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E.U. Agrees On Partial Ban On Russian Oil Imports; Ukrainian Fighters Mount Defense In Luhansk Region; Ukraine: Victory Unlikely Without Long-Range Artillery; Uvalde Community Mourning 19 Students And Two Teachers; Hurricane Agatha Now Tropical Storm After Hitting Mexico; Death Toll From Heavy Rain In Brazil Rises To At Least 91. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired May 31, 2022 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[00:00:24]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Coming up this hour, an E.U. embargo on almost all Russian oil by year's end. This may be a watered down compromise deal, but it's still the most punitive measures taken against Moscow for the war in Ukraine.
Russia strikes back, focusing its firepower on one of the last held Ukrainian cities in totally under control of Moscow's allies in the east.
Why did they wait? And wait? And wait? Why did the police take more than an hour before rushing the shooter at a Texas elementary school and how many lives were lost because they did not act?
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: Well, after weeks of negotiations, the E.U. has struck a deal on restricting Russian oil, sort of. E.U. leaders agreed to a partial ban on Russian oil inputs as a response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
While it has not been finalized, the embargo is just one of many new penalties included a six sanctions package on Russia. But the deal has some exceptions, all E.U. leaders seem to agree on its principles. This according to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: I'm very glad that the leaders were able to agree in principle on the six sanctions package. This is very important, thanks to this, council should now be able to finalize a ban on almost 90 percent of all Russian oil inputs by the end of the year. This is an important step forward. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson live for us this hour in Hong Kong. And Ivan, there's this tendency to look at the negative in this deal, the compromise made with Hungary and a few other member states over their oil supplies. But this embargo is still quite significant in just the sweeping nature of it all.
IVAN WATSON, CNN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, because what we're seeing is Europe's move away from fossil fuels that are supplied by Russia, its neighbor to the east, and the fossil fuels are an enormous part of the Russian economy.
This may not impact all of Russia immediately. But in the longer term, it does not look good for Russian energy companies, nor for energy prices around the world.
But let's take a look here, you've got Russia, it's second -- it is the second largest exporter of oil in the world in 2020, exporting some $74 billion worth of crude petroleum. And oil was the biggest single export in its economy.
So, what the Europeans now are saying is they're immediately going to stop two thirds of the crude oil that's exported to the European Union by banning oil from Russia that's shipped in tankers.
And the exemptions that they've made is that they're going to take longer to stop oil pipelines that run to Europe, that they've gotten an agreement from Germany and Poland that by the end of the year, they're going to wind down a northern Druzhba pipeline that runs from Russia.
The biggest exemption is the Southern pipeline that runs to Hungary, and Slovakia, which both rely heavily on Russian crude oil. And the leaders seem to have made an exception to let them go. They're kicking the can down the road for Hungary, basically, which has stepped back from sanctions.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, he's saying that this is a very symbolic moment for his organization.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES MICHEL, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COUNCIL: But we sent a very strong signal today, because the recent hours, the recent days, there were speculations about the risks for a lack of unity of European Union's unity. And I think that more than ever, it is important to show that we are able to be strong, that we are able to be firm and we are able to be tough in order to defend our values, to defend our interests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Now, if you're a policy planner and economist in Russia, take a look at this next graphic, John because it gives you a look at where their most important and valuable export goes, chiefly to China. Of course, this is as of January, but then the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Italy and theoretically, those last four countries and markets are going to be off the list in the coming months if not immediately.
[00:05:06]
WATSON: The E.U. has also announced that it's imposed sanctions against Russia's largest bank that is banning three Russian broadcasters and banning three insurance of Russian ships, John
VAUSE: Ivan, thank you. Ivan Watson live for us there in Hong Kong.
Well, Russian forces are gaining ground in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, focusing much of their firepower on the city of Severodonetsk. Ukraine's Defense Ministry reports artillery strikes on much of the frontline says the attacks have reached a maximum intensity as the Russians appear to be trying to encircle Ukrainian troops in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Severodonetsk is said to be in ruins, two thirds of the city's buildings destroyed and Ukrainian and Russian troops fighting street to street.
According to the regional governor, Russian troops have entered the outskirts of the city and had been met by Ukrainian fighters who are not standing down.
Not far away, Russian forces are closing in on another key city in the Luhansk region.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has that report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the last road into Lysychans'k. Putin's forces have moved with rare focus here, and they soon encircle the pockets of two cities on the river we're driving into.
Ukrainian forces we saw here, mobile, tense, at times, edgy and this is why. Across the river here, the besieged city of Severodonetsk, increasingly more in Russian hands, whoever you ask.
We can hear the crackle of gunfire down towards the river below.
What we were told, the Russians have tried already to get into town, and it looks like we might be witnessing another attempt over there. That smoke near one of the remaining bridges into the city.
Our police escorts shout drone, often used to direct artillery attacks. We are on high ground, exposed and scattered. It is a tale of two desperations here, that which makes people stay, and that which makes them finally flee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We've not slept for three months.
WALSH: Leonid (PH) is the latter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Shooting. Windows shaking. It's a catastrophe. One man told me the Germans in the war were better.
WALSH: Some who stay are increasingly angry of what's left of the Ukrainian state here. A young woman was killed here, a day earlier, by a shell. And locals told us not to film, saying cameras attracted shelling.
Russia's bloody persistence and unbridled firepower is bringing the kind of victory in the ruins they seem to cherish. This cinema was a bomb shelter, local officials said it's unclear if, when the huge airstrike hits, the Russian military was aware it had been empty days earlier.
Just startling how whole chunks of this cinema have been thrown into the crater there. Just the ferocity of the airstrikes we're seeing here, designed simply to get people out of this town.
Those who stay among the shards of glass feel abandoned already.
ANYA, LYSYCHANS'K, UKRAINE RESIDENT (through translator): Many, many people, but there is no gas or water, or power, or anything. We asked the aid workers today when it will all come back, and they say there are only prostitutes, junkies, and alcoholics left. That means the aid workers have left here.
WALSH: Lydia (PH) is carefully picking up the pieces of the air strike, which she felt the full force in her apartment, eight floors up.
There's an old lady on the first floor and me, with my disabled son, she says. He doesn't really understand the war is happening. Retreat lingers in the empty air. If Putin takes here, he may claim he's achieved some of his reduced goals in this invasion. It's the unenviable choice of Ukraine's leaders if this is the hill its men and women will die on.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Lysychans'k, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: We'll stay with the war on Ukraine just a while longer. And joining me now from Washington retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton. Colonel, good to see you.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to see you too, John.
VAUSE: OK, so, according to CNN's reporting, military victory against Russia is unlikely if the United States holds back supplies of long range artillery, a senior Ukrainian official tells CNN. On Monday, the U.S. president was asked about that, supplying those long range missiles to Ukraine. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Are you going to -- are you going to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[00:10:08]
VAUSE: So, a couple of questions here, does that answer by the president leave the door open to other missile systems, which could have maybe a reduced range but still be effective? And do you agree with the Ukrainian assessment, they can't win without these long range rockets?
LEIGHTON: I actually do agree, John, with the Ukrainian assessment that they can't win the war unless they can take the war to the Russians. And that means long range missile systems, missile systems that have the capability and at least have the capacity to threaten Russia itself. And of course, seems to be aligned with the President of the United States doesn't want to cross at this point.
And so, what that means, then, is that perhaps we get the systems to Ukraine, such as the HIMARS system as an example. That example would then be one that would, instead of having maximum range projectiles would have projectiles that have a medium range or perhaps the high mortar systems would be based in areas that are far enough away from Russian territory, that they actually wouldn't impact Russian territory in Russia proper, but they could impact Russian soldiers to on Ukrainian soil at present.
VAUSE: The Ukrainian president had this assessment of the Russian offensive ongoing right now in the East, here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In general, the situation in Donbas remains extremely difficult. The Russian army is trying to gather a superior force to put more and more pressure on our defenders. There in Donbas, the maximum combat power of the Russian army is now gathered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, Severodonetsk is the city -- is the last city in this wide area under control of allies of Moscow, which is being controlled by the Ukrainian.
So, if the Russians do take this city, which apparently is left in ruins already, what does it actually get apart from a ruined city?
LEIGHTON: Well, basically, that's it, ruined city, but they also get one of their war aims, or at least a partial fulfillment of one of their war aims. And that is the Luhansk region who part of the Donbas would then almost entirely be in Russian hands.
There is a portion of Luhansk that is still in Ukrainian hands. But if Severodonetsk actually falls, then it would become part of Russia's gains in Ukraine.
The rest of the Donbas is of course, part of Putin's war aims, they've openly stated that, that's what they want to do, they want to do that for both the Luhansk People's Republic, so called nation as well as the Donetsk People's Republic. So, those areas that only Russia recognizes would then be enhanced by these territorial gains, and it would stand to reason that the Ukrainians would suffer as a result of that. And the Russians would gain at least a political, if not really a strategic victory at this point.
VAUSE: And when you talk about war aims at Moscow now have these are -- these revised downward objectives after they failed to take Kyiv and it's interesting because Kyiv had a prewar population close to three million people, several in Donetsk around 100,000. And it's held deep within -- you know, territory held by Russian allies. Says a lot about this Russian military offensive and their capabilities.
LEIGHTON: It does and it's something that I think we haven't focused on adequately at this point, John. You know, we look at the types of indicators that a Western military would be following, and that we would be criticizing if a Western Army were doing something like this in the military sense.
But the Russians have a way of overcoming some of the more standard difficulties that they've been experiencing. And perhaps, they can just through sheer force of men and weapons that they have at the ready, not necessarily modern weapons, but weapons that they have available to them, they can achieve some gains.
It doesn't mean that they're going to win the war. But it does mean that they have the capacity to at least gain some more territory at the expense of the Ukrainians, or the Ukrainians have other areas that they can impact the Russians in. And they're probably going to do that, they also have to be careful to make sure that they don't let the vast majority of their army that is currently based in the Donbas region be encircled by the Russians, that would not be good for the Ukrainian army or for the Ukrainian nation.
VAUSE: This is not over by alongside it seems. Colonel, great to have you with us. Thank you, sir.
LEIGHTON: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Another journalist has been killed while covering the war in Ukraine. Frederick Leclerc-Imhoff work for the French news channel, BFM-TV and affiliate of CNN. The French president tweeted that Leclerc in off had been traveling with the humanitarian bus filled with civilians, or fleeing the Russian military.
According to BFM-TV, the 32 year old died in the Severodonetsk region. Ukrainian president says 32 journalists have been killed for covering this war and he paid his respects to Leclerc-Imhoff during his nightly address.
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VAUSE: Memorial Day in Uvalde, Texas was marked by visitations for two of the 19 children who were shot and killed by a lone gunman who is barricaded inside their classroom armed with a semi-automatic weapon. There will be 11 funeral services this week alone, an endless cycle of grief and mourning now mixed with growing outrage as more details emerge of how law enforcement responded or more accurately did not respond as fourth grade children and their teachers were being murdered.
CNN's Lucy Kafanov has details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A chaotic scene as police rushed to evacuate children. Dispatch audio revealing some police were aware at some point that kids were still trapped inside.
UNKNOWN: Child is advising he is in the room full of victims. Full of victims at this moment.
KAFANOV: More devastating details from officials of at least two children calling 911 multiple times. Pleading for help as the gunman is still inside the school for more than an hour before police enter a classroom and kill him. Frustrated at the scene by one account, the Border Patrol decides to go in without orders from the police chief and command.
ROLAND GUTIERREZ, TEXAS STATE SENATE: What's been made clear to me is that at that point, the CBP team that went in in frustration said we're going in.
KAFANOV: The police response is now under investigation by the Department of Justice.
GUTIERREZ: At the end of the day, everybody failed here. We failed these children.
ADRIAN ALONZO, UNCLE OF UVALDE VICTIM ELLIE: There were maybe some errors that were made. I am filled with anger, but I feel no hatred towards him. We were thankful to have Ellie for the nine years of her life with us.
KAFANOV: President Biden visited Uvalde on Sunday to offer support for the victims, the second time he's visited a community devastated by a mass shooting in the last two weeks.
The most critically wounded were brought to San Antonio's University Health Hospital.
LILLIAN LIAO, PEDIATRIC TRAUMA MEDICAL CENTER DIRECTOR: So, anesthesia is on their way, blood bank is on their way.
KAFANOV: CNN got exclusive access inside. LIAO: This is one of the teams that we formed in the day of the mass casualty event.
KAFANOV: As pediatric trauma medical center director Dr. Lillian Liao and her team drilled for another mass shooting.
Four of the victims were brought right here to University Hospital. Three little girls and the shooter's grandmother. Some of the doctors and nurses say that responding to these kinds of mass shootings is taking a personal toll.
LIAO: I kind of thought back too when I was 10 years old and so, when I was 10 years old, my family immigrated to this country. And my biggest challenge was learning to speak English. And you just can't imagine what these children are going through. And it's really unfair. It's really unfair.
KAFANOV: Trauma nurse Kristell Flores recalls the agonizing wait for patients and the realization that it was too late for most.
KRISTELL FLORES, TRAUMA NURSE: It felt like forever for the next victims to come in as well. I just wish they would have been able to get to them quicker, for sure.
KAFANOV: She tears up when thinking about her little ones.
FLORES: Just crying, my husband started crying and he did tell my son, like, there is something really bad happened.
COLLEEN DAVIS, TRAUMA PATIENT CARE COORDINATOR: There was a lot of crying that day.
KAFANOV: Nurse Colleen Davis says she keeps thinking about the pain suffered by the victims' parents.
DAVIS: Most of us have children, so it's very difficult. Just trying to imagine them calling around desperately, praying that their child is there and us having to tell them we don't have that patient here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAFANOV (on camera): You heard the emotion from the surgeon this is somebody who's trained to deal with human beings in their absolute worst moments. These doctors can certainly help the physical wounds but they worry about the invisible emotional scars that many of this children will carry.
Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Uvalde, Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: U.S. President Joe Biden is optimistic that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will reach an agreement on new gun restrictions. His comments come a day after he traveled to Uvalde with the First Lady, spent more than three hours meeting with grieving families. Mr. Biden says he's limited in the steps he can take alone, but he's
hopeful Congress might finally do something.
BIDEN: The Second Amendment was never absolutely. You couldn't buy cannon when the Second Amendment was bad.
I think things have gotten so bad that everybody is getting more rational about it at least that's my hope and prayer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The two rational Republicans he mentioned we're Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican Senator John Cornyn, who says bipartisan talks on gun reform will continue this week for the virtual course scheduled on Tuesday.
The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also working to toughen gun control. In a news conference on Monday, he introduced legislation focused on handguns. Mr. Trudeau said the few guns in the community, the safer everyone will be.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[00:20:07]
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: We're introducing legislation to implement a national freeze on handgun ownership. What this means is that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada.
In other words, we're capping the market for handguns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: If this new law is passed, it would also require long gun magazines to be limited to no more than five rounds.
Well, the annual Jerusalem Day March is seen as a celebration by many Israelis but a provocation by Palestinians. And when we come back, this flashpoint for violence now bringing calls to outlaw two extremist groups believed to be provoking tensions.
Also ahead, hurricane Agatha becomes a tropical storm after hitting Mexico. Karen Maginnis, our meteorologist will have the very latest right after the break.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, Hurricane Agatha has been downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall on Mexico's pacific coast. The southern state of Oaxaca bore the brunt Monday, the storm brought dangerous surges and the threat of coastal flooding.
Agatha is expected to continue to bring heavy wet wind and rain before weakening. Let's get more now from CNN's Meteorologist Karen Maginnis.
So, when will this actually start to weaken significantly?
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It has already begun to weaken rather rapidly, John, because it has made landfall. Anytime these systems make landfall, they tend to continue to kind of weaken and that's what we'll see over the next few hours.
Now, here's something that's interesting between this coastal city on the Pacific side and the Bay of Campeche side, that's only about eight hours difference.
So, as it continues to weaken, some of the remnants of this will move into the Southern Bay of Campeche. Now, right before landfall, this was a strong Category 2 hurricane, lots of deep convection associated with it.
But now those hurricane warnings have been discontinued. There are still tropical storm warnings along some of these coastal areas. It may have landfall by about early afternoon, but the wind speed at landfall, 105 miles per hour, or 169 kilometers per hour.
All right, there we go, much beyond about 24 hours from now, it's really going to bring itself out quite a bit. But as it does, it's going to be producing between 250 perhaps as much as 500 millimeters of rainfall that will produce mudslides and landslides. This is going to impact roads across the region, then in the Bay of Campeche about a 50 percent chance, John, that we could see some tropical development here. That's very keen to be looking at over the next few days. Back to you.
VAUSE: Karen, thank you very much for the forecast. We appreciate that.
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VAUSE: Now to Northeastern Brazil, which is bracing for more deadly floods and landslides. While the 90 people have died, dozens are missing after torrential rains. Nearly 4,000 people have fled their homes since last week.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro saw the damage by helicopter. He toured that region on Monday.
CNN's Brazil Anthony Wells has latest now reporting it from the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY WELLS, CNN BRAZIL REPORTER (on camera): Floods and landslides in Brazil's northeastern states of Pernambuco continue to claim lives as the search continues for the residents who are still missing.
Several cities in the area have declared a state of emergency while nearby states mobilize firefighters, first responders and rescue teams to assist in the search efforts.
Residents of high risk areas are being urged to seek shelter elsewhere. Schools in the state capitol of have Recife for example have opened for displaced families. Some affected areas have seen more rain in a 24 hour period than in the entire month of May and they could see over 100 millimetres of rain in the coming days.
President Jair Bolsonaro has traveled to the states to assess the situation. The federal and states of Pernambuco governments have promised funds and resources to assist the municipalities affected.
The weekend downpour marked the fourth major flooding event in five months in Brazil highlighting the lack of proper urban planning, especially in low income neighborhoods.
Reporting from Sao Paulo, Anthony Wells, CNN, Brazil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: UEFA the governing body of European football has commissioned an independent review into events outside the state of France or France stadium before, during and after the Champions League final.
This includes those who are trying to force their way in and police use of tear gas. Two days after the match, the French interior minister said the large number of fake tickets was to blame for the crowd trouble which caused the match to be delayed by more than half an hour.
He noted that as many as 40,000 English fans were at the stadium, either without or without a ticket or with fake tickets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERALD DARMANIN, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): What we have observed is massive industrial scale and organized fraud concerning fake tickets since according to the prescreening conducted by stadium staff, the study of France and the French football federation forecasts that nearly 70 percent of all tickets were faked upon entry to the start of France.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: He added the French government regretted the disorganization in the reception of the British supporters and like the Spanish supporters. Britain's prime minister added that he's hugely disappointed in how Liverpool fans were treated.
Two suspects are in Israeli custody for allegedly assaulting a journalist on Sunday. It's happened at near the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem following a controversial Israeli marched through the Old City.
The annual demonstration led to clashes and now, some in Israeli government are speaking out against two groups involved in the march.
CNN's Hadas Gold now reporting in from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Condemnations and calls to outlaw two extremist Jewish groups in Israel after violence erupted at Sunday's Jerusalem Day Flag March, more than 70,000 people took to the streets of Jerusalem to commemorate when Israel took control of Eastern Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 War.
But in recent years, the m arch has become a magnet for far right extremists. On Sunday, violence broke out in the streets of the Old City between marchers and Palestinians, some of them chanting things like death to Arabs, and some of them waving the flags of extremist groups like Lehava and La Familia.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned what he said was a minority trying to set the area ablaze. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid saying in several tweets that such people don't deserve to carry the Israeli flag, saying instead of a day of joy, they tried to turn it into a day of hatred.
Now, there are growing calls to outlaw these groups by designating them as terrorist organizations.
BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: As defense minister, I also think the time has come to reexamine the designation of organizations like La Familia and Lehava as terror organizations. I know this issue is on the doorstep of the various security organizations, and I rely on them to carry out the examination in the cleanest and best way.
GOLD: Israel's Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev joining Gantz's calls to outlaw these groups saying they are harming Israel security.
Now, the question will be whether these denunciations and calls will actually turn into real action.
Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, E.U. leaders striking a deal to limit almost all Russian oil imports. But is that enough to end Russia's war on Ukraine? The very latest on new sanctions when we come back.
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VAUSE: Thirty-two minutes past the hour. Welcome back. More now on our top story.
[00:32:23]
E.U. leaders will gather Wednesday to approve a sixth round of sanctions on Russia, including an almost total embargo on all Russian oil imports. The agreement came after weeks of negotiations among member countries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy weighed in on Monday, taking E.U. leaders to task for not presenting a united front. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is time for you to become not separate but one whole. Ukraine has demonstrated why everyone has to be united. We are all working for one purpose. All the disputes within the European Union must stop, because they give incentives for Russia to carry on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: To Los Angeles now and CNN's European affairs commentator, Dominic Thomas.
Dominic, welcome back.
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: So this agreement came late Monday night, after a marathon meeting in Brussels among member states. But before the deal was made, the president of the European Parliament talked about this need for unity. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTA METSOLA, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT: I really hope that there will be an agreement. We cannot afford they are not to be. And our aim needs to remain to disentangle ourselves from Russian energy. In essence, we should not be the ones to blink.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That is the question, I guess, in many ways. On the one hand, this is the most far-reaching measure taken by the E.U. to punish Moscow so far. On the other, it's significantly scaled back from the original plan, which was to phase out Russian oil imports within six months. Did they kind of blink?
THOMAS: Yes, John, they did. I think there's a distinction between unity and agreement. And the absolute imperative going into this -- this summit is to achieve unity, with the full understanding, as President Zelenskyy pointed out, that the slightest indication of a kind of fracture in the united response of the European Union would give grounds to President Putin to exploit those.
And so with an understanding that countries like Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and so on, at this particular stage, were unwilling to go on along with a 100 percent embargo.
They went for the agreement model, the compromise. To try and kind of salvage that initial desire to achieve unity. And instead to kind of phase in the sanctions as they -- as they go along. But yes, John, they did blink.
VAUSE: OK, so after there was this agreement, the European Council president, Charles Michel, tweeted, "Tonight European Council agreed on a sixth package of sanctions. It will allow a ban on all imports from Russia. Sanctions will immediately impact 75 percent of Russian oil imports. By the end of the year, 90 percent of the Russian oil imported in Europe will be banned."
[00:35:0]
How much of a hit will this be to the Russian economy? And who will be paying the biggest price for this in Europe?
THOMAS: Yes, well, I think it's significant, because as you've already pointed out, this comes on the heels of multiple rounds of sanctions that have hit, you know, frozen assets, you know, travel bans, banking regulations. And also of course, on the heels of the existing gas sanctions and that are there.
So it's going to cost billions to the Russian economy. Billions that are going into the militarization and the attack that they have launched on Ukraine. And also runs a risk of further destabilizing the Russian economy.
We've already seen President Putin, for whom dollars and euros are worthless at this moment. There's nothing that he or his entourage can do with them to try and boost the -- the rubble. So there is some concern there.
The big question is whether or not this is going to be enough to incentivize the Russian leader to come to the negotiating table in a meaningful way.
In terms of who pays the price, that's a really complicated one, as well. We already know that contributions to the E.U. budget are disproportionate when it comes to a handful of countries. There are about nine countries that pay way more into it than they get out financially. And I think that's OK when you have countries going along with Democratic principles, working along in a unified manner.
What's really complicated is for the Spanish, the Italian, the Germans, and the French, to go back to their national electorate, their national populations and explain to them why energy security and protection is being provided to countries like Hungary and Slovakia, whose relationship with Russia is questionable. And whose commitment to some of these Democratic principles in the European Union is, as well.
And I think that that question of the price, then, is going to be much discussed. And I think it also has to be considered in the context of the Baltic countries, in which you have a country, most notably, like Estonia that's already gone to remarkable -- taken remarkable steps to try and wean themselves off Russian energy dependence.
And so you see a kind of an accommodation here of these problematic countries like Hungary here. And I think this is going to be an issue as we go forward, John.
VAUSE: Dominic, we thank you for that analysis and insight. Appreciate you being with us.
THOMAS: Thank you.
VAUSE: A show of force near Taiwan. The island says mainland China flew dozens of warplanes into its airspace on Monday, the same day a U.S. Delegation led by Sen. Tammy Duckworth arrived in Taipei.
The unannounced visit comes amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Taiwan, especially after U.S. President Joe Biden's controversial comments about American policy towards the island.
Let's bring in CNN's Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong for more on this.
And you know, this was, I guess, by Chinese standards, this was a very limited air invasion. But still, it's enough to cause concern among Taiwan officials and also American officials, especially given the timeline.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Taiwan -- tension between Taiwan and China, the U.S. continues to rise. Look, we have this U.S. bipartisan congressional delegation in Taiwan for an unannounced three-day visit. It's led by the U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
They have already met with the Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen. They met this morning, and as expected, they discussed economic, cooperation, trade, as well as regional security concerns.
The president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, thanked Senator Duckworth for America's donation of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, as well as America's support on security. I want you to listen to this from the Taiwan president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TSAI ING-WEN, TAIWANESE PRESIDENT (through translator): We look forward to closer and deeper Taiwan U.S. cooperation on matters of regional security, as in time, to address the challenges of the post- pandemic era, Taiwan and the U.S. have reviewed and assessed the many facets of our trade cooperation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Now, Senator Tammy Duckworth said that this visit will not be the last one. In fact, she suggested that this should be an annual visit.
In addition to that, she added that Taiwan is not alone. Already mainland China, Beijing, is acting angrily to this unannounced bipartisan congressional visit. We got this statement from the spokesperson of China's embassy in the United States, making the following remarks.
"We urge the U.S. side to earnestly abide by the One-China policy," et cetera, "to handle Taiwan-related issues in a cautious and proper way, stop all forms of official interactions with Taiwan, and avoid sending wrong signals to the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces."
They also said that they firmly oppose this visit, and it gravely violates the One-China policy.
Now, look, this visit comes shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to the region, in which he said that, yes, the United States would militarily intervene if China would attempt to try to take Taiwan. Something that he said before, something that the White House had had to downplay again.
Tension is rising. In fact, on Monday, you had, according to the Taiwan defense ministry, 30 Chinese warplanes make incursions in Taiwan's air defense zone. This is a very worrying development, according to one minister of Parliament in Taiwan.
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On Twitter, this is what we heard from Wang Ting-Yu. He says this: "The more China does this, the sooner we become used to it. And it will become increasingly difficult to determine if China is just doing their routine exercises, or are they preparing to launch an attack on Taiwan. This is a very worrying trend," unquote.
Now, Taiwan's president has vowed to maintain peace while adding that President Xi will defend Taiwan, if attacked, if invaded. China, of course, claims Taiwan as its own territory, which could be taken by force, if necessary -- John.
VAUSE: Kristie, thank you. Kristie Lu Stout, live in Hong Kong. We appreciate that.
In Nepal, the bodies of all 22 people on board the downed Tara Air flight have been recovered by search-and-rescue teams. It took more than a day to collect the remains from the wreckage, which were scattered across a remote mountainside.
The flight was traveling from the city of Pokhara to Jomsom on Sunday when air traffic control lost contact. The cause of this crash remains under investigation.
Well, the U.S. Navy falling behind Russia and China in developing hypersonic missiles. And coming up, the bottleneck in testing a military weapon that could be the future of warfare.
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VAUSE: One of the world's most famous paintings in the world was the target of attempted vandalism Sunday. A man in disguise threw cake at the Mona Lisa.
According to authorities, he was wearing a wig and was using a wheelchair to appear to be disabled. The Mona Lisa is covered by protective glass and is unharmed, but the glass was smeared with frosting.
The suspect was arrested and taken to a psychiatric infirmary at police headquarters. The prosecutor's office has opened an investigation.
Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece has been attacked several times before, but never before with cake.
Over the weekend, Russia says it successfully tested its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile. One of Moscow's latest show of force in what looks to be a new arms race.
China also reportedly developing hypersonic missiles. And there are now fears in the U.S. that America is falling behind.
CNN's Kristen Fisher reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS COMBS, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO: This is where all the magic happens. This is our conversion diversion nozzle. Without this, you don't have a hypersonic wind tunnel.
KRISTEN FISHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chris Combs (ph) runs the hypersonics lab at the University of Texas, San Antonio, home to a new state-of-the-art Mach-7 wind tunnel, a key tool in helping the U.S. catch up to China and Russia in developing weapons that travel more than five times the speed of sound.
Hypersonic missiles and aircraft could be the future of warfare, because their speeds and maneuverability make them extremely difficult to defend against.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're one of only about five in U.S. academia that can do Mach- plus.
HOLMES (voice-over): And there's only a handful of government-run industrial-grade hypersonic wind tunnels in the U.S.
[00:45:0]
In fact, during a meeting with the defense secretary in February, two people in the room told CNN that CEOs of America's largest defense contractors described the scarcity of wind tunnels as a choke point in testing.
COMBS: For the big wind tunnel facilities, it can be one- to two-year wait time right now to schedule things out. I'd say six months will be pretty fast.
HOLMES (voice-over): A critical delay as the U.S. is still in the early stages of its hypersonics program, with the Air Force successfully testing Lockheed Martin's missile, called Aero (ph), last week after three failures.
But Russia isn't just testing these weapons. It just became the first country to ever actually use hypersonic weapons in war, using them at least ten times in Ukraine, according to the Pentagon.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.: It's a consequential weapon.
HOLMES (voice-over): And China successfully tested a hypersonic weapon that orbited the globe last year. MARK LEWIS, : At one point the Chinese were building their wind
tunnels as quickly as we were decommissioning wind tunnels.
HOLMES (voice-over): Mark Lewis, a former top Pentagon official working on hypersonics, estimates Beijing is building a new hypersonic wind tunnel every six months.
LEWIS: We really need our test infrastructure, our wind tunnels, in order to be able to advance in this field. And frankly, we've allowed that capability to atrophy over the past few years.
HOLMES (voice-over): This tunnel in Texas is only eight inches wide and took about three years to build.
The biggest hypersonic wind tunnels are eight feet wide and would take about 5 to 10 years to build, according to Combs.
COMBS: You're not putting a full-sized airplane test vehicle in any of these facilities. There's nobody in the world that's testing in a 20- foot hypersonic wind tunnel. Right? That type of technology just -- just doesn't exist. It's simply too much air.
HOLMES (voice-over): So instead, they test small 3-D-printed models. These are the ones that are unclassified.
HOLMES: These are the models that you can show us. How many models do you have that you can't show us?
COMBS: I can't tell you that. This is the type of thing that we could have in our wind tunnel when CNN is here.
HOLMES: Now, in terms of how long it would take to catch up, this hypersonic wind tunnel took about three years to build. But the big ones could take anywhere between five to 10 years. And China is building a new one every six months.
Kristen Fisher, CNN, at the University of Texas, San Antonio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, Maverick is back. The long-awaited "Top Gun" sequel soaring not into the danger zone but that sweet spot studios love so much. Top spot at the box office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Good morning, aviators. This is your captain speaking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The first version, "Top Gun," was all about fighter jets and volleyball. It came out back in 1986.
"Top Gun: Maverick" has already earned $124 million during its opening weekend here in the United States. Keep in mind, it was only projected to bring in 80 million. This is
the biggest opening in Tom Cruise's 40-plus-year career and the first time he scored $100 million in the first weekend.
I remember the first one.
Still to come, why President Biden is holding out hope that rational Republicans could finally move the needle on gun reform in the U.S.. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
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VAUSE: Well, just coming to ten minutes to the top of the hour. We'd like to welcome our viewers in the United States, who are joining us now on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.
The U.S. Justice Department's investigation into how police responded to the Uvalde mass shooting is now moving ahead. Sources tell CNN the department is expected to name the leader of the review in the next few days.
This was requested by Uvalde's mayor. It comes amid growing outrage over why it took more than an hour for law enforcement to confront and stop the gunman once the gunman was inside the school.
Now, the horrific massacre in Texas has reignited the debate over gun laws. There's growing pressure in Washington to enact some kind of gun reform.
On Monday, President Joe Biden said he believes there's realization among rational Republicans that the U.S. cannot continue like this. His remarks came on the same day he paid tribute to the country's fallen U.S. service members. CNN's M.J. Lee has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIDEN: We can never repay the sacrifice, but we will never stop trying.
M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden marking Memorial Day with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery, honoring the American men and women killed while serving in the U.S. military.
BIDEN: Freedom is worth the sacrifice. Democracy is not perfect, but it's worth fighting for; if necessary, worth dying for.
LEE: The solemn commemoration coming as the country continues to grieve the horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead.
Those killings reigniting the fraught national debate on gun control and putting new pressure on the president and lawmakers in Washington alike to take meaningful action.
BIDEN: I know that it makes no sense to be able to purchase something that can fire up to 300 rounds. The Second Amendment was never absolute.
LEE (voice-over): The president signaling a hint of optimism about some of his GOP colleagues in Congress.
BIDEN: I think things have gotten so bad that everybody's getting more rational about it. At least that's my hope and prayer. I consider McConnell a rational Republican, and Cornyn is, as well. I think there's a recognition on their part that we can't continue like this. We can't do this.
LEE (voice-over): But Biden also indicating that his own hands are largely tied when it comes to major actions pushed by gun reform advocates.
BIDEN: I can't outlaw a weapon. I can't, you know, change the background checks. I can't do that.
LEE (voice-over): Over the weekend, the president and the first lady traveling to Uvalde to console a traumatized and broken community. As he left church, Biden confronted with anguished onlookers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do something! Do something!
BIDEN: We will! We will!
LEE (voice-over): Back in Washington, some Democratic lawmakers also sounding cautiously optimistic.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): There are more Republicans interested in talking about finding a path forward this time than I have ever seen since Sandy Hook. We're talking about red flag laws. We're talking about strengthening and expanding the background check system.
LEE (voice-over): While many Republicans appear eager to focus on strengthening school security systems.
REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): The things that would have the most immediate and succinct effect, and tangible effect on these things. And that's actual security at a school.
LEE: Now, an update on some of the conversations that are just beginning to take place on Capitol Hill.
Republican Senator John Cornyn telling reporters that there is going to be a meeting of bipartisan lawmakers on Tuesday, taking place virtually to try to figure out whether there is a framework of ideas that can come together on gun reform.
Some of the issues that he mentioned include mental health issues, background checks, and also potential limitations on who can buy and maintain guns. Now, President Biden has made clear that he himself has not started in
earnest some of these conversations with Republican lawmakers. But he did once again emphatically say that he will continue pushing these lawmakers to make progress.
M.J. Lee, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In the coming hours, U.S. President Joe Biden plans to discuss record high inflation with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. This meeting comes as the U.S. battles levels of inflation not seen in decades.
The Fed is under pressure to lower inflation, cool the economy, without sparking a recession. No easy job.
Up to 6,000 flights across the world were canceled over the past few days, causing chaos and frustration for many travelers. U.S.-based Delta Airlines was among the hardest hit, with more than 500 flights axed over the long holiday weekend.
[00:55:0]
The carrier blames the weather, air traffic control, staffing issues, and increased COVID cases.
The U.S. transportation secretary says a spike in consumer demand is also a factor.
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PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: We saw a lot of airlines during the pandemic thinning out their schedules, and thinning out their workforce, not knowing when demand was going to return.
Now, faster than expected, the demand has come roaring back, and they are struggling to keep up.
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VAUSE: These flight delays just kept going. They happened on Monday, as well. I can speak for that firsthand.
Well, I'm John Vause at the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'll be back with more news after the break.
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