Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Russian Strikes Concentrated on Key Cities, Donbas; India and China Under Pressure to Condemn Russian Invasion; China and EU to Hold Virtual Summit as Fighting Rages; Putin to Europe: Pay in Rubles or We'll Cut Off Gas; Western Shanghai Under a New Lockdown; Italy Ends State of Emergency After More than Two Years. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired April 01, 2022 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber at CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

A large fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod has allegedly been attacked it is engulfed in flames. Local officials claim it was fired on early this morning by two Ukrainian helicopters flying at low altitude. Now CNN can't confirm that claim. And Ukraine's defense ministry says it has no information about it. Belgorod is just across the border from the besieged Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Elsewhere, the U.S. says Russian military fire now appears to be concentrated on four areas in Ukraine including the capitol. According to a senior U.S. defense official, Russian air attacks have stepped up significantly over the past 24 hours, with hundreds of sorties. Ukraine's president says Russian forces appear to be shifting their focus to the Donbas region. And the U.K.'s military intelligence says Moscow is bringing in reinforcements from Georgia. Here is president Zelenskyy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): They said three or five days. They thought this would be enough for them to seize our entire state and it's already 36 and we are standing and we will continue to fight until the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And this came to CNN a short time ago. An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol says Russian forces haven't allowed aid supplies to reach the besieged city. In a statement on telegram, he said, the city remains closed to entry and very dangerous to exit.

Diplomacy is picking up momentum in two countries not complying with international condemnations of the Kremlin. Indian officials are meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who thanked India for not taking sides. Now these images came in from New Delhi not long ago. While in China leaders are likely to face blow back from the EU during a virtual summit that gets underway at this hour. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is covering that live from Hong Kong. So,

Kristie, take us through what they're expecting to discuss and how tense those discussions might be?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this will be a tense series of discussions amid an already rocky relationship. We have this high- level virtual summit underway between the EU and China. According to the official calendar that was released by EU officials earlier this week, we know that starting at the top of the hour -- rather 4:00 p.m. local time about 30 minutes ago, a working session is underway with the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. In about four hours there'll be another working session with the Chinese President Xi Jinping.

On the agenda there a raft of issues, trade, climate change, health, human rights. But EU officials are very keen to keep the focus on Ukraine and namely, China's relationship with Russia after the invasion. In fact, in a run up to this high-level virtual summit taking place right now, we heard from a senior EU official who accused China of providing political support to Russia and its assault on Ukraine. This was a strongly worded statement -- let's bring it up for you -- that was issued by the head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with China earlier this week two journalist.

He said: The veil is threadbare and it fools no one. He added, the way in which China handles this conflict will have bearing on the future overall EU-China relationship.

A breakthrough is not expected to come out of this summit especially as China and Russia double down on their prewar relationship. That was made clear from events earlier this week. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had meetings with Wang Yi, his Chinese counterpart in Tunxi, it's located in China's Anhui, Province. And Wang Yi did not offer any indication that China was going to join in the Western condemnation against Russia in his actions in Ukraine.

In fact, just the opposite. After day one of meetings between Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov, we got this statement from a spokesman of China's ministry of foreign affairs talking about the relationship has, quote, no ceiling. In the words of Wang Wenbin -- let bring it up for you.

He was said: There is no ceiling for China/Russia cooperation. No ceiling for us to strive for peace. No ceiling for us to safeguard security and no ceiling for us to oppose hegemony. Unquote.

So, there you have it. A declaration of no ceiling in the relationship between Russia and China after the invasion. This coming months after that declaration of no limits in the relationship between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, of course, before the invasion in February.

[04:35:00]

Back to you -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, all right, So, we'll be following that summit which gets underway this hour -- as I said. Kristie Lu Stout thanks so much. The International Energy Agency is planning to hold an emergency

meeting in the coming hours after the U.S. president announced a record release of 180 million barrels of oil from America's strategic reserves. The agency says it plans to discuss what steps to take to provide stability to oil markets as America's move sets the stage for other nations to release oil as well. Here's Biden's reason for this historic move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a war time bridge to increase oil supply until production ramps up later this year. And it is by far the largest release of our national reserve in our history. It will provide an historic amount of supply for an historic amount of time. A six-month bridge to the fall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now let's take a look at what the oil markets look like in the wake of Biden's announcement. Brent Crude down over 5 percent. About $105 a barrel. So, in the last two months oil has gone from under $100 a barrel up to $130 and back again under $100.

Meanwhile, Moscow is threatening to cut off its gas supplies to the European countries unless they pay in rubles. Now have a look at this map here. You can see the pipelines from Russia to Europe. President Vladimir Putin says unfriendly nations must pay in rubles or contracts will be suspended with the new rules set to take effect today. But EU officials say they won't be blackmailed by Moscow. France and Germany say they will stick to existing agreements with Russia on making payments in euros only. And the U.K. says it won't accept Putin's demands either. CNN's Nina dos Santos joins us now from London. Nina, there in Europe the ongoing tension over Russian energy really heating up as I mentioned there. What's the latest?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest is that countries like Germany that relies on Russia for about 55 percent of its gas and energy needs, has already moved to phase one of a three-stage phase of rationing energy. That means that consumers have been warmed that, you know, they have to turn the lights off. Really think about conserving every kilowatt of energy that they can. Further down the line we could see -- if of course we see a curtailment of suppliers of gas from Russia to Germany. Speed limits on highways and freeways, perhaps even shorter working weeks for the big German manufacturer as well.

This is really concerning for the EU, however, at the same time, what they're also saying is they're still studying the detail of this presidential decree that Vladimir Putin signed into law yesterday amid great fanfare, which really comes into effect today. Russia appears not willing to cut off gas supplies right now but the threat is still hanging in the balance. Here's what the EU's Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni -- a former Italian prime minister -- had to say about how the EU would absolutely not be black mailed over energy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PAOLO GENTILONI, EU COMMISSIONER FOR ECONOMY: We have contracts to be respected. I understand the maneuver which is behind this because, of course, the Russian economy was severely hit by these sanctions. The rubles need to be reinforced by Putin. All of this is part of the game, but our reaction was a reaction justified by this war. So, at the end, final point, we will not be blackmailed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOS SANTOS: So, what exactly is Vladimir Putin doing? Well, if you look at the details of this plan, it's a little bit more nuanced than originally appeared to be the case yesterday. What he's suggesting here is that a new account is created in Gazprom Bank -- which by the way, isn't sanctioned by the EU but is subject to U.S. and U.K. sanctions -- and that countries could continue to pay in the currency, their own currency into that account and then it would be converted into rubles.

Why is Vladimir Putin deciding to do this? On the one hand it is potentially a face-saving exercise to try and push back against the international pressure of sanctions. But it also gives Russia something it badly needs, which is foreign reserve currencies. Remember, that the central bank has been shut out of half of its currency reserves and that's had a huge impact on the ruble which has tumbled in value -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much Nina dos Santos in London.

Well, lots of happy people in Italy where the government is starting to phase out some COVID restrictions. We go live in Rome with how life is changing coming up. Stay with us.

[04:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Congress is reportedly close to a final deal on a $10 billion package to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Republican Senator Mitt Romney calls it an agreement in principle but half of the money is expected to go towards therapeutics with other funding to replenish critical resources to fight COVID. The White House wanted more than double that amount but had to scale back its expectations after some Democrats objected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BEDINGFIELD, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: We are obviously very hopeful that Congress is making progress as we need to get the surgeon funding that we need to fight COVID-19. The president has been very clear there is a strong sense of urgency here. Congress's failure to act is already having severe consequences including on our supply of monoclonal antibody and treatments for the immunocompromised.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: A bipartisan group of Senators is pushing to extend the pandemic relief program that gives more school children free lunches. The waivers are set to expire in June. But a new bill would keep them in place until September of next year. The plan was started to help schools cope with supply chain and labor shortages.

Members of the U.S. Navy can no longer be removed from active duty because they didn't get a COVID vaccine. A federal judge in Texas made the ruling Thursday after a class action lawsuits originally brought by a group of navy SEALs. More than 4,000 sailors are still unvaccinated because they requested religious exemption from a vaccination mandate. Even though their separation proceedings have now stopped, the Navy still isn't requiring to deploy unvaccinated service members.

A new study shows pregnant women are almost twice as likely to get breakthrough cases of COVID-19. That's being infected after being fully vaccinated. Two separate groups analyzed the effects of certain health conditions on breakthrough infections using a database of more than 140 million patients. The study also found people with organ transplants and immune deficiencies are at higher risk.

Well, if you're watching this from Shanghai, you're likely under a lockdown. The city has now put the western parts of the city under lockdown and it will last until April 5th. And residents aren't allowed to leave their homes. Parts of eastern Shanghai are still under lockdown for up to nine more days.

[04:45:00]

Officials plan on lifting that lockdown early on Friday but a surge of infections changed those plans. In addition, the city announced you must have a negative COVID test to leave Shanghai. The aim is to keep the virus from spreading to nearby towns.

Well, after more than two years Italy's coronavirus state of emergency has finally expired. And come May, Italians will be able to enjoy many more activities without having to provide proof of vaccination. Let's bring in CNN contributor Barbie Nadeau. Barbie, a huge relief for Italians. What's the mood there?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The mood is great here about this. This has been a long two years for so many people and especially coming up to the Easter holiday. Now two years ago, you know, due to the lockdown Easter was essentially canceled. Last year it was heavily restricted. This year people will be able to celebrate how they want. It's not just for the religious aspect of it, but it's traditionally the beginning of tourist season. And so many people who work in that industry are excited to have a restriction free for season ahead this year.

But since the lessening of -- or the end of the state of emergency really means though, is that the government can no longer unilaterally mandate a lockdown or mandate curfews or things like that. So, people just feel they can go forward without this constant worry about what should happen next even if numbers start to rise -- Kim. BRUNHUBER: But that's interesting. But then, yes, if the numbers get

worse, then the government won't be able to snap back the old restrictions. What will they be able to do?

NADEAU: Well, you know, they could eventually I suppose if something goes bad have another state of emergency. But nobody really thinks that will happen. This is a country that is heavily vaccinated. More than 84 percent of this country has had both -- are fully vaccinated and many more are boosted. So, people are really compliant when it comes to the restrictions that have been in place when it comes to the requirements.

And these new -- these old restrictions, I should say, are being phased out slowly. So, as of May 1, the mask mandate indoors will be over. But as of today, you can go to theater, or a museum without the health restriction -- without the health card requirement but you still need it to go to other venues, like to go to a gym or a spa or things like that. So, the restrictions aren't just over yet, they're being phased out slowly. But after May 1 things will be a lot different in this country -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, so than let's look at the rest of Europe. There is more concern over the growing COVID numbers there. What's the latest?

NADEAU: Well, you know, the numbers are climbing up. But we're not seeing that same sort of rise and hospitalizations and deaths and things like that. And that's a lot in every country across the European Union, to feel that they can lessen these restrictions and can, you know, start getting -- letting people get back to normal. That's especially important for the economy. That's especially important for people who have lost so much over the course of the last two years.

Just returning to normal means a lot. You know, Europe was really, really locked down, and Italy especially. So, getting back to normal is something everybody is looking forward to -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, I can imagine. All right, Barbie Nadeau in Rome. Thanks so much.

Coming up, soccer fans are eagerly waiting the draw for this year's World Cup. We'll have a preview of what to expect after the break. Stay with us.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket company has successfully completed its fourth space tourism mission. The new Shepherd capsule took off from the company's west Texas launch facility yesterday for the 10-minute trip. But it's way down fully autonomous capsule deployed parachutes and landed safely in the Texas desert. There were six passengers on board, including a Blue Origin engineer and five paying customers. The crew crossed the altitude widely recognized as the start of outer space.

Well, there's new fallout from the Will Smith slap at the Oscars. The award show's producer says Los Angeles police officers were prepared to arrest Smith right then and there. But comedian Chris Rock was adamant he didn't want to press charges. Listen to the ABC News interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL PACKER, ACADEMY AWARDS PRODUCER: They were saying, you know, this is battery -- was the word they used in that moment. They said, we will go get him. We are prepared. We're prepared to get him right now. You can press charges. We can arrest him. They were laying out the options and as they were talking Chris was -- he was being very dismissive of those options. He was like, no, I'm fine. He was like, no, no, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: A source tells CNN that Smith apologized to Academy leadership during a 30-minute Zoom call. The Academy telling Smith his action would have consequences. The actor as maintained a low profile on social media since the slap, except for a public statement admitting he was out of line.

Well, the draw for this year's World Cup is now just hours away. 32 nations will be split into eight groups to compete in Qatar. And there will be some newcomers to this year's tournament. CNN World Sport anchor Amanda Davies has a preview from Doha.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: As host Qatar prepare for their debut as a World Cup final, they're guaranteed to place in group "A" and find themselves alongside some of the biggest names in the game in part one. Doesn't get much bigger than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and their respective ties, Portugal and Argentina, as well as defending champions France, Belgium, England, Brazil and Spain.

European champions Italy are missing after failing to qualify for the second World Cup in a row, but the Netherlands are back and a side that many will be looking to avoid from Pot 2. Alongside Germany, the 2014 champion very much looking to make amends from the disastrous defense of their title in Russia.

The 2018 runner's up Croatia are also in this pot alongside Denmark, void by the return of Christian Eriksen.

[04:55:03]

The U.S. are back in this pot too, alongside their cohost or the next World Cup, Mexico and the talent packed squad of Uruguay. And Sadio Mane and Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal leads in the top three. But he's not the only superstar striker in this one. There's Robert Lewandowski in Poland, Son Heung-min and South Korea, alongside Iran, Japan, Serbia, Morocco and Tunisia. Part 4 is where things get complicated, with unusually three teams yet to be decided. But there will still be in the drawer alongside Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Cameroon and a Canadian side on the crest of a wave, having qualified for their first World Cup finals since 1986.

Amanda Davis, CNN, Doha, Qatar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "EARLY START" is next. You are watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)