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Ukrainian Police Enforcing Curfews; Viktor Yushchenko on Biden's Comments; Smith Hits Rock at Oscars; Katerina Sergatskova is Interviewed about Ukraine. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired March 28, 2022 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[09:30:27]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: As Russian forces move toward urban centers around Ukraine and often attack them from the air, officials in several cities are now enforcing curfews. That is the case in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. What are typically busy streets of the southern Ukrainian city were completely empty, cleared so police could monitor the potential threat from Russian forces.
CNN's Ivan Watson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a checkpoint at the entrance to the eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. But this is an unusual day. The government has imposed a city-wide daytime curfew. Traffic is not being allowed in or out. And we're getting a look with the local police force at how they're enforcing this emergency curfew.
I'm getting a tour of the city with two local police inspectors. We have passed many deployed Ukrainian soldiers. We cannot show them or film them for their safety given that there's a full-fledged war taking place in this country.
What is striking about this daytime curfew is that a city of nearly a million inhabitants is now a complete ghost town.
ROMAN PANCHENKO, POLICE INSPECTOR: My name is Roman. Panchenko. Roman. I am a Ukrainian. I serve in police for already six years. I like my work. I am proud of my work.
In the territory of the city only policemen and some military men. Every car which goes to the city is checked.
WATSON (voice over): The police say it's easier to maintain security and search for suspected Russian collaborators when the city is locked down.
WATSON (on camera): How far away is the Russian army right now from where we are?
PANCHENKO: Russian army is several fronts, but the nearest place where Russian tanks is located is maybe 13 kilometers from this place.
WATSON: A half hour by car.
PANCHENKO: Yes. Yes. You're -- you're right.
WATSON: Would you defend Zaporizhzhia if the Russian army comes here? I mean you're not -- you're not soldiers, you're police. Would you fight?
PANCHENKO: I am a man. I am a man. I am Ukrainian man. As for me, it's very shame for a man not to protect his family, not to protect his house, not to protect his life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: The people here know what happened to other Ukrainian cities and towns that have been attacked by the Russian military. They don't want that to happen here. But they say, if it does, they're ready.
SCIUTTO: Ivan Watson there in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.
Thanks very much.
New this morning, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is now speaking out about President Biden's comment that Vladimir Putin, quote, cannot remain in power. Yushchenko has his own brutal experience of Russia.
CNN's John Berman live in Lviv, Ukraine, this morning, for more.
And, John, as you and I know, he was poisoned, right? Yushchenko was poisoned.
What did he have to say about Biden's comments about Russia?
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, it's interesting, right. He is such a unique figure in Ukrainian history. It was controversy surrounding his election, which led to the orange revolution, which was one of the first times that Russia -- you know, Ukraine tried to separate itself from Russia.
And then, as you say, he was poisoned. He's blamed Russian connections for that.
So he's unique. But his feeling about President Biden says that Vladimir Putin, you know, this man cannot remain in power, the feeling expressed by the former president is actually very common here in Ukraine. Listen to what he says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO (through translator): I think Ukraine and Ukrainians were waiting for a long time for such a statement. I think this statement is absolutely correct as to the challenges of our times.
I will repeat myself again, this war will end with one thing or another. It's either when the last Russian soldier will be killed in Ukraine or when the last Ukrainian defender will be killed in Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:35:08]
BERMAN: So, obviously, Jim, as you know, in foreign policy circles, the president's comments would seem to advocate regime change, even though the White House walked it back. Those comments hugely controversial in foreign policy circles, not controversial here in Ukraine where everyone eels basically, what took so long? Why haven't you been saying that Vladimir Putin should be removed from power?
Jim.
SCIUTTO: Yes, I mean, the difference between beltway reaction to those comments and folks there who are currently having bombs drop on their head is remarkable.
I mean Yushchenko's experience, too, it goes back 18 years, right? If folks think that Russia's attacks on Ukraine just started last month, right, the, you know, history shows differently. Did Yushchenko say anything about the possibility of Putin resorting to weapons of mass destruction, chemical weapons in Ukraine?
BERMAN: Yes, first of all, Jim, you're absolutely right about Ukrainians in general thinking this is more than just a one-month war. They think this war has been going on for well over a decade, as you say.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
BERMAN: And as or, you know, chemical and nuclear weapons, it's a question I asked him. And he's got such unique experience with that himself.
Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO, FORMER UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If you asked me ten days ago I would have said, no, he wouldn't do that. Today, when his situation is deteriorating day by day, I would say today he's panicking. He is stacking the whole range of his henchmen around him. And I wouldn't be surprised if he will actually command and to use that type of weaponry against Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So you hear it right there. He and others here worried about the consequences of having a cornered, somewhat weakened Vladimir Putin. He worries what Putin might end up doing, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Yes. That is the worry. And, folks, if you haven't seen what happened to Yushchenko in 2004, Google the pictures, poison with Dioxin (ph). I mean it's amazing he survived.
John Berman in Lviv, thanks so much.
Well, back here in the U.S. and still ahead in the NEWSROOM, many folks talking about Will Smith's behavior during the Academy Award. What prompted him to hit Chris Rock in the face on stage at the Oscars? We'll have that story coming up.
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[09:42:15]
SCIUTTO: Well, just an embarrassing moment at last night's Academy Awards when the actor Will Smith walked on stage and hit Chris Rock in the face. This is just moments after the comedian made a joke about his wife's hair.
Here's that moment.
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CHRIS ROCK, HOST, ACADEMY AWARDS: Jada, I love yea. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it, all right?
Oh, wow. Wow.
Will Smith just smacked the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of me.
WILL SMITH, ACTOR: Get my wife's name out your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) mouth.
ROCK: Wow, dude.
SMITH: Yes.
ROCK: It was a G.I. Jane joke.
SMITH: Keep my wife's name out of your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) mouth.
ROCK: I'm going to. OK? Well, I'll -- OK.
That was a greatest night in the history of television.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: I don't know about greatest. Just 45 minutes later, Smith won best actor for his role as Venus and Serena Williams' father in the film "King Richard."
CNN's Stephanie Elam, she was in the theater, in the room when this happened.
Stephanie, I didn't see it last night live. When I watched it this morning, I have to tell you, I -- it's almost disbelief. He hit him in the face and then the comments afterwards. I mean you said you heard him making contact?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you could hear it. That's when everyone in the Dolby Theater realized, Jim, that this was not a bit, that this was not part of a staged little act.
And then it was followed up by the expletives that Will Smith was shouting. That's when everyone was like, oh, this is real.
I keep pointing to Lupita Nyong'o's face, because you could just see on her face when she realized that this was not a bit as well, because she's sitting directly behind Will Smith in that shot.
It was loud and I was not sitting by the stage. So that tells you that it was a hard hit. You can also tell by the way Will's body moves and Chris'. And then afterwards just hearing how loud he was yelling.
Now, what we don't know is whether or not Chris Rock knows that Jada Pinkett Smith has been battling alopecia and that her hair has been falling out. When you have alopecia, you don't know if it's going to come back. It is extremely stressful.
She has been public about it and that is why she's been wearing her hair short. You could imagine that Will Smith knows that his wife has been struggling with this and how this has been for her.
Still, there are a lot of people who have a lot of thoughts about how he handled this in a very public arena on a night that everyone knew Will Smith was going to walk away with an Oscar -- a best actor Oscar for his portrayal in "King Richard."
[09:45:00]
So, less than an hour later, he won. Take a listen to how he handled all that happened and also his win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL SMITH, ACTOR: Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said. I looked like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: And it's worth noting, you notice he did not apologize to Chris Rock.
We also know, after reaching out to the Los Angeles Police Department, that it said, without naming names, that the victim had declined to press charges. So we don't see anything happening legally against Will Smith. But we do know that, you know, in 2016, Chris Rock was the host of the Oscars and he did have some pretty sharp jokes for Will and Jada then. So, who knows if this is built up plaque and anger overall all of these jokes. But, still, there are a lot of people -- and you could see it there in that auditorium. Denzel immediately was on his feet talking to Will. You could see him then talking to Jada. You heard P. Diddy coming out and talking about it as well and saying that they were going to get them together to resolve this. But you could see, there was a lot going on in those breaks as they
were trying to figure out how they were going to move on from this moment. But a lot of people very divided about how it played out.
And, you know, I also feel like his fellow Philly brother, Quest Love (ph), deserves a little bit of love, too, because he won an Oscar right after that for best documentary and almost nobody could focus because everyone was stunned by what happened.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
ELAM: You could hear a pin drop when he was speaking -- when Will was speaking, because everyone was like, what is he going to say.
SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, an adult hit someone on stage on national television, international television.
Stephanie Elam, thanks very much.
Coming up ahead, fleeing Ukraine. I'm going to speak to a journalist covering the millions of refugees attempting to escape the war. Why she says the Kremlin is purposely targeting and killing reporters on the ground as well.
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[09:51:48]
SCIUTTO: The war is Ukraine is also a growing humanitarian crisis. So far more than 3.8 million people have fled the country since Russia invaded just over a month ago. That's about a tenth of the population. Millions more have been displaced internally from their homes, though remaining in Ukraine.
My next guest is a Ukrainian journalist who has also been forced to leave her home. She does continue to cover the war and the atrocities unfolding in her country. She is Katerina Sergatskova, editor in chief of Ukrainian media outlet Zaborona.
Thanks so much for joining us, Katerina.
KATERINA SERGATSKOVA, EDITOR IN CHIEF, ZABORONA MEDIA: Thank you. Thank you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: First, I want to talk about what you've witnessed there and what you're reporting on now. Is it clear to you that Russia's invasion is not just accidentally hitting civilians but that targeting civilians is part of plan here?
SERGATSKOVA: Yes, I can say -- I can say that for sure because we see that both days they claim that they -- they want to, at this point, (INAUDIBLE) in Russia about (INAUDIBLE). So they -- they started to destroy everything. Like, supermarkets, people in line for bread, food. Like, we can see both his (INAUDIBLE).
I'm sorry, do you hear me? SCIUTTO: I do. I hear you. Please, go ahead.
SERGATSKOVA: OK. Yes. So, what was a military infrastructure in Mariupol, whom they tried to destroy actually. We see that like tens of thousands of people keep (INAUDIBLE) and (INAUDIBLE).
Also, you can see that Ukraine now, different war zones throughout Ukraine (INAUDIBLE) that is going on there. For example, we've had like (INAUDIBLE) part of Ukraine, which is temporary occupied by Russians.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
SERGATSKOVA: They are shooting at those cities, but they tried to establish say like Russian laws and everything and they kidnapped activists. (INAUDIBLE) and secure dominance. And we want to report from those (INAUDIBLE) in order (INAUDIBLE).
SCIUTTO: Yes.
SERGATSKOVA: I know some journalists that were kidnapped because of their reporting and Russians are -- try to punish them or all they (INAUDIBLE) not (INAUDIBLE) and they try to ask them to stop reporting. And one journalist, (INAUDIBLE) Ukraine. (INAUDIBLE) was kidnapped by Russian.
[09:55:06]
They wanted her to stop reporting.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
SERGATSKOVA: So, it's crazy. It's very dangerous to (INAUDIBLE).
SCIUTTO: No question.
You note that 12 journalists have been killed now covering this war. Given Russia's deliberate attacks on civilians, journalists as well, do you believe Russia's willing to make peace here? There were talks underway. They're going to start tomorrow in Istanbul this time, brokered by Turkish leaders. Is there possible peaceful solution to this war?
SERGATSKOVA: I don't see a -- I don't see a peaceful solution in terms of what Russia wants from Ukraine because, you know, Russia started the war. They wanted to -- to destroy the whole country to make Ukraine obey the Russian law. And (INAUDIBLE). I mean they wanted to destroy us and now (INAUDIBLE) they try to convince Ukraine to, you know, to (INAUDIBLE) -- that (INAUDIBLE) of the Russian status quo in Crimea and Donbas (INAUDIBLE).
SCIUTTO: Yes.
SERGATSKOVA: From -- from -- I think from most of the Ukrainians, it's -- it's absolutely enforceable because they have fight for their independence of Ukraine and they see solutions as a -- is just to surrender to the Russia.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
SERGATSKOVA: And it's not going to work.
SCIUTTO: Yes, it's hard to see how that happens so easily.
Katerina Sergatskova, we know you've had to give up a lot to leave your country. Thank you for joining us this morning.
SERGATSKOVA: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Well, this update just to the mayor of Mariupol in the south, says that his city is now in the hands of the occupiers. We're going to be live in Ukraine next with an update.
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