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Biden: Vladimir Putin "Cannot Remain in Power"; Russian Missiles Striking Ukrainian Fuel Depots; Ukrainian Forces Retake Several More Towns; Refugee: All Infrastructure Destroyed, Nowhere to Live; Missiles Striking Lviv Injure Five; Biden Warns Russia away from NATO Territory; South African President Blames NATO for Russian Invasion; Russia Facing "Remarkable Brain Drain"; Russia Increasingly Isolated amid Sanctions and Boycotts; Adults over 50 Can Get Optional Second Booster; Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Goes On Despite Nearby Attack. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired March 27, 2022 - 01:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome, everyone, to our viewers around the world and also in the United States this hour. I'm Hala Gorani live from Lviv in Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden has just landed at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington after his trip to Europe for a series of summits over Russia's war on Ukraine. But before leaving, he delivered a blunt declaration that Vladimir Putin must go.

The shockingly candid remark came at the very end of the president's speech in Warsaw. A Kremlin spokesperson ridiculed the comment, saying it was not Mr. Biden's decision to make.

The White House pretty quickly clarified that Mr. Biden was not calling for regime change in Moscow.

Even as Joe Biden was in Poland, Russian missiles struck another fuel facility; this time in Lviv, not far from the Polish border and even closer to our position here. Ukrainian forces claim they've recaptured several towns, though, from the Russians in other parts of the country, including this village near the Russian border.

New video purports to show the Ukrainians attacking Russian troops holed up inside a school.

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GORANI (voice-over): And in other developments, in a town near Chernobyl, the sound of gunfire and stun grenades echoed through the streets, as defiant residents protested the arrival of Russian troops there. Ukraine's president praised the community for its resistance and vowed Russia will not subdue the town.

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GORANI: Now Mr. Biden's speech also pushed back against how Russia has tried to frame the war from the get-go. The U.S. President described it as a part of a larger battle between democracies and autocracies and he urged the democratic nations to prepare for a long fight on that front. Phil Mattingly has our story from Warsaw.

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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden wrapped up his trip to Europe with a very clear idea in mind. He wanted to deliver a message, a forceful message, a message that could be read by any number of people, whether the Ukrainians, Russian president Vladimir Putin or the world.

But one that underscored the stakes of the moment, the urgency of the moment and the fact that, at least in President Biden's view, this is not just a singular moment but something much bigger, making comparisons in his remarks to the Soviet Union and its fall, the Berlin Wall, the Iron Curtain and how the West and, in particular, Eastern Europe, where he was standing in Poland, specifically rose up and were able to fight back with the support of Western democracies.

It's that support, it's the unification of those Western democracies that the president is so keen on keeping together. Certainly, we've seen it over the course of the last month. But White House officials know it's fragile, particularly as domestic pain on the economic front is likely to increase in the weeks and months ahead.

However, it was one line in particular that the president laid out, one line that wasn't scripted at all, that got the most attention from that speech. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), 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 the 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)

MATTINGLY: It was that last line there that was not in the prepared remarks, was not scripted. And White House officials moved very quickly to walk it back, make clear the president was not calling for a regime change.

But the president's view on President Putin has grown increasingly caustic and dark over the course of the last several weeks. He's called him a war criminal, a butcher. It's very clear where the president stands. The White House a little more cautious.

But the overarching message very clear, something the president wanted to hammer home before he left Europe, particularly given the moment where White House officials and European officials alike now, there's no near-term end to the crisis that's torn apart Ukraine over the course of the last month -- Phil Mattingly, CNN, Warsaw.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Well, so what could be the ramifications of Mr. Biden's address?

Earlier my colleague, Kristie Lu Stout, spoke about that with CNN's European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. He said the speech was important for several reasons, starting from the fact that it was given in Poland.

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DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: The really important thing, Kristie, was that President Biden made the trip, that his feet were on the ground, that he met in person with European leaders, NATO leaders.

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THOMAS: He traveled to Poland, met with displaced peoples and was able to experience that emotion and tension around this absolutely crucial moment.

The reaffirmation of the multilateral order, of the importance of NATO, an organization, which, let's not forget, former president Trump has described as being obsolete, all of those together were absolutely crucial.

For me, what was one of the most important moments in this speech -- and it was a departure from the State of the Union address just a few weeks ago -- was the way in which he explained to people the importance of fighting for these democratic principles and that we have to steel ourselves for the long fight ahead.

In other words, that these principles involve all of us, they are principles that are worth fighting for and a dynamic process and the things that one wakes up for every single day thinking about. Just hearing the president say that, those words, reassuring people, was absolutely crucial.

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GORANI: So that is how some of the world viewed this speech by President Biden. But a Ukrainian parliament member saw the speech very differently. He said Mr. Biden hit many of the right notes but was way too short on specifics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OLEKSIY GONCHARENKO, UKRAINIAN MP: The speech was strong, passionate, so I liked the speech. But what I think should be more in speech is some precise details of what will be done in support of Ukraine.

I mean, I would be happy to hear about air defense systems or, finally, the decision about aircraft. Unfortunately, I haven't heard this. And this is important because, for Ukraine now, we want more details. We want some concrete things.

We know that we are fighting for freedom and for the good of the whole world against evil, yes. But we want to know that we will be weaponed, because now some of our people are coming against tanks with Molotov cocktails.

And the Russians are using skies to attack us with missiles like in Lviv -- you showed us just now. All maternity hospitals and schools in our country are attacked from the sky. So we definitely need air defense and aircraft.

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GORANI: There you hear from one Ukrainian lawmaker, who says he wants to hear more about specifics, about arms, that will be sent to his country to help the fighters here defend themselves against this Russian invasion, specifically a defense from what is coming from the skies above Ukraine.

Now here in Lviv, speaking of what assaults are coming from the skies, fire crews are battling a huge blaze after Russian missiles struck a fuel storage facility. CNN's Phil Black was there.

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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was around 4:30 local time Saturday afternoon that the war in Ukraine finally came here to the western city of Lviv. And this is the immediate aftermath.

This is where there were a series of explosions heard across the city. You could see that huge black column of smoke spreading across the city. It's not just the column of smoke that is huge. The flames are really significant.

And down there, you can see there are fire crews desperately trying to fight them. It seems like, frankly, an insufficient effort. The hoses that you can see being targeted into those flames look very small by comparison. Those flames are still burning ferociously. They look like they are set to do so for some time.

What is extraordinary is that this is very much within the city limits of Lviv. It is very close to homes. It's a residential area very nearby; some high-rise, lots of houses; just to the left, a huge shopping center.

This is part of a very specific targeted campaign and tactic by the Russians, because, in the last couple of days, a number of fuel depots in different locations across the country have been knocked out by their cruise missiles, often launched from naval vessels, we believe, in the Black Sea.

Late last week, there was a big fuel depot near Kyiv; just today, earlier on Saturday, they announced that they'd hit another one near Mykolaiv; now here, in far Western Ukraine in the city of Lviv -- Phil Black, CNN, Lviv, Western Ukraine.

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GORANI: Now with us from Los Angeles is Robert English, the director of Central European Studies at the University of Southern California.

Thanks for being with us. So the Russians have hit targets. It's not a huge surprise that they would target a fuel depot. But as Phil Black, our reporter on the ground, was saying, it is within the city limits of Lviv. There was another strike south of the city on some sort of repair facility but really meters away from a residential high-rise building.

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GORANI: Just one miscalculation, one miss and you're hitting very densely populated areas in Western Ukraine.

What are the Russians doing here?

ROBERT ENGLISH, DIRECTOR, CENTRAL EUROPEAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Well, I think they're trying to destroy as much as they can of the Ukrainian infrastructure, both military and civilian.

I don't think it signals some kind of widening ground offensive, because they've ground down, even with the offensives they've launched already. So they can throw this firepower and destroy.

I hope it presages what the Russian ministry of defense suggested would be a pullback after all this degrading the Ukrainian military, as they put it; a pullback to the east, to the Donbas and a winding down of the war.

GORANI: Well, I mean, from where I'm sitting, it doesn't feel at all like a winding down of the war because, in the same day, we had three air raid sirens and two -- many loud explosions. I guess that this comes on the same day that Biden is in Poland and that they've announced their strategic goal was to secure the east.

I mean what are they -- what about the timing?

What do you make of the timing?

ENGLISH: Well, it's not necessarily inconsistent. And this is not to downplay the destructiveness or the barbarity and the casualties that come with this.

But it is targeting, again, a fuel depot, warehouses, transit points, infrastructure, so they can destroy as much as they can of Ukraine's military and economic strength, before they face up to the inevitable, which is they cannot win this wider war. And all they can do is hold on to some territory in the east.

GORANI: That being said, though, they can inflict misery for a very long time outside of, strictly speaking, those eastern territories.

Do you think that's what's on the cards here?

ENGLISH: For some time. I hope it's a matter of a week or a little more, which sounds callous but that's a lot better than three weeks, four weeks.

Again, on the one hand, you are seeing the sharp point of Putin's spear in those missile attacks, precise missile attacks from long range.

But in the east, we see his army hollowing out. We have reliable reports, not just of mutiny, right, but of conscripts killing their officers, of some commanders who have actually committed suicide. This is a force that's rotting from within. Maybe it can hold out for another week, two, three.

But I'm hoping that Putin, we're seeing his final spasm and that he'll pull back before his army collapses.

GORANI: The problem with that is there is a risk he will decide to use weapons of mass destruction, biological, chemical weapons.

How much of a concern is that?

These are weapons that are designed to kill but also to terrorize, as we've seen in places like Syria.

ENGLISH: Hala, this is so complicated and your coverage brings this out. On the one hand, we've always understood that Putin has an enormous ego. He's a prideful person and this has gone terribly wrong and there has been concern that somehow we leave him an off-ramp, a way to back down and save face, right?

On the other hand, today's remarks by Putin (sic), that suggest regime change, he cannot remain in power, take away that off-ramp, don't they?

That's why I think we'll be seeing a lot of European leaders trying to back off a little bit and qualify what he said.

GORANI: Yes.

ENGLISH: The great Chinese strategist of the 5th century B.C., Sun Tzu, said that you must never press a desperate foe into a corner. They will fight for their lives. And if you force them to go down in a blaze of glory, they will. So be careful at the end stage of a war.

GORANI: Yes.

ENGLISH: It's dangerous.

GORANI: I can't imagine what the aides, the White House aides and advisers, what went through their minds when President Biden made that unscripted comment that they quickly tried to walk back.

He wasn't -- I mean, strictly speaking, I guess to be fair, he wasn't strictly calling for regime change but "cannot stay in power" kind of implies that, in his estimation, at least, the Russian president should not continue to lead his country.

That being said, we're getting reports from inside of Russia -- because state propaganda seems to be quite effective -- that Russians -- they're not getting the full picture of what's going on in Ukraine. So the morale might be low among the troops.

Among the ordinary Russian, population it appears as though there is still some level of support for this war effort.

Is that also what you're able to observe?

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ENGLISH: We see bifurcated Russian society. Ordinary people, simple people, people far from the capital cities and reliant on state television, which means propaganda, remain fairly strong in support of the war, although the funerals are happening.

The coffins are coming home. But among the political elite and the economic elite, we're seeing cracks, right?

When the head of the central bank criticizes, when Putin -- one of his ministers resigns and leaves the country in protest and when we know there's great dissention, Putin can probably contain this. But he's losing the sensible people he has. And I don't know where it leads. It's a good sign that it's weakening. But it's also a dangerous situation.

GORANI: Yes, absolutely. Well, when you have sort of absolute power concentrated in the hands of one person, it's what ends up happening when they start making these very rash decisions. Robert English, thank you so much. It's always such a pleasure to speak with you and get your perspective on things, live in Los Angeles.

ENGLISH: You're welcome. You're very welcome.

GORANI: Coming up, how a former retail store has become a stopover, helping Ukrainians fleeing Russia's war. We'll bring you that story.

Also, membership in an Estonian women's paramilitary group has skyrocketed after the invasion. We'll look at how they're preparing for any aggression from Russia.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) GORANI: The latest on the humanitarian situation: Ukrainian

officials say more than 5,200 people were evacuated through humanitarian corridors on Saturday. The vast majority were from Mariupol. More than 4,300 from the besieged eastern city reached Zaporizhzhya. You see some of these devastating images there.

Hundreds more were evacuated from the Kyiv and Luhansk regions. Now safe in Poland, refugees are describing horrific conditions brought on by Russia's invasion.

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OLHA MOLIBOHA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE (through translator): People have nowhere to live. All infrastructure is destroyed. There is no water, no electricity, nothing. But our people are like this. They will simply start defending themselves. We will defend ourselves to the last as long as we are alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, according to the U.N., more than 3.7 million people have now fled to safety into other countries since the war began.

Now while in Poland, the American president, Joe Biden, met with Ukrainian refugees at the national stadium there, carrying, at one point, a Ukrainian girl in his arms and offering comfort to the displaced. But reaching safety is often a perilous journey in itself. CNN's Ivan Watson is an evacuation station in Zaporizhzhya.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Volunteers are putting the sign, "lyudi," that means "people," on the side of a bus. They are hoping to be able to go to the besieged Russian port city of Mariupol to help evacuate people.

The parking lot of this Ukrainian super store has become an unofficial gateway for evacuees fleeing the combat zone. You see cars that have made the dangerous journey with homemade signs here that say, "deti," that means "children."

And the name of the city that is being battered by Russian forces, Mariupol, there. Here you see a van that has the word evacuation written on the windshield. And then you can also that see some people are tying little white flags and rags on their cars.

These are all desperate attempts to try to protect civilians from coming under fire from the combatants that are arrayed in the nearby country side.

This super store has been turned into a support center for newly arrived evacuees from the war zone. So, there are lots of donated clothing for people who perhaps had to leave and didn't have enough time to pack everything they needed. They're provided with hot food and warm drinks. It is still quite cold in this part of Ukraine. And then there's a volunteer effort here, psychological support, as well as information about how to get a ride deeper into Ukraine, into safer Ukrainian cities, also medics standing by to help people out.

And I want to point to this bulletin board, because there are postings here, for example, offering free repair of shattered windows of cars. A lot of cars we've seen have been bashed up by Russian artillery and very moving requests for information about missing loved ones.

And all of this I want to highlight is very precarious, because I'm told that the Russian military, its positions are just about a half hour's drive from where all of this is located -- Ivan Watson, CNN, in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Now from Germany to Kyiv, a special freight train operation runs with one mission and one mission alone: supplying humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Every other evening, trains provided by Germany's national railway company leave Berlin after collecting donations of food, electronics, medical equipment and even tampons.

They arrive in Poland. From there, donations are transferred to Ukraine's national railway to be distributed. Officials say the operation has been going pretty smoothly.

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MICHAEL-ERNST SCHMIDT, SPOKESPERSON, DEUTSCHE BAHN RAILWAY (through translator): This is working very well. Every day at our collection points, we pack two to three containers with goods from private citizens, with relief supplies of all kinds.

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GORANI: Well, the German railway company says the mayor of Kyiv has confirmed the delivery of the aid containers and that he is overseeing distribution.

The war in Ukraine has put Africa in a pretty precarious position.

Do the leaders side with one of their biggest trade partners or stay out of the fray?

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GORANI: Coming up, why they may not have any good choice at all really. We'll be right back.

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GORANI: Welcome back. I'm Hala Gorani in Lviv, Ukraine. The U.S. President, Joe Biden, just arrived back in the United States

after traveling to Europe to rally support for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion. On Saturday, Mr. Biden capped off his visit with a powerful and apparently unscripted condemnation of the Russian president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Those comments coming just hours after Russian missiles struck here in Lviv. During the day, flames and thick smoke could be seen rising from one of the attack sites. Ukrainian officials say at least five people were hurt.

Now Lviv is less than 75 kilometers or 45 miles from the border with Poland, a NATO member. Experts say the attack may have been intended to send a message to the American president. But in his remarks, Joe Biden delivered a stark warning to Mr. Putin should Russia's attacks extend beyond Ukraine's borders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Don't even think about moving on one single inch of NATO territory.

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BIDEN: We have sacred obligation. 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)

GORANI: Well, there is growing unease in other parts of Europe that Russia's military's ambitions do not end here in Ukraine. Countries like Estonia know all too well what it's like to be ruled by Moscow. And Estonian women are training to defend their homeland and its independence. Lynda Kinkade has that story.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In rural northern Estonia, these women are learning how to prepare for the worst.

KRISTEL ERIKS, WOMEN'S VOLUNTARY DEFENSE ORGANIZATION: If I'm needed, if I need to actually fight, I will fight.

KINKADE (voice-over): Aged 20 to 60, these are the new recruits of the Women's Voluntary Defense Organization, part of Estonia's state- run paramilitary defense. Since the start of the Russian invasion into Ukraine, membership has soared.

HELEN ALLAS, WOMEN'S VOLUNTARY DEFENSE ORGANIZATION: Already over 500 out of the 2,000 have sent in their application to join the organization.

KINKADE (voice-over): Estonia is among the Baltic states once controlled by Russia. But since 2004, they've been members of NATO and the European Union. Estonia's prime minister says her country feels no direct military threat from the current Russia-Ukraine conflict. But these women are not convinced.

MERLE VIRNB, WOMEN'S VOLUNTARY DEFENSE ORGANIZATION: I think most of us in Baltic are living right now in frightening situation because it's just not normal what's going on. And we have to prepare, I think. I just can't sit and wait to see if something happens.

KINKADE (voice-over): After a freezing night spent in self-built tents, these new recruits learn about rifles and bullets, how to apply camouflage, navigate in the woods and communicate over walkie-talkie, readying to defend themselves and their country against violence they hope never comes -- Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

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GORANI: Well, the war in Ukraine has sent commodity prices soaring. And that has put Africa in a very tough position. To head off a food crisis, the Africa Development Bank is trying to raise $1 billion to ramp up agriculture production there. The plan would focus on quickly boosting wheat, corn, rice as well as soybean output.

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AKINWUMI ADESINA, PRESIDENT, AFRICA DEVELOPMENT BANK: If we do not take immediate action, we're going to actually have a situation that we may have a looming food crisis in Africa as a result of this war.

We will be raising $1 billion to help to launch this emergency food production plan. And the plan is to be able to produce roughly 30 million metric tons of food and to get technologies into the hands of 20 million farmers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, one possible bright spot for Africa is energy supplies. With Europe trying to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas, it could shift to Africa to help fill that gap.

Now African students were among those, you'll remember, forced to flee Ukraine by the Kremlin's invasion. But many African leaders have been hesitant to criticize Russia and its war. CNN's Stephanie Busari explains why.

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STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN.COM SUPERVISING EDITOR, AFRICA (voice-over): President Vladimir Putin's actions have been strongly condemned by several African nations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ghana remains deeply concerned about the escalation of military bombardments in several cities of Ukraine. BUSARI (voice-over): But many African states, while still denouncing

the violence unleashed on Ukrainian civilians, have been much more muted in their response to Russia. When the U.N. General Assembly voted on a resolution urging a Russian cease-fire and withdrawal, 17 African countries abstained, including Senegal. Beside them is a growing share (ph) of the African Union.

REMI ADEKOYA, UNIVERSITY OF YORK: There's also a strong strand of thought in African diplomacy that says African states should maintain the principle of non-interference. And so they shouldn't get caught up in proxy wars between the East and the West, as some states did get caught up in proxy wars, during the Cold War, for instance.

BUSARI (voice-over): Nelson Mandela once put it like this. It is a mistake to, quote, "think that their enemies should be our enemies."

South Africa also abstained from the U.N. vote and president Cyril Ramaphosa has since blamed NATO for considering Ukraine's membership into the military alliance, which Russia is against.

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: The war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from leaders and officials over the years.

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RAMAPHOSA: We are insisting, we are insisting that there should be dialogue.

BUSARI (voice-over): South Africa has historical ties with the former USSR, which supported its fight against apartheid. Former president Jacob Zuma, seen here with Putin in 2013, even recently said he believed the Russian president was a man of peace, who would take steps to make peace a reality.

ADEKOYA: There are many people in many parts of the world, who would like to see other regions gain in strength and would like to see the end of Western domination of the world order, putting it simply.

And now, of course, no right-thinking person in Africa or anywhere in the world looks at what is going on in Ukraine now and thinks that it's a good thing.

BUSARI (voice-over): In recent years, Russia has established itself as one of Africa's most valuable trading partners, becoming one of Africa's major suppliers of military hardware, with key alliances in Nigeria, Libya, Ethiopia and Malawi.

Given the strategic and economic concerns, African leaders will likely continue to tread carefully in response to the war in Ukraine -- Stephanie Busari, CNN, Lagos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: I will see you at the top of the hour with more from Lviv. For now, let's go to Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hala, thank you so

much, take care.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Still ahead, some of Russia's best and brightest are fleeing their own country. These families speak to CNN about why they decided to leave and the potential impact of Russia's brain drain.

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STOUT: Welcome back.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday that Russia is facing a remarkable brain drain, as more than 200,000 Russians have left the country in the past month. Many of them are going to Turkey. Some Russian families in Istanbul spoke to CNN's Jomana Karadsheh about why they decided to leave their country behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baby Natasha was born in Moscow but her parents say they just can't imagine bringing her up in the country Russia has become.

TANYA, SCHOOL TEACHER AND REFUGEE: We were brought out in the country who like beat the fascism. And now we are in this unspeakable evil and everyone seems to be OK with it. Not everyone, of course but many, many people.

EGOR, RUSSIAN PHYSICIST AND REFUGEE: Many people.

KARADSHEH: A war they describe as immoral and illegal being waged in their name was the final straw. Earlier this month, they got on a flight out to Istanbul.

EGOR: Young people, people who had their hopes in the country, there was a significant part of them who really like this who were kind of patriotic, if you wish, that they are leaving. They see the situation. They cannot do anything more there. They need to move on even if they didn't want to before.

To me, the country continues that I don't yet see the bottom, like how deep it goes.

KARADSHEH: Igor is a theoretical physicist, Tanya a school teacher. They are among Russia's best and brightest, the kind of people their country can ill afford to lose.

EGOR: The flight we took, it was full of people how they say in Russian just too clever to be in this country. Like you can say that, well, this could really contribute to innovation, contribute to economy, contribute also to the intellectual climate, the atmosphere of the society.

KARADSHEH: One Russian economist estimates that more than 200,000 Russians left the country just in the first ten days of the war. And it's an ongoing exodus of many young, well-educated professionals, including I.T. specialists, journalists and academics who have ended up in countries like Armenia, Georgia and here in Turkey.

They're escaping a brutal crackdown against those opposing Putin's war, including the threat of a 15-year jail sentence for spreading so- called fake news about the military. Others are worried about conscription and the impact of sanctions. But some feel like they just don't belong anymore.

This couple in their 60s are both independent journalists. They asked us to conceal their identities for the safety of friends and family back home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really don't understand how I can survive there. Really, many people in Russia support this politics and this is absolutely unbearable. They are brainwashed, I think. During Hitler's time, it was the same thing. People were brainwashed. Still, it is not all the population and it is important maybe to speak out.

KARADSHEH: Staying and remaining silent was not an option, they say. With rumors of borders closing, they only had an hour to pack a small bag, leaving behind all they own, their memories, their life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Deeply inside we are patriots. We speak Russian so our friends are Russians. We love to travel. But in any case, we are Russians. That is why it is even more complicated to make this decision. We never know if we will be able to meet all our relatives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is very difficult for us to restart. We are too old to restart everything new. For young people, it is easier. Still, smart people, they will find their way. For us, it will be a problem to find our place in this new world.

KARADSHEH: A world where Russians like them now feel helpless and ashamed of a country they still proudly call home -- Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STOUT: Joining us now is Konstantin Sonin. He is a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

Thank you so much for joining us. Let's talk about the economic cost on Russia so far. A wide range of economic weapons are being used against Russia. You got the sanctions. You have corporate boycotts. You have the freezing of Russia's foreign reserves, et cetera.

What impact has all of this had on the Russian economy?

KONSTANTIN SONIN, HARRIS SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: This obviously an impact that is the exchange rate changed dramatically. The prices are skyrocketing. There are deficits. For example, there were huge lines for sugar. And people were actually fighting in these lines.

[01:45:00]

SONIN: But at the same time, economic sanctions and corporate boycotts, they're not missiles. So they do not work immediately. Inflation is high. It will be high this year but it does not -- it does not affect people immediately. They will feel it within the year.

STOUT: So far, which of these economic weapons, as it were, has been the most impactful?

SONIN: Well, I think the middle class obviously noted that McDonald's is the closest in Russia. McDonald's is a middle class restaurant. People noticed that some goods became unavailable. Some brands stopped their production in Russia. So there are more unemployed. These are the most visible changes.

STOUT: You just mentioned corporate boycotts. We know a flood of companies, big brands, have withdrawn from Russia. You mentioned McDonald's. In addition to McDonald's, you have Nestle, IKEA, Shell, the oil company, Starbucks, Apple, the tech giant Boeing, et cetera. The list goes on.

You can see some examples right on your screen.

Is this far more than just being symbolic virtue signaling?

Or is this having really big implications for Russia?

SONIN: Oh, I think this is felt throughout the country because a lot of people are watching Netflix. Probably not many Russians would go to Starbucks (INAUDIBLE). But everyone was watching Netflix; 70 million people used Instagram.

And Instagram is now blocked because it was spreading information that the Russian government considers fake news.

STOUT: Yes, and those are inconveniences for Russian consumers.

But what about the Russian oil?

Russian oil is still flowing.

But if the list of takers of Russian crude gets shorter and shorter and shorter, how is that going to be felt inside Russia?

SONIN: Right. It's definitely became harder to sell Russian oil and the discounts that the Russian companies have to offer, they become steeper and steeper. And they will become even more steeper when more buyers refuse to buy Russian oil.

OK, this is not directly affecting Russian people because they -- I mean, they're not selling oil to the government. But eventually this will result in high inflation. And people will have to pay more for their food.

STOUT: And as inflation rises, the economy continues to get a hit. The pain will be felt in the next few months.

SONIN: Correct.

STOUT: But would that lead to political change?

Will that force Putin's hand?

SONIN: OK, generally, of course, when the situation gets to the worst, it's a problem for the regime. But there is no automatic relationship between the economic hardship and the regime change. So the regime change might happen in, I don't know, five or 10 years. So I wouldn't count on a kind of a quick reaction to the economic hardship.

STOUT: In the meantime, could the global economy get a shock from this?

How will the global economy be able to absorb the economic blow from Russia?

SONIN: OK, there is no question that there will be a price to be paid by all the countries in the world, probably just China will benefit a bit from getting better deals from Russia, because Russia now is forced to make better deals for China.

But of course, the world economy will be hit. But it will not be that huge. Maybe there be 0.5 percent loss of GDP, maybe minus 1 percent of GDP this year. But it's actually a small price to pay to defend peaceful citizens in Ukraine.

STOUT: We'll have to leave it at that. But thank you very much for joining us on the program and take care.

SONIN: Thank you.

STOUT: Coming up, drivers, start your engines. Formula 1 race officials say the Saudi Grand Prix will go on, despite a nearby attack. What drivers and crew members had to say.

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STOUT: Welcome back.

Now older adults in the United States will soon have the option of getting a second COVID-19 booster shot. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize a fourth dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for those older than 50. That decision is expected to come as early as next week.

And soon after that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to follow suit with a similar recommendation.

Now Formula 1 officials say the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will take place this weekend, despite an attack on a nearby oil facility. Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the explosion at the Aramco facility. CNN's "WORLD SPORT" anchor Patrick Snell has the latest.

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PATRICK SNELL, CNN HOST (voice-over): Qualifying for this weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix going ahead on Saturday, despite an attack on an oil facility not far from the Jeddah Street Circuit.

Smoke seen billowing over the city during Friday's practice in a buildup to a race that falls on the seventh anniversary of the Saudi- led intervention in Yemen's civil war.

In a joint statement, Formula 1, along with the sport's governing body, confirming extensive discussion between all stakeholders, the Saudi government authorities and security agencies, who have given full and detailed assurances that the event is secure.

That statement issued after the second practice session was delayed by 50 minutes, as teams and drivers were called to meet race organizers. Those talks were lengthy and continuing on into the early hours of Saturday.

Mercedes' team principal telling reporters that teams have been assured and that we are protected.

Sources, though, telling CNN, drivers did feel uneasy after the attack and many did not want to drive in the race. This, however, the stance of the sport's seven-time world champion.

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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know how immensely robust you are. But the last 24 hours has been a distraction.

Has that affected your mindset at all?

LEWIS HAMILTON, SEVEN-TIME WORLD CHAMPION: No. No, we're professional. We look out whatever needs.

SNELL (voice-over): Meantime, Saturday qualifying seeing Mick Schumacher, the son of German legend Michael, involved in a horrific high-speed crash, losing control of his car and crashing head on at the exit of turn 12.

The session delayed for nearly an hour, as marshals cleared the track of debris. But he was sitting up on a stretcher and chatting as he was waiting to be loaded into the air ambulance en route to hospital before being later released.

Thankfully, according to his team, the young German physically and in good condition but he won't be taking part in Sunday's race.

GUENTHER STEINER, HAAS TEAM PRINCIPAL: I spoke with his mom a few times and kept her updated. He has no injuries that you can see. They just wanted to check on him, do some scans to see there is no damage from the impact from the forces.

SNELL (voice-over): Elsewhere, frustrations for Hamilton; the Englishman eliminated early in 16th place. And a special moment on Saturday, as the Mexican Red Bull star sealing his first-ever poll position in Formula 1 -- Patrick Snell, CNN, Atlanta.

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STOUT: As Patrick mentioned, Mick Schumacher was involved in that horrific crash from qualifying on Saturday. But he tweeted this update.

Quote, "I'm OK, thank you for the kind messages, the car felt great. We'll come back stronger."

And that does it for this hour. I'm Kristie Lu Stout and our breaking news coverage continues after this break.

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