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Interview With Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer; President Biden Delivers Remarks on War in Ukraine. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired April 06, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:02]

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I'm sure you have seen the pictures from Bucha, and out -- just outside of Kyiv, bodies left in streets as Russian troops withdrew, some shot in the back of the head with their hands tied behind their backs, civilians executed in cold blood, bodies dumped into mass graves, a sense of brutality and inhumanity left for all the world to see unapologetically.

There's nothing less happening than major war crimes. Responsible nations have to come together to hold these perpetrators accountable. And together with our allies and our partners, we are going to keep raising the economic cost and ratchet up the pain for Putin and further increase Russia's economic isolation.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Folks, steps we have already taken are predicted to shrink Russia's gross domestic product by double digits this year alone.

Just in one year, our sanctions are likely to wipe out the last 15 years of Russia's economic gains. And because we have cut Russia off from importing technologies like semiconductors and encryption security and critical components of quantum technology that they need to compete in the 21st century, we're going to stifle Russia's ability and its economy to grow for years to come.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Folks, this is the United States. And we're taking additional steps in lockstep with our allies and partners to raise the economic pressure on Putin.

First, the United States will impose full blocking sanctions on SberBank, by far the largest financial institution in Russia, and Alfa Bank, its largest private bank. We're locking down any accounts, any funds that those banks hold in the United States. They will not be able to touch any of their money. They will not be able to do any business here.

And, second, I'm going to sign an executive order that is going to ban any new U.S. investment in Russia. More than 600 private sector companies...

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Folks, corporate America's stepping up, a change.

From McDonald's to Exxon, they have left the Russian market on their own accord, 600 of them. Think about that, the private businesses choosing to leave Russia, rather than risk being associated with Putin's brutal war.

And this ban on investment is going to make sure that new money can't come into Russia to replace what's left, so that the Russian economy doesn't feel the loss and the loss of these businesses for the long term.

Third, we're adding more critical state-owned enterprises to the list of fully blocked Russian companies. These companies are major revenue generators owned by the Russian government, which Putin uses to fund himself and enable his war in Ukraine.

They will also be cut off from doing any business with the United States. They will not be able to access or use any assets they have in the United States. And, fourth, we, along with our European allies, are adding to the names and the list of Russian elites and their families that we're sanctioning.

Do you see these yachts we're -- that are being picked up? No, no, think about it. Think about the incredible amounts of money these oligarchs have stolen. These yachts are hundreds, millions and millions of dollars.

Look, these oligarchs and their family members are not allowed to hold onto their wealth in Europe and the United States and keep these yachts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, their luxury vacation homes, while children Ukraine are being killed, displaced from their homes every single day.

And, finally, we're continuing to supply Ukraine with the weapons, resources they need to defend their country. Last Friday...

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Last Friday, we announced millions in funding to procure new equipment for Ukraine, advanced drones, laser-guided rocket systems.

Yesterday, I signed another package to send more Javelin missiles, those shoulder-mounted missiles that can take out tanks and armored vehicles...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: ... to keep getting an uninterrupted supply to the Ukrainian military.

We won't be able to advertise every piece of security we give, because our allies and partners are supplying to Ukraine through us. But advanced weapons and ammunition are flowing in every single day.

And, as you may have seen yesterday on television, when the secretary of defense was being cross-examined by one of our -- how can I say it, our congresspersons.

[13:05:08]

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: ... saying, what have you done? And he basically looked at him and said, what the hell you think we have done? Why do you think they're able to fight? We have trained them and we have given them the weapons.

That's what's happening.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: Look, thanks to the bravery, the grit and the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people, Russia has already failed in its initial war aims.

Russia wanted to take Ukraine's capital city, Kyiv, and topple its democracy and elected government. Today, Kyiv still stands and that government still presides.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: This fight is far from over.

Here's the point. This war could continue for a long time, but the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the fight for freedom.

And I just want you to know that. And, by the way, if I got to go to war, I'm going with you guys, I will tell you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: I mean it.

I want to talk about -- I want to talk about what I'm here today to talk about, you women or men and the American union movement.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

You have just heard the president there, the U.S. unleashing new sanctions on Russia, as more horrific images of civilian deaths and destruction pour out of Ukraine.

The mayor of Mariupol compares the suffering in his city to a Nazi death camp, calling it -- quote -- "the new Auschwitz." Other city officials there say Russian forces are now operating mobile crematoria, apparently trying to hide civilian deaths.

And we have new images from a commuter town, this is just outside Kyiv, where entire neighborhoods, you can see, are in ruins. Local officials fear hundreds of civilians are buried in the leveled apartment buildings.

Also this, new evidence of Russian shelling of what is clearly a non- military target. This video from a surveillance camera shows a Russian strike on an ambulance parked outside a children's hospital.

Our correspondents are covering all the latest developments for us.

Let's start with our Arlette Saenz and these new sanctions.

Some it up for us, Arlette.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, President Biden made clear there that this new round of sanctions is in response to those brutal scenes that we have seen coming out of Ukraine over the course of the past few days, President Biden specifically saying that he wants to ratchet up the pain for Putin.

So, what do these sanctions look like? These sanctions include full blocking sanctions on one of Russia's largest financial institutions, as well as one of Russia's largest private banks. This essentially would stop all transactions with American financial institutions, as well as freeze the assets that these institutions have in the United States.

Additionally, the U.S. will be implementing sanctions on Vladimir Putin's adult daughters, as well as family members of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. What is noteworthy about this and a senior administration official says that there is the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been hiding some of his wealth, his assets with his daughters.

So they are essentially trying to target that. Additionally, today, a senior administration official also said that these sanctions are not necessarily permanent, that Russia could reverse course, and that could reverse some of these sanctions. But, so far, everything that we have seen coming from Russia does not indicate that these sanctions have actually impacted their thinking.

Putin has still been moving forward with this war, waging even more and more brutal campaigns. President Biden also saying that they're going to continue that military assistance into Ukraine, as they are trying to help the Ukrainian fighters defend themselves against Russia's aggression -- Ana.

CABRERA: Stand by, Arlette.

Nic Robertson is in Brussels.

The European Union is also enacting new sanctions. What are those, Nic? NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, some of

those are really kind of in lockstep with the United States. They're sort of high technology items that President Biden was talking about there.

The European Union marking $10.9 billion of high-tech exports to Russia off-limits now. That would be rare semiconductors, quantum computers, these sorts of things, exactly what President Biden was talking about.

The Europeans also going after the energy supplies from -- that the European Union gets from Russia. They're saying they're going to ban the use of Russian coal. Now, that is a small fraction in terms of total revenue that goes to Russia, $4.3 billion a year, compared to more than approximately $100 billion that goes total from gas and oil.

[13:10:05]

Sol, the European Union also looking at those other sectors, oil potentially more likely than gas in the short term. Indeed, U.K. today announced that it would end up getting -- it would end buying Russian coal and oil by the end of this year.

But the European Union, like the United States, targeting key Russian banks. The VTB Bank, the second largest Russian bank, they're targeting that. They're also targeting Russia's sort of commercial -- global commercial interests by denying Russian vessels and Russian- operated vessels access to E.U. ports.

So you can see this sort of fifth round of sanctions that are still being worked on here by E.U. officials. It's very much coordinated and in line with what United States is doing, banks, individuals, big ticket items like coal designed to put that most immediate financial pressure on President Putin.

But, yes, a lot more could be done.

CABRERA: Oil and gas still going to those countries from Russia.

Nic Robertson and Arlette Saenz, thank you.

Let's go to Southeast Ukraine now and some of the most intense fighting and Russian assaults happening there.

Mariupol's mayor says the scale of tragedy in his city hasn't been seen since World War II.

And CNN's Ivan Watson is in the region for us.

What is the latest out of that devastated city, Ivan?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there have been some pretty chilling accusations made by the mayor of that city, by the city council, which -- and we don't believe they're really in Mariupol right now, because it's been encircled by the Russian military now for a month, bombed day and night for a month, with Ukrainian defenders still fighting back, holding out in parts of the city, and, even more disturbing, around 100,000 civilians believed to be trapped in the city amid this urban battle and the ongoing artillery and airstrikes of the city.

So, you have the city council that put out the statement claiming that there are mobile crematoria being used in Mariupol theoretically to burn and dispose of bodies, the city council accusing the Russian military of trying to cover its tracks in Mariupol.

I cannot independently confirm that. I can tell you that I have interviewed dozens of evacuees who have escaped from the city who have described to me seeing bodies laying around the city, have described burying civilians who were caught by the Russian artillery in the courtyards of their own apartment blocks.

Another thing that I can confirm is that the International Committee of the Red Cross was trying to get into Mariupol for five days, actually detained overnight at one point by the Russian security forces, had to turn around just shy of the city. They were not allowed in by the Russians, and did manage to escort around 500 civilians who -- most of whom had fled Mariupol either in cars or on foot.

The Red Cross help them in buses to reach here, Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian-controlled territory. That is a glimmer of hope, but still a drop in the bucket, because there are still tens of thousands of additional people believed to be trapped in that city, a city that the city council is describing as a death camp -- back to you, Ana.

CABRERA: I just fear so much what we will find or what they will find when people other than Russians are allowed in there.

Ivan, I do want to ask you about your interview that you did with somebody who was in hospital who I understand was able to get out who survived a bombing they're in Mariupol. Tell us about that moment.

WATSON: This is a 21-year-old man named Dmitry who was hiding with his mother on the night of March 9 in a building, when he says they were hit by a Russian airstrike.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Where are you from?

DMITRY OSELEDKO, MARIUPOL SURVIVOR (through translator): Mariupol.

WATSON: Deema is a recent university graduate photographed here with his mother, Natasha.

"My mother died when this happened to me," he says, adding: "I have cried it off already. I'm calmer now."

He says, on the night of March 9, he and his mother were hiding in the bathroom of a two-story house in the center of Mariupol when they heard warplanes overhead bombing the neighborhood. Mother and son were hiding in the bathroom shortly before 1:00 a.m., he says, when the bomb hit the house. When he woke up, his legs were gone. He never saw his mother again.

OSELEDKO: Of course I get angry. I get sad. I get depressed at times. But I can't lose my cool, because those who did this to me, they probably want me to sit here crying and weeping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:15:02]

WATSON: Dmitry says he plans to eventually traveled to Germany to reunite with surviving members of his family and hopefully be outfitted with prosthetics, so he can one day walk again. That's just one young man's story -- Ana.

CABRERA: Ivan, thank you for telling Dmitry's story and for keeping us all informed as to what is the brutal reality there on the ground.

Thank you.

Let's continue this conversation with Steven Pifer -- Pifer, I should say, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and a William Perry fellow at Stanford University.

Ambassador Pifer, the mayor of Mariupol is describing the situation in his city this way -- and I quote -- "The Ruscists, Russian fascists, turned our whole city into a death camp. This is no longer Chechnya or Aleppo. This is the new Auschwitz."

What goes through your mind when you hear that?

STEVEN PIFER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UKRAINE: Well, you have now seen Mariupol surrounded by the Russian army and bombarded for more than four weeks now.

And it's indiscriminate attacks. It is taking no care to protect civilians. And it's a bit ironic. It's the Russian army besieging Mariupol, a city that was predominantly Russian-language-speaking, and where 44 percent of the population were ethnic Russians.

But what you're seeing there, I think, are massive war crimes in terms of Russia's continuing assault, and you see it in the indiscriminate destruction of apartment buildings and residential structures.

CABRERA: How do the revelations of the brutality this week, not just what we're talking about right this moment in Mariupol, but what we have seen in Bucha, how does it all impact diplomacy?

PIFER: Ana, well, I think it makes diplomacy more difficult.

I mean, diplomacy and the effort that the Ukrainians have under way with the Russians now to try to negotiate a cease-fire and a settlement was already very difficult. Over the last several weeks, the Ukrainians have offered compromises. For example, President Zelenskyy has said he's prepared to set aside their ambitions to join NATO and accept neutrality.

But you have seen no movement on the Russian side from maximalist demands, which basically amounted to total capitulation by Ukraine.

CABRERA: Right.

PIFER: And the revelations about what happened in Bucha, that's going to, I think, harden Ukrainian attitudes. And it may make it actually more difficult for the Ukrainians to find a settlement here.

CABRERA: Yes, no surprise that that would be the result.

And so more Western sanctions today, other nations trying to hit Russia where it counts this time, including Putin's daughters. What do we know about Putin's family and the potential impact that these latest sanctions could have?

PIFER: Well, my guess is that the impact on Putin's two daughters will be largely reputational. I mean, they're in Russia. Actually, one lived and was married to a Dutch citizen. She actually lived in the Netherlands. But she went back to Russia after a Russian provided surface-to-air missile shot down a Malaysian airliner and killed 300 people.

So, they're there in Russia. But the fact that they're now under sanction allows people to go and see if they can track down any assets they may have. My guess is, Vladimir Putin has a lot of money out there. But it's not going to be in a bank account under the name of Vladimir V. Putin.

So, the question is, can you look at relatives associates and try to track down his assets as well, and then freeze them in the same way that the United States and the European Union are trying to freeze the assets of others that have been put on the asset freeze list?

CABRERA: You still have this issue, right, of oil and gas going from Russia into Europe. And the pressure continues to grow for Europe to cut off Russian oil and gas.

But listen to this from an E.U. official just today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEP BORRELL, EUROPEAN UNION HIGH REPRESENTATIVE (through translator): We have given Ukraine one billion euros. It might seem a lot, but one billion euros is what we pay Putin every day for the energy he provides us.

Since the beginning of the war, we have given him 35 billion euros. Compare that to the one billion euros that we have given to Ukraine in arms and weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: That was like a, wait, what moment for me, because he just said Europe has paid Russia 35 billion euros since the start of this invasion because of oil and gas.

So for all the sanctions that have been levied so far, do they make that big of a dent if Russia is still making all this money from energy exports?

PIFER: Yes, well, I'd make two points.

First of all, the sanctions that have been applied so far are going to have an impact. You're already seen inflation in Russia accelerating. It will soon be double-digit. Russian factories are beginning to reduce production because they can no longer get inputs imported from the West.

And the expectation is that the Russian economy is going to contract. In fact, the International Financial Institute says that the Russian economy will contract by 15 percent this year. And that's, we're talking about in American terms, the scale of the Great Depression. But the other sanctions are going to take time to have an impact.

[13:20:05]

The second point on oil and gas is, Europe faces a dilemma, as, over the last several decades, they have allowed themselves to become too dependent on oil and gas from Russia. And whereas they are now trying to move to reduce that dependence, it's going to be awfully hard.

Several weeks ago, the United States banned imports of oil from Russia, but that was only about 3 percent of our consumption. But for European countries, it's talking about 30, 40 and 50 percent. So it's going to be hard for them to wean themselves off that energy in the near term.

But the question is, can they look at some other ways, for example, applying hard tariffs, high tariffs on Russian oil that would force the Russians to reduce their price in order to remain competitive, but reduce the flow of money that goes back to Moscow?

CABRERA: Well, I'm sure they're looking at all those potential options right now.

Ambassador Steven Pifer, I appreciate your expertise and insight. Thank you for joining us.

PIFER: Thank you.

CABRERA: Prepare for the long haul. The head of NATO was warning this war could last for years, as long as Putin wants to control all of Ukraine. Is the world running out of options to stop him?

And take a look at this powerful moment, as Pope Francis unfurls a stained Ukrainian flag from the war-torn city of Bucha. This show of support was met, as you can hear, with applause by the crowd there in Rome. The pope renewed his call for the war to end and condemned the killing of civilians.

He then invited a group of Ukrainian children, now refugees in Italy, to come up on the stage with him. And the pope has said a trip to Ukraine is on the table.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:26:07]

CABRERA: An ominous warning today from NATO's chief.

He said, despite Russia's push east, Putin still wants all of Ukraine, adding this war could last years. And now Western officials warn that it's too soon to say Putin has given up on capturing Kyiv.

With us now to discuss is CNN military analyst Major General Paul Eaton.

General, thanks for joining us.

Let's look at the map here. I mean, even if Russia is no longer focused on this region where we have the capital, if they are going into Belarus to resupply, rearm, refuel, even if Russian forces are able to get strength down in the southeast region, where we're told they're focusing next, do you suspect Russia is going to take another run at Kyiv?

MAJ. GEN. PAUL EATON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I don't think so.

They failed so badly in combined arms operations. The Ukrainians have proven to be so much tougher than the Russians ever imagined. So, I believe that the logical outcome from what we're watching right now is reinforcement of the Luhansk-Donetsk, the eastern part that is already contested zones.

And it's going to take him a while to be able to do that. He's got to go round a long way. He's got exterior lines. We have got -- the Ukrainians have interior lines. The Ukrainians are far more nimble. So they're going to be able to set quickly, far more quickly than the Russians, to be able to blunt any attempt at going back at Kyiv.

CABRERA: So I pulled up the map of the southeast region, because you brought up the Donbass region. This is the southeast portion of Ukraine. You can see Mariupol down here. And this has been a big focus in recent days.

The latest reporting is that Russia still doesn't have control of Mariupol, but they have turned it into what the city's mayor describes as akin to a next Nazi death camp. Here's what doesn't necessarily add up to me.

We have been reporting on significant morale problems with Russian troops. But if that's the case, if they're not fully committed to this mission, how could they still carry out this level of cruelty and barbarity and inhumanity we are seeing?

EATON: It is inexplicable. What we are witnessing right now are thousands and thousands of

Russian mothers' sons who are capable of doing the very worst that humans can think of. And all these young men, middle-aged men, they have been pulling triggers, pulling lanyards, pushing buttons, each time creating a an atrocity, a war crime.

And that Russian culture could allow this to happen is just beyond the pale. It's -- this country has proven itself to be capable of the very worst. And what the Russians are doing right now is going back to form. And Stalin is attributed with a comment, I will make the rubble bounce.

That's about all they can do right now with standoff weapons. That's what we're watching. And that's the real atrocity that we're being burdened with seeing.

CABRERA: These are some of the images from Mariupol, where the International Committee of the Red Cross has been trying to get humanitarian aid in.

And they have been trying for days, with no success. More than 100,000 people are believed to be trapped in this kind of an environment, no food, no water, no electricity. If the Red Cross and others can't get in, what can or should be done to get people out?

EATON: The -- we need to provide Ukraine everything that they have asked for.