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Russia Intensifies Assaults on Eastern, Southern Fronts; U.N. Secretary General Meets Today with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv; Concerns about Trevor Reed's Health Increased Urgency to Get Him Home; Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 28, 2022 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

KEILAR: They rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit and they are slated to return in September.

That's a long time, John.

BERMAN: They're always greeted with hugs and smiles because it's fresh people. It's like new people. Don't you get sick of everyone up there? Just saying.

KEILAR: Yes. Maybe.

BERMAN: All right. CNN's coverage continues right now.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: An ominous threat, Vladimir Putin vowing a lightning-fast response if the West interferes in his war in Ukraine.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto reporting from Lviv, in western Ukraine. Right now, Russian forces making a slow but in some areas steady push through parts of Ukraine's east, focusing their efforts for now on the Donetsk region in the east. Ukrainian officials report intense fire from Russian forces. And these new images show the aftermath of shelling in the area. At least 27 houses from one village were hit. Keep in mind, those are houses, not military targets.

GOLODRYGA: There's some Russian curse words there describing what they are seeing in the sky. Overnight, explosions rocking the city of Kherson. Russian officials claim it's impossible for Ukraine to regain control there. The U.N. secretary general says it will be up to Putin to end the war. He toured damage in Ukraine this morning ahead of a meeting with President Zelenskyy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL: I imagine my family in one of those houses. That is now destroyed and black. I see my granddaughters running away in panic, part of the family eventually killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: This is one of the reasons why President Zelenskyy wanted Guterres to visit Ukraine before meeting with Vladimir Putin earlier this week.

And in the next hour, President Biden is set to speak from the White House on U.S. support for Ukraine. We'll bring that to you live.

SCIUTTO: Yes, we expect some new steps there. We do begin this hour with CNN senior international correspondent Sam Kiley. He is in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, in the east.

Sam, we're hearing pretty consistent accounts from the Ukrainian military talking about intense fire, intense fighting on multiple fronts. What are you hearing there, and I'm curious what you're seeing yourself where you are.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, yesterday we spent the day in Severodonetsk, a town on the north side of the Donetsk River, very close to Rubizhne, which had fallen as a result of this campaign of bombardment being carried out by the Russians against Ukrainian forces and Ukrainian civilian towns. That town itself, Severodonetsk, was hit multiple times, mainly in and around the hospital.

When we were there, there were civilians cowering in basements, all part of this sort of onslaught (PH) that the Russians have now proven that they are very dedicated to, an old-style Soviet approach to smash up everything in advance using artillery and aircraft and nowadays drones, and then try and occupy the ashes that remain. That clearly is what's happened in places like Mariupol and is happening here now.

Incrementally I have to say in the east of the country, because the Ukrainians are getting more reinforcements and they are desperately trying to rush those more modern weapons that they're being supplied out of Western Europe and the United States to try to push the Russians back. But this all coming amidst ongoing allegations of human rights abuses being perpetrated in detail, coming from an area near Donetsk.

The United States ambassador-at-large Beth Van Schaack saying that they have credible evidence of a number of Ukrainian soldiers allegedly surrendering, allegedly tied up, showing signs of torture, having been murdered, execution style. That's the allegation being made by the United States government. There's no response yet, of course, from the Russian side of that. That's in an area not very far from here in Kramatorsk, which is really the ultimate prize for this latest Russian push. If they can capture Kramatorsk and neighboring towns, they will be able to at least claim to have captured the hull of what they call the Donbas -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Sam, occupying the ashes of what they left behind, perfect description.

Sam Kiley, thanks very much. Right now the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres is in Ukraine,

where he will meet with President Zelenskyy and other top Ukrainian officials. This meeting coming two days after the U.N. chief as Bianna was mentioning sat down with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. He went there first.

CNN international correspondent Scott McLean, he's here in Lviv as well.

[09:05:02]

Scott, I wonder what we can expect from today's conversation. President Zelenskyy tends to ask visiting foreign leaders for help, support, diplomatic, military. What do we expect him to ask of the U.N. secretary general?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, something that the Ukrainians have been asking for some time is help from the U.N. to broke summer kind of an agreement with the Russians to get people out of Mariupol and surely this trip for the U.N. secretary general is about making some kind of progress on that front. He met with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and he got something out of that meeting.

He got an agreement in principle to work with the U.N., the Red Cross and the Ukrainians to get people out of that city. But Ukrainian army commander is issuing a fresh appeal today to get people out, saying that if something isn't done, people will die. Simple as that. Not only civilians, but also 600 wounded soldiers who right now are underneath of the Azovstal steel plant in that city, along with civilians.

According to the mayor of the city of Mariupol, conditions are medieval, so medieval that officials are worried about the spread of diseases like cholera, dysentery, e. Coli, not only because of the sanitary conditions, the lack of water, or any kind of sanitation at all in that city, but also because of the number of uncollected bodies that have piled up and the rising temperatures as we move from spring into summertime.

Now the U.N. says that it is working with the Russians to try to turn that in principle agreement into a detailed agreement that it could actually work on the ground. The U.N. also says that it's putting people in place on the ground, to work on that, but it is not just about getting the Russians on board, it is about working out the details with both parties. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUTERRES: At the present moment they are being discussed in Moscow, between the Ministry of Defense and our people, here also in contact with the government of Ukraine, to see if we can have a situation which nobody can blame the other side for things not happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MCLEAN: That last part is key, nobody can blame the other side for things not happening. This is what we have heard. The trouble that we've had over and over again. Now of course some of this finger pointing is entirely legitimate, for entirely legitimate reasons, but, of course, the Red Cross has previously said, Jim, that look, these corridors will only work if the sides agree on the very fine details.

It is not good enough just to agree in principle or in a broad principle of, yes, we want to get people out, you have to sit down and hammer out the details, even if it means working with your enemy.

SCIUTTO: And we should also just remember the hard fact, the reason those people need safe passage out is Russian military invaded their city. Invaded their city and bombed many parts as well.

Scott McLean, here in Lviv as well.

Joining us now to discuss CNN military analyst, retired U.S. Army Major General Dana Pittard.

Good to have you on, sir. I wonder if you can put your military expertise to what we are seeing now in the east. Russia concentrating its forces there. It is making some, not substantial but some territorial progress, capturing towns. Seems to be fighting better, at least some evidence fighting a bit better than they did up north.

I wonder if you see that as significant and perhaps worrisome for Ukrainian forces, that that's where Russia is concentrating its firepower now and seems to be making something progress.

MAJ. GEN. DANA PITTARD (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Well, good morning, Jim and Bianna. Russia has learned some lessons from the fight around Kyiv, and also the fights in eastern Ukraine. So it's not a change of strategy, per se, it's really a change in tactics and operational methodology.

We'll see the attacks are more methodological as far as ground forces coordinated with aircraft, coordinated with missile strikes, coordinated with the mechanized forces and artillery. The objectives are more limited. It's town by town, and it's being done in a very methodological way to do that. It is difficult to defeat. However the Ukrainians can defeat that with counterattacks. Counterattacks either into that force for counterattacks or that force is not to draw them away.

GOLODRYGA: Let me ask you about Vladimir Putin's threats yesterday as he was speaking to lawmakers in St. Petersburg, where he was defiant and said all objectives will definitely be carried out and then said if someone intends to interfere on what is going on from the outside, they must know our response to counterstrikes will be lightning fast. We have all the instruments to respond that no one else can boast. Obviously we know that they have used hypersonic weapons in the past in this war.

[09:10:02] What would keep him at this point from putting a nuclear warhead on one of those hypersonic weapons and perhaps deploying a tactical nuke? Because we know that it's not for care of human life that would impede him from doing that.

PITTARD: Bianna, two things. One is, was that intended for the U.S. and NATO or was that intended for Ukraine? Because Ukraine has had similar attacks into Russia. Just beyond Ukrainian border. So he may have been talking about that. So that's one thing. The second item, could he put a nuclear weapon on hypersonic missiles? He could. But that would be extremely dangerous and Russia knows that the U.S. would respond very quickly and Russia would be destroyed. Nobody wins in a nuclear exchange. But Russia would clearly lose.

SCIUTTO: What about an escalation short of a nuclear exchange? Because increasingly you have Russian officials talking about how this is a battle not just with Ukraine, but with NATO. And they see themselves, this is the argument they will make, and Putin, as being targeted by NATO. Do you think we should be thinking in terms short of a nuclear exchange but of direct military conflict for perhaps direct attack by Russian forces on NATO supply lines, either inside Ukraine or outside Ukraine even, that have been bringing in weapons that have been so consequential on the battlefield?

PITTARD: Well, NATO must be prepared for that because the weapons that have been supplied to the Ukrainians have really hurt the Russian forces. So that's clear. So NATO must be prepared for that. But also NATO needs to take a look at this conflict. NATO, the U.S., they want Ukraine to get its territory back and defeat the Russian forces. Also, with what's going on with the refugees, NATO and the U.S. need to declare western Ukraine as a humanitarian assistance zone from Kyiv in the north down to Odessa in the south and all the way west to the Polish border.

That would mean NATO troops on the ground, but there are no Russian forces in western Ukraine. That would be extremely helpful ensuring refugees get through and supply lines are intact, so when Putin sends missiles, there at least will be air defenses on the ground in western Ukraine.

GOLODRYGA: We know they have sent missiles into western Ukraine, and the city where Jim is right now.

Major General Dana Pittard, thank you so much.

PITTARD: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: And a quick note, Major General Pittard's book "Hunting the Caliphate" about America's war on ISIS is available now.

Well, new images this morning of Trevor Reed reunited with his family in the United States after more than two years in Russian detention. Up next, I'll speak to a man who survived a similar ordeal in an Iranian prison and is working to get hostages around the world home.

SCIUTTO: Also ahead, CNN speaks to American families facing skyrocketing rent prices, who may now be forced to leave their homes as a result.

Plus, great news for parents of young children, Moderna has announced today that it will file for Emergency Use Authorization for its vaccine for children six months to 5 years old. It's a big step.

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[09:17:45]

GOLODRYGA: After spending more than two years in a Russian prison, American Trevor Reed is finally back home in the United States. The former Marine reuniting with his family in Texas overnight -- just take a look at that picture -- after he was released in a prisoner swap with the Kremlin. Now Reed's health had deteriorated in recent months, which prompted major concern from his parents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA REED, TREVOR REED'S MOTHER: He looks terrible to us. As his parents, we know he does not look well. He's very thin.

JOEY REED, TREVOR REED'S FATHER: He was walking strange and he looked like they had to help him get up in the airplane.

P. REED: Yes, he didn't look good. So I understand there is some medical personnel on the plane with him and they're checking him out. So that's our main concern right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN's Kylie Atwood joins me now from the State Department.

Kylie, with folks coming home from long imprisonments, they take the weight of their time in detention home with them. So what more are we learning about the sort of welcome home process he's going through?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we know that he's going to undergo a head-to-toe medical check. That is according to what his parents were saying yesterday. They believe he's going to be headed to a military hospital here in the United States to get those medical checks he needs. As we have talked about he had COVID-19 in 2021. He is expected, they said, he had symptoms of tuberculosis. So they are really concerned about his health. And they really want to get him back on track in that sense.

He's also going to be talking to someone about his emotions, to deal with any PTSD according to his parents, and of course then they want him to go back to college. They said he has the semester off, it's summertime now, they're excited for him to sort of cool the jets, but then they expect he'll want to go back to college.

We've done some reporting on just the months and months of work that went into the efforts to secure his release by the U.S. government. And our understanding is that this really started when President Biden raised this matter with the Russians three months ago. Of course that would have been before the war in Ukraine started. And then there was some slow momentum that started to build, a number of folks in the U.S. government spearheading this, one of them was the U.S. ambassador to Russia.

He has been seen as a key person who played the back-and-forth role between the U.S. and Russia on this, and then a special envoy for hostage affairs here at the State Department, Roger Carstens. And it was a really long haul, those efforts really intensifying in the last few weeks as we understand it.

[09:20:06]

But, of course, one thing we should note, guys, is that Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan are two Americans that are still detained in Russia. So yesterday was a great day for Trevor Reed's family, they are elated, but those families, of course, were devastated to hear the news that their family members weren't coming home. And Trevor Reed's family is actually quite close with Paul Whelan's family. Both of the men were former Marines. They had been detained in Russia, a lot of similarities there, and Paul Whelan had actually been detained for longer, since 2018.

So listen to what Trevor Reed's mother said yesterday when she was talking about just her emotions surrounding the fact that Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner haven't yet come home from Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

P. REED: We have a close relationship with the Whelan family and we talk to them regularly all the time. So our hearts were a little broken when we found out that it wasn't going to -- the deal was not going to include Paul. And so our hearts go out to them. We texted with them, we know. She knows that. Their family knows that. And as far as Brittney's family goes, we're going to decline to speak about her because we think that that's what her people want. They don't want us to talk about her. So we don't want to do that and make anything worse for her case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now, a senior administration official told me that they don't think the success of this case, Trevor Reed coming home, is going to translate necessarily to the success of the other folks who are in Russia coming home. So that isn't great news, but of course we'll continue to watch their cases -- guys.

GOLODRYGA: Kylie Atwood, thank you.

Well, joining me now to discuss is Jason Rezaian, a global opinions writer for "The Washington Post." He was also released in a prisoner swap with Iran in 2016 after spending 544 days in prison there. And he has executive produced a recent "Washington Post" documentary titled "Bring Them Home" which highlights the global hostage crisis.

Jason, thank you so much for joining us. You're a perfect guest on this subject matter because few people can talk about what Trevor and Paul Whelan and Brittney are experiencing and have experienced than you. You've been in prison there in the Evin prison in Iran for over 500 days. Can you just give us a sense of what those first few hours of freedom feel like when you're finally on that plane home to U.S. soil?

JASON REZAIAN, GLOBAL OPINIONS WRITER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Well, Bianna, it's an incredible mix of emotions. In my case, six years ago now, I still feel that moment as if it was just happening to me. Confusion, elation, relief, but also understanding that a chapter of my life was closing and not knowing what I was coming home to. And what you realize very quickly is that the first weeks and months of freedom, as beautiful and happy as parts of them are, are also very complicated. You have to learn how to live in the world again, and that's not an easy thing to do.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, and as we heard from Joey and Paula Reed, you know, they had a long list of people that they were thankful for, starting from President Biden, on to the ambassador, and all the people behind the scenes that were working for Trevor's release. But they played a huge role in it as well. They were on television programs, day in, day out. They remain very public figures in fighting for their son's release.

And you talk about the pressure. I mean, your family did the same. You talked about the pressure that this has on families. Is that the right approach in your opinion? Do they have to go public in order to release their children?

REZAIAN: My belief, based on my own experience and following dozens of cases after I was released, is that the best thing to do, if you know your loved one is innocent and being held hostage by a foreign government, is to make as much noise as possible. Because at the end of the day, what you're trying to do is to mobilize the U.S. government into acting on your behalf. That doesn't happen by itself. It really starts with a family's decision to do whatever it takes to support their loved one being held hostage abroad.

Other parts of your community, whether it's your employer, your friends, your high school buddies, everybody getting together to mobilize and doing whatever they can to put it on the national agenda so that folks here in Washington can't ignore it.

GOLODRYGA: If we can put up the video, the picture of Trevor Reed there, as he was getting off that plane in Turkey and walking by Konstantin Yaroshenko, the Russian who he had been exchanged with, you know, his father had described that as something out of a movie, the scenes that we see, and there you see Trevor, there you see Yaroshenko. Was your situation similar when you recall how you were released?

REZAIAN: We did not interact with the Iranians who were released from U.S. prisons in exchange for our release in Iran because those several, I think it was seven Iranians being held here were all dual nationals and they decided to stay in the United States rather than return to Iran.

[09:25:08] But it was equally dramatic in that the deal almost fell apart at the very last minute because the Iranians were unwilling to let my wife join me on the flight, which was something that the State Department had negotiated. So there is always, I think, a bit of tension right towards the end and, you know, it is -- it's still, you know, sits with me as really the most harrowing day of my life.

GOLODRYGA: Quickly, what is your message to Paul Whelan's family, to Brittney Griner's family as, you know, it's bittersweet, I would imagine. On the one hand, they're so happy to see Trevor home, on the other their family is not home with them.

REZAIAN: To the Whelans, to the Griners, to the families of Americans being held in Iran, China, Venezuela, and a host of other countries, we see you, we support you, and we want to work together to first bring your loved ones home and, second, make it harder, if not impossible for governments to do this in the future.

GOLODRYGA: Jason Rezaian, thank you so much for joining us. And thank you for all the work that you're doing.

REZAIAN: Appreciate you, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: And straight ahead, the cost of rent is skyrocketing across the country, leaving many Americans scrambling to find homes that they can afford. Details on the historic spike and when Americans could see relief up next.

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