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Russian Forces Shell Cities across Ukraine Including Kyiv in Preparation for Possible Large-Scale Operation in Eastern Ukraine; U.S. Provides New Shipment of Equipment and Weapons to Ukrainian Forces to Combat Russian Invasion; Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) Interviewed on Latest U.S. Efforts to Support Ukrainian Forces; Russian Government Sponsored Radio Station Plays on Public Airwaves in Washington D.C.; Russian Propaganda to Its Own Citizens Characterizes Ukrainians as Nazis and Satanists; Cases of COVID-19 Variant Rising in New York City. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired April 16, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:39]

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

We begin with new strikes in Ukraine today, shelling across the country and even the capital city of Kyiv. The mayor saying explosions killed at least one person and injured several others. And he's warning those who fled the city that they should not return yet.

All of this comes as we're getting a clearer picture of the devastation left after Russian forces withdrew from areas around Kyiv. Ukrainian officials say bodies of 900 innocent civilians have been discovered there. And in the south, the once proud city of Mariupol, decimated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAVLO KYRYLENKO, HEAD OF DONETSK REGION MILITARY ADMINISTRATION (through translator): The enemy cannot seize Mariupol. The enemy may seize the land that Mariupol used to stand on. But the city of Mariupol is no more. The city of Mariupol has been wiped off the face of the earth by the Russian Federation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ukrainian officials say Russia's renewed assault in the southern part of the country are in retaliation for the sinking of a prized Russian warship in the Black Sea. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is warning Russia could be on the verge of using tactical nuclear weapon. Yet hope remains as Italy's ambassador to Ukraine returns to Kyiv today to reopen the Italian embassy. And France is signaling it may soon do the same. As Kyiv is getting hit with new attacks today, in Lviv, to the west, air defenses were activated in the early morning hours. Here now is CNN's Matt Rivers. MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, we were awoken here in Lviv by

air raid sirens around 5:45 a.m. local time this morning. And while that's not totally uncommon here in Lviv, what is a bit more uncommon is getting detailed information from the Ukrainians about what caused those air raid sirens to go off.

So after they went off, we were under that air raid warning for about an hour-and-a-half. We got word from Ukrainian officials that those sirens went off because, they say, Russian warplanes that took off from airbases in neighboring Belarus launched four cruise missiles to unspecified targets in the Lviv region, with the Ukrainians saying that they successfully shot down those cruise missiles using air defense systems in this region.

But Lviv not the only area that was targeted by Russian attacks overnight. We know such an attack took place in a southeastern district of the city of Kyiv with the city's mayor saying at least one person was killed, several other people injured when Russian attack damaged buildings in this southeastern district of the city with rescue workers continuing to be on scene throughout Saturday afternoon as officials work to get a better sense of the overall situation.

And we're also getting more word from the Ukrainians about the Russian military buildup in the eastern part of the country, with Ukrainian defense officials outlining how there are some 22 Russian battalion tactical groups, or BTGs, consisting of about 1,000 Russian soldiers each that are now centered around the city of Izyum with the understanding that those troops could eventually move south and east into the Donbas region. This is the part of the country where defense officials say this latest Russian ground campaign, this latest offensive, will likely kickoff in earnest in a much more scaled up way in the coming days and weeks from now.

So this is the latest around Ukraine at this point, not only as we watch and wait for this offensive in the eastern part of the country, but also more isolated attacks in other parts as well. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Matt Rivers, thank you so much.

Turning now to Mykolaiv, where Ukraine says Russia is retaliating after strikes on a prized warship. They describe the situation there as increasingly hostile. CNN's Ed Lavandera joins me live now from Odessa just southwest of Mykolaiv. So Ed, officials yesterday reported Russian forces used cluster munitions in the area. What have you heard?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We were in the city when those attacks were dropped on Mykolaiv. We saw evidence of those cluster munitions used on the ground as they hit various target there, including just feet away from an Orthodox church.

[10:05:00]

Five people were killed. We are told that one of the five people was killed because they picked up the debris of an unexploded ordinance, and when they picked it up, it detonated, killing that person. So they're urging people not to touch anything that's fallen on the ground in that Mykolaiv region.

But those attacks are continuing today. In fact, the mayor of Mykolaiv sent out a picture and details saying that a kindergarten building was destroyed today in Mykolaiv, injuring one person, at least three different missile strikes there in the region.

And to give you a sense of why Mykolaiv is so important, it sits essentially on the western edge of the southern front of this warzone, and just about 35 miles east of Mykolaiv is the city of Kherson. And that is a city that has been occupied by Russian forces for some time. In fact, we've spoken with many people who have evacuated that city in the last few days, and they describe horrific conditions, Russian soldiers pillaging homes, stealing from people, civilians there. A desperate situation for many of those people to get out.

And that's why officials are saying that Mykolaiv is a new area of focus, or a renewed area of focus, because there has been shelling going on for weeks, but the intensity has now picked up to an extensive degree. Exactly what is behind the strategy of all of this? It isn't really clear at this point, but it also doesn't really matter for the residents that are living in that city. When we were there and listened to the attacks fall and rain down on the city, it was indiscriminate. There were civilian targets, mostly targeted. Russian military officials are saying that one of the areas hit today was an artillery ammunition storage facility. But even if that's true, by and large what we have seen is civilian areas, apartment buildings and parks, that have been targeted by Russian forces there in Mykolaiv. So it is an intensifying situation and a quickly changing situation in that city. Fredericka?

WHITFIELD: Ed Lavandera, thank you so much in Odessa.

So the first shipment of newly approved military aid for Ukraine is expected to arrive in the region today. A senior defense official tells CNN the $800 million in weapons and equipment will be picked up at the border by Ukrainians and then taken into the country. CNN's Jasmine Wright is joining us now from the White House. Jasmine. What more do we know about the new shipment?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fred, that new shipment is meant to meet the evolving needs of the Ukrainians as the fight is expected to shift to the Donbas region in the coming days. And now we know that that's expected to be more of a clear and open type of battlefield. So for the first time the U.S. approved more high-power weaponry to really meet the new needs of the Ukrainians.

And so when we talk about what is given, we know that they gave those howitzer cannons, really essential for long range, as you can see on the screen here, those howitzer cannons essential for long-range targets. Those Mi-17 helicopters, something that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy really pressured President Biden to give, and that will be good for quickly transporting things across the battlefield as well as those switchblade drones, again, for long range targets. So definitely essential equipment here that President Zelenskyy was advocating for for quite some time for the U.S. to send. Now, Pentagon Secretary John Kirby explained more of the thinking

behind this new shipment here when he was talking to CNN's Jake Tapper on Thursday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We think that the terrain there, which is a little like Kansas, it's flat, it's open like you described, Jake, will lend itself for the Russians to use mechanized forces in columns, in open formations, artillery, short range and even long-range fires. Those are the kinds of capabilities that you want to make sure the Ukrainians have as well.

So we're deliberately tailoring this package to try to meet the needs of the fight they have today, because they are fighting in the Donbas today, and the fight that we think is coming in the days and weeks to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: So there we heard from Kirby talking about the why. But let's be clear here, Fred, some of these weapons that were approved in this latest shipment just a few weeks ago, some Biden administration officials felt like they would be too escalatory to be sent and were against it, too escalatory viewed by Russia. But of course, now that has changed.

One thing I want to say, Fred, is that it kind of seems like Russia has noticed, as we know that officials say they sent an official note, diplomatic note to the State Department really protesting the ongoing equipment, weaponry being sent to Ukraine, saying in no certain terms to stop it, that there would be consequences. And this came as the U.S. was preparing that latest $800 million shipment of assistance that is expected to be delivered in just the next few hours here. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Jasmine Wright, thank you so much, at the White House.

Let me bring in now Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. He's a Democrat from Illinois and a member of the House Intel Committee.

[10:10:02]

Congressman, always good to see you. Just last week you said you thought the U.S. needed to escalate its military assistance to Ukraine. Is that what this is to you?

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): Yes. And I think that the only thing that Vladimir Putin respects is force. And the only thing that we can do to make sure that he feels that force is to escalate and accelerate those shipment of arms to the Ukrainians to make sure that they beat them on the battlefield right now.

WHITFIELD: And so Russia now has formally protested the weapons shipments by the U.S. as if Russia has put itself in a position where it needs to -- every country needs to seek its approval. What do you think when Russia now says this could lead to unpredictable consequences?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I think first of all, it shows that the shipments are working in terms of enabling the Ukrainians to really exact tremendous damage on the Russians. And by the way, I have to say that the Ukrainians themselves have been incredibly resourceful. Those Neptune missiles that they fired at the Moskva were Ukrainian produced missiles. And the Russians took a terrible toll in losing that ship.

I think with regard to these consequences, at this point we don't know what that means. But obviously if the Russians feel that they are going to be able to attack NATO territory for these shipments of arms, that would escalate the conflict tremendously. And I think that's something that the Russians should think twice about.

WHITFIELD: But you don't see that Russia is now inferring that U.S. providing weapons is escalating that, it is a NATO nation that is now provoking Russia?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: They could infer whatever they want, Fredericka. But at this point, I think that providing arms to the Ukrainians of this type is completely appropriate. Ukrainians are defending themselves from an unprovoked and unjustified attack by the Russians. We have to remember that the Russians initiated these hostilities, not the Ukrainians. And the Ukrainians have every right to defend themselves.

WHITFIELD: This week Ukraine's President Zelenskyy asked President Biden to name Russia as a state sponsor of terror, and that would seem to escalate the level of sanctions against Russia even further. Do you believe that's something the U.S. should consider?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: I think they should consider it. However, naming them a state sponsor of terror would trigger a number of other types of sanctions we would have to level against our allies and partners throughout the world, including the Europeans, including partners in Asia, and so forth. And therefore, it's something that I think we would weigh very, very carefully before we took that step.

WHITFIELD: Zelenskyy also warned that it's his belief that Russia will resort to using limited nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Is that where this is going, in your view?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: I think it's something we have to be concerned about. Of course, that would be a dramatic escalation by the Russians. And I think one of the things that the Russians are probably thinking about as well is the use of such weapons could be lethal to Russians themselves. Remember, that fallout could go into Russia, it could kill their own soldiers on the battlefield. And I think it would be, in my opinion, catastrophic if it were to be used in Ukraine.

WHITFIELD: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, always good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us today.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Thank you, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, it's a radio station hosted by Americans and broadcast in the U.S. but is backed by the Russian government. We'll take a look at the propaganda that they are saying on the public airwaves, and how it is permitted.

Plus, newly revealed text messages from two Republican members of Congress show they aggressively pushed the Trump White House to try to overturn the 2020 election results, but then changed their minds. A CNN exclusive straight ahead.

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[10:18:32]

WHITFIELD: A radio station sponsored by Russian state media and hosted by Americans is spreading war propaganda in two U.S. cities. CNN's Alex Marquardt looked into what is being said on the broadcast and he's joining me right now. Alex, good to see you. So this seems rather extraordinary to be happening in the U.S. How did you learn of it?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It really is, Fred. When I got home from Ukraine a couple weeks ago here to Washington D.C., someone told me you could still listen to Radio Sputnik here in D.C. Radio Sputnik is owned by the Russian government, and this is at a time when other Russian state backed platforms or stations and networks were being taken off of different platforms because of the war in Ukraine.

So I found this all rather surprising. I started listening to a lot of Radio Sputnik, and when they talk about the war in Ukraine, they talk about America's wars overseas and American hypocrisy. It's a lot of whataboutism. And it goes on to talk about the -- they claim -- what we hear on Radio Sputnik is also very similar to what we're hearing now coming straight out of Moscow now. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MARQUARDT: Driving around downtown Washington if you tune the radio to 105.5 FM, you land on --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're listening to Radio Sputnik, telling the untold.

MARQUARDT: Radio Sputnik, a station funded a Russian state media agency playing in the American capital on public airwaves.

[10:20:00]

Here in D.C., you can listen to Sputnik on both on FM and AM radio. Their shows are hosted by Americans, and they continue to broadcast even when other Russia-backed outlets have been taken off of platforms like YouTube and Facebook because of Russia's war in Ukraine.

The host can often be heard parroting Kremlin talking points on Ukraine.

LEE STRANAHAN, RADIO HOST: I already knew that Ukrainian Nazis were real. And I -- when Putin started talking about it, I was like, well, it's about time you talk about it. MARQUARDT: Host Lee Stranahan calls himself pro-Russian. And while the

world condemns Russia for the atrocities in Bucha, where Ukrainians were bound and executed, some Sputnik hosts aren't convinced.

STRANAHAN: There's not much dispute about whether these atrocities actually occurred. I think the question is who is responsible for doing it?

MARQUARDT: They claim to simply be offering a different viewpoint, asking questions, challenging the narrative which often veers into seeing conspiracies, seeding doubts and distrust, classic elements of disinformation. The companies that put Sputnik on the air are forced to register as foreign agents with the Justice Department. Sputnik is required to tell listeners who backs them, a media group funded by the Russian government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, Moscow, Russia.

MARQUARDT: None of the Sputnik hosts we reached out to would speak to us for this story, except Scottie Nell Hughes, a former CNN contributor who was a temporary fill-in host for the pro-Russia Lee Stranahan.

We know that Russian state media is putting out lies about this conflict. And I say that as someone who was on the ground in Ukraine. So why should the United States tolerate having Russian state media on its public airwaves?

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, RADIO SPUTNIK FILL-IN HOST: Let the American people to make the decision. Trust the American people to hear what they're saying and make the decisions for themselves whether or not they believe that is the truth happening.

MARQUARDT: After the 2016 presidential election, the U.S. intelligence community led by James Clapper, put out a report accusing Sputnik of being part of Russia's interference efforts.

JAMES CLAPPER, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: There's this gray area of First Amendment protection rights versus an insidious presence in our country that is really there to weaken and destroy our system. That's really what this is about, and it's state sponsored.

MARQUARDT: Sputnik programming is only broadcast in two U.S. cities, Washington D.C. and Kansas City, Missouri. RM Broadcasting helped to get it on the air. It's owner, who lives in Florida, told us he, quote, "stands with Ukraine." "RM Broadcasting is dedicated to the unfettered exchange of information and ideas," Arnold Ferolito said. "That freedom of choice is the ultimate underpinning of our republic."

It isn't the job of the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC, to censor content either, Commission Geoffrey Starks told us. Instead, it's to let listeners know where that content is coming from.

GEOFFREY STARKS, FCC COMMISSIONER: The public must have transparency in order to be informed and make their own decision about separating truth from disinformation. The FCC has given its authority here, given listeners transparency so that they can decide to change the dial.

MARQUARDT: Starks said he finds some of Sputnik's content deplorable, but on public airwaves, even if a station is backed by a country allegedly committing war crimes, they can in the U.S. continue to broadcast.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

MARQUARDT (on camera): So Fredricka, it really does come down to this question of public versus private. Private companies like Facebook, YouTube, and other platforms, can do whatever they want, they can kick anybody off that they want to. But the public airwaves really are still quite open. The FCC says that they're not necessarily in the business of censoring what is being said on stations like Sputnik. But they are going to require -- the U.S. government is going to require these foreign-owned stations to reveal where it is that their programming is being backed by. And in this case, of course, it is Moscow, Russia. And so, in this case when it comes to Sputnik being on the public airwaves, we should not expect them to go anywhere any time soon, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: That's pretty extraordinary, an incredible discovery that you made. Alex Marquardt, thank you so much.

Let's talk more about Vladimir Putin and what his next moves just might be. Let's bring in Jill Dougherty. She's a CNN contributor and the former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief. So Jill, good to see you. This is -- that radio station, that's a direct pipeline into the U.S. promoting Putin's propaganda. Is it your sense that he has a direct hand in that, helping to facilitate that?

JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, there's no question, because Sputnik is run by the government. But I think Alex pointed out, it's on two stations -- I mean, in two cities.

[10:25:03]

So the number of Americans who are listening to it, and actually I have listened to it sporadically, not particularly scintillating listening. So I try to look at the Russian media, what they're doing to their people. And that is markedly contrasting. Right now, let's take the example of the Moskva, the ship that just sank. It is a huge story. And domestically in Russia, it's very, very big not only because contemporary things, the war, the embarrassment of having a ship sink like that, but it also could remind Russians of another time 20 years ago, 22 years ago, when the Kursk submarine sank. And that was a turning point, and is still a bitter memory, of Russians. There was no war, but it sank. And President Putin had just come into office. And the information about it was shut down, and then they had to acknowledge that 118 guys died. We don't even know how many people have died on the Moskva.

And so the information for Russians is being shut down. Just yesterday "The Moscow Times," Russian service, significantly, and also Radio France International, which also broadcasts in Russian, shut down by the Russian government. So obviously they're trying to control the information that their own people are getting about this war, let alone propagandize the rest of the world.

WHITFIELD: Right. And the way state media works, and correct me if I'm wrong, is the information they want to convey, of course, would be advantageous to the government. So when you have the ship that sank, is it being conveyed as this is the cost of war? Or is it being reported in a more nefarious way in that instead of being the cost of war, retaliation in war, that instead the messaging is something else?

DOUGHERTY: It's a confusing message, Fredericka, because that's often what happens with Russian media. So initially, and they're pretty much sticking to this, it was an accident, there was a fire, there was an explosion. It was towed in a storm and then it sank. That's the official version.

But then you look at Russian media, and there are now, on Russian TV, it is almost all news and talk shows. And these talk shows sometimes seem a little farfetched because they get a lot of characters on them. But they often raise issues kind of like trial balloons about ideas. So just this week there was one in which a person on that show actually said, oh, it was the Ukrainians, they were hunting that ship. They had this planned a long time ago. And, of course, that contradicts what the official line is.

And then also there are other people on the shows who say, actually, it's not the Ukrainians, it's the Americans. It's NATO. And so, there is a lot of confusing, I would say, messaging going on by the government. But ultimately, and I think ominously, it does kind of lead back to not the Ukrainians but more NATO, the United States, our big enemies are those.

WHITFIELD: So when the invasion first began, Vladimir Putin gave out the false line that he was trying to rid Ukraine of Nazis. And now the rhetoric has shifted, we're hearing comments about Ukraine being a satanistic country. What is being said, and how is this advantageous for Russia?

DOUGHERTY: I watched that very closely because I was in Moscow right at the beginning of the war. And you can see the messaging. It was the government of Ukraine is run by Nazis. And it kind of hinted at the fact that -- or the opinion that the Ukrainian people were kind of deceived or led by their Nazi, in quotes, which is completely fake, but that they were misled by their government.

That is shifting now, and also, I'm using the word "ominous." I think this is ominous. What the message is now is more the Ukrainian people themselves are Nazis, that the entire country is a Nazi country. And the demeaning language that is used right now in the Russian media for Ukrainians is over the top. It is an old propaganda technique, demean, pretend that you're -- make your enemy look like they're not even human --

[10:30:02]

WHITFIELD: Right. Dehumanize.

DOUGHERTY: -- and then, of course it makes it easier, yes, to destroy them, to demonize them, exactly. And so this idea of satanism, I actually heard that word on their air, "satanism," and there are articles on this in the media. There's a religious element that is creeping into this, which is kind of an existential idea that Russia is facing attack from these satanistic forces. And it helps, I think, if you're in Moscow and you're trying to deny there are human rights violations, it helps if you call the other guy a satanist, because of what satanists do. These are old techniques, Fredericka, and they were used in Soviet days. They're used in other countries. But it is striking to see how quickly this is moving.

WHITFIELD: Now the rhetoric is Russia is attempting to save humanity as a result. Extraordinary. Jill Dougherty, thank you so much.

For more now about information on how you can help in the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, go to CNN.com/Impact.

We'll be right back.

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[14:35:50]

WHITFIELD: COVID cases on the increase in many parts of the country after a two-month decline. People looking to get tested will soon have a new option. This week the FDA greenlit an emergency use COVID breath test, the first of its kind. And all of this happening as New York health officials are alerting the public about two COVID subvariants in the state. Let's bring in now CNN's Polo Sandoval, who has been tracking these developments. So Polo, tell us more.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the breath test is certainly going to come at a perfect time with this increase that we've seen throughout much of the country. Though what really has authorities concerned, though, is an increase that we have seen here in New York, specifically in the central part of the state. In fact, the average number of cases has nearly doubled in just the last two weeks. When you look at the map it really does speak for itself there.

These two offshoots of the BA.2 variant are to blame, in fact, for the Finger Lakes region, much of the central portion of New York state. Those two variants are to blame for about 90 percent of those cases. It's unclear, though, if these new variants will basically become the dominant strain here in New York and throughout much of the country. Health officials say that's still too early to tell.

And this is not the first time that these subvariants are detected. In fact, tracking efforts to notice them throughout much of the country, global tracking efforts have located them in places like Germany and the U.K., India as well. So it's certainly not a time to panic, but it's certainly a time to just re-emphasize those recommendations that we've heard from officials for well over two years now. In fact, the daily number of reported cases right now, it's still just a fraction of what we experienced during the Omicron surge in January.

But again, nonetheless, this is still an experience or an opportunity to really re-emphasize those recommendations when we heard recently from New York state's health commissioner saying that even though these subvariants are new, the tools that we currently have to actually protect ourselves, Fred, those are certainly not new. Get vaccinated, get boosted if you can, continue to wear masks indoors as well.

WHITFIELD: And Polo, people love to go to their Broadway shows. So tell us more about the extension now of the mask protocols.

SANDOVAL: Yes, you have to the owners and operators of about 40 different theatres who decided to extent the current mask requirement through at least the end of May, so basically requiring masks if you're going to enjoy one of the Broadway shows, but also many will not be checking vaccination status after April 30th. So that's also important to keep in mind. The Broadway league estimating that since they reopened last fall, they've welcomed about 5 million audience members at shows on Broadway. So that's certainly an indication that people are still enjoying Broadway right now, Fred, though they're going to have to keep the mask on for at least a little while longer.

WHITFIELD: Right, people want to get out. It also means being in, so you have got to be safe. All right, thank you so much, Polo Sandoval, appreciate that.

We need ammo, we need fraud examples, we need it this weekend, I'm quoting now text messaging. CNN's exclusive on the text message to Trump's former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in the weeks leading up to the insurrection. What the texts reveal about attempts to overturn the election next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:43:41]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. A CNN exclusive uncovers a series of text messages between two of former President Trump's most vocal supporters on Capitol Hill. And then White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. The texts were sent in the weeks between the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection. They show that some lawmakers were in favor of overturning the election results until they discovered there was no evidence to back up the claims. Here now is CNN's Ryan Nobles.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Congressman Chip Roy of Texas, two of former President Donald Trump's most loyal defenders in Congress, putting dozens of private texts to Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. A picture emerges of how both went from aiding the effort to challenge the election results to ultimately warning against it.

The texts obtained by CNN show how they were trying to help initially, but by the end raised concerns to Trump's top deputy about his campaign's effort to stand in the way of the certification of the 2020 election.

"We're driving a stake in the heart of the federal republic," Roy warned Meadows in a text message on January 1st that is in possession of the January 6th select committee. This historic warning came after weeks of begging Meadows for hard evidence of election fraud and concerns that the lack of specific evidence was a real problem for the Trump legal team.

[10:45:08]

"We must urge the president to tone down the rhetoric," he wrote on November 9th. Roy did believe that there were problems with the election. In early December he went to the House floor, imploring his colleagues to look into the thing examples of fraud.

REP. CHIP ROY, (R-TX): The American people are raising legitimate questions about our elections, and this body is missing in action and doing nothing.

NOBLES: Like Roy, Senator Mike Lee started out hopeful that there was a path to challenge the election results. In early in November, he touted the work of conservative lawyer Sidney Powell, encouraging Meadows to get her an audience with the president, calling her a, quote, "straight shooter." But less than two weeks later, Powell appeared with Rudy Giuliani in what would become an infamous press conference where the duo made wild, baseless claims about the election.

SIDNEY POWELL, ATTORNEY WHO CHALLENGED 2020 ELECTION RESULTS: President Trump won by a landslide. We are going to prove it.

NOBLES: Lee then changed his tune, calling Powell a liability, and turning his focus to touting attorney John Eastman. Lee pushed a plan to convince state legislatures to offer up a set of alternate electors. When that plan fizzled, Lee decided he was no longer on board. He texted Meadows on December 16th, quote, "I think we're now past the point where we can expect anyone will do it without some direction and a strong evidentiary argument." Both Lee and Roy ultimately chose not to join other Republicans to vote against certifying the election.

SEN. MIKE LEE, (R-UT): Our job is to open and then count. Open, then count. That's it. That's all there is.

NOBLES: Privately, they were even more emphatic about the fool's errand Trump's team was on. "The president should call everyone off. It's the only path," Roy texted Meadows on December 31st. While Lee argued the effort was on dangerous constitutional ground. Three days before January 6th he warned, "I know only that this will end badly for the president unless we have the Constitution on our side." They did not, but the Trump team and a group of loyal Republicans went ahead with their plan anyway. As it became clear their effort would not be successful, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in protest. As the violence was raging, Roy texted Meadows, "Fix this now."

NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) HOUSE SPEAKER: Does the gentleman from Texas --

NOBLES: He then went to the House floor and placed the blame squarely at Trump's feet.

ROY: And the president should never have spun up certain Americans to believe something that simply cannot be.

NOBLES (on camera): Both of the Congressional offices of these two gentlemen did respond to our story. Neither denied the texts authenticity. Senator Mike Lee's office said that the Senator was transparent during this period, and nothing contradicts his public statements that are revealed in these texts. Meanwhile, Congressman Chip Roy responded to the story by saying, quote, "No apologies for my private text or public positions to those on the left or the right. I stand behind seeking truth, fighting nonsense, and then acting in defense of the Constitution."

These texts, obviously, in the possession of the January 6th select committee, and they remain an important part of that investigation.

Ryan nobles, CNN on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Extraordinary revelations. Thank you so much, Ryan.

Still ahead, how music is helping to boost the spirits of Ukrainians during their darkest hours. Meet the Ukrainian Bruce Springsteen next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Just as prayer can lift people, so can song, which is why a Ukrainian rock star is using his voice and influence to lift civilian spirits in this time of war. CNN's Rafael Romo has the story.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: There was the orchestra that performed the concert for peace in the public square in the middle of the day, in spite of the danger of an air strike, and the cellist who defied the invaders by playing his instrument in front of bombed out buildings. And who can forget the little girl with the sweetest voice who made those around her forget they were in a bomb shelter.

One by one, singers and musicians in Ukraine have defied the Russians by using their talent to unite a nation and soothe a terrified population. The most famous one is Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, better known as Slava, who some call the Ukrainian Bruce Springsteen. At the beginning of the invasion, Slava could have chosen to flee the country. Instead, he decided not only to stay, but to visit terrified civilians like these people seeking shelter in a Kharkiv subway station.

You went to a subway station by yourself where there were many people, and unannounced, and you started singing. Why did you do something like that?

"The whole idea," Slava says, "is to help people forget, even if it is for a fleeting moment, about the horror of war."

SVIATOSLAV "SLAVA" VAKARCHUK, UKRAINIAN ROCK STAR: Imagine somebody like me comes and says, hey, guys everything is fine, let's sing together. Let's have some fun.

ROMO: Let's forget for a moment we're at war.

VAKARCHUK: Yes. This is it.

ROMO: And so he's visited hospitals like this one in Mykolaiv to cheer up victims of a rocket attack, survivors of an air strike at a train station in Kramatorsk, and troops on the front lines.

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Songs, Slava says, are his answer to Russian bullets. Empathy and goodwill are more powerful than any bomb.

VAKARCHUK: Ukrainians are one of the most -- the freest nations in the world. We have this gene of freedom in our DNA. That's why probably many Americans instinctively, intuitively support us now.

ROMO: In the streets people greet him and ask for pictures. Slava happily obliges and takes the opportunity to give everybody the same message -- everything will be all right, which happens to be the title of one of his songs, his most popular nowadays. "I hope that everything is going to be all right for everybody," the song says. "Our time is going to come."

Rafael Romo, CNN, Lviv, Ukraine.

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