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Biden Blasts Putin: "This Man Cannot Remain In Power;" Russian Missiles Hit Lviv As Biden Visits Neighboring Poland; Ukraine's President Seeks One Percent Of NATO Arsenal. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired March 26, 2022 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Hello and thanks for joining us on this Saturday night for our continuing special coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I'm Pamela Brown in Washington.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: And in Western Ukraine, I'm Don Lemon, live in Lviv.

President Biden is traveling home from Poland at this hour after delivering a Reagan-esque cold war smack down of Russian Leader Vladimir Putin and his unprovoked attack on neighboring Ukraine. Listen to the blistering indictment he delivered this afternoon in Warsaw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase the people's love for liberty. Brutality will never grind down their will to be free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness. We will have a different future, a brighter future, rooted in democracy and principle, hope and light, of decency and dignity, of freedom and possibilities. For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The White House scrambling to walk back the president's unscripted comment saying that he was not calling for regime change in Russia. President Biden also warning Russia to stay out of Poland and all NATO countries, on a day that Russian missiles exploded just an hour's drive from the Polish border.

This is a fuel depot being struck here in Lviv, in Western Ukraine. And this is the aftermath. Remarkably, no deaths were reported, even though it's in a residential area. I was there on the scene and we're going to come back to that in just a few minutes here on CNN live from Lviv.

Now, a reminder of the heartbreaking toll of Russia's unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation, this afternoon, Ukrainian officials say at least 136 children have been killed in the invasion and 199 injured. As with most official reports, the true numbers are almost certainly higher than that.

We're going to begin this hour, though, at the White House in Washington, D.C., and that's where CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us. Arlette, the White House was quick back to walk back the president's comments that Putin cannot remain in power. Are they saying that he overreached here? What are they saying?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, those comments from President Biden really marked a significant escalation in rhetoric against Russian Vladimir Putin at a time when the Biden administration has really been walking a very fine line when it comes to the idea of regime change. Top U.S. officials recently have been saying that their goal is not to remove Putin interest power but with just nine words, President Biden went completely off script.

And the White House scrambled to try to clarify, saying that the president simply meant that Putin should not be able to exert power or over his neighbors or the region. But the Russian government did respond, a spokesperson saying that, ultimately, that's a decision that is not up to Biden but it is one that is up to the Russian people.

Now, these remarks from the president came at the end of his European trip where he was speaking in Poland, which is a NATO ally that is neighboring Ukraine. And President Biden sent a very stern warning to Putin telling him not to get involved or move into any of the NATO countries or else there would be consequences. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Don't even think about moving on one single inches of NATO territory. We have sacred obligations. We have a sacred obligation under Article 5 to defend each and every inch of NATO territory with the full force of our collective power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, President Biden is traveling back right now on Air Force 1, and the White House is clearly aware that even though the trip is complete, the work is not done, as they are hoping to put an end to this war and further punish Vladimir Putin.

[21:05:11]

Don?

LEMON: Arlette, let's -- a question for you. There are 2 million Ukrainian refugees in Poland. And today, President Biden met with some. Can you tell us about that encounter?

SAENZ: Yes. The president spent time at a soccer stadium where refugees had assembled, really his first opportunity to see face-to- face the plight of so many refugees that have poured into Poland, 2 million heading into Poland from Ukraine. He was speaking with one woman through a translator who told him that she was there with her daughter but her husband and son remained in Ukraine to fight. And she told Biden about Putin through a translator. She said, we Ukrainian mothers are ready to strangle him with our bare hands.

President Biden also had a very touching moment with another young girl and her family. Take a listen to a bit of what they talked about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I don't speak Ukrainian but tell her I want to take her home. You are all brave, brave, brave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: And shortly after that President Biden was asked what he thought about Putin after seeing those refugees and what they are enduring. The president was blunt, saying that Putin is a butcher. He was very clearly moved by his experience speaking with those refugees and all that they've gone through since this battle in Ukraine began. Don?

LEMON: Yes, more harsh language from President Biden about the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. Thank you, Arlette Saenz, in the White House tonight. We appreciate that.

Ukraine's president is issuing a new plea asking for just 1 percent of NATO's arsenal, especially tanks and planes. He says his country's democracy may not survive without them. Here is what he had to say in the latest national address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Ukraine cannot shoot down Russian missiles using shotguns, machine guns, which are too much in supplies. It is impossible to unblock Mariupol without a sufficient number of tanks, other armored vehicles and, of course, aircraft. All defenders of Ukraine know that. All defenders of Mariupol know that.

Thousands of people know that, citizens, civilians who are dying there in the blockade. The United States knows that. All European politicians know. We told everyone. And this should be known as soon as possible by as many people on earth as possible so that everyone understands who and why we were simply afraid to prevent this tragedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Zelenskyy says his government has been waiting 31 days for NATO to provide greater fire power.

Now, let's go back to that Russian missile strike on a fuel storage facility in Lviv. My team and I were among the first news crews on the scene and bring the images to CNN viewers around the world. Here is what looked like and sounded like.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: You could hear the flames roaring and what they're concerned about is another one of these tanks exploding. So, they're pushing people back until they can get control of this blaze. You were mentioning how close it is to a neighborhood opinion, it's really close to a neighborhood. It's on the other side. There is a little valley here and the other side of a retention wall.

And, Peter, if you can just go around just a little bit and show them how close this is to a neighborhood real quickly and then we'll get back in the flames. So, it's really, really close. This is a neighborhood where everyone has gathered all of the rescue people and they've done this on a number of different streets.

So, if you'll come back here, we're, I guess, within a tenth of a mile or so from where this is happening. But, again, look at those flames. They're just roaring, black smoke coming out of there. And you can see them putting the fire retardant, spraying the fire retardant on this. But, again, as you said it's a chaotic scene. They're running fire hoses through this residential neighborhood, this retention wall and then the other side of that valley and tanks.

Think of it, as you will, you know, for those of you who live near a chemical plant, you see the large, round storage facilities that carry either fuel or grain, or what have you, that is what is happening here. This is a fuel storage facility northeast of the city. Again, we are told it's not anywhere near where that -- those -- that blast went off just a couple weeks ago when they hit that airplane repair facility.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So, just give you an idea to fully grasp how abruptly Ukraine was thrust into this war, consider this, six weeks ago, Ukraine's emergency responders were handling car accidents and house fires. Today, it can be a raging inferno, like a bombed fuel depot we just saw or bullet wounds and shrapnel injuries, the casualties of war here.

[21:10:03]

And today's responders are not just Ukrainians answering the call to duty. CNN's Ed Lavandera rode along with one of those foreign volunteers.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pamela and Don, at any given moment across Ukraine, there are countless people on the streets doing whatever they can to help in the war effort. So, when missile strikes happen near a populated area, like we saw on Saturday in Lviv, that sends shivers down the spines of all these oh people trying to help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice over): The air raid sirens no longer startle Didrik Gunnestad.

DIDRIK GUNNESTAD, VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE DRIVER: The sirens are telling us it's no danger anymore.

LAVANDERA: With that, he eases the nerves of a mother and her two children he's just picked up at the train station. Tonight, he will drive them to Poland.

Didrik Gunnestad struggles to explain how a 27-year-old from Norway has found himself driving an ambulance through the streets of Lviv.

GUNNESTAD: That's the most difficult question, actually.

LAVANDERA: He's part of a volunteer team evacuating critically ill hospital patients and refugees from Ukraine.

[18:40:05]

GUNNESTAD: I just wanted to help do something, not sit and home and just look at everything on the T.V.

LAVANDERA: Most days, Didrik drives into Lviv from Poland with an ambulance full of medical supplies and distributes the loads to hospitals facing grave shortages.

Zoryana Ivanyuk is the medical director of the St. Nicholas Hospital in Lviv. She says since the start of the war, her hospital has been overwhelmed treating every day seriously ill patients.

ZORYANA IVANYUK, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, ST. NICHOLAS HOSPITAL, LVIV: He brings us some medicine, some equipment which we need so much. That's why we are thankful for him and his team. It's really a dream team.

LAVANDERA: Hospitals are struggling to handle all the patients needing critical lifesaving care. That's where Didriks team comes in.

GUNNESTAD: We have just delivered a lot of equipment to that hospital and to another hospital. We went to the train station and picked up a few refugees as well.

LAVANDERA: He's lost count of how many patients and refugees he's driven out of Ukraine.

GUNNESTAD: I have helped a lot of kids, women and children who needs to go out of the country, and in the places we are getting the people, they don't have anyone else. For right now, they only have us.

LAVANDERA: Didrik and his team of paramedics and nurses have spent almost three weeks crisscrossing the city, answering any call for help that comes in.

How stressful is it to drive around Ukraine right now?

GUNNESTAD: Oh, my God, it's horrific and it's not possible to explain.

LAVANDERA: This area of Western Ukraine has seen just a few Russian airstrikes since the war started nearly a month ago, but Russian forces have targeted hospitals and civilians in Eastern Ukraine. Didrik knows he's driving into potential targets. It's a risk he's willing to take.

Is doing this worth dying for for you?

GUNNESTAD: Yes, it is.

LAVANDERA: Why?

GUNNESTAD: Because it's so meaningful what I'm doing. When I see these crying children who are really sick and needs to get out, I feel a responsibility.

LAVANDERA: For Didrik Gunnestad, it feels like the road to saving Ukrainians goes on forever.

(END VIDEOTAPE

LAVANDERA (on camera): I spoke with Didrik just moments after that explosion happened in Lviv on Saturday. And he told me that he happened to have three patients in the back of his ambulance at that very moment, that they weren't too far away from where the explosion detonated. He says it took him a little while to figure out exactly what the sound was and where it was coming from.

But as soon as they put it all together, they stopped everything and started driving straight to the Polish-Ukrainian border. And he tells me that they all made it across safely late Saturday afternoon. And in his eyes, it's three more people that he has been able to evacuate safely out of this war-torn country.

Pamela and Don?

BROWN: Thanks for that, Ed. We're following breaking news this hour on the death of rock hall of fame drummer Taylor Hawkins. He died Friday at the age of 50. A preliminary you urine toxicology report just released from the Colombian attorney general's office says ten substances were found in the musician's system, including THC, anti- depressants and opioids. Authorities are still investigating and will soon release a report.

Earlier, CNN's Chloe Melas spoke Tom Calderone, a close friend of the Foo Fighter's famous drummer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM CALDERONE, FRIEND OF HAWKINS: My recollection with Taylor is simply one word. It's just joy. You know, there are people smarter than me that can talk about what a great technique drummer he was and everything but when you're behind the drum kit, it's hard to be a rock star, but he was a rock star.

[21:15:09]

He was one of those guys that just people 8 to 80 would just smile when they saw him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Only days before his death, Hawkins made a nine-year-old drummer's night when he came down from the hotel in Paraguay to meet her. Emma Sophia was playing outside his hotel and impressed Hawkins with her skills. Well, he found her in the crowd and took this picture. You see right here.

Well, here's what else we have for you this hour. The mercenaries known as Putin's private army tasked with killing the Ukrainian president. It is just unbelievable reporting from our David McKenzie, coming up next.

Also ahead, Don speaks to Chef Jose Andres as his non-profit helps feed the huge influx of Ukrainian refugees.

You're in the CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE ANDRES, CHEF AND FOUNDER, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: The best of humanity unfortunately shows up in the worst moments of humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: My message to the people of Ukraine is a message I delivered today to Ukraine's foreign minister and defense minister, who I believe are here tonight.

[21:20:00]

We stand with you, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: President Biden earlier today, and his commitment of solidarity to Ukraine. But for some people, those words ring hollow. Inna Sovusn of the Ukrainian parliament tweeted, I'll be blunt, I did not hear a single word from POTUS that would make me feel as Ukrainian feel reassured that the west will help us more than they are doing right now, which is not enough. I am happy he reassured Poland but the bombs are exploding in Kyiv and Kharkiv, not in Warsaw.

Inna joins me now from Ukraine. Hi, thank you for your time tonight. So, given what you tweeted, what were you hoping to hear from President Biden?

INNA SOVSUN, MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Well, I wanted to hear some concrete action, some steps that will be taken to help us here in this war. Again, I don't mean to sound ungrateful. We actually appreciate a lot the help that we have been receiving. But we need -- unfortunately, we need more.

We need more weapons in order to be able to protect our skies. We need those fighter jets. And we really need to have hope that President Biden visiting Poland will actually result in a solution to this mix we have been asking for for weeks from the beginning of the war.

We were hoping that there would be some clearer message about the weapon that we are asking for being delivered to Ukraine. There was a strong message that the United States will react if Putin tries to go into Poland. But we didn't hear reassurances that it will happen the same if -- if and if further developments take place here in Ukraine.

So, I'm sorry, Ukraine was very hopeful with President Biden visiting Poland, but after the visit and after the speech, I did follow the social media, I did follow the posts by other people and the general reaction was that of disappointment, unfortunately.

BROWN: Disappointment. You know, President Biden indicated that he wouldn't -- wanted to go to Ukraine. He couldn't because of obviously national security reasons. Would that have helped?

SOVSUN: Well, what would have helped are the fighter jets. What would have helped is giving us artillery. What would have helped is giving us air defense system. That would create security not just for President Biden's visit, who is very much welcome here in Ukraine, but for all of us here in Ukraine. So, that is what we are asking for.

We are not asking for NATO troops on the ground but we are asking for helping us in give us the fighting chance to win against Putin. Because what President Biden did very good in his speech, he did explain how Putin is a threat not just to Ukraine but actually to the whole world, to the ideas of democracy, with respect of human rights and human dignity.

And then if he raises this issue to this level, we expected that the response would also be, you know, higher, that the response will not be laying simply on our shoulders as it is right now, because Putin is indeed a threat to all of us. But we expect that the whole world recognizing this will actually step in to help us fight against this evil.

BROWN: And I can't imagine what it's like to be in your shoes right now in Ukraine and constantly worried about being bombed by the Russians. But so far, I mean, $200 million in security assistance has already been delivered, $800 million more on the way, including, you know, Stingers and anti-tank equipment, that kind of thing.

So, what do you say to those who say, look, the U.S. is already doing so much, and that the U.S. doesn't want to get to a point where it could cross that line and escalate things with Putin and create an even bigger, broader, worse situation?

SOVSUN: Well, first of all, at the beginning of the World War II, there were people who were saying we should not escalate with Hitler and we should really make a deal with him. What is important is carry but important to understand is that appeasement never works with a dictator the level of Hitler, and that's Putin, our days.

You have to remember that Ukraine did nothing, nothing to provoke this war on us. We were never a threat to Putin. Yet he came up with a reason to attack us. In the same manner, unfortunately, he can come up with a reason to attack Poland, or the Baltic States, or Finland, for instance, who is not a NATO member. Putin does not really need a real reason. In his psychotic brain, he

can come up with a reason. And he will keep on coming up with reasons when he keeps on hearing from the west that they do not want to escalate. Because for Putin, this claim that we do not want to escalate, is a sign that no one will intervene and he can go further.

[21:25:05]

I am, unfortunately, absolutely sure that if the sanctions that we are seeing today were imposed in 2014, when Putin attacked Ukraine, annexed Crimea, started the war in Donbas, if those sanctions that we have now, which are tough, truly tough, if they were introduced in 2014, we wouldn't have had this war upon us right now.

So, unfortunately, the west is always trying not to escalate with Putin. But every time Putin reads that as a sign that he can escalate himself. So, unfortunately, now this level of escalation is killing hundreds of Ukrainians daily. And in order to be able to save them, we are doing everything we can, the best we can with the Stingers, with the other weapons that we have been receiving.

But in order to save people in Mariupol we need more. We need longer range weapons to fight against Russian artillery, that is constantly shelling 300,000 people still left in Mariupol. We need more armored vehicles. We need fighter jets. We so much need those fighter jets.

This is not something we came up with randomly. This is something that could be saving lives here. We need the fighter jets not in order to involve NATO states in a fight with Russia. We need those fighter jets so that we can stop Putin from killing our civilians every single day for mere humanitarian reasons.

And we are extremely disappointed that Poland was saying that they are ready to give the MiG jets. The United States said that they were ready to give us the MiG jets but we still don't have them for some reason, which we truly do not understand. And those jets could have been saving lives here for weeks already, if we got them earlier.

BROWN: Inna, thank you. I know it's 4:26 A.M. in Ukraine. You must be unbelievably exhausted just what you have gone through the past month and we really appreciate you being up at this hour to talk with us. Thank you.

SOVSUN: Thank you. Thank you.

BROWN: Don?

LEMON: Pamela, I'm glad you pointed that out because daylight saving time just hit here in Ukraine. It was all of a sudden it was -- from 2:00 to 4:00. We lost an hour, so we just sprung forward here. So --

BROWN: You must be exhausted too, Don.

LEMON: -- we'll be done early morning. Yes, and I lose an hour, all of it working, yes. BROWN: You've been out reporting all day. You were covering the strike there at the gas depot. Now, here you are overnight anchoring. So, thank you for all your hard work.

LEMON: I can't complaint though. Yes, thank you, I can't complaint. It's been an honor to be here to cover and get the information out. And that's why we are here. So, as long as it takes however long the hours, we'll take it and we're going to continue to do it.

Up next, CNN looks into the team of mercenaries known as Putin's private army. What we've learned about their alleged mission here in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKIYAN LUBKISVKY, ADVISER TO THE UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: They wanted to assassinate the leadership of Ukraine, president and prime minister. So, that was the goal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:30:00]

LEMON: Americans and other foreigners have answered the call to arms here in Ukraine, saying the defense of democracy transcends national borders. But Ukrainian officials say the conflict has also drawn from the dark side ruthless mercenaries known as Putin's private army who are on a mission to assassinate the country's leader.

CNN's David McKenzie explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A Russian mercenary takes a selfie video in Syria. It's a recruitment style pitch allegedly for the notorious Wagner Group, a brutal force believed to be linked to the Kremlin. In the shadows of Russian's invasion of Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian defense official tells us that Wagner contractors were in the country and had a very specific mission.

What is the objective, do you think, in Ukraine right now?

LUBKIVSKY: They wanted to assassinate the leadership of Ukraine, our president and prime minister. So, that was the goal. And a couple of groups, a couple of people were sent to Ukraine without any success.

ZELENSKYY: I am here. We are not putting down arms.

MCKENZIE: The primary target, he says, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine's military says documentary evidence gathered by intelligence officials and special forces outlines their alleged mission. He says several Wagner have been eliminated, identified by their unique dog tags. CNN couldn't independently corroborate the account. LUBKIVSKY: We need to find all these people and they need to go to the court. They are absolutely illegal.

MCKENZIE: Wagner contractors surfaced in Eastern Ukraine in 2014, exposed by research groups and CNN investigations. Their operations span the Middle East and Africa. U.S. officials accuse Wagner of human rights abuses in multiple countries. In this disturbing 2017 video investigated by CNN, Wagner mercenaries appear to be torturing and murdering a Syrian man as they make jokes.

The Kremlin said the incident had nothing to do with the Russian military operations in Syria and they have repeatedly denied any links to Wagner.

U.S. officials say that Wagner was started by this mean, Dmitry Utkin, a veteran of the Chechen conflict and allegedly bank-rolled by this businessman, Yevgeny Prigozhin, an oligarch so close to Russia's leader, he's nicknamed Putin's chef. And the multiple U.S. sanctions, Prigozhin denies any involvement in Wagner.

But this senior researcher at the Dossier Center says Wagner is Putin's private army. We agreed to hide their identity for their safety. But they've been spent years investigating Wagner's links to the Kremlin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They operate without any law, without any rules. They can do anyway whatever they want. Then when there is a call to MOD or there is a call to Mr. Putin, what you guys are doing in this particular country, the response will be these are individuals they have no link to the Kremlin.

[21:35:02]

MCKENZIE: Despite the invasion and new allegations of an assassination plot, Ukraine's president says he isn't going anywhere.

David McKenzie, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Right. Thank you so much --

LEMON: David, thank you very much.

BROWN: Go ahead, I'll take it from here, Don, here in Washington, but we'll be back with you shortly.

I want to bring in National Security Expert Jason Beardsley. He is the national executive director for the Association of U.S. Navy and former U.S. Army Special Operations. Hi, Jason.

So, I'm curious what you think after a month of fighting, which side do you think is winning?

JASON BEARDSLEY, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASSOCIATION OF THE U.S. NAVY: Well, this has, Pamela, been an interesting conflict. We've seen from the beginning that the Ukrainian forces have just outmaneuvered, outgunned and out-tacticed the Russian military. The Russian military also, by the way, has slowed down. They have got a lot of desertions, the morale looks low.

They attacked in the spring, there is a lot of mud, so the tanks are stuck on the road, the tires look like they are in poor conditions. You've seen great reporting from a lot internet sleuths that have really showed us what the problems of logistic supplies the Russian forces were facing.

So, on top that they are off-ending in a defensive situation, or Ukrainians defending where the Russians are off-ending, which is so much tougher. It's really about a three to one ratio if you are going to attack a defensive place, but not only that but they're losing this game on fuel, food, comfort and tactics all around.

So, it's been a pretty interesting story. But you had the parliament member on earlier, the RADA (ph) members, and she makes a great point. Ukraine right now needs supplies. Yes.

BROWN: -- because I don't know what happened there with the audio because I can't hear anything.

BEARDSLEY: Okay.

BROWN: All right, Jason, I'm so sorry, I can't hear you anymore. But I'm just curious, I'll ask you one more question and we'll try to work this situation here, but I'm just wondering, you talk about all the things that the Ukrainians have in their favor, and one thing too is will, right? I mean, you've got experience as a soldier on the ground. The Ukrainians are fighting on their home turf. And I'm just wondering how much you think that that works in their favor, that they have something to fight for?

BEARDSLEY: Absolutely. This -- that's a great point. Number one, the will is everything. It helps momentum. It's going to fuel this resistance, this spirit decor (ph), as they say. And the Russians, on the other hand, do not have that will. The morale is low. They're relying on conscripts and minorities that are not treated like Russians. So, the spirit of the Ukrainians is part of why you're seeing their success is on the ground.

And I think it was said once by Ronald Reagan that no weapon in any arsenal in the world can match the will of the free people fighting to defend their homeland. That's what we're seeing here. It's fairly interesting. But, again, Ukraine now needs to get -- break the siege mentality in Mariupol and Chernihiv, and the way to do that is counterattacks, guerilla-type movements, they're going to have to recon (ph) on those positions and at night or in small numbers, use drones, use Javelins, use Stingers to knock out those artillery pieces. This is the best shot at getting through this next week or two weeks.

LEMON: All right. Jason Beardsley, thank you very much. We really do appreciate that. So, President Biden with a special shout-out today for Chef Jose Andres and all the work that he is doing to feed Ukrainians. Just before we go to break, Chef Jose Andres just showed up here on the set. There he is. We're going to talk to him about his visit with the president at the border in Poland. We'll be back live right after this

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:40:00]

LEMON: So, President Biden met with world renowned Chef Jose Andres at the World Central Kitchen food distribution site. Biden shared a few words about the chef and his work to help feed Ukrainians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I also want to thank my friend, the great American chef, Jose Andres, and his team, who helped feeding those who were yearning to be free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Chef Andres is here with me now in Lviv. I'll just call you Jose. Good to see you. Thank you.

We were -- we saw you earlier this week. We had planned to run our story about what we did with you. But you showed up live on set and we're so happy that you're here. Talk to me, what stood out to you about the visit today with the president in Poland, in Warsaw.

JOSE ANDRES, CHEF: I think empathy. He's a president of empathy. He listens. He's talking to many Ukrainian families, mainly woman with children. And he was listening to them. I think this makes President Biden a very unique leader in this moment.

LEMON: What did they think -- they had to be impressed with the operation, how many people you are feeding. You said it's up to a couple hundred thousand meals per day, right?

ANDRES: Yes, we are almost on the 300,000 mark right now. You know, we are over 1,000 distribution points every day, again, six countries, almost in every single border crossing, in multiple places, inside Ukraine in more than 21 cities. Already, we have food being deployed over the last couple of weeks, you know, in many cities, sending -- using the trains. Obviously, they are helping us with trains, we are able to send food to Kyiv. We're making sure that everybody will be fed in the war -- preparing for the wars and hoping for the best.

LEMON: Well, Chef, you know, as he met with the people there, he talked about the children being there and the mothers being there. And, I mean, it's really extraordinary to see the operation that's happening, and all the people who are displaced. I know that you do this -- you say immediately, right? There was very little red tape when it comes to what you're doing, very little bureaucracy. Did you talk to the president about getting food and supplies to the people quickly the way that you're doing? [21:45:03]

Did you offer him some suggestions and --

ANDRES: No, I think it's all hands on. Obviously, he has been very invested in what we do but what everybody else asks. I was able to share with the president and the president of Poland and the prime minister how amazing, for example, the people of Poland were in the early 48 hours after the war began and Ukrainians were living, how everybody wants -- was hands on using whatever they had to do to take care in this case every the people living Ukraine.

So, I think this is all hands on approach right now in Ukraine. Everybody is very involved in making sure that we are taking care of as men are defending the country, men and women defending the country, everybody else making sure that we take care of those women, those elderly, those children that they need the support we can give them.

LEMON: Yes. Listen, I know that you're going to say you're not a policymaker, not an expert on policy, you said you're a cook, right? We called you world renowned chef, he was uncomfortable with that world renowned chef.

But you were there and your heard the president's speech. And some people were surprised by him saying, hey, you know, Putin shouldn't be in power anymore or can't be in power anymore. How did that strike you?

ANDRES: Well, I think we have a president that speak his mind. And I think he speaks the mind of the vast majority of the American people. I think we all agree that we don't have any 21st century space for people that only think about themselves. I think America more than ever, that we, the people, means not something only for Americans but means something for Ukrainians.

And I have a feeling right now everybody agrees that we, the people, are going to be changing the world. We cannot be silent when things like what we are seeing happen. We cannot be silent when children are dying by bombs that are dropped in theaters, when they are trying to escape the horrors of war, when in a bakery, people waiting in line not to buy bread but to buy they only food mainly they are eating that day that somebody bombs them. President Biden does he is right, that people like Putin cannot be in power in the 21st century.

LEMON: Yes, because of the horrors that he has committed with children. I was not surprised. I thought it was a very strong statement. But, again, I'm not a diplomat. I don't -- you know, I'm not an expert on diplomacy. But I think it's a sentiment for most of the world, maybe some people in Russia, but it's the sentiment of most of the world that what Putin is doing is horrible and it would be better for the world if he were not in power and dropping bombs on innocent people, especially children.

I just have to talk about what we have been seeing and what we witnessed with you. We met two young ladies who didn't know each other who took a kindergarten, right, and turned it into a shelter for 200 people. They didn't know each other. They met through social media. And there are so many stories of people like that all over this region, getting together, didn't know each other, to help displaced people, to help people eat and have a place to live.

ANDRES: Shelters like this have been popping up obviously all across the -- especially here in Ukraine and in places like where we are in Lviv. We saw firsthand that people don't want to leave if they can, Ukraine. They want to be in their country, especially because very often you have families, women, where their loved ones, their husbands are --

LEMON: On the frontlines fighting.

ANDRES: -- on the frontlines. And they tell you, I need to be as close as I can for my husband. If something happens, I need to be nearby. Stories like this that you know is not movie any more, it's real. It's happening. And people suffer every single day. So, those shelters, especially the one we were able to visit, a kindergarten, was kind of amazing to see because you see children laughing, eating cake, singing songs. For a second, it seems nothing wrong is going on until all of a sudden you may hear the sirens and maybe a missile or a bomb is dropping.

LEMON: We witnessed that missile and the bomb today. Thank you, Chef.

ANDRES: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you for the good work that you and your organization and all your people are doing. And we appreciated seeing you with the president. Glad you got acknowledgement for that today.

ANDRES: Thank you for having me.

LEMON: Chef Jose Andres, thank you, Humanitarian Jose Andres, thank you.

We'll be right back, everyone.

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[21:50:00]

BROWN: A new report in The New York Times this week illustrates the pipeline of Russian disinformation and how it spreads from the Kremlin all the way to America's right-wing media. Take Putin's claim that his invasion is to de-Nazify Ukraine.

Now, on its face the smear is absurd. It's a lie. Not least because Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is Jewish and he has said the members of his family were killed in the Holocaust. But shortly after Putin's statement, right-wing media was already amplifying the disinformation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAAJID NAWZ, AUTHOR: The Nazis in Ukraine have not been banned by Zelenskyy. LARA LOGAN, FOX NATION HOST: There is a long history of the United States and our intelligence agencies funding and arming Nazis in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So it is true that there are groups with neo-Nazi links in Ukraine, most notably the Azov battalion, formerly an independent, ultranationalist militia now part of Ukraine's Armed Forces. But like most conspiracy theories promoters of the de-Nazification take a grain of truth and then cast their own narrative around it.

The echo chamber works the in the other direction too. Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn made headlines after he called Ukrainian President Zelenskyy a thug.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MADISON CAWTHORN (R-NC): Remember that Zelenskyy is a thug. Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Days later, reports emerged that Russia propaganda outlets highlighting Cawthorn's comments.

In the early morning hours of the invasion, The Times reports right- wing sites, like Info Wars, revived the theory that the U.S. is funding biological weapons labs in Ukraine. Now, it didn't take long for Russian officials to join in on that with the Kremlin soon claiming to have proof of bioweapons justifying the invasion.

Now, once again, it is true, the U.S. has supported Ukrainian biolabs. But conspiracy theorists glance over the fact that the labs are for public health research, not the kinds of bioweapons that Putin has been accused of using.

When these inconvenient facts began to undermine the narrative, the Kremlin's favorite fox host jumped into muddy to waters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: And the fact sheets show the Defense Department funding to laboratories in Ukraine. So, that looks like proof. It's not Russia disinformation. It's totally real. So, yes, we are funding secret biolabs in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Notice how the original claim of biological weapons is missing from Tucker's proof and how he cites public information as evidence of a cover-up of secret lab.

For the record, asking tough questions of any government is an essential role of the free press. It is important. And we should be careful not to conflate legitimate criticism of the U.S. or Ukraine with Russian propaganda. But when you are simply sharing misinformation and playing defense for a murderous dictator, perhaps it's time to consider whether you're asking questions or just making up answers.

Well, tonight, the White House is walking back a line from President Biden's speech in Poland. What he said about Vladimir Putin and what the administration says he meant, up next.

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