF KYIV: It's our homeland. It's our parents here. We're grown up. It's our country. It's our home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[02:15:00]
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GORANI (on camera): In the battle to keep the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv from falling to the Russians, you probably could not find two tougher fighters, actual fighters. The mayor, Vitali Klitschko, and his brother Wladimir, know how to beat up an opponent. Both are former world heavyweight boxing champions, and they are vowing to keep their city free.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen spoke exclusively with the Klitschko brothers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): As Vladimir Putin continues his assault on Ukraine, the U.S. believes taking the capital, Kyiv, remains Russia's main goal.
But the city's mayor, former world boxing champ Vitali Klitschko vows Putin's troops will not enter this town. We met the mayor and his brother, Wladimir Klitschko, himself a former boxing champion, in a secret location in Kyiv.
(On camera): Do you think that you have what it takes to fend them off completely and that this city will not be taken by Russia?
KLITSCHKO: It is our hometown. We fight. We never go to the knee. We don't want to be slaves. We don't want back to U.S. Assad (ph) to live -- a dictator -- to live in our territory. We see our country as modern European democratic country.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Klitschkos are on the move 24/7, visiting residential areas shelled by the Russian army, sometimes getting emotional when seeing the aftermath of Russian attacks.
UNKNOWN: Putin says he's only targeting military targets.
KLITSCHKO: Sorry. Where is the military target?
PLEIGEN (voice-over): Comforting those affected by the war and overseeing the effort to train those looking to confront Russian forces.
(On camera): You've really stepped up and really have organized the defense of the city. How did you manage to do that and learn that so quickly, learning on the fly?
KLITSCHKO: We don't need to organize. I meet people in blood bath with very peaceful profession: artist, musician, doctors.
[02:20:00]
KLITSCHKO: Never ever have idea to take the uniform and take the weapons in the hand. But right now, they are in the street and ready to fight.
Two days ago, apartment building destroyed. One man around 60 years old come to me and asked, what happened? What I have to do right now? I give him proposal. I wait for him to my safe zone to the west of Ukraine. He told me, Mr. Klitschko, my mayor, I don't want to leave from my hometown. Please, give me weapons. I'm ready to defend my family, my lovely Kyiv. Instead of the panic, instead of demilitarization, people motivate so much and have spirit to defend our future.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But they're up against a strong and better- equipped foe. As President Biden visits Europe to meet NATO allies, the Klitschkos message is, get tougher on Putin.
(On camera): What are your demands? What do you guys need to continue this fight?
WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO, KYIV BRIGADE OF UKRAINIAN DEFENSE FORCE: Our will is strong and it's stronger than any army and any weapon. But we definitely need to close our sky. Our civilians and our cities are getting destroyed. And it's continuing. While we are giving this interview and speaking about it, the fights are still going on.
We need supply of the defensive weapons. And you guys just need to stop any economic relationship with Russia. This way, we will isolate them, make them weaker, and just show that international law cannot be broken. Oil, obviously, the world needs oil and gas, but it's better to pay higher price than to pay with lives for that oil.
PLEITGEN (on camera): And so, you guys, obviously, you want a no-fly zone, I gather, and aircraft, anti-aircraft systems and the like to beat the Russians in the skies. That's one of the most important things, right?
W. KLITSCHKO: If you supply us with defensive weapons, we're going to close the skies on our own. We have enough men and women to stand that are going to stand for the country and will defend as strong as much as possible. And we going to close the sky on our own. We just need the defense equipment for that.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Vitali Klitschko knows Joe Biden well. The two met both in Washington, D.C. and in Kyiv when Biden was vice president and the U.S. front man for Ukraine policy in the Obama administration.
(On camera): What's your message to Joe Biden as he comes to Europe?
V. KLITSCHKO: Stand with Ukraine. Thank you very much for your support. Support Ukraine. With our friends, we're much stronger. It's our future. It's our freedom. We are ready to fight for that, but we need support from whole democratic world.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Klitschkos are international celebrities with massive fan bases in both the U.S. and in Europe. And yet, they say, for them, there is no other place they want to be than in Kyiv despite the dangers.
(On camera): You're some of the prime targets for the Russians, you know. They are out to get you. Why do you do it? What motivates you?
V. KLITSCHKO: It's our homeland. It's our parents here. We're grown up. It's our country. It's our home. And simple answer, we have to be here.
W. KLITSCHKO: Do you know this expression of roots? Our roots are here. Our father was one of the Chernobyl survivors. He was one of the liquidators that buried in Kyiv and these Ukrainians, it could be. Our relatives, our friends, every single street reminds us on some memories in life.
And that's something that gives you so much strength because the truth son our side. This pretty much reminds me of like in the fairytale, the fight between the good and evil.
PLEITGEN (on camera): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI (on camera): Well, in the coming hours, the U.S. president will travel to Poland, west of our position here, to discuss the refugee crisis, to visit U.S. troops, and meet with the president there. We are live in Warsaw just ahead.
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[02:25:00]
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GORANI: I'm Hala Gorani live in Lviv, Ukraine. We are getting horrific new images from the embattled town of Izyum in Eastern Ukraine. New satellite images show a massive crater with a burnt-out school on one side. Part of a hospital across the street is also destroyed.
There don't appear to be any identifiable military targets in the city center that was hit so badly by Russian forces. Heavy Russian rocket attacks are reported in the town of Irpin, a suburb northwest of Kyiv.
[02:29:54]
The mayor tells CNN, one of his staff was killed and that he has left the town. Earlier, the mayor said Ukrainian fighters had retaken about 80 percent of the Irpin.
At the Russian-held port of Berdiansk, video shows a Russian warship in flames. Ukrainian forces claimed that they've destroyed the ship and damaged two others. As Russian losses mount, there is a growing fear that Moscow may resort to chemical or biological weapons.
The American president, Joe Biden, had this terse reply when he was asked about that.
With the U.S. or NATO respond with military action, if he did use chemical weapons?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We would respond. We will respond if he uses it. The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, the U.N. estimates, nearly 3.7 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.
GORANI (voice-over): With the exception of Belarus, all of the countries neighboring Ukraine have taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees.
But Poland has, by far, received the most. More than 2 million, according to the Polish border guard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, there is some entertainment there set up for some of the kids, clowns on hand at one refugee center to entertain people who are crossing over. Many of those entering Poland are moving on to other parts of Europe.
In fact, the U.S. president will arrive in Poland in the coming hours. CNN's Kevin Liptak is with us. He is in Warsaw with more on what we should expect from the American leader. Kevin.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER (on camera): Yes, Hala. Well, if yesterday, it was really about the NATO alliance coming up with words and statements to reiterate its support for the Eastern Bloc. Today is about President Biden taking the opportunity to fly eastward into one of these regions that is feeling unsettled by this war in Ukraine. Now, the White House has ruled out the president visiting Ukraine itself, but there is perhaps no other country that has felt the effects of this war more than Poland.
And you see that in multiple ways. One of them, as you mentioned, is refugees. 2.2 million people, fleeing the violence in Ukraine have arrived in Poland. It's something that the people here are very welcoming of, but it is straining public resources. And it is worrying leaders here in Poland about how they're going to accommodate these people. And that's something that the president will receive a briefing on when he travels into the eastern part of Poland to a town about 60 miles from the border of Ukraine.
I hear have a roundtable there and receive a briefing from the president, Andrzej Duda.
Now, it was only about a week and a half ago that Vice President Kamala Harris was also in Warsaw, met with President Duda and he was very explicit in saying that he needed more American support for accommodating refugees. And he asked for Kamala Harris to help expedite refugees coming to the United States, who have family there.
Yesterday, President Biden said that the U.S. would accept up to 100,000 refugees from the war in Ukraine. So, that is all a matter of discussion later today when the president is there in eastern Poland.
Now, the other issue, of course, is this issue of security. This is a region that is very close to Ukraine. It's also close to Russia. And you heard that sort of unease voiced yesterday by the Polish prime minister, he said, it could be maybe a year or two years before Vladimir Putin decides to go to Helsinki, Bucharest, or even Warsaw next. And that is something that the president wants to discuss with leaders here, and he wants to reassure them of NATO support, of American support, in their security concerns, and you'll see that when he is over in eastern Poland.
He'll meet with members of the American 82nd Airborne that have been deployed here as this war in Ukraine proceeds. Now, Poland's leaders have their own ideas about security, they would like to see a permanent defense force posted here from NATO. They are also calling for an international peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
That second idea is something that U.S. officials have not warmed to. And so, this will all be up for discussion when the president meets with Poland's leaders over the next two days. Hala.
GORANI: All right, Kevin Liptak, traveling with President Biden in Poland. Thanks very much. I'll have more from Lviv, Ukraine at the top of the hour. But let's bring in John Vause in Atlanta right now. John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (on camera): Hala, thank you again. We'll take a short break, but when we come back, the law of unintended consequences with Putin's war of choice triggering a global food shortage. [02:34:45]
VAUSE (voice-over): Leaders at the G7 promised urgent action to help those most in need. But will it be enough? Back in a moment.
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VAUSE: The U.S. president has warned of looming food shortages caused by sanctions on Russia and uncertainty over Ukraine's annual harvest. Both countries are considered the breadbasket of Europe. But soaring commodity prices, shortages of potash and fertilizer means the fallout from Putin's war of choice will be felt way beyond Europe.
And urgent G7 summit in Brussels Thursday ended with a promise to try and make up the shortfall in production from Russia and Ukraine.
CNN's Becky Anderson has more now on where and how this food crisis will be felt the most.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): The piercing sound of war. Russia's invasion in Ukraine is a month old. Its impact on the ground is devastating.
But away from the death and destruction inflicted on cities like Kyiv and Mariupol, it's also exacerbating an already precarious food insecurity crisis across the Middle East and North Africa.
Before the war, wheat supplies from Russia and Ukraine accounted for almost 30 percent of global trade.
[02:40:04]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAMA FAKIH, DIRECTOR OF CRISIS AND CONFLICT, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: It's a crisis on top of a crisis.
ANDERSON: And reliance on Ukraine is especially high for countries such as Turkey and Lebanon, which import almost all of their wheat from Ukraine.
Or Libya, which relies on Ukrainian wheat for more than 40 percent of its needs. Or Egypt, where the national currency dropped 14 percent in the past week due, in part, to the high price of wheat driving inflation. And war-stricken Yemen, already facing a severe food shortage.
FAKIH: Countries that are already suffering from widespread food insecurity are the ones that have been hardest hit. And these include Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria.
And all of these countries also suffer from weak social protection schemes, which means that the government has not been stepping in to ensure that their residents have adequate access to food.
ANDERSON: As war and sanctions increase the price of wheat to all-time highs, there is concern that the conflict in Ukraine could further destabilize countries across the region. And the world's humanitarian leaders are sounding the alarm.
David Beasley, the head of the United Nations' World Food Programme, tweeting, "The fallout from Ukraine will spread across the globe." "As this war heats up, many countries will face soaring food prices, catastrophic hunger, and growing instability."
FAKIH: Food insecurity absolutely can result in greater political unrest. And, again, these are a number of countries that have already been suffering from conflict, that have already been suffering from political upheavals, and of course, in the absence of, you know, being able to have enough food to eat, you know, we can anticipate that there could be additional outbreaks of violence, of course, protests.
ANDERSON: Yet, another reminder of the pain wars can inflict far beyond their borders.
Becky Anderson, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Joining us now from New York is Catherine Rampell, a CNN economics and political commentator, and Washington Post opinion columnist. Good to see you.
CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (on camera): Good to be here. So, the White House issued a statement by the G7 after they met in Brussels. And on the issue of food insecurity, there was a promise to do what is necessary to prevent and respond to the evolving global food security crisis.
They also committed to working closely with international bodies like the World Food Programme. Also, with the multilateral development banks and international financial institutions to provide support to countries with acute food insecurity.
But is it possible for major grain-producing countries like Canada, the U.S., Australia, and all the rest, to increase output to the point of even coming close to making up for the shortfalls from Russia and Ukraine?
RAMPELL: It's going to be very challenging. Russia and Ukraine together typically account for about a third of the world's wheat exports, not to mention a sizable chunk of other kinds of food commodities, like corn and barley.
And it's not the United States primarily that depends on that region for these grains, it's primarily lower-income countries, in fact. And they're really going to suffer.
And remember, it's not only this war, and the disruption of the planting season in Ukraine, and in Russia that will be the cause of a lot of hardship, you also have weather events in China that have held back the supply of wheat. For example, the last couple of years, weather has not been particularly cooperative for wheat production elsewhere in the world. So, we went into this conflict with relatively low stocks of this critical food source.
And now, obviously, this is just compounding the problem.
VAUSE: About a week ago, the executive vice president at the European Commission warned that the war in Ukraine was about to trigger a global food shortage. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VALDIS DOMBROVSKIS, EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR TRADE: Russia's war against Ukraine has affected the world in ways that we -- many different ways that we make are not imagined at first. Along with surging energy prices, we have to think urgently about food, whether everyone can get it, and whether they can afford it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Well, the answer to those two questions is no and no. But is the food shortage really an unintended consequence, didn't really come out of nowhere and blindside everyone?
RAMPELL: Things were bad going into this war, unfortunately, and they're getting worse. And it's not just -- I should point out, it's not just these particular crops that come from Ukraine and from Russia. It's also that Russia as a big source of fertilizer for much of the rest of the world.
And so, places like Brazil, for example, that depend on Russian fertilizer to grow their own crops are also seen their supply chains disrupted and could potentially have some fallout there.
[02:45:03]
RAMPELL: So, no, we couldn't have seen all of these things coming, but, you know, if you're Putin, presumably, you did. You knew what the potential fallout could be of this major disruption in, you know, cost in terms of people's lives, obviously, directly in the region.
But then these knock-on economic and hunger-related hardships that would happen throughout the rest of the world.
VAUSE: Yes, and (INAUDIBLE) enough that a lot of people, millions of people will be going hungry or possibly even dying from starvation because of these shortages of a Germany's foreign minister outlined what seems is obviously an even bigger risk. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNALENA BAERBOCK, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The reality will be that people will be threatened by starvation even more. And this increases the danger of new conflicts, but also of wrong narratives.
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VAUSE: So, the big picture here, if U.S. and its allies are unable to at least ease the food shortages and offer some relief, what will be the consequences in terms of future conflicts and global unrest?
RAMPELL: I mean, they could be dire. It's not just, as you point out, the immediate hardship, the immediate risk of starvation in many parts of the world, but the geopolitical unrest that could result from, you know, bread riots and things like that.
I mean, a lot of people think that, that was a contributor to just some of the Arab Spring events, for example, several years back. That when you have these severe economic stresses and, you know, severe deprivation, that just can't can accelerate whatever sort of discontent political unrest may already be happening below the surface, it can obviously get worse. So, yes, there is this very near- term threat of deprivation and humanitarian concern.
And then, what are the longer-term consequences if people are without adequate food, adequate nutrition for long periods of time? You know, how are they going to respond to that? How are they going to hold their political leadership accountable, and what kind of unrest might end up, you know, bubbling up within a country's borders, and ultimately spilling over to cause problems for neighbors or for other powers?
VAUSE: Catherine, thank you so much. We really appreciate that.
RAMPELL: Thank you.
VAUSE: It's -- it is, well, stories, which is going to unfold in the coming months and possibly years to come. So, thank you for your insights.
RAMPELL: Yes. My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: To North Korea now, what appears to be a major escalation of its illicit weapons program.
VAUSE (voice-over): According to state media, leader Kim Jong-un was on hand to watch the launch of the biggest ICBM ever made by the North and the first such test in five years.
This intercontinental ballistic missile was launched vertically, stayed in the air for 71 minutes, reaching a maximum altitude of more than 3,700 miles. Traveling higher and longer than any previous missile test, before crashing into the waters between North Korea and Japan.
If fired on a standard trajectory, experts say, the so-called monster missile could travel more than 8,000 miles, placing all of the continental United States within range.
South Korea responded to the launch with a live-fire test of its own missiles from land, a fighter jet, and a ship. Along with the U.S. and Japan condemn North Korea for violating U.N. sanctions.
China Eastern Airlines has grounded its fleet of Boeing 737-800, all up more than 200 planes or will undergo safety inspections as well as maintenance. The announcement comes less than a week after a China Eastern flight crashed into the side of a mountain, killing all 133 people on board. Still no word on the cause of China's worst air disaster in more than a decade.
VAUSE (on camera): Well, he's just 9-years old, but with a talent far beyond his years.
[02:48:46]
VAUSE (voice-over): The haunting music of a piano prodigy ahead here on CNN with a message of peace in Ukraine.
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VAUSE: A haunting piano melody with a civil message piece for Ukraine. 9-year-old Stelios Kersadis wrote this piece called, Anti-War Etud. His performance of the -- of this composition was a bit of a damaged landscape, meant to evoke images of war.
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STELIOS KERSADIS, 9-YEAR-OLD GREEK PIANIST (through translator): I couldn't stand to see so much pain and so many people suffering any longer. My weapons are my piano and my notes. And with this piece, I would like to send a musical message of peace to the whole world.
VAUSE: Kersadis is considered a child prodigy, first performing on a public stage when he was just 3 years old.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE (on camera): One month on, many U.S. cities continue to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine and their remarkable resistance for an unprovoked and unjustified Russian invasion.
VAUSE (voice-over): Downtown Dallas, Texas, buildings were lit up in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag Thursday night. And multiple New York landmarks are also illuminated in Ukrainian colors as well, including the World Trade Centre complex in New York City.
VAUSE (on camera): The climate crisis could result in one of the world's Seven Natural Wonders being added to an endangered list. Australia's Great Barrier Reef is suffering its sixth mass bleaching due to heat stress.
Bleaching occurs when stress coral ejects algae from within its tissue, depriving it of a food source. If conditions do not approve, coral can starve and die, turning white.
The Australian government has been under pressure from environmentalists to do more to reduce carbon emissions and in turn, save the Great Barrier Reef.
[02:54:59] VAUSE: Finally, the current European champions of football will not be in this year's World Cup. Italy suffered a shocking 1-0 defeat to North Macedonia on Thursday.
VAUSE: (voice-over): The four-time World Cup winners will miss their second consecutive World Cup, after also failing to qualify in 2018.
North Macedonia will now face Portugal on Tuesday. The 2022 World Cup is scheduled to kick off in November. Yes, in Qatar.
I'm John Vause at the CNN Center. Thank you for watching.
Our live coverage with Hala Gorani from Lviv, Ukraine continues after a very short break. You're watching CNN.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN "BREAKING NEWS"
GORANI: Hello and welcome, everyone, to our viewers around the world, and also in the United States this hour. I'm Hala Gorani, reporting live from Lviv, Ukraine.
There is no break in the fighting across Ukraine and in its capital.
