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Russian Military Forces Continue Invasion Of Ukraine; Russian Forces Launch Series Of Strikes Targeting Key Oil Refinery In Central Part Of Ukraine; Russian Economy Suffering Due To Sanctions; White House Announces $300 Million In Further Aid To Ukraine To Combat Russian Invasion; Biden Administration To Release Oil From Strategic Petroleum Reserve In Attempt To Lower Fuel Prices; Presidential Diarist Tells January 6th Committee That President Trump Was Providing Fewer Details About His Calls And Visits In Days Before Capitol Insurrection; Will Smith Resigns From Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences After Slapping Comedian Chris Rock At Oscars Ceremony; President Biden To Commission Submarine In Delaware. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired April 02, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:16]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with new developments in Ukraine. Officials there now say Russians have begun shelling evacuation convoys in Luhansk as civilians desperately try to escape.

Also this morning, Russian forces launched a series of strikes targeting a key oil refinery in the central part of the country. Right now emergency services fighting a fire there and trying to determine if there were any casualties.

And it comes just a day after Russia says Ukraine launched a helicopter assault on Russian soil for the first time, destroying a fuel depot. Overnight, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that Russian troops are slowly but noticeably moving out of the north of the country. This morning, the Ukrainian flag raised over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant weeks after it was captured by Russian forces. And new satellite images show Russians troops withdrawing from a strategic airport outside Kyiv which was captured on the first day of this war.

All of this happening as new evacuations are under way in several besieged eastern Ukrainian cities. Seven corridors set to open today. This after thousands escaped the violence on Friday, but over 100,000 still remain trapped in the ravaged city of Mariupol.

We have team coverage of all of these developments. CNN correspondent Phil Black joining us from Lviv. Phil, NATO warns that Russian forces are repositioning rather than withdrawing. What are you learning about the Russian troop movements, and also that attack on a major oil refinery in central Ukraine? PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the Ukrainian

government says it's now very clear Russian forces are pulling back from the north. It's most noticeable around the capital Kyiv where areas, suburbs, territory that Russia fought really hard for and claimed very early on in this invasion have now been abandoned, essentially. We can see it from satellite images.

And the Ukrainian government says in some cases they have simply walked away from these positions where they had dug in in their attempts to encircle the capital. In other locations they have been beaten back by Ukrainian counterattacks. This isn't, of course, a celebration in this country because the assessment is these forces are going to pull back, replenish, and then be redeployed to the east and perhaps the south of the country as well, because the Ukrainian government believes that is where Russia is now planning to consolidate its efforts. It's going to work really hard to expand control of that eastern Donbas region closest to the Russian border.

You mentioned that strike or apparent strike across the border on Russian territory in the city of Belgorod which took out an oil depot there. That was conducted by two helicopters which Russians say were Ukrainian, which invaded Russian airspace, attacked and destroyed that particular fuel supply point.

Ukraine still hasn't confirmed nor denied whether or not it was, indeed, responsible for that attack. The Russians, however, have no problem taking responsibility for yet another attack on yet another fuel supply point, this time, early this morning, in the center of the country. It is one of a series of attacks on these fuel supply locations that Russia has been taking -- that Russia has been conducting, I should say, all across Ukraine for more than a week now. We saw it ourselves here in Lviv last week in the far west of the country where a fuel supply station was attacked and destroyed by multiple missile strikes. It is part of Russia's ongoing effort to knock out some of the crucial supplies that Ukraine needs in order to continue maintaining its defense, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Phil, thank you so much.

Atika, as this war now enters its fifth week, what is the reaction from people in Russia?

ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST: Well, for many ordinary Russians, where they're really feeling it is with the sanctions. We've seen panic buying at the supermarkets. There are shortages of essential items like sugar. So it really is starting to hit ordinary Russians.

But this is just the start of it. These are the short-term effects of sanctions, and the long-term effects could be much worse. For the moment, some of that has been lessened slightly because the Russian central bank has actually been able to move very aggressively to try and stabilize the currency, the Russian ruble. So it's jacked up interest rates. It's put in strict capital controls, and now the ruble is almost at the same level that it was before the start of the invasion. And that has lessened some of the pressure that's on the Russian government. [10:05:00]

But it is not sustainable. The real long-term problems of sanctions set in when supply chains start breaking down, when it becomes too expensive to try to prop up the currency anymore. So I think the fact is, the Russian economy hasn't been as badly hit by Russian sanctions only because it's barely getting by with the remaining oil and gas reserves that it has, that it has these energy contracts, it's selling to China, to India, and even Europe at this point. Europe still relies on Russian oil and gas for nearly 40 percent of its energy. It says it's trying to wean itself off, but it's going to take time to find alternate sources of energy. And until that happens, Russia is still able to leverage these contracts in oil and gas.

So sanctions, while they're having an impact on Russia, may not be enough yet to change the minds of decisionmakers like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Atika Shubert, Phil Black, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. We'll check back with you.

Joining me now to talk more about all of this is Petro Poroshenko, the former president of Ukraine. Mr. President, good to see you again. So Russia claiming Ukrainian helicopters struck that fuel depot in southern Russia yesterday. So, Mr. President, did Ukraine hit that fuel storage facility as far as you know, and on purpose?

PETRO POROSHENKO, FORMER PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: I don't have -- thank you very much, indeed, for covering Ukrainian war. And I don't have any information if this attack was connected with Ukraine. But I cannot exclude that it can be antiwar activists trying to stop Putin's disastrous war. And so we have in the previous years --

(INAUDIBLE)

WHITFIELD: And what are your concerns, if any, if, indeed, Ukraine did on purpose strike those fuel depots in Russia, what are your concerns about what that might trigger, if anything more?

POROSHENKO: We are responsible for defending our state, our soil, our people, and our future. And this is the Russians who are trying to present that Ukrainian -- Ukrainians danger for us. Eight years of war, Ukraine would give any tiny reason for Russians to blame Ukraine for not respecting their global security. And with this situation, just today, soldiers of our battalion returned back from Bucha, from Irpin, and I hope you will see the video today on their situation in this town, which is in the suburb of Kyiv, which is just people -- hundreds of dead people on the streets tortured and killed by Russian barbarians.

And with this situation, definitely, they're going to immediately inform all of the international authorities, including the International Criminal Court which has a direct responsibility for thousands and thousands of Ukrainian civilians who was killed by these crazy -- WHITFIELD: And you're talking about these atrocities and people being

killed, we now have video showing -- of the horrible atrocities that played out in Bucha, the village on the outskirts of Kyiv. And we certainly want to warn you the video is graphic, very disturbing. You see bodies splayed about on the road. You see the body of a person who clearly was on their bike at the time of this attack. Tell me what this says to you about the technique, the methods of the Russian forces. And how much worse can it get?

POROSHENKO: This is not possible with a person with a normal brain, with a normal -- to see these people. Please understand this is not a film of horror. This is the real today is like of Ukrainian capital. This is how we live in fear. Just behind me, this is the children's basketball center. It was built here. And this is the Russian missile who attacked these children's center.

[10:10:03]

And we are here. This is the respect of the memories of the victims of the -- which is happening here in Kyiv. And this is just a demonstration of how disastrous is the war. And our brave armed forces is fighting and protecting Ukraine. But Russian armed forces is not fighting with our. They fighting with women, with the children, with the elderly people, killing and torturing civilians. And we should stop this. We should stop those. And we should understand that if you do not stop them here in Ukraine, definitely they go further. They make a public statement.

And we will stop -- the fighting will be in Poland or the Baltic. And in this situation, definitely we need to -- this situation definitely -- imagine just one thing, Ukraine and the future of Europe and the world depending from 100 fighter jets, from 300 tanks, and from 500 armed personal carrier. And this is this long list of dozens of thousands of Ukrainians who stayed in line to be enlisted in the armed forces and the battalion of territorial defense is just have weapons to attack and throughout Russians forces from Ukraine.

WHITFIELD: You are living the horrors right now. Russian leadership would like the world to believe all of these images are staged. You actually wrote an opinion piece in "The Financial Times" a few days ago, this as you're also trying to keep your safety and then speak candidly, as you are right now. And you issued this warning to other countries in the region, writing, "I know that if Putin gets away with what he is doing in my country, he will not stop here. And other authoritarians across the globe will be emboldened to do the same elsewhere." Mr. President, do you feel like the world is getting this message as it watches the horrors unfold in your country?

POROSHENKO: First of all, I want to thank you for delivering this message, because this is not only me who is saying that, but independent journalists at the risk of their own life, delivering this messages about the horror which Russia do here in any country. And with that situation, definitely I really count that no lasting peace with the full territory free from Russian troops.

And please, don't count, don't trust the de-escalation of Putin, because this would be words without deeds. And if Putin just regrouping, and NATO information saying today that this is not the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Ukrainian capital. This just because of the -- we hit the Russian troops and they need to withdraw it to regroup it and renew their ability to fight, and send it either to Kyiv back or to the Kharkiv, Chernihiv or Donbas. And without every tiny point of Ukrainian lands with their Russian boots on it, peace is unreachable.

And don't trust Putin. Don't trust the documents which Putin signs. I lived with that for five years during my presidency, since 2014, 2019. But if we do not create the new armed forces with Ukraine with the NATO standard, with the great assistance of our partners from NATO, U.S., definitely now picture of the world would be completely different. Without unity of the Ukrainian people, without unity of the whole world supporting us, nothing happens.

WHITFIELD: At the same time, do your words also come out of frustration that other countries are not doing more to stop this Russian invasion? Can they do more?

POROSHENKO: They should definitely need to do more. Every single day while Putin do not understand how dangerous for him the continuation of war. We should introduce the embargo, especially on Russian oil and gas, because every single day of absence of the embargo means that the world paid to Russia $1.5 billion per day. And this is every single day 500 tanks.

[10:15:02]

And I want to address to this nation who is reluctant because we need to be strong, united against Putin, just have my conclusion and advice. We can go as far as we together allow him to go. That's why we should be united to stop him in Ukraine. Ukraine paid for that maybe the highest price. Every single day by tons of Ukrainian blood, by lives of Ukrainian heroes, and they are fighting here not only for Ukraine, but for the whole world. And please help us to save you. This is a very important message.

WHITFIELD: Very, very powerful. Former president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, thank you so much. Continue to be safe, and thank you for sharing your thoughts and your passion.

POROSHENKO: Thanks a lot.

WHITFIELD: Still to come this hour, the U.S. will provide another $300 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including suicide drones, night vision equipment, and anti-drone systems. I'll speak live with a former NATO supreme allied commander.

Plus, more than a year after the Capitol insurrection we're learning new details about the days leading up to January 6th. What Donald Trump's presidential diarist is revealing to the select committee.

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[10:20:42] WHITFIELD: Today, Russian forces launched a series of strikes targeting a key oil refinery in central Ukraine. Right now, emergency services fighting a fire there and trying to determine if there were any casualties. Russia also says Ukraine launched a helicopter assault on a fuel depot on Russian soil on Friday just across the border with Ukraine. Ukrainian officials will not confirm nor deny that attack.

Joining us right now is retired General Wesley Clark. He is a CNN military analyst and former NATO supreme allied commander. Always good to see you.

So I want to begin with today's attack on that Ukrainian refinery. This might be retaliation, right, after Ukraine helicopters reportedly have helped attack a fuel depot in Russia. Does this latest strike demonstrate an escalation?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: I think they just demonstrate a continuation of the Russian campaign of targeting fuel in Ukraine. I think the Russians, when they first began, didn't have a strategic strike campaign. They didn't have the targets identified. But I notice they have been taking out fuel depots. Now they're going after the oil refinery. They're going after the electrical grid. They'll do more of that. They'll be taking out communication centers and other things as well as Ukrainian specifically military targets.

So in a way, you can say this is retaliation, but it's more a continuation of the campaign. I think when Putin began the attack, he thought he could waltz into the capital and have all of Ukraine with all of its resources and so forth untouched. And gradually they've shifted to the idea that they're going to totally destroy Ukraine in order to capture it. And going after the fuel infrastructure is part of that disruption.

WHITFIELD: And then separately as it pertains to the strike of the fuel depot inside Russia, if Ukraine is indeed responsible -- responsible, why wouldn't it want to boast about that right now?

CLARK: Well, first of all, we don't know really who did it. Secondly, it is an escalation. Even though Russia shouldn't expect to have a sanctuary inside its own territory, it has been operating from a sanctuary. On a military basis Ukraine can't permit them. On a political level, Ukraine presidential wouldn't want to admit that it's done it, because it opens up the door to further escalation. So I think you're going to see a period of indeterminant attacks back and forth across the border. Ukraine or somebody working on behalf of Ukraine is going to do what it can to slow down the Russian military machine. But on the other hand, they're not anxious to take credit for it because they don't want the political -dynamic of the escalation and counter-escalation that might result.

WHITFIELD: All right, now, Washington, D.C., is sending more assets. The Pentagon says it's providing $300 million more to Ukraine, and those items include switchblade drones, anti-drone systems, armored vehicles, night vision equipment, ammunition. I'm sure the people and the forces in Ukraine say that stuff can't come soon enough. But what does it say to you about those types of arsenal that would be making its way to Ukraine?

CLARK: This is a really big deal. I think the administration has a major decision point, because some of these systems are no longer, quote, defensive systems. Not that there's any real difference between offense and defense when you're fighting to take care of your own country. But these are systems, first, a lot of them will go to territorial forces, like the small arms and the ammunition. But some of them will enable Ukraine to operate on a maneuver battlefield, which is what's going to happen in Ukraine when the ground dries out and in Donbas.

And in addition to this, the administration is behind the scenes working allies to bring in east European former Soviet heavy equipment -- tanks, mobile artillery, lots more ammunition, which is going to enable the Ukrainians to stand up more effectively and fight and even defeat the Russian forces.

[10:25:00]

This is a big decision point the administration has crossed in my view, because it's no longer just throwing in emergency assistance. It's now moving to give Ukraine the capacity to really defend and hold on to its own territory. You can see that the defeat of Russia on the ground is possible if we can provide such equipment and munitions in sufficient quantity.

WHITFIELD: I want to ask you about Chernobyl. Remember, that was a pretty big deal that Russians would take over Chernobyl, the vulnerabilities of that site remain. And now we're hearing Russian troops are withdrawing, but then reportedly many of them have been exposed to radiation. What do we know about the ongoing dangers? And as these troops withdraw, how much more vulnerable do they even make their fellow colleagues once they hook up with other Russians troops, and if, indeed, they are contaminated?

CLARK: Well, they're not going to infect their fellow troops, but they are in serious danger. And it just illustrates the sort of incoherence of the Russian campaign. Yes, Chernobyl and that area was a tactical objective in order to move forward and attack Kyiv from the north. But it's also in the middle of the swamp. Didn't work very well when the ground wasn't totally frozen. And then in order to defend it, the Russian troops dug in and they dug into this contaminated soil. And they stayed very close to it, and so they've been exposed to serious radiation. How serious it is, we don't know yet.

The Russians do have treatments for radiation. They perfected this. They were ahead of us, actually, in their radiation treatments during the Cold War. So maybe these troops, some of them will recover, some of them will probably die from the radiation sickness. And meanwhile, of course, Chernobyl is a source of potentially great danger not only to Ukraine but the rest of Europe because it still has tons of radiation contaminated fuel, and they could be exposed if it's not taken care of.

WHITFIELD: Right, that contamination, both a short-term and long-term big problem. General Wesley Clark, always a pleasure, thank you so much.

CLARK: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, President Joe Biden is taking a go big or go home approach toward easing high fuel costs. But when will prices actually go down? And by how much? Details next.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back. President Biden said this week that his administration will release millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. strategic reserve to help fight rising gasoline prices. And you can see right now the average price is $4.20 for a gallon of regular unleaded. As CNN's Matt Egan explains, it's a bold and potentially risky move by an administration with limited options.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Fredricka, this is being dubbed the mother of all emergency oil releases. The U.S. is draining 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. That's three times bigger than anything they've ever done before.

This is all about supply and demand. Gas prices shot up to record highs because the war in Ukraine caused a supply shortfall, a big one. The president can't force U.S. oil companies to add supply. You definitely can't force OPEC to add supply. The White House can't cut demand, at least not without tanking the economy. So this is really the only lever they have to pull. And, boy, are they pulling it.

This should help cool off gas prices, with one analyst projecting a 10 to 15 cent drop in the national average in the coming weeks. Of course, that would still leave gas prices very high, and some fear a return to record high prices as Americans hit the road this spring and summer.

There's at least two obstacles here. First of all, this is a massive release. But the size of the hole they're trying to fill is even bigger. The U.S. release amounts to about a million barrels per day for 180 days. But the IEA estimates that Russia's supply will be down by 3 million barrels per day starting this month.

The other issue here is the SPR is not a bottomless pit of emergency oil. Reserves were at 20-year lows before this move. Unloading another 180 million barrels would wipe out a third of the remaining oil, leaving reserves at their lowest levels since 1984. Either that oil gets refilled, boosting demand in the future, or it doesn't, leaving less firepower for the next emergency.

Either way, that would support prices. All of this explains why one international energy official told me prices are likely to stay high until the war ends or a recession begins. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Matt Egan, thanks so much.

Let's bring in now CNN global economic analyst Rana Foroohar. She is a global business columnist and associate editor at "The Financial Times." So good to see you. So bottom line, it is really costly out there, and consumers are really feeling the pinch, but they want to know if there's going to be any meaningful relief soon at the pump.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, Fredricka, I think Matt is absolutely right. We are probably not going to see significant decreases in the price of gas and the price of energy until the war in Ukraine is over.

[10:35:00]

And one of the big wrinkles is if it were to escalate, you could actually see that supply and demand gap get even bigger than it is now, because if you start to see Europe saying, all right, we're not going to take any Russian emergency, we're going to have complete embargoes, then you're going to have a global shortage that's even more than what we're seeing now. And as we've already heard, the president is bringing a real bazooka here in terms of that release of Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Is it going to be enough? We don't know yet.

WHITFIELD: Domestic oil production is roughly near where it was in 2019. But gas prices have almost doubled since then. So is the price just driven by global oil prices, and, as you say, the invasion of Ukraine certainly makes an impact, too, but is that really what is at the root here?

FOROOHAR: There are two other factors to consider. One, we came roaring -- the U.S. in particular came roaring out of COVID. We really have had a pretty strong recovery. You can see that in the jobs numbers that we saw yesterday and over the last few months.

But there's another factor, and the president has been pointing at this, which is that are companies charging too much? Are they using all their spare cash to pay back shareholders and to make the rich richer, or are they using it to develop more reserves, to pump more, to do more R&D? That's a big question. And I think that you're going to see Biden putting a lot more pressure on companies around this issue.

WHITFIELD: Have a listen to Cecilia Rouse, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers talk about the challenges facing the economy right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CECILIA ROUSE, CHAIR, WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS: The most obvious is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This may well put upward pressure on energy and food prices. That in turn could reinforce inflation, which was already an issue prior to the invasion due to the pandemic, supply constraints, and a strong demand for goods.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So we talked about fuel. So do you see an immediate impact on everything that we buy in the grocery store, things we set on the table?

FOROOHAR: A hundred percent. Ukraine is one of the breadbaskets of the world. In fact, the last time you saw a bad harvest in the Ukraine, you also saw a major global food shortage that actually resulted in food riots in 22 countries. You saw the Arab spring. That reshaped the entire Middle East.

What I'm hearing actually talking to American farmers in places like Kansas is that the shortages coming out of this war and also the rising commodity prices are making it harder for them to buy fertilizer. If they can't put the adequate amounts of fertilizer on their crops in the middle of the U.S. harvest, we could see a worse harvest in the U.S. So this is a domino effect. This is what the global economy looks like when things start to go south.

WHITFIELD: A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll shows 71 percent of Americans worry about affording gas or other transportation costs, that's up from about 40 percent two years ago. So what does that do to erode consumer confidence and undermine economic stability?

FOROOHAR: It's huge. A lot of families, aside from rent, food and fuel are their biggest costs. You look at working people, they're spending 25, 30 percent of the budget on these things. So this is a big deal, kitchen table economics. And I think you're going to see the administration do whatever they can, particularly in advance of the midterms, to put a cap on it. But it's a global economy. You can't control everything.

WHITFIELD: Rana Foroohar, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

FOROOHAR: Thank you, Fredricka.

Next, it's being described as a dramatic departure and out of the ordinary. New details about what Trump's presidential diarist is saying about the days leading up to the capital insurrection.

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[10:43:25]

WHITFIELD: We're learning new details about the days leading up to the Capitol insurrection. In an interview with the January 6th committee, the presidential diarist told members that President Trump was providing fewer details about his calls and visits. This according to two sources with knowledge of the probe. Other witnesses describe White House recordkeepers as being iced out in the days leading up to January 6th. CNN's Annie Grayer joining me now to discuss all of this. So Annie, what new developments did you uncover about the White House recordkeeping under Trump?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN REPORTER: Fredricka, our team broke an important story last night that gives some key context into why there are gaps in the records from the Trump administration in the days leading up and on January 6th. As you mentioned, the Trump diarist who is responsible for keeping records of a president's phone calls or who is coming in or out of the Oval Office who the president might be meeting with testified in front of the January 6th Committee about two weeks ago saying that in the days leading up to, including on January 6th, she received less and less information for her records, especially a big change in comparison to what she had been receiving before.

It's important to note that the diarist for a president is not a political appointee. This is not someone who comes in with each administration. This is someone who is usually has a long-serving term that is a nonpolitical person. And it's also important to note that this diarist, we're learning, is not the only one who has testified in front of the committee that has explained this kind of shift in recordkeeping.

[10:45:07]

We know that other sources involved in the recordkeeping process have also outlined the January 6th Committee that there was a dramatic decrease in information given to them to maintain for their records, starting as early as January 4th and then leading through January 6th.

Now, it's very important to point out that we don't know why this decrease in information to diarists and recordkeepers happened. We don't know if it was a specific directive, we don't know who gave that directive, we don't know if this is because things were just so chaotic in the Trump White House during those days, or even because the Trump administration was pretty short-staffed in that period.

But what the big takeaway here is, the committee, as it's been receiving documents that don't necessarily answer a lot of questions for them, they have been turning to witness testimony to really fill in gaps for why there isn't certain information in key White House records, and who can fill in those gaps for them, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Annie Grayer, thank you so much for bringing that to us. We'll check back with you.

Take a look right now, live pictures from the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, where President Biden is set to commission the Navy's newest submarine. We'll take you there live next.

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[10:50:58]

WHITFIELD: Just moments from now, President Biden will be at the Port of Wilmington, Delaware, to see the Navy's newest commissioned submarine, the USS Delaware. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden is the ship's sponsor and will attend the ceremony along with the president. CNN's Oren Liebermann is live for us in Delaware with more. Oren, tell us more about this vessel and why this is a significant day.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The USS Delaware is right here behind me. You can see it over my left shoulder. And it's kind of an interesting timeline in terms of the commissioning here. The sub was actually commissioned a couple of years ago in April of 2020. But that was right at the beginning of COVID, the beginning of the pandemic. So it wasn't possible to hold an event like this. As such, the sub has a commissioning at sea submerged, the first

submarine to have a commissioning like that, and this is being called the commissioning commemoration. This will be the ceremony, the history, the culture that you normally see at a commissioning.

Speaking today expected, President Joe Biden, as well as first lady Jill Biden. She is the sponsor of the submarine, meaning, that she attends the milestones and she becomes a part of the submarine's culture. It is a Virginia class attack submarine here, and this is what we'll be looking for as we go on throughout the day, throughout some of the speeches.

Of course, one of the key questions, will Biden speak about Ukraine at all? Will he make any mention of it in his comments? Just last night the Biden administration approving $300 million more dollars in security assistance to Ukraine, and interestingly, mentioning quite specifically the systems that will be sent over. We haven't seen that before. Normally the administration had been quite discreet about what weapons and equipment it would send. Now the administration is simply saying openly it will be suicide drones, surveillance drones, anti- drone systems, ammunition, and much more. So an interesting shift there we've seen from the administration.

Right now the ceremony here behind me expected to get started in just a few minutes. So of course, we'll listen in and we'll bring you the latest from here in the Port of Wilmington, Fred?

WHITFIELD: Oren Liebermann, thank you so much. We'll look forward to that happening.

Stay with us. We're back in a moment.

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[10:57:42]

WHITFIELD: Will Smith has resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after slapping Chris Rock at Sunday's Oscar ceremony. So what does this mean? CNN's Chloe Melas explains.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Good morning. Will Smith resigning late Friday night after Will Packer, the director of the Oscars, gave an explosive interview to "Good Morning, America" in which he said that he actually thought that the slap was a joke, like many Americans and many people watching the Oscars last Sunday. Will Smith and his emotional statement, reading in part, "The list of those I have hurt is long. It includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends, and loved ones, all those in attendance and global audiences at home."

He goes on to say "I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominee and winners at their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken."

The Academy released a statement a few minutes after saying that they accept his resignation, but then on April 18th they still plan to have some sort of consequences. What could those consequences be? He could potentially be banned from attending the Academy Awards in the future. The fact that Will Smith has resigned means that Will can no longer be a voting member of the academy, so he won't be able to vote in upcoming award seasons.

But could Will Smith be potentially nominated for an Academy Award in the future? It doesn't look as though that is off the table. Again, we are still waiting to hear more from Chris Rock who briefly addressed it during the show that I attended earlier this week in Boston at the Wilbur Theater. But we're still waiting to hear more, and he says at some point he will discuss it, and it will be funny and serious. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Live pictures right now out of Wilmington, Delaware, as we wait for President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden to arrive at a commissioning ceremony for the USS Delaware in Wilmington. And there you see the motorcade as it makes its way to the port area. As we heard Oren Liebermann explaining earlier, this vessel was actually commissioned a couple of years ago, but because of COVID, of course, no one was able to be in attendance, and it was sort of a submerged commission that took place.