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Subway Shooter Fired at least 33 Times; Biden Waiving Ethanol Ban; Oleksandra Matviichuk is Interviewed about Genocide in Ukraine; Finland and Sweden Edge Closer to Joining NATO. Aired 9:30-10a

Aired April 13, 2022 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:32:12]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news this hour, the NYPD has now named Frank James as a suspect in the shooting on a New York subway. Ten people had gunshot wounds, 29 injured in the chaos of the escape. New York Governor Kathy Hochul says among the injured were five students. They were on their way to school at the time of the shooting. We're now learning that the camera system at the 36th Street station in Brooklyn was malfunctioning perhaps due to a server issue. Despite that, officials say police do have plenty of other video evidence to work with from surrounding stations as they plotted his movements before and after the shooting.

CNN's Alexandra Field joins me now from outside a hospital in Brooklyn where some of the -- most of the victims are being treated.

What do we know, Alexandra, this morning? Because when I look at the confines of that car, 33 shots fired, it's amazing now, right, that at least to date no one was killed.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Absolutely extraordinary that of all the 29 people who were injured, everyone is expected to recover. And the witnesses who were on board the train say there were really about 40 to 50 people who were on that train.

And then you consider the fact that 33 shots were fired. Five children were among the injured, as young as 12 years old. They were riding the subway to school. That's what you do in New York City. Ten people who were passengers on the train were struck by bullets, seven male, three of them female. The rest of the people who were injured were injured as a result of smoke inhalation from that canister that was set off, or they were injured as they scrambled for safety.

We heard from one woman who was on that car in the train. She saw the smoke start to fill the train. She says she ran to the other side of the car, but it wasn't exactly clear what was happening when it all started.

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CLAIRE TUNKEL, BROOKLYN SUBWAY SHOOTING WITNESS: I thought it was fireworks at first. And then it just kept going and going. And it -- it did stop at one point. The train stopped at one point in between the two stations. And then it started up again. And at that point, when I heard people saying, you know, like, you know, I'm hurt, there's so much blood. Hearing things like that, that's when my -- my mind changed to like, this is -- this is not fireworks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: So many passengers on that train saying the literal fog stopped them from seeing what was really happening, created disorientation. They say they heard that popping noise. When they realized it was gunshots, well, that sort of sank in when they say they started to see pools of blood on the ground. When the train finally stopped at the next station, when the shooting finally stopped, passengers say they also scrambled to try to triage one another. Some of them taking off their coats and jackets, even ripping up shopping bags to staunch the bleeding.

[09:35:01]

One of the women who was on the train, she is, of course, wrestling with the trauma of all of this, this morning, along with so many New Yorkers. But, Jim, she also says she's wrestling with the trauma that her children experienced. They weren't on the train, they were locked down in a school nearby.

Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes, there are the physical wounds of shootings like this and the emotional, psychological wounds as well.

Alexandra Field, thanks so much.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Well, yesterday, President Biden announced a new plan to help lower prices at the gas pump. Starting June 1st, the Biden administration will extend the sale of a cheaper ethanol brand called E-15 through the summer.

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans joins us now.

So, Christine, just a month ago he released the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, right, and tapped into that.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

GOLODRYGA: Now we see this initiative. Will it finally help consumers? Will they feel it?

ROMANS: This shows a White House that's using every single little lever, and this is a little lever, but every single lever to try to show the American people that, look, inflation is issue number one and we're trying to get these costs down.

If you live near one of these gas stations that sells this E-15 gasoline blend, then you will pay probably five to 10 cents less for a gallon of gas. Now, it's not widespread, but there are some -- many stations that have it and you -- if you are one of those consumers, it could help a little bit with the price there.

Also, just broadly, it just means there's more kinds of fuel out there in the mix, and that's what they're trying to do, they're really trying to flood the zone. They're -- crude prices are down a lot from where the -- from when the invasion began. President Biden calls this Putin's price hike. Down pretty substantially. And gas prices have been drifting lower.

A lot of experts tell me, if you can keep gas -- oil prices around $100 a barrel, then you could still see gas prices drift more toward the $4 a gallon range this summer. But it's all unpredictable. It depends on what happens in Ukraine. It depends on what happens in those global energy markets. And this is really a White House, I think, just trying to say every single lever we have we're trying to flip.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and the president said that Americans shouldn't be paying the price for Putin's war in Ukraine.

ROMANS: That's right.

GOLODRYGA: Christine, thank you.

ROMANS: His genocide. He used the word genocide. That's right.

GOLODRYGA: His genocide. Yes, we're going to get to that in just a moment, because President Biden is doubling down on his assessment that Russia has, in fact, committed genocide in Ukraine. Next, I'll speak with a human rights lawyer in Ukraine who says the evidence for genocide in the country is clear.

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[09:42:00]

SCIUTTO: CNN has learned the Biden administration is now preparing to roll out a program that would speed up the process for Ukrainian refugees trying to enter the U.S. Details of the new plan still being finalized, but we know refugees would need to have someone in the U.S. fill out a sponsorship application on their behalf. The new plan comes on the heels of President Biden's recent commitment to accept up to 100,000 people fleeing Ukraine, and as hundreds of Ukrainians have decided to go to the U.S./Mexico border to get into the country.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Of course, Bianna, as we've been covering many times, it's millions and millions who have already entered other countries in Europe.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, 100,000 in Moldova alone with a population of just 1.2 million for perspective there.

Well, even as millions of civilians have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded, the list of reported potential war crimes committed by Russian forces against Ukrainians grows by the day, by the hour, actually. President Biden says he believes Russia's actions qualify as genocide.

Take a listen.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be Ukrainian. You can only learn more and more about the devastation. And we'll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.

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GOLODRYGA: I'm joined now by Oleksandra Matviichuk. She is a human rights lawyer and activist who currently serves as the head of civil liberties in Ukraine.

Oleksandra, thank you for joining us. Thank you for all the important work you're doing in documenting these crimes and atrocities.

And among them that you are following are these countless reports, horrific reports of rape against Ukrainian women, perpetrated by Russian soldiers.

You tweeted this morning, as a lawyer, I know the crime of genocide is difficult to prove. We need to convince that murders and rapes are committed with the intent to destroy of a certain group. But when examined Russian propaganda, this intention becomes clear. It says that Ukrainian nation has no right to exist.

Talk about the charge there, and the intent behind why you think these rapes justify as genocide.

OLEKSANDRA MATVIICHUK, HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER AND ACTIVIST: Yes, I can like repeat that. It's very hard to prove because genocide is crime of the crimes. It is the most horrible international crimes. That's why the standard of proof is very high.

But when we examine Russian propaganda, we can see this genocide intent, like a plan, because Russia propaganda state that Ukrainians' culture has to be destroyed, that Ukrainian land, which has to be prohibited, that Ukraine nation has no right to exist at all. And now we can observe how it's implemented in the occupied territories where Russian troops are prohibited to use Ukrainian language. And we got information that they tried to push (INAUDIBLE) in schools but don't use Ukrainian books for study.

[09:45:10]

So, I think that it's even worse to speak about such kind of investigation and at least it has to be opened.

GOLODRYGA: Well, look, just take Putin's words, and take him at his word, where he has said repeatedly that Ukraine is not a nation, it is not a sovereign nation, it is a made up nation supported by the west. You also document that in addition to these women suffering rape and

other sexual abuse at the hands of the Russian, many that are, you know, welcomed in Poland, and we spent a lot of time focusing on the open hands that Poland has really offered to Ukrainian refugees coming in, they also have very strict abortion laws, and so some of these women, not only have to endure the suffering and crime of being raped, but then not being able to -- given the opportunity for an abortion if they indeed want one in Poland. Talk about that.

MATVIICHUK: The problem is that sexual violence is a hidden crime. And it's why survivors of sexual violence very often keep silence about rapes and don't want to apply to enforcement about it (ph). But the -- especially in the fallen country become very vulnerable and sensitive to medical care because, in some cases they need to stop the -- like to make abortion. And we now discuss with our colleagues from Poland to organize informational campaign among Ukrainian refugees and to provide contacts for women, how to obtain medical care and if they want to make this abortion, how to be -- how they can go to another countries and to do it.

GOLODRYGA: Oleksandra, can I just ask you one final question because we've seen President Biden double down on what he describes as genocide committed by Russia and Vladimir Putin. But just today, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he wouldn't go that far as to call it genocide and continues to call and stress the relationship between Ukraine and Russia as one of brothers.

Do Russians feel like your brothers today?

MATVIICHUK: No. Maybe President Macron means -- means that we are all human beings, we are all sisters and brothers in the earth. In this regard it can be said. Like I say, we are not brothers with Russia. We are independent nation. And if you compare (INAUDIBLE) for Ukrainian, it's the freedom. And it's why we're so different from Russians.

GOLODRYGA: Oleksandra Matviichuk, thank you once again for joining us and for all the work you're doing.

MATVIICHUK: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, Putin's aggression in Ukraine may have backfired. Up next, why that invasion may lead to exactly what he said he didn't want, and that is an expansion of NATO.

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[09:52:34]

GOLODRYGA: Well, what do you know, two nations are now moving closer to joining NATO. Finland says that it will decide within weeks as to whether it will apply for membership. The Finnish prime minister just met with the Swedish prime minister in Stockholm. Sweden is now also mulling over a potential NATO membership.

SCIUTTO: Finland, right on Russia's border. The two leaders say they want to coordinate to make similar security decisions in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It has alarmed so many in Europe.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins us now from Brussels.

And yet one more case here, Nic, where those who praised Putin's brilliance prior to this war, listen, if Sweden and Finland go forward, they will be giving Russia exactly what Putin feared, right, which is a broader NATO alliance.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Bigger, more united, presenting a bigger NATO border right up against Russia. In fact, if Finland joins, that will double the length of border that NATO has with Russia. That border alone about 800 -- close to -- that land border close to about 800 miles long.

No surprise that this was coming here in Brussels, where NATO headquarters is. There is a sense here that this decision is expected to go ahead by Finland, and perhaps then by Sweden, and there will be very quick and easy joining to NATO. That's the expectation here.

I spoke to a Finnish diplomat earlier this year who said the clear and fast realization, this was before Russia's invasion, was that you really have to be inside NATO to get that Article 5 protection. And listening here today to these two prime ministers standing side by side, and that's very significant, that was part of the messaging, delivering their message in English, that the invasion of Ukraine had changed for both of these countries, everything.

Here's how they framed it.

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SANNA MARIN, FINNISH PRIME MINISTER: The European security architecture have changed fundamentally after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. To changing the security landscape make it necessary to analyze how we best secure peace for Finland and in our region in the future.

MAGDALENA ANDERSSON, SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER: The reset (ph) before and after 24th of February, the security landscape has completely changed, both with the demands from Russia in December, and then the invasion of Ukraine.

[09:55:02]

Given that situation, we have to really think through what is best for Sweden and our security and our peace in this new situation.

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ROBERTSON: Well, President Putin's spokesman has already said that a bigger and large NATO does not necessarily make Europe any safer. Sweden and Finland clearly beginning to think very significantly differently.

Bianna. Jim. Vladimir Putin just further isolating himself with his every action.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: Nic Robertson, thank you.

Well, straight ahead, more breaking news. New York police now naming Frank James as a suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting. This as CNN is learning that the camera system at the 36th Street station was malfunctioning during the attack. We're live on the scene, up next.

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