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COVID Vaccine For Children Under 5?; CDC Monitoring Six People For Possible Monkeypox Infection; First Overseas Baby Formula Shipments Arrive in U.S.; Russian Soldier Sentenced to Life in Prison in Ukraine; President Biden Commits U.S. to Defend Taiwan Against China. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 23, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The secretary of agriculture was here yesterday saying that, in the next 30 days, we could potentially finally see some abatement in this crisis.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Well, let's certainly help that progress is coming.

Polo Sandoval, grateful for the live report.

And grateful for your time today on INSIDE POLITICS. Hope to see you back here tomorrow.

Ana Cabrera picks up our coverage right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks so much for being here.

A warning, then a walk-back. President Biden says the U.S. military would defend Taiwan if China were to attack. But the White House is now downplaying those comments, saying there is no change to U.S. policy.

But, no surprise, China is not happy, especially since President Biden has said something similar at least twice before. So we're following all the headlines from the president's big trip to Asia.

We're also watching what's happening in Ukraine and a big trial there, guilty. A Russian soldier is sentenced to life in prison in the first war crimes trial of this now three-month-long invasion. The soldier admitted to killing one man, but Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says as many as 100 Ukrainians are now dying each day near the front lines.

We're tracking developments there.

But, first, let's go to Japan, where President Biden is on the second leg of his trip to Asia.

And CNN's Will Ripley is in Tokyo for us.

Will, the president wanted to send a strong message to China on this trip, but today a bit of a mixed message.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it certainly is a mixed message when it comes to the White House staffers, but not a mixed message from President Biden himself, because, as you mentioned, this is at least the third time that he has publicly stated that the United States would come to Taiwan's defense militarily if China were to attack.

Now, for more than 40 years, the United States has had a deliberate policy of strategic ambiguity, leaving it an open question whether the U.S. will get involved militarily in the event of a Taiwan-China conflict, while providing Taiwan with arms to defend itself.

That strategic ambiguity is in place to keep China guessing, to keep Beijing unsure of what the United States would do. But President Biden has been pretty crystal clear. And he was clear once again in this exchange here in Tokyo earlier today. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: You didn't want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily, for obvious reasons. Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes.

QUESTION: You are?

BIDEN: That's the commitment we made.

We agree with the one China policy. We have signed on to it and all the attendant agreements made from there. But the idea that it can be taken by force, just taken by force, is just not -- is just not appropriate. It will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Mr. Biden is not the first U.S. president to say this sort of thing. George W. Bush said something similar back in 2001.

But what has changed in recent years is an increasingly aggressive and assertive China in this region. And there have been growing calls among some, including the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for the United States to be more clear about what it would do in terms of military intervention if China were to make a move on Taiwan, given that Taiwan is not only a fragile and young democracy, a vibrant democracy, but also that it is vital to the global supply chain when it comes to semiconductors that power everything from our cars to our smartphones to our computers, Ana.

And so could this be President Biden signaling some sort of policy shift? Well, not according to White House staffers, who were quick to say that there is no change to the U.S.-Taiwan policy and trying to kind of walk back those comments, even though they were pretty clear from President Biden himself. CABRERA: Will Ripley, I appreciate your reporting. Thank you.

And joining us now is retired U.S. Army Major Mike Lyons.

Major, your reaction to the president's remarks and then the White House saying no policy changes? Can both be true?

MAJ. MIKE LYONS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: I look through this as the lens as, he's the commander in chief. And when he makes a comment like that, it puts the off the table now of what we're going to do. We would get involved militarily.

So the Pentagon has been planning for this for years. They understand that to try to defend Taiwan, a difficult task. It's going to need a Navy. You have got this island off to itself. So I'm a little bit surprised he said that. I would have preferred the strategic ambiguity. I think that just gives it more of a we will see what happens.

The question is whether or not it will deter China. We saw there was no deterrence in Russia. We thought that the interconnection of nations would do that. It didn't. So, the question is whether or not this will deter Russia. It's the last line of defense when you think the president said, we're going to go to war if something happens.

CABRERA: And yet the other question is, would it, if not deter China, could it provoke China?

LYONS: Well, I think then they will have to make that calculation.

And you look at dictators, when they make calculations, they do it by numbers. And China has a billion people. And they look at the military situation, what's going on in the South China Sea. They have built up their military positions there. They have put missile units and on atolls that they have built.

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Our Navy is still somewhat struggling there. And, frankly, we don't have some of the carrier groups that we'd want to have there. And we know they practice going against those carrier groups. So the calculation that the Chinese government is going to make is whether or not their military can defeat our military in the South China Sea. And that's for them to decide.

CABRERA: Major, please stand by.

I want to discuss Ukraine as well with you.

But, first, let's go to Kyiv and our own Melissa Bell, where the first Russian soldier there in Kyiv on trial for war crimes has now been sentenced to life in prison.

Melissa, what more can you share about this sentence and Russia's response? MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was a sentence handed

down by a civilian Ukrainian court, Ana. And I think that's one of the interesting aspects of this case.

He was found guilty of premeditated murder, in violation of the rules and customs of war, but a civilian court that has managed to act sufficiently quickly, that it is handing down a sentence even while the war continues to rage on. And that was part of the prosecutor's point, which is that by beginning to look at these war crimes in the context of Ukrainian law -- and, in this case, Vadim Shishimarin was found guilty of having killed an unarmed civilian on the fourth day of the war.

It sends an important message then to those who are still fighting in the east, those Russian soldiers who even now continue to fight Ukrainian forces, about what they can and cannot do, what they can and cannot expect from justice.

Now, we have had for the first time today -- and I think it's important -- the reaction from the Kremlin about this case so far. Dmitry Peskov, its spokesman, had been asked over and over again -- this case has been going on for much of the last week -- what the Kremlin thought. So far, the reaction had been, we don't know very much about it.

Today, that changed, Dmitry Peskov saying that the Kremlin was watching, cared terribly about its soldiers, and would be seeking to help as it could. It came, Ana, on the very same day as the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested it was willing to look at the possibility of exchanges of prisoners of war.

And bear in mind that, even as I speak, those many hundreds, a couple of thousand, 2,500 prisoners of war that are now in Russian hands in the east of the country as a result of the final evacuations of the Azovstal plant on Friday -- you will remember they'd been defending Mariupol. They were the last bastion of Ukrainian resistance.

Those fighters are now in the hands of Russia. And one of the suggestions is today that they may themselves now be facing trial, Ana.

CABRERA: Melissa, another very interesting development.

We're hearing exclusively today from a Russian soldier who resigned from his post and quit Putin's war. What is he saying?

BELL: That's right.

We have been hearing from a Russian soldier who did not want to be identified. He is back home and thankful to be back home. But he's been speaking then to CNN and giving some idea of the circumstances in which he found himself.

And it speaks very much to what we have been hearing through the trial of Vadim Shishimarin, in which we've been hearing from Shishimarin himself, but from another the soldiers that was with him, young men coming into Ukraine not knowing what it is they were doing here.

And let me just give you an idea of what this particular soldier that CNN has managed to speak to has to -- had to say: "We were dirty and tired. People around us were dying. I don't want to feel like I was part of it. But I was part of it."

And I think that is what we have been hearing from those Russian foot soldiers that we're now beginning to hear from, this particular soldier that's been speaking to CNN, those two prisoners of war that have been speaking in Vadim Shishimarin's defense in that trial this week, of a war machine that came in to invade Ukraine without those fighting the war really understanding what it was they were coming into the country to do, Ana.

CABRERA: Melissa Bell, thank you for that update.

And, Major Lyons is back with us now.

Major, this insight we're hearing from this Russian soldier who decided, to resign to quit the war, not only is he expressing this lack of understanding of why he was there in Ukraine initially, but he also expressed fear. He expressed guilt about what was going on.

And it really just sort of helps fill in the picture of what we're hearing from Western intelligence regarding the low morale and the Russians feeling like they have suffered heavy losses.

And then, on top of that, you have more resistance becoming more public in Russia itself. Watch this. This was from a concert this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So those were concertgoers chanting: "F. the war."

I just wonder, how significant is all this very public backlash or pushback against the Kremlin and its desired narrative about the war?

LYONS: Well, the Kremlin doesn't want this to get back.

You saw Melissa talk about the Russian war machine, but it's proving to be an atrocity machine, given that we knew that they were going to commit war crimes at the strategic level. They were going to bomb civilians and they were going to go after nonmilitary targets.

[13:10:05]

But when you see this Russian officer come through with what he's saying -- he's saying he's at the lowest line. He's with the execution phase of what's going on there. You saw the trial of the sergeant that killed the civilian there. And this -- and there's more in the pipeline. The Ukraine prosecutor is going to bring more to bear here. And the Ukraine -- the Russian soldier had an opportunity not to let

this happen, right? We knew that it was going to happen strategically. But once -- I have been a soldier on the ground. When you're when you're face to face with the enemy on the ground, you can decide what you want to do. You could shoot them. There's no one around to watch you.

Or you can do the right thing, capture, contain. They didn't do that. The Russian soldier didn't do that. Why? Because they were underfed, they were undernourished, they were not trained properly. All of the things that go into the poor morale of the military that that officer was talking about just came to bear.

So, the Russian war machine is a Russian atrocity machine.

CABRERA: And yet Russia moves forward. They're continuing to hammer some of these cities and civilians in Russia, in addition to fighting the Ukrainian forces.

We heard from a former CIA Director David Petraeus today on our air, who said he believes Russia has actually claimed some momentum here in this war. Do you agree with that?

LYONS: Well, they have numbers, and they have material. And that's the issue here.

And that's what, again, dictators look at. They look at numbers. And they say, well, I have more of these men and soldiers on the ground there than Ukraine has as well. We can pour in equipment from the West to try to equalize and use it -- combat multiplier, so to speak.

But the calculation that the Russian general officers, as well as Vladimir Putin makes is, as long as he has numbers, if he moves forward an inch a day, it's still moving forward. Again, the question is whether or not the Ukraine military can eventually push them back.

They're going to need soldiers. I saw a report about they're training now more reservists. They're going to need maybe 50,000 to 100,000 more. But I just don't know if they have that many soldiers.

CABRERA: I mean, here we are three months into this invasion, and I feel like there are so many of these little incremental pieces of reporting that we're getting about what's happening in the fighting.

Do you feel like we have a good sense of what's happening on the ground?

LYONS: I do.

And the fact that the Internet's up and we can see what's going on the pictures that come back, there's no question that Russian equipment is getting destroyed. I like the fact that the M777 howitzers are -- have got to the Donbass region. Think about the logistical challenge that took.

So the equipment's getting there, the artillery war in place. Now you heard Secretary Austin talk about that. And that's the phase it -- as it is right now. The question is, how much of an advantage can that tip to the balance of the Ukraine to at least hold off? Let's say they could at least stop -- create some kind of stagnant -- stalemate there, keep the Russians from coming.

But then what does a negotiated settlement look like? Do they want to give that land for peace, what we saw happen in the Middle East? I just don't think so. I think the Ukraine government is not going to go for that one bit. They're going to go all the way.

CABRERA: In fact, a presidential adviser there in Ukraine said just that, that they do not want to have a cease-fire as a result of some kind of negotiation if it means giving up territory, that they aren't going to accept that.

Thank you so much, Major Lyons. It's good to have you here in the studio.

LYONS: Yes.

CABRERA: It's good to have you. Thanks.

Well, just in today: As we continue our reporting, Pfizer says three COVID shots protect kids under 5, but how much longer until those children can actually get a vaccine? We're on it.

And a manhunt under way in an apparent love triangle murder. Police are looking for a Texas woman accused of killing a professional cyclist who had a fling with her boyfriend. More details ahead.

Plus: an act of solidarity in Afghanistan after the Taliban order female TV anchors to cover their faces on the air. A private Afghan channel, TOLOnews, posted this photo of a group of men working there also covering their faces to show support, this just one day of -- show support, as the Taliban is now ordering women to wear head-to-toe clothing, with only their eyes visible in public.

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CABRERA: Welcome back.

The first shipment of Operation Fly Formula is now in the U.S. You're talking 35 tons of baby formula to help ease the supply crisis crippling the nation right now. But don't expect to see it on store shelves. That new supply is heading to high-need hospitals and home care clinics. And it's meant for children with certain severe allergies.

CNN correspondent Polo Sandoval is in Indianapolis, where this first shipment arrived.

Polo, more of these flights are planned. Do we know when and if any of this important formula will end up on store shelves? POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, yesterday, Tom Vilsack, the secretary of agriculture, was actually on the tarmac as they were off- loading these pallets that had just come in, basically loaded up with baby formula.

And he said that he is -- it is his expectation that it will at least positively impact at least 17,000 children in the United States. That is certainly great and promising news, but he also pointed out -- and as -- same thing we have heard from other Biden administration officials, that this particular shipment that was received at the airport here in Indianapolis just yesterday will not benefit those parents that turned to the general use formula, the stuff that you find at the grocery store.

So that's certainly a key question here. The Biden administration saying that they hope to address that by basically looking forward to that Abbott plant in Michigan going back to 100 percent production when it comes to that formula, and also having those conversations with European manufacturers to try to get FDA-approved product in the United States as soon as possible.

So, there's that. In the meantime, you also have these service men and women that flew this latest load of baby formula yesterday. They also have just a remarkable and fascinating perspective. They actually invited us onto that military transport plane yesterday to tell us a little bit about what the experience is like, Ana.

And it's interesting. Just in the last year alone, these are service members who have not only flown families out of Afghanistan, but also flown aid, aid for Ukraine into Europe.

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But now, as you're about to hear from Captain Justin Shimasaki, who was one of the pilots at the controls yesterday, now they're flying 35 tons of baby formula into the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. JUSTIN SHIMASAKI, HAWAII AIR NATIONAL GUARD: I'm hoping that a lot of people can breathe a sigh of relief that help is on the way.

We were the most rapid solution to bring everything in, for sure. I know there's a commercial solution in the works to get everything, but just the urgency that we needed to have to bring this back to support the families.

I mean, yes, it's a good feeling to start the wave, and I hope it keeps coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)'

SANDOVAL: So, that crew basically telling me that by taxiing onto that tarmac, they hope that the parents got that message that more help is coming. And, also, there was this feeling that more help is on the way, the

White House saying they already have a flight plan for the coming days into Dulles also from Europe. That flight will also have specialized formula for children with special dietary needs, Ana.

But I also had an opportunity to speak to the CEO-elect of FedEx, which is a key partner in this Biden-led effort. He told me that he is extremely hopeful that some of their chartered flights that will be flying into the United States will have more of that general use formula.

But, as for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, he also -- with a very important reality check for parents. The wait is still not over. It might still be, according to him, up to 30 days before parents finally get some relief, Ana. But these are parents that have been waiting already for weeks...

CABRERA: Yes.

SANDOVAL: ... maybe even months, to be able to stock up.

CABRERA: Yes, that relief can't come soon enough.

Thank you so much, Polo Sandoval.

To another outbreak we're watching. The World Health Organization is reporting almost 100 confirmed cases of monkeypox in 15 countries. Here in the U.S., the CDC says it is monitoring six people for possible infections. They're also tracking a confirmed case in Massachusetts.

CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard joins us now.

Jacqueline, first, more cases being reported. What do we know about the state of spread right now?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Well, what we know, Ana, these cases are emerging in countries where the monkeypox virus is not endemic.

And that's why global health officials are looking at this with concern, but they say, don't panic. But there is a lot of scientific concern here. And we see the countries here on this list, including the United States. And Denmark was the most recent country to report a case just this morning.

And, Ana, World Health Organization officials held a Q&A on social media this morning. And here's another update on what they have found so far.

Here's WHO official Maria Van Kerkhove.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: What we are seeing are cases being detected in the communities of men having sex with men, who identify as having sex with men.

But, as surveillance expands, we expect that more cases will be seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: So we heard there that she does expect more cases to be seen.

And even though there has been a disproportionate number of cases within the gay community, she said that we should not stigmatize, of course, the community. We should not stigmatize this disease. We are all at risk here.

But the virus is rare, so, again, not to panic.

CABRERA: OK, Jacqueline Howard, thank you.

It's the news so many parents of young children have been waiting for, for the past couple of years now. Pfizer says the latest trial shows three child sized doses of its vaccine are not only safe, but showed a strong immune response in children ages 6 months to 5 years. The company hopes to finish submitting the trial data to the FDA this week.

And CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining us,

Elizabeth, just how effective, just how safe is this?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, this clinical trial showed certainly that it was safe. There were not safety issues that came up.

Now, I'm going to give you a number that is going to make parents jump for joy. But I want to be a little bit qualified here. It showed an 80 percent efficacy. And, Ana, this -- these last rounds of vaccinations in this trial that I'm about to give you the details of, it was during Omicron, when we know vaccines haven't always worked so well, 80 percent effectiveness.

That is a big, big number, but it's an interim number. They have not finished their trial. So, when they're done, and they present their data to the FDA, it may not be 80. So I just want to be clear about that.

So let's take a look at some of the details in this trial. So this trial was much smaller than the adult trial. We're talking only a little over 1,600 children so far have received three vaccine doses. And you heard me right. That's three vaccine doses. They got two doses three weeks apart, like adults do, and then a third dose two months later.

So this is a three-dose vaccine for children. It may turn out to be that way for adults too. But for these little children, 6 months to 5 years, it will officially, if this gets done, be a three-dose vaccine.

The dose is one-tenth the amount used for ages 12 and older. And, again, the vaccine is safe. And it showed that it made a strong immune response -- Ana.

CABRERA: Again, 80 percent effective against symptomatic infection, again, preliminary numbers there, but that is so promising.

[13:25:01]

How soon could it be available?

COHEN: So, before they let these -- usually, before they let these vaccines on the markets for specific age groups, Ana, they go to their advisers. They meet with their advisers.

And so these advisers are scheduled to meet on -- let me think -- June 14. There it is. I had it written down -- on June 14. And we could get an approval shortly after that if they're -- an authorization, rather -- if that's the way that this ends up happening.

So we could see this being available for little children sort of mid to late June. There's absolutely no promises here, but that is a possibility. OK, that's just less than a month away. That's good news.

COHEN: That's right.

CABRERA: Thank you so much, Elizabeth Cohen.

COHEN: Thanks.

CABRERA: A stunning report rocking the nation's largest Protestant denomination, an investigation revealing top Southern Baptists mishandled allegations of sexual abuse and intimidated victims. We have more details.

And Johnny Depp's trial against his ex Amber Heard enters its final week, but it could be the most dramatic yet, the actor set to take the stand again.

The latest in this dramatic courtroom clash.

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