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Russian Missiles Hit Five Railway Stations in Central and Western Ukraine; Blinken Says, U.S. Diplomats Will Return to Ukraine This Week; Judge Expected to Issue Recommendation on Whether Greene Should Stay on the Ballot in Next Few Weeks. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired April 25, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A very good morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto reporting from Lviv, in western Ukraine.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York.

One day after high level meetings between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Kyiv, the Russian offensive pushes west. Overnight, Russia shelled at least five railway stations. Ukraine says Russian forces are trying to systematically destroy key railway infrastructure there.

SCIUTTO: This just hours after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled here to Ukraine to meet with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv and other senior Ukrainian officials, the first senior level visit by the U.S. since the start of the war. They promised that U.S. diplomats will return to this country this week. Blinken also says that Russia's war objectives in Ukraine have, in his words, already failed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: We're seeing that when it comes to Russia's war aims, Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding.

We don't know how the rest of this war will unfold, but we do know that a sovereign, independent Ukraine will be around a lot longer than Vladimir Putin is on the scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Quite a shot across the bow to the Kremlin.

Right now, in the eastern part of this country, officials say almost the entire Luhansk region is without water, tens of thousands without power. This as Russia intensifies attacks on that eastern part of the country known as the Donbas.

We are covering the latest from across Ukraine, back to the U.S. as well. Let's begin this morning CNN International Correspondent Matt Rivers. He is reporting from the capital city of Kyiv.

Matt, we had a series of attacks over the last 24 hours on railway stations, network and the western part of this country, and notable timing here, the route that would likely have been used by Blinken and Austin as they left this country. What more are we learning?

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim. We don't know for sure, of course, whether Russia was going to do this missile attack anyway, even if this visit didn't happen, but, of course, the Kremlin knows the timing and the message that it is sending by launching five different cruise missiles across this country in the western and central part, attacking this railway infrastructure, no question about that.

And the practical side of this is, what is this going to do to the ability of Ukraine to use this railway infrastructure to get the kind of heavy weapons to the frontlines, that is what we heard from the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, what we've heard from President Zelenskyy, these weapons are needed in the front. But the best way to get them there, of course, the most efficient way oftentimes is using the railway system.

And this targeting of Ukrainian infrastructure is something that U.S. officials and Ukrainian officials have been worried about since the start of this war. This is Russia's ability to attack remotely and really disrupt the crucial supply lines of these heavy weapons that are so desperately needed in the eastern part of the country.

So, this is what we're going to be looking for to see if this becomes a new pattern by Russia over the coming weeks. They know the best way to fight against the Ukrainians is to deny them the kind of weapons that have proved so effective in repelling this latest Russian

offensive in the eastern part of the country. So, will we see more infrastructure attacked moving forward? That's the open question, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Matt Rivers, thanks very much. Certainly, we'll continue to watch.

Right now, a constant stream of bombardments in the northeastern city, Kharkiv. CNN's Clarissa Ward was in what is Ukraine's second largest city this morning. She visited the remains of a regional state administration building there. You can see the damage caused by the shelling.

Our CNN team there heard nearly constant stream of shells coming in over the past 24 hours. Despite those who live in Kharkiv are refusing to leave their city, defiantly.

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The people of Kharkiv are staying put. This is a city of about 1.5 million. They estimate as many as a million people are still here. Now, obviously, we have no way of being able to verify that number, but, certainly, you do still see that people are here, even in the hardest hit areas. There's a place on the northeastern outskirts called Saltivka that we spent some time in over the weekend, incredibly dangerous, relentless bombardment. There are still people living in those apartments.

And they live and they stay for different reasons. For some, it's an act of resistance, it's a way of showing defiance. For others, it's a question of their elderly.

[10:05:01]

They don't necessarily have any place to go.

And I'm wondering if we can just come down here to try to take a look at the size of the crater that is outside there.

So, a lot of people don't want to leave. They do want to stay.

The interesting thing when you're walking around on the streets, though, what you don't see -- you do see some people. This here is sort of the grand entrance, if you will, to this building. But you don't see a lot of children. There are still children in the city, but the vast majority of them are living underground at the moment in the metro station.

So, this here was sort of the grand entrance to that building. You can see some workers have parked up a van here. They're trying to sort of remove some of the valuables, but, again, you can just see the scale of the damage, the devastation. There is a huge crater there behind that white van that you can't get such a good look at from this angle, but also the building behind, you can see the facade of it, has basically been torn off.

And so it's frankly astonishing to think that anyone is brave enough to stay here. And the question is how long is that sustainable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: It's unimaginable damage there in the country's second largest city, home to universities and theaters, and now you see all of that damage done at the hands of the Russian military. Our thanks to Clarissa Ward for that report.

Well, the White House is prepared to give another $713 million in military financing to Ukraine and NATO allies to fight Russia's aggression. Secretaries Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin discussed the additional funding during their meeting with President Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials in Kyiv.

SCIUTTO: Since Russia invaded this country in February, some two months ago, the U.S. has given Ukraine more than $3 billion in aid, mostly weapons, crucial on the battlefield.

CNN's John Harwood and Lauren Fox join us now. John, what details do we know about the new aid that was promised during their visit here?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know the specifics, but we do know that this dial is going to continue to be ratcheted up the longer this conflict goes on, both military assistance and economic assistance, as you mentioned, $3.4 billion so far since the start of this conflict.

And as the Ukrainian and Russian forces settle in for this grinding conflict in the eastern part of the state, there's going to be more and more pressure on the United States and NATO allies to help, especially as long as they maintain that red line and say the U.S. and NATO are not going to get directly involved militarily against a nuclear-armed adversary.

So, more aid, more financial aid, more military weaponry, heavier weaponry. We saw that in the last shipment, including those helicopters and anti-tank artillery, that sort of thing. You're going to see diplomatic presence, of course, the appointment of an ambassador, the return of diplomats. You're going to see moral support. You've got that from Secretary Austin and Blinken over the weekend. You've gotten that from the rhetoric from President Biden.

So, the United States is going to do what it can as Ukraine holds out and, of course, they're going to have to get approval as we go on from Congress to approve that aid, and Lauren Fox can tell us about the prospects for getting that done. But I think the administration, the White House, at least from their perspective, is confident that that aid will get approved.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And we're not talking about just military aid that Ukraine so desperately needs, right? It's economic aid, it's humanitarian assistance. President Biden promised an additional $500 million last week in economic aid.

And, Lauren, as we just heard from John, Congress was returning from recess today. There's going to be pressure on lawmakers to provide additional assistance to Ukraine. Can we expect them to agree to it? Over the weekend, we heard from Senator Elizabeth Warren saying she'll agree to helping Ukraine go forward. Is this something that we're going to hear on a bipartisan front?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bianna, you have heard from Republicans and Democrats that there is a willingness to give Ukraine the aid, both humanitarian and military aid, that it needs. And you heard last week from the administration that they are queuing that specific fund that Congress had created for this military aid. It is starting to get drawn down. And they are getting to the end of that money.

The question is, what vehicle does this take when Congress returns later today? Remember that before they left for their recess, there was that $10 billion in COVID aid and relief package. That got stymied because of a controversial immigration issue that the administration and Republicans are at odds about. [10:10:02]

So, the question becomes, if Majority Leader Chuck Schumer views that as the fastest vehicle to get Ukraine aid passed, because it's what's moving in Congress right now, what are Republicans going to do? Are they going to continue to insist on that controversial immigration amendment? And if so, does Ukraine aid get bogged down with COVID relief?

And I think that that is really one of the questions right now as lawmakers return from recess as to how quickly they're going to be willing to move. Yes, there's agreement to do something, but how quickly Congress can act, that is another question entirely.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And given the speed at which Russia's shelling is intensifying, Ukraine needs that aid as soon as possible.

John Harwood, Lauren Fox, thank you.

Well, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced plans for U.S. diplomats to return to Kyiv as soon as this week.

CNN National Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood joins us now from the State Department. Kylie, what more are you hearing about this timeline? A lot of symbolism here in this return.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. This is the Biden administration showing even more support for Ukraine. We have heard from the Ukrainians that they want folks to come back into the country to visit. They want diplomats there. The Biden administration now saying that this week, their diplomats are going to start going back into the country.

Now this is not, however, the resumption of the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, which was closed down earlier this year as the war in Ukraine was expected to start. The Biden administration still clearly not comfortable enough with the security situation in the country, understandably so, because the war is still raging on in the east.

And so what they're going to do is have these diplomats take day trips into Lviv. That's a city on the western side of Ukraine. And then, according to a senior State Department official, they'll start traveling to other places in the country and then to Kyiv.

The other thing that Secretary Blinken spoke with the Ukrainians about during his visit to Kyiv over the weekend was the intention of the Biden administration to nominate Bridget Brink as the new U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Now, she is currently the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia. She has more than 20 years of experience in the foreign service. And President Biden put out a statement this morning saying that it was his intention to nominate her for the post.

And we should note that this is an ambassador post that has been vacant for over a year now. Of course, there's a senior State Department official who has been serving as the charge. But it is significant that they have picked someone for this post to maintain diplomatic relations in their best way possible. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Kylie Atwood, thank you.

SCIUTTO: That's something Ukrainian officials have been asking for, for some time. Thanks to Kylie Atwood.

Still to come this hour, Mariupol still completely closed to evacuations. It's not the only southern Ukrainian city cut off. We will speak with a Ukrainian member of parliament next.

GOLODRYGA: Plus, he's been documenting live inside Ukraine since before the evacuation. We'll speak with one photographer who is weathering the shelling in Kharkiv.

And later, Republican identity crisis in Georgia. Is re-litigating the 2020 election the key to the future or have politicians following former President Trump's lead miscalculated? Stay with us.

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[10:15:00]

SCIUTTO: Right now, British officials say that Russian forces have made only minor advances since shifting the focus of their invasion to Eastern Ukraine, shifting a lot of forces there too. Russia failing to achieve significant breakthroughs but they're still attacking civilians. They are very much in the crosshairs of Russia's attacks.

Despite Russia's claims, Ukraine's deputy prime minister says no agreements have been made to evacuate civilians from the steel plant in Mariupol, where many hundreds of them have been taking shelter along with Ukrainian soldiers.

Joining me now to discuss the situation in Ukraine is Andrii Osadchuk, he's a Ukrainian member of parliament. Andrii, good to have you on this morning.

ANDRII OSADCHUK, UKRAINIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: Yes, good afternoon.

SCIUTTO: First, I want to ask you your reaction to the visit of Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken, the most senior U.S. visit to Ukraine since the start of the war, something President Zelenskyy and others have been asking for, for some time. Is this visit important to you?

OSADCHUK: Look, for the last two months, Kyiv became a capital of western democracy. Kyiv was supposed to be occupied by Russians within first week, maximum demonstrated the ability of Ukrainians to resist and to attack. So, now, we see that almost everyone from leaders of the west is trying to come to Kyiv from one side to show solidarity. From another side, everyone understands that in Kyiv now, we rewrite the history of Europe and the security history of the world.

So, that's why it's important for both sides, for western leaders and for Ukraine that everyone is coming to Kyiv and said that, for sure, yesterday's visit of the state secretary and secretary of defense is dramatically important for us because, again, it's symbolic, from the other hand, we reach another agreement to further support Ukraine and military in this war between, in fact, west and Russia.

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SCIUTTO: There has been a change not just in the mood in this country but also the analysis, the assessment of U.S. officials of the state of this war. When I was here at the start of the invasion, there was great fear, right, about Ukrainians being overrun. They put up a tremendous defense. And now you hear Secretary Austin, Secretary Blinken saying that they believe Russia is losing.

And I wonder if you agree. Do you believe that Russia is losing this war, that Ukraine is successfully defending itself?

OSADCHUK: Let's be honest, we lose a lot of time because, from day one, Ukraine was demanding heavy weapons. Ukraine was demanding attacking weapons. Ukraine was demanding efforts to protect our sky. We were sure since first week of the war that Putin is losing because, for us, it was understood that the Putin plan was collapsed in the north of Ukraine around Kyiv when Ukrainian army was able to defeat Russian forces.

So for us, for the last more than a month, it's understood that this war will be on the Ukrainian side. We will win this war. The only open question is the price which Ukraine will pay for this victory. Now we have, I think, mutual understanding with western leaders, with the United States that we jointly will win this war and now finally we are on a good track with the military supply to Ukraine and hopefully these supplies will increase with the coming weeks and months.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this. Vladimir Putin has expressed no genuine interest, it seems, in peace talks. I mean, even when the talks that existed were going on, Russia was increasing, not decreasing its attacks. What is the end? How does this end in your view? Or should we expect for this war to drag on not just weeks or months but for years?

OSADCHUK: Look, first of all, I do not agree with you that Putin did not want negotiations. I think at the moment he needs negotiations probably more than Ukraine and I will explain you why. Because, originally, his plan was to sign the surrender agreement with some puppet in Kyiv within first or two, now, understand that, in any cases, he will not take what he wants from the very beginning. He will not receive Kyiv and he will not receive paramount majority of Ukraine. So, that's why this war for him can be ended only with some kind of agreement. And now he's fighting for negotiations position because his negotiation position for the moment is extremely weak.

Unfortunately, for us, it will mean that he will need more destruction, more deaths, more occupied territories because this is the only way how he can try to trade with Ukraine. From other side, the situation is very clear. We want to stop this war. We want to stop killing of civilians and our people, but we will not trade with our land. We will not trade with our sovereignty and with our independence. So this fight for the moment our positions is absolutely different. So, that's why, yes, for the time being, the future of this war will be decided on the battlefield, mostly in the south of Ukraine.

SCIUTTO: Andrii Osadchuk, thanks so much for your help.

OSADCHUK: Thank you for your support.

GOLODRYGA: Well, coming up, is pushing Trump's former Senator David Perdue is pushing Trump's big lie in the way to win Georgia? Is that the way to win Georgia? Will it work? We'll take a look right after the break.

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GOLODRYGA: A judge in Georgia is considering whether Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene should be barred from running for reelection because of her role in the January 6th insurrection. Now, that recommendation is expected within weeks.

The case revolves around the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies a person from holding office if they have engaged in rebellion or treason. Lawyers for a group of liberal voters trying to get Greene kicked off the ballot say she called for violence before the Capitol attack.

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ANDREW G. CELLI JR., LAWYER WHO CROSS-EXAMINED REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: On January 5th, the day before the insurrection, Congresswoman Greene told her followers on her Facebook page on a national broadcast that tomorrow is 1776.

In the context that she was dealing with, where people understood that 1776 was code for break into the Capitol, do violence and, most importantly, block the certification of Joe Biden, that is an act of insurrection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: During questioning Friday, Greene repeatedly said she didn't remember any involvement in the planning of January 6th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CELLI: You didn't talk to anybody in government about the fact that there were going to be large protests in Washington on January 6th?

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I don't remember.

CELLI: You spoke to Representative Biggs or his staff about that fact, didn't you?

GREENE: I do not remember.

CELLI: How about Representative Gosar?

GREENE: I'm sorry, I don't remember.

CELLI: Did anyone mention to you the possibility that there might be violence in Washington?

GREENE: I don't remember.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:30:00]

GOLODRYGA: Now, ultimately, it will be up to Georgia's secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, to weigh the judge's recommendation.