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President Biden to Announce New Regulations on Ghost Guns; New General in Command of Russian Forces in Ukraine. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired April 11, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:21]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Victor Blackwell. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. Alisyn is off.

Ukraine says that Russia's onslaught in the east has begun. And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is ready for full-scale combat operations, as military leaders see more Russian troops regrouping in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The Pentagon says Vladimir Putin's forces are using this eight-mile convoy to try to resupply and reinforce Russian soldiers in the east. The spokesman pointed out in the last hour why Vladimir Putin is renewing his focus east.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I don't think Mr. Putin needs many signs that it hasn't been going well for him in Ukraine.

I mean, here we are, day 46, and, again, he failed to achieve so many of his geographic and strategic objectives inside Ukraine. So, they're repositioning. They're refocusing on the Donbass.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: President Zelenskyy is pleading with allies to rush weapons to the war zone. Today, he appealed to South Korea's Assembly to save Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia is preparing another offensive, hoping to break our national resistance. The occupiers concentrated tens of thousands of soldiers and a huge amount of equipment to try and strike again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: At least 11 people were killed on Sunday from Russian shelling in the east's biggest city, Kharkiv, one of them a 7-year-old boy.

Today, Russia bombarded another rail station, damaging only property this time, unlike the attack on Friday that killed more than 50 people. And in another sign the war is entering a new phase, Putin has assigned a new general to the Ukraine command, Aleksandr Dvornikov, who has been called the Butcher of Syria.

CNN international correspondent Phil Black joins us now from Lviv. That's in Western Ukraine.

Phil, I mentioned at the top that a senior Ukrainian official says the Russian offense in Ukraine's Donbass region has begun. What are you learning about the finding there?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor, begun, he says, because they're already seeing a noticeable escalation in shelling and bombardment through the three key regions there in the east, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk, and because they are already seeing a notable effort to reinforce, to bring in new troops and hardware almost every day.

The one thing they haven't seen yet is a push, a real drive from those reinforced Russian positions to try and break through Ukraine's defensive lines, to extend control over the whole of that Donbass region. But that, according to most analysis, is due imminently.

And the sense is that Vladimir Putin wants to see tangible results in that region, a clear win, a clear claim on the territory in that area within the coming weeks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Phil, I mentioned President Zelenskyy's address. And it was pretty emotional to South Korean lawmakers.

What did he tell them?

BLACK: Well, he gave them his assessment of one of the great unanswered questions of this war so far, and that is how many people have died in the besieged city of Mariupol.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Mariupol lies destroyed. Tens of thousands have been killed there. And, still, the Russians won't end their offensive. They want to make an example out of Mariupol, as a city ruined.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: So, you heard him say tens of thousands. It's an thinkable assessment, really, and impossible to verify.

But, based on what we know, this is a city that has been devastated more than any other in this war so far, under siege, under blockade and bombardment from the start of March, a city with a population once of close to half-a-million people.

It is still being destroyed on a daily basis, still being fought over. The Ukrainian defense hasn't given up there, even though they have been surrounded for weeks. The final death toll, it is undoubtedly going to be very high. But the truth is, we may never know precisely how high, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Unfathomable, the pictures we had while you were speaking there, Phil, to think that there are still so many people who are trying to survive in Mariupol,

Phil Black for us in Lviv, thank you.

Let's head now to Kramatorsk. You will remember that's the site of last week's deadly train attack.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is there for us.

[14:05:00]

Ben, the mayor of the city says the railway's terminal is closed, understandably why, moved to a neighboring station. What's the latest there?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, at this point, Victor, the death toll from Friday's Russian missile strike on the Kramatorsk railway station stands at 57, with more than 110 people injured.

The scene there, even after it has been cleaned up, is quite chilling, you have variety of various big impact points. And shrapnel just flew in every direction. Now, the effort to evacuate people has moved to the north. But there aren't a lot of takers at the moment, because many people are hesitant to go on the railway system.

You had this -- the railway station here was struck on Friday. Overnight, last night, another railway station, we don't know where, but in Eastern Ukraine, was struck there. Five locomotives were damaged. The tracks were damaged. Some of the power lines were damaged.

But there is a feeling that perhaps the Russians, as they gear up for this offensive, may be targeting things like railway lines. And we had the opportunity to speak to a young -- one young volunteer who's part of the evacuation. He's been watching the news. And he's worried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKOLAY, VOLUNTEER: When I heard about Kyiv, that they leave Kyiv, I was happy, you know? But then I realized a couple of seconds later that they move into Donbass all their forces.

I'm a little bit -- I'm not -- I can't say that I'm scared, but I'm worried about my people, about people, about mothers, and grandparents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: And we spoke to the mayor of this city, and he said that, at this point, less than a third of the population remains here, many of them the elderly who simply don't want to leave the homes they grew up with and move to the other side of this country to a fate uncertain -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Ben Wedeman in Kramatorsk for us.

Thank you, Ben.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that he believes that Russia's brutal attacks against Ukraine will probably continue after Vladimir Putin appointed a new general to lead Russia's fight in Ukraine. Aleksandr Dvornikov has a history of disregarding civilian life and infrastructure.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is with us now.

Barbara, you asked Kirby about this new general. What did he say?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is somebody who is known to the U.S. military. They have watched him for years, going all the way back several years to when he commanded in Syria, and was responsible for some of the horrifying destruction and brutality against civilians in Syria by Russian forces.

So, he's someone they know. And when Vladimir Putin turned to Aleksandr Dvornikov, it may not have been much of a surprise, Putin looking for a victory as the fighting shifts south, and Dvornikov quite capable of giving to him exactly what Putin wants.

Here's a little bit more of what John Kirby had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRBY: And wouldn't pretend to say that we know for certain that this new general is going to be the author of some new additional and more bloody tactics. But we can certainly say, by what we have seen in the past, that we are -- we're probably turning another page in the same book of Russian brutality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Look, the Russians have shifted their fighting to the south and east in Ukraine. That is very different territory. It is going to require the Ukrainians to adapt.

U.S. officials say a lot more use of long-range artillery, not so much the hiding in the woods kind of ambushes. So the Ukrainians will be having to address the new tactics, the new efforts in the south and east by the Russians, and they too will be watching what Dvornikov does next -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Thank you, Barbara.

Let's discuss now with CNN global affairs analyst Susan Glasser -- she's also a staff writer at "The New Yorker" -- and retired senior CIA operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos. He is the author of "Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA."

Welcome to you both.

Marc, let me start with you.

The appointment of this new general, Dvornikov, as the commander over the war in Ukraine, pair that with the U.K. intelligence that they believe that Russia might use phosphorus on the battlefield. What's your expectation of what the next several weeks of this war will look like?

MARC POLYMEROPOULOS, FORMER CIA OFFICER: Well, Dvornikov is someone that we do know well, as Barbara Starr mentioned, really someone who was responsible for some incredible carnage in Syria.

[14:10:10]

Remember that the Syrian air force killed over 4,000 Syrian civilians. They bombed hospitals willingly. So, on top of what seems to me to be an authorized disclosure of intelligence, when the U.K. is putting out the possibility of the Russians using white phosphors, I think there are some grim days ahead.

And I think one of the things that's important is that we document all of these war crimes and atrocities. Last week, the intelligence community was reportedly setting up task force to follow this. I think that's really important, because, at some point, this conflict will end. And then we are going to have to document and certainly perhaps put forth to the international community the actual crimes that Vladimir Putin has committed.

BLACKWELL: Susan, the world has watched these atrocities and attacks on civilians for several weeks now.

But with these -- this new general, this new reporting on Phosphorus, do we expect that there will be any change in the global response?

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Look, unfortunately, this is the Russian way of war. We're seeing it play out now.

There are, by the way, many more weapons, not just the phosphorus weapons, many other weapons that Russia and its partners have deployed in the past. Wouldn't rule out the use of chemical weapons, for example, which has not happened yet. There are still plenty of horrors in its arsenal that Russia could use, especially in this next phase of the war in Eastern Ukraine. So that's number one.

Number two, I do think we're seeing very striking security responses from Europe, including the very real possibility right now it looks like both Finland and Sweden are actively considering joining NATO. And that would have been unthinkable really before Russia launched this attack into Ukraine. It would be a major reordering of European security. Sweden was neutral even as far back as World War II. So it would be just almost a geopolitical explosion to have them join NATO now because of the risk from Russia.

BLACKWELL: Susan, let me pull that thread a little further, when you're talking about Finland considering -- oh, Sweden as well -- considering joining NATO.

One of the reasons that at least Putin says that this war was started was to keep NATO from the Russian border, to keep -- or to push away the, I guess, encroachment, from his perspective, of Western weapons and the alliance on the Russian border.

And now Finland could be joining. It seems like this war has been counterproductive.

GLASSER: Well, that's right.

And, look, by the way, our U.S. diplomats, secretary of state were absolutely clear with the Russians in advance of the invasion of Ukraine and saying, like, if keeping NATO at bay is your goal, you're simply going to unite the alliance. That actually has turned out to be an accurate warning, to a degree that either Putin discounted or didn't ultimately care about in launching the war.

I do think his false pretext for this aggression has been pretty much exposed. Clearly, this is a war of annihilation against the Ukrainian state, against Ukrainian nationhood and, as we're seeing in Bucha and other places, against the Ukrainian people.

And that's not about NATO, unfortunately.

BLACKWELL: Marc, let me get your reaction to some reporting we just got in, that Ukraine says that Russians, Russian troops have used a teenager to try to spy on the Ukrainian military, Ukrainian security services.

Two Russian soldiers offered a 16-year-old money through the Telegram messaging app for information about the position of Ukrainian troops. If they're relying on kids to try to find out the positioning of Ukrainian troops, what's that tell us about what the troops know and, I guess more importantly, what they don't?

POLYMEROPOULOS: Right.

So, one is, of course, the immorality of using a teenager to spy.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

POLYMEROPOULOS: But right. I think you're correct. In the bigger picture, their intelligence has been woefully inadequate.

And I think this highlights yet again the absolute and complete failure of the entire Russian security establishment, whether it's the SVR, the external service, the FSB, with some internal responsibilities, but also in Ukraine as well, and then Russian military intelligence.

And so if we're getting reports that they're using children, in essence, for espionage activities, it just goes to show how the Russians have completely failed. And you do see some schisms forming within the Russian security elite, with some senior FSB officers under arrest.

And so I'm not surprised by this. And, again, it just -- it just demonstrates how the Russian security state has failed Putin miserably in this affair.

BLACKWELL: Susan, this meeting between the Austrian chancellor and President Putin today, there have been several world leaders who have met with Putin, either face to face or virtually, obviously, because of his concerns or the world's concerns about COVID. But they're not fruitful.

[14:15:00]

Is there an argument that they are counterproductive, that they are kind of giving him an audience, when he's dismissing all of them one after another?

GLASSER: Look, there's no question that one of Putin's goals is to exploit divisions within the United States and Europe's alliance against him.

And I think so it serves his purposes when those who are more favorable to him, like Viktor Orban in Hungary, are engaging with him, or the Austrian government. That can be seen as just Putin not really negotiating, as much as he is fostering division and reminding the world that he still has a seat at the table.

That has also been true, obviously, in his dealings with China, and even with India, which, in recent years, had been more of a U.S. partner, but has refused to forswear Russia, continues to be a major client of Russian military systems.

And so I think Putin is very eager to show in any way he can right now that he is not a pariah on the world stage, that he is, in fact, still received by those who matter.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

GLASSER: And, in that sense, it's very questionable. He's not negotiating. In fact, the Austrian chancellor came out of this meeting and was very clear and said, this is a scary prospect. Extreme violence is what he came out of that conversation with Putin warning the world about.

BLACKWELL: Susan Glasser and Marc Polymeropoulos, thank you both.

So, gun violence plagued the U.S. this weekend, as it does many weekends in this country, with several deadly shootings from L.A. to D.C. President Biden is set to announce a new measure to crack down on these so-called ghost guns. That's coming up in just a few moments. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:21:13]

BLACKWELL: Any moment now, President Biden will announce new steps to fight gun violence. The new regulations are aimed at controlling the use of so-called ghost guns.

Now, these are the untraceable weapons made from kits at home. The announcement comes after a weekend of what we saw, gun violence across the country, Los Angeles; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Elgin, Illinois, fatal shootings there. Shootings in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C., injured 10 more.

In Georgia, local state and federal law enforcement, they're trying to get to the bottom of a triple murder at a shooting range an hour south of Atlanta.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz and chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins are with me now.

So, Shimon, you're up first.

What can you tell us about this triple murder in Georgia?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly a mystery, right?

It's a gun shop, a gun range that's family-owned. The coroner of this town there, of this county just 50 miles out of Atlanta, discovered them. He went to there to see his family. They had not been responding to him. And then he found him there. It was -- it's his parents, 75- year-old parents, and his 17-year-old son, all shot to death in what authorities believe was a robbery, because 40 guns, 40 guns are now missing from that store.

The police are offering a $15,000 reward. And, reportedly, the security camera system was also taken from the location, so, obviously, authorities here trying to figure out what exactly happened here, who was behind this, and are now offering this reward.

The ATF is also involved in this investigation. And, as you said, Victor, this was just one of many of violent sprees across the country that we saw over the weekend, most of them just innocent victims, people out having a good time. And someone opens fire because of some argument with someone and people are caught in the middle of this -- of crossfire.

BLACKWELL: It feels like we have this conversation every Monday.

PROKUPECZ: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Over the weekend, you have this spate of shootings.

Kaitlan, to you at the White House. What are you expecting the president will announce today? KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So they're announcing these new rules, basically changing the definition of a firearm.

And this is targeting specifically these ghost guns. Those are those kits that you can basically do it yourself at home. You can either buy them online, in parts. You can print them online using a 3-D printer. And so these new rules that President Biden and top officials at the Justice Department are going to announce are basically clarifying those parts as firearms.

So, then, if you are getting the frame for a handgun, if you are getting a receiver, that is classified as a firearm going forward. And if you are a manufacturer making these kits that people are buying online, you have to be licensed. You have to put a serial number on them. If you are a seller of these kits, you have to run a background check on potential buyers.

And that is going to help, the White House says, law enforcement, because, right now, the way these ghost gun kits are made, these ghost guns are -- it's basically, they're hard to track. They are hard to regulate as well. And so that's what they're targeting with these new rules that they're going to introduce here.

And if you look at the grand scheme of things, ghost guns are -- make up of a pretty small number of the guns that are recovered by law enforcement. But what officials are concerned about is that they are increasing. And you have seen several of them used.

There's going to be a speaker actually introducing the president here today who was the victim of a so-called ghost gun. And so that is why they're targeting it, because they're seeing that they are on the rise. And they want to make sure that they're going after it and also taking steps on guns overall, because, of course, they have not gotten this ban on assault weapons, like President Biden has asked for, from Congress.

The White House says, of course, he would like to sign that legislation, but that is legislation that has not made it to the Oval Office yet, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Kaitlan, one other thing.

The president is expected to name a new nominee to head up the ATF. What do we know about this pick?

COLLINS: Yes, this will be his second chance to try to get someone to lead the ATF. Of course, they have not had a permanent director in about seven years now.

[14:25:00]

The last person that President Biden picked, they had to eventually withdraw his nomination because he couldn't get enough support, certainly from Republicans, but even from a few Democrats. That was Dave Chipman, remember, a former member of ATF. And now they are going to be announcing Dave Attelbach (sic). He's a former U.S. attorney who worked for about two decades at the Justice Department. And so they are confirming he is the new nominee. Of course, they are hoping he will get confirmed. They're calling him this noncontroversial nominee, as they're hoping he is someone who can get confirmed.

But, of course, we have seen several presidents in the past try to get someone to head the ATF to enforce these new rules that they're rolling out today. That hasn't been successful so far. But the White House is hoping that will change this time around.

BLACKWELL: Kaitlan Collins at the White House, Shimon Prokupecz here in studio. Thank you. Stand by.

Let's bring it now Anthony Barksdale, former acting Baltimore police commissioner and CNN law enforcement analyst.

Commissioner, good to have you back.

If you're sitting at headquarters in downtown Baltimore, and this announcement comes through, does this dramatically help you reduce the amount of gun violence in the city?

ANTHONY BARKSDALE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It's a step.

But there's a lot of other things that should be prioritized. These ghost guns, once again, as said earlier, we don't know the exact number of offenses where they have been used in Baltimore. I know that, in Baltimore, we're up right now against 2021 numbers in homicides and shootings, yet the police department has seized hundreds of these ghost guns.

So it would be a step in the right direction. But my focus would be on the violent offenders that are on the streets that choose to use guns, whether a ghost gun, a stolen gun, or a swapped gun, a gun that is swapped for drugs in exchange for ownership of a weapon, to shoot and harm others in the community.

So I'm not knocking it, but there's a lot of other work to be done.

BLACKWELL: All right, let's take this to Shimon Prokupecz, who is still with us.

When you speak with law enforcement, how big of a deal? I mean, what share -- and I'm not asking for a specific...

PROKUPECZ: Yes.

BLACKWELL: ... percentage -- are these shootings happening with ghost guns?

PROKUPECZ: Well, I think the commissioner there's right. It's really hard to tell.

However, there was one just on Friday here in New York City. BLACKWELL: Yes.

PROKUPECZ: Really sad case, tragic case, a 17-year-old girl walking home from school in the Bronx. Same situation. Another teen pulls out a gun. He's in an argument with someone.

There, police say that was a ghost gun that was used. And so that just happened on Friday. The thing is, you can't trace these things, right? So it's only when the police are able to recover them. They were able to recover them from the suspect from over the weekend because he threw it out of his window of his apartment when they went to arrest him.

So when they're able to find them, that's really how they know. And they -- there's ways for them to connect it. But because they're untraceable...

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PROKUPECZ: ... because there's no serial number, there's really...

BLACKWELL: And that's the point, really.

(CROSSTALK)

PROKUPECZ: That's the whole point. And that's what makes them so dangerous and risky for authorities.

And this is why they want this legislation. So it's hard to tell. The other issue, though, I think -- it's not just ghost guns. The bottom line is, there's just too many guns on the street. And, like you said, every Monday, we talk about this.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PROKUPECZ: There's this pipeline, guns moving around from state to state, from states where it's easier to buy them, moving into places like New York City, where it's much more difficult to get weapons, legally to get them.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PROKUPECZ: But there's just too many guns on the street.

And so the bottom line is, police officers need more resources to try and take them off. I mean, it's a hard thing to do, because this is something they have been dealing with now for so many years.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

And now those 40-plus guns from this triple murder...

PROKUPECZ: That's right.

BLACKWELL: ... in Georgia now on the street as well.

Shimon, thank you.

Commissioner, thank you as well.

We will, of course, bring you the president's remarks live when they begin.

More than 25 million people in Shanghai are being forced to stay inside their homes during this COVID lockdown. A lot of them are now going to the balconies and shouting out their frustrations.

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BLACKWELL: We will have more on this next.

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