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Search Continues For Corrections Officer Who Fled With Inmate; Race to Evacuate Mariupol. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired May 02, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:25]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Alisyn Camerota. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. Victor has the day off.

We begin in Mariupol. We still do not know how many Ukrainians were able to escape that steel plant today. Since the war began, the Azovstal factory has been a bomb shelter for roughly 1,000 people. There are reportedly still 300 civilians inside.

Over the weekend, about 100 people made it out. And some are now sharing what they have endured for more than 60 days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATALIA USMANOVA, AZOVSTAL BUNKER EVACUEE (through translator): I can't believe it. Two months of darkness. We did not see any sunlight. We were scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Now, these images are exclusive to CNN. And they show how Russian strikes have pulverized that compound.

Russian state TV broadcast troops on the outskirts of Azovstal, engaging what they call a step-by-step clearing operation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER SLADKOV, RUSSIAN STATE MEDIA REPORTER (through translator): We are finally here, establishing ourselves, not officially, canteen number five, Azovstal. This is where the story has to end, as there will be no more resistance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: And now there's concern about where the people who got out are being taken. More than half went to a town controlled by Russians about 16 miles east of Mariupol.

Further north in Luhansk, a regional official says residents are on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe, because relentless Russian shelling is preventing teams from distributing aid there. But Ukrainian forces are pushing back. The Ukrainian military has confirmed its forces have won back control of several settlements to the north and east of Kharkiv. That's the biggest city in Ukraine's east.

CNN's Anderson Cooper is in Kyiv. That's Ukraine's capital city.

So, Anderson, beyond those poor people who are trapped in the factory, there are still civilians, women, children, elderly trapped elsewhere in Mariupol. Are they getting out today too?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Yes, that's right, Alisyn.

The U.N. brokered a deal with Russians to let the United Nations and Red Cross help with evacuation. So, there's the evacuation that you described for those inside the steel plant. And then there's a separate effort to help those get out of the city of Mariupol itself, which has been, as you know, decimated by Russian strikes.

People there have little food, water or medical care.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

So, Nick, do we have a sense of how many Ukrainians have been able to get out of Mariupol today?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: (AUDIO GAP) We certainly know that there seem to be, according to Russian Ministry of Defense numbers and some Ukrainian officials, about 100 that may be part of this convoy, which we've seen images fed out by various news agencies.

It appears to certainly be on the move under Red Cross escort. Now, as you point out, Anderson, there's lots going on here. We spent a day at the reception center where a lot of these evacuees should be turning up. Those from Azovstal and the wider U.N. effort did not turn up. And there had been hopes they might have been.

It had been slow going, it seems. And those -- that convoy now appears to be moving between the villages, towns that mark Russian-controlled territory on the way out towards Zaporizhzhia.

But they may be arriving overnight or possibly early tomorrow morning. They're not large in number. But this initial move, I think it's fair to say, is deeply symbolic, because if the United Nations and Red Cross can get this route moving -- and, of course, the Azovstal people stuck underground, some for two months, under intense bombardment, daylight scarce, food, water scarce, appalling conditions there -- hundreds, it seems, of Ukrainian soldiers injured there as well.

If a route can be established for them to get out (AUDIO GAP) that may herald the possibility of a greater volume of people, possibly (AUDIO GAP) the 100,000 civilians caught in Mariupol, where disease is potentially rife.

Imminently, they (AUDIO GAP) begin to come (AUDIO GAP) but (AUDIO GAP). There are plenty of Russian checkpoints on the way, an absence of trust between both sides, frankly, an absence of decency from Russia that it's taken this long to even get to the point where these people might be able to get out, after the intense bombardment we have seen Russia subject their home town to.

But a glimmer of hope today, I would say somewhat delayed -- Anderson.

COOPER: Confusion as well, because we're hearing that some of the Ukrainians who were let out were actually -- ended up going to locations held by Russians.

Was that -- did they consent to that, do we know?

[14:05:00]

WALSH: We don't know the level of consent here (AUDIO GAP) now in Russian hands.

We do know that Russia's Ministry of Defense have said that in one 24- hour period, 11 of the (AUDIO GAP) what they called separatist territory.

This is the big issue here, Anderson, really is, while you can imagine that I think the vast preponderance of Ukrainians emerging from intense Russian bombardment and that kind of condition, seeing their hometown leveled by an unprovoked invading army, would want to head to Ukrainian -held territory, where I'm standing (AUDIO GAP) Zaporizhzhia and (AUDIO GAP) thousands, it seems, who have been pushed by Russian forces towards Russia itself.

And, there, they have endured filtration, security checks, essentially, and then also the possibility of some broader reeducation program seems to be suggested and assimilation into different parts of Russian society.

It's -- we don't have full transparency on how that continues for them, but we certainly know that many have been pushed east, whereas many have wanted to go west. In terms of today's numbers, unclear, but that's the fundamental binary risk that people take trying to leave Mariupol, whether they can get themselves out towards the west. The hope is, the U.N., Red Cross guarantee that -- Anderson.

COOPER: Nick Paton Walsh, appreciate the reporting from Zaporizhzhia.

Ukraine's foreign minister says that the country will work with Moldova and its European partners to avoid further escalation in the breakaway region of Transnistria. As you know, there are Russian in Transnistria.

There had been a series of unexplained explosions in that region in recent days, which Ukrainian officials and Moldovan officials say are provocations by the pro-Russian forces there. It's sparking fears, of course, that Moscow's war could soon stretch beyond Ukraine and into Moldova.

CNN's Randi Kaye is in the capital of Moldova for us.

So, you visited villages boarding -- bordering Transnistria. What did you see there? What are you hearing from people?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Anderson.

We are in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, as you said. And the border with Transnistria is about 45 minutes from here. So, the first village we went to was called Koshnitsa. And that is the closest village to the border with Transnistria. And nobody there, not a single resident, Anderson, would speak with me, possibly out of fears that they are so close to the Russian troops that are in that breakaway region.

But one woman told us, "The less you talk, the more you live." That is a direct quote from her. So the only person who actually did speak with us was a temporary resident there, a refugee from Ukraine, a woman named Tania who fled Odessa. And she is quite concerned about a possible Russian invasion through Transnistria.

She does not like living so close to that breakaway region. She feels very uncomfortable there and is looking to get to Poland possibly or somewhere safer. We then moved about 10 kilometers away to another village called Voldovol (ph).

And, there, people were much more willing to speak with us. We spoke to a young man who said he's concerned, but if there is an invasion here in Moldova, he's going to stay, fight, protect his house, his family. We spoke to an older couple who said they would stay for now, but if there is an invasion, they are going to run.

We spoke to another man who said that he's very concerned that the army here in Moldova, which is quite weak, would not be able to stand up to a Russian invasion. And then we spoke to a woman from Canada. She came all the way from Canada to Moldova, Anderson, just to make sure that her mother-in-law, her brother and her sister who are living in that village of Voldovol, to make sure that they had their documents and all of their paperwork and their bags were packed just in case the Russians do something here in Moldova -- Anderson.

COOPER: You also spoke with a former Moldovan ambassador to the U.S.

KAYE: Right.

We spoke with Igor Munteanu. And he told us that he's also quite concerned about the Russians possibly invading Moldova. He said that, in his opinion, Russia is not doing very well in Ukraine and that Vladimir Putin might be looking for what he called an easy target. And maybe he sees Moldova as an easy target, a way to chalk up a victory, tell his people that he has a victory.

He also talked about the troops that are in that breakaway region of Transnistria. He said, right now, there are about 1500 or so. Russia calls those peacekeeping troops. But he said that, very quickly, they can ramp up to 50,000 troops or more. He said they have already started recruiting there. And he's quite concerned about the number of troops.

And, of course, here in Moldova, Moldova is not a member of NATO. It is not a member of the European Union. Its constitution declares it as -- the Republic of Moldova as a neutral state. So, of course, they don't have a very strong army, 3,000 or 4,000 people, so a lot of concern about something happening here with Russia in Moldova and how Moldova would be able to stand up to that -- Anderson.

COOPER: Right. It's fascinating.

Randi Kaye, appreciate it. Thank you.

The Ukrainian military says it hit two Russian Raptor patrol boats this morning. There's new video showing drones targeting Russian ships near Snake Island. This is off the southwest coast of Ukraine.

CNN senior national correspondent Sara Sidner is also here in Kyiv with me.

[14:10:00]

What more do we know about these efforts against Russia?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so we have been hearing who is in Belgorod, who -- right on the border with Ukraine, saying that there was a facility that was damaged, a Defense Ministry facility that was on fire. One person was minor -- had minor injuries, but is expected to be OK.

And then another governor in another area that is on the border with Ukraine has said that he believes there has been sabotage on a railway. We have not yet heard anyone saying exactly who did the sabotage. But you can probably guess eventually who is going to be blamed for this.

We should also mention that Belgorod, as you well know and have reported, was the same place where we saw that fuel depot explode and see -- and saw helicopters going over that, which Russia did blame on Ukraine and which Ukraine did not take responsibility for.

COOPER: Yes.

SIDNER: So a couple of things going on here that I'm sure will be fleshed out over time. And I'm sure there will be a tit for tat back and forth between Russia and Ukraine in these two incidents.

COOPER: The local prosecutor in Bucha, one of whom we met with last week, says that as many as 30 kids were killed in Bucha.

SIDNER: Yes.

I mean, when you think about those numbers in just one place, and if you have been in Bucha, it's a small place.

COOPER: Yes.

SIDNER: It's a small village, where people moved out of the city to try to enjoy the country life. It's a really beautiful place.

But as you drive through, you see all of these tanks that have been charred. You see cars that have been charred. And what they have been doing over time is trying to figure out if there are actual war crimes that have been committed. And, certainly, the killing of children and the injuring of at least 19 children would be considered a war crime, especially if they were targeted.

COOPER: Yes.

SIDNER: We were able to track down one of these families who lost a child, and a second family, the friend of a second family who lost a mother and child.

Both of them were in separate cars driving to flee. They were trying to get away.

COOPER: Yes.

SIDNER: They were on their way out on a two-lane highway. And here comes the Russians. In one, it was a tank attack, in the other, a sniper, according to the grandmother, who is this gorgeous babushka with all of the things that you would imagine a babushka looking like.

COOPER: Yes.

SIDNER: And she talked about her 7-year-old granddaughter, and stood over her grave.

COOPER: Yes.

SIDNER: And it was only the second time she'd been able to do so, because the Russians had been in so long.

And here's something that really struck me. Not only was this only the second time that she was able to look at this grave and pray over her granddaughter's grave, but they have to dig her up again, her body up again, to place it in an official cemetery. The family buried this child.

COOPER: Yes. Yes.

SIDNER: It's happening over and over and over again.

And it is really disturbing to finally start to see faces with the names with the bodies of these many, many children.

COOPER: Yes.

Yes, I mean, it's haunting, all these people buried in shallow graves just to get their bodies out of the streets, so they're not decomposing and spreading illness, and also that dogs or other animals don't get to them.

SIDNER: Yes.

COOPER: I mean, it's one of the horrors of this conflict.

SIDNER: It's true.

COOPER: Sara, it's great you're here. Thank you.

We will have more from here in Kyiv -- Alisyn, let's go back to you.

CAMEROTA: OK, Anderson, thank you very much.

Let's bring in retired air force Colonel Cedric Leighton. He's a CNN military analyst, and ambassador William Taylor, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

Gentlemen, thanks so much for being here.

Colonel -- well, actually, Ambassador, let me start with you about what's happening in Mariupol, because it is -- there's no guarantee that the people, even the people who are lucky enough to get on a bus from that steel factory are going to make it to safety.

In fact, the Mariupol -- a Mariupol official says tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens have been forcibly deported to Russia. So, even when they make it out of Mariupol, sometimes, they are going to places they don't want to go. What will become of these people?

WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: It's the right question, Alisyn. It's exactly the right question.

This is another war crime that the Russians are committing. The forced relocation of people out of their homes, out of their country to do the kinds of things that they're talking about, reeducation, filtration, this is just unbelievable that we are hearing this kind of talk, this kind of action in this time.

So it is another -- it's another war crime. And it will be -- it will be tracked down.

CAMEROTA: I mean, it's just a living hell imagining them having to stay in the shelter and not being able to escape, and then imagining them getting on a bus and going -- being sent to a filtration center or Russia.

Colonel, let's talk about the Ukrainian troops' gains. Where are you seeing any gains on the Ukrainian side?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: So this is very interesting, Alisyn, because what we're seeing is a lot of gains right here in the Kharkiv area.

In fact, when you move into the closer map right here, we can see that the Ukrainians have actually gained territory about 30 to 40 kilometers to the east of Kharkiv. So that's a major issue right there for the Ukrainians. This allows them to perhaps move forward against the Russian elements that are right here that are threatening Izyum and this area right in here that includes Slovyansk and Kramatorsk and the Lyman area right here.

[14:15:12]

So the Ukrainians are moving in this direction. They are contesting these areas right here. And there's a possibility that they could move forward in these directions, basically, to the north and to the east. And that will make a big difference for the Ukrainians in that part of the country.

CAMEROTA: And then, Colonel, how about the Russian gains? What towns are they in control of?

LEIGHTON: So this makes it also very interesting, because when you look at -- of course, we talked about Mariupol right here.

Based on what we're seeing from Russian TV and other sources, it's pretty clear that Mariupol is -- and, in fact, when you go right down into the area around the Azov steel plant, the Russian forces are moving in to the territory of the plant, which is a large portion of the city right here.

So that, of course, is a very big issue. The other thing that we're seeing right here is Russian forces gaining in the Kherson area and moving toward Mykolaiv in certain areas. Other parts of Ukraine include the area right here that includes the Zaporizhzhia area, which is right about here. These areas are still under threat by the Russians. So we have to be very careful -- the Ukrainians have to be very careful here with that.

The key goal, though, when you look at this, Alisyn, for the Ukrainians, seems to still be the Mykolaiv area and then potentially Odessa, and we talked a little bit about Moldova, which is right here. That could be an area where the Russians link up their forces.

And that, of course, would be something that is difficult -- would be difficult for the Ukrainians to deal with. But the Russians will have a lot of difficulty getting to these points.

CAMEROTA: Ambassador, Germany's finance minister made a big announcement today and said that they are basically ready to wean themselves off of Russian oil and -- for an embargo. They say it's been a mistake to be so dependent on Russia, and they will move towards energy independence as a result of all of this.

So how big of a deal is that?

TAYLOR: Huge. Huge, Alisyn. This is a major step.

This is one of the big sanctions that has not been put in place yet, to stop buying Russian oil and gas. That means that $300 billion that now goes to fund this Russian attack on Ukraine would be reduced and eventually cut off. So, this is huge. The end -- and for the Germans to recognize their mistake -- and they -- as we know, they have been importing gas aggressively in Nord Stream 1, Nord Stream 2.

They have cut that off. So that's a big step on the part of the Germans that they didn't want to take. But now they have recognized the damage that that vulnerability has done, not just to Ukraine, but to Europe.

CAMEROTA: Colonel, according to a U.S. defense official, a top Russian general was in Ukraine last week and may have been injured. Do we know why he was there? Do we know what happened?

LEIGHTON: So we don't know very much what happened to him.

This is of course, one of those developments where there are going to be a lot of news reports before we get to the truth. But the reason that he probably would have been there would be to assess and perhaps even command the Russian forces that are active in Ukraine.

And if we move out to the full map, again, what the Russians are worried about is controlling this area right here and potentially moving into the eastern part of the country. So, this general would have been concerned with these areas and potentially -- depending on exactly what he was focused on, potentially also the southern area with the land bridge right here, the land bridge that the Russians want to do.

So that would be why he'd be there. What happened to him exactly and how -- whether or not he survived that, of course, remains to be seen, based on reporting that I have seen so far.

CAMEROTA: OK, Colonel Cedric Leighton, Ambassador William Taylor, thank you very much for all the information.

LEIGHTON: You bet.

CAMEROTA: OK, back here in Alabama, an arrest warrant was just issued for the female corrections officer who disappeared with an inmate. The sheriff is now calling her an accomplice. We will give you the details next.

And in less than 24 hours, voters will head to the polls for primary day in Ohio. This GOP Senate race is putting Donald Trump's role as kingmaker to the test.

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[14:23:59]

CAMEROTA: Stunning new developments in the manhunt for an escaped violent criminal and a missing Alabama deputy.

A warrant has just been issued for the corrections officer Vicky White, who was last seen with inmate Casey White. The Lauderdale County sheriff left no question about the officer's role in this escape when he spoke to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SINGLETON, LAUDERDALE COUNTY, ALABAMA, SHERIFF: She is certainly an accomplice. She took him out of the jail, out of the detention center.

And it's obvious from the evidence we have gathered that this was not -- that he didn't kidnap her, overcome, force her or anything as far as in the car once they left the facility. She's absolutely assisted him. We're still -- don't know 100 percent for sure that it was willful, but it's certainly looking that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: CNN's Ryan Young joins me now.

Ryan, do we know anything more about the relationship between this inmate and the guard? And I can't help but notice they do share a last name.

[14:25:00]

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They do share last name, but apparently no relation there.

A lot of questions about this case, because, honestly, the people here say they are heartbroken by this. In fact, I'm really standing next to her parking place that remains empty. She was the second in command here. So, when she asked for the inmate to be brought down, no one thought about that. No one thought that something was wrong here.

The idea that two transport vans had just left, she said she needed to take him to the court for a mental health evaluation. There was never a schedule for that. And, apparently, she also said she wasn't feeling well and she wanted to see the doctor.

We know now that, apparently, she drove about a mile away from this location. And then they may have switched into another car. The sheriff told us today there is video surveillance of them driving directly from here about eight minutes away. And then they got in the car.

This is the most recent picture of the man they're looking for. One thing that stands out, Alisyn, is that he's 6'9''. So he's a very big individual. He did shave his head.

But talking to the folks who work here and talking to the sheriff, you can understand they feel betrayed. This woman worked here for more than 16 years. So, you understand they never had a reason to kind of question her ability to do her job.

But listen to the question I asked the sheriff and how he answered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SINGLETON: If she did this willingly -- and all indications are that she did. I guess we're trying to hold on to that last straw of hope that maybe some -- for some reason, she was threatened and did this under coercion, but, absolutely, you feel betrayed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, Alisyn, you could understand this.

In corrections. You work with your teammates all the time. You have to have their back, because, obviously, the inmates might overpower you at some point. They said they never had a reason to believe that Vicky could do something like this.

Let's also not forget that she was set to retire on Friday. Apparently, she has been talking about moving to the beach. Well, now they believe that she went along with this, they stopped at a location, maybe had a different car.

Talking to the U.S. Marshals Service, they tell us that the Canadian border, the Mexican border have also been alerted about these individuals trying to get away. So, maybe the U.S. Marshals have some additional information, but they have sort of elevated this to a top priority across the country.

So many questions in this small town about exactly how we ended up here. One other fact, Vicky sold her house, so they believe that she may have some extra money. All these questions. They have been trying to figure out what happens next.

I even called and asked the sheriff whether or not they'd been in contact with his family. And they said yes. But that's all they would give us about that. So many questions still, Alisyn, in this mystery that has so many people across the country asking questions.

CAMEROTA: But, as you point out, Ryan, it's going to be hard for a 6'9'' fugitive to hide. So we will see what happens to them next.

YOUNG: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

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[14:30:00]