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Battle Rages for Eastern Ukrainian City of Severodonetsk; Russian Naval Blockade Fueling Global Grain Shortage; Russian State Media; 1,000+ Ukrainian Troops Taken to Russia; Gun Owners Explain Why They Want an AR-15; U.K. Prime Minister to Face Tough Questions in Parliament. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 08, 2022 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up-to-date with some of the stories were following this hour.

U.S. lawmakers are set to meet with families of gun violence victims on Capitol Hill just a day after Senators heard their pleas for better policy measures. A bipartisan group of Senators is still working to reach a deal by the end of the week.

President Biden will head to Los Angeles soon where he is hosting the Summit of Americas, but not everyone will be in attendance. Several key leaders are boycotting the event after the Biden administration excluded Cuba and Nicaragua and Venezuela from the summit.

In eastern Ukraine, the bloody and brutal battle for Severodonetsk is now being waged street to street. The city has been targeted by Russian artillery for weeks now. Part of a much larger Russian push to seize control of the entire Donbas. The satellite images show the devastation caused by the Russians grinding offensive using overwhelming artillery fire to obliterate everything in its path. And Ukrainians are firing back with artillery of their own.

And despite weeks of intense fighting, the frontlines have barely moved. In Donetsk, Ukrainian officials say that their forces are under constant fire but have managed to hold the line. And in his nightly address the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia is now attempting to resupply and rearm forces near the Donbas.

Meanwhile Russian state media is reporting that more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers from Mariupol are being taken to Russia for, quote, investigation. The soldiers were taken prisoner when the city fell under Russian control last month. Mr. Zelenskyy said Monday that there could be more than 2,500 soldiers from Mariupol being held as prisoners of war. Russia's foreign minister is in Turkey for talks for opening a sea corridor for Ukrainian agricultural exports. He arrived for a meeting with his Turkish counterpart just a short while ago. It comes as a Russian naval blockade has left millions of tons of grain stuck inside Ukraine raising fears about a global food crisis.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is standing by for us in Ankara, Turkey Clare Sebastian is with me here in London. And let's begin with Salma Abdelaziz in Kyiv, in Ukraine. Bring us the latest movements on the ground. It's interesting that that line just doesn't appear to have moved.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely. You're looking at a bloody stalemate essentially, Max. Neither side strong enough to win nor weak enough to lose. It's a very kinetic stalemate, in the sense that both sides are firing upon each other. There's a heavy amount of resources being used. But let's zero in on the main flashpoint here, Severodonetsk. A place that for weeks now has seen bloody battles, fierce street to street fighting, satellite images showing the city almost decimated.

We just heard from a regional official there in Severodonetsk that says, yes, the city is almost completely destroyed, but still Ukrainian defenders are trying to hold the line, hold their ground. Now why does this one city matter so much? Why is this brutal battle still brewing over that city? It's because of the symbolism of it.

President Putin's larger goal here is to take control of the Donbas region. Severodonetsk is one of the last strongholds in the Luhansk area.

[04:35:00]

So, gaining that would mean a major step towards that larger goal. But again, Ukrainian forces taking major losses over it. But at the same time, President Zelenskyy is saying that Russian forces are using an incredible amount of resources to try to hold that long eastern front and it's costing them. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): More than 31,000 Russian soldiers have already perished in Ukraine. Russia is paying with almost 300 lives every day for a completely senseless war against Ukraine. There will come a day when the number of deaths will reach an unacceptable level even for Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: It's important to note here, Max, this is an urban battle battlefield. There are thousands of civilians trapped here in Severodonetsk with no clear way out.

FOSTER: OK, Salma, thank you. Jomana, there is the war on the ground, there's also what's being called the grain wars. And you know, that's -- you're at the frontlines of that as there's some sort of negotiation around it?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Max, both Ukraine and Russia have been blaming each other for that blockade. Of course, we've heard from countries including the United States and other Western powers blaming Russia for the blockade where you've got millions, more than 20 million tons of Ukrainian grain that so many countries, dozens of countries rely on that is sitting there. They've been unable to export this, and this is where Turkey comes in. What it's really trying to do here is to capitalize on this position of a mediator. It has emerged as one of the key mediators in this war. It maintains close ties with both Russia and Ukraine.

So, what they're trying to do is try and push forward this plan for a sea corridor through the Black Sea to resume Ukrainian grain exports. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived here in Ankara last night with a military delegation. They've been holding talks with Turkish officials.

And the expectation is, Max, that this will lay the groundwork for more complex technical talks that the Turkish government, Turkish officials are hoping they would manage to push through in the coming days. Where they want to bring together Ukrainian and Russian officials under the auspices of the United Nations. Suggesting perhaps that it would happen in Istanbul in the coming days to work on the very complex issues here of what this corridor will look like. How this is really going to work? Who's going to do the de-mining of the coastal waters around the Ukrainian ports? Who is going to provide naval escort for these ships? The inspection mechanism and observation mechanism.

So, a complex situation that they are hoping to work through in the coming days. But then you've also got what both sides really want, Max, and we have had the indications from the Russians that they are not just going to do this. They are going to want something in return. And they've indicated that they're going to want some sort of sanction relief. Something that's not going to be acceptable for the Western countries that sanctioned Russia in the first place. And Ukrainians saying that they're not going into any agreement without getting security guarantees to make sure that this will not allow Russia to escalate attacks on its ports.

FOSTER: Jomana in Ankara, thank you. Clare, you've here in London because you've been looking at these reports of Ukrainian soldiers. But also, apparently some foreign fighters that may have been moved into Russian territory.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and what we're getting this morning, Max, is from Russian state media, the state news agency TASS. They are citing a law enforcement source saying that more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, those who surrendered in Mariupol during the surge of the Azovstal steelworks, that they have been taken to Russia for, quote, investigation.

Now the source is telling us that law enforcement are working very closely with them and that there may be more Ukrainian soldiers who could, you know, subsequently be transported to Russia. So, this is a big issue because the fate of these soldiers -- and President Zelenskyy estimated this week that there could be about 2,500 of them held in Russian occupied territories in the Donbas -- is a major source of contention between the two sides.

As Ukraine tries to sort of complete what it says is the last phase of this operation in the defense of Mariupol and bring these soldiers safely home, President Zelenskyy said this week that he didn't think that they were necessarily being tortured, that it wouldn't be in Russia's interests. Russia has said that it would treat them in accordance with international law. But this has caused international concern as well. Amnesty has expressed concern about their potential treatment and called for them to be given access to the Red Cross and for them to be treated under the Geneva Convention which of course has very clear rule on the conditions under which prisoners of war can be put to trial in some cases -- Max.

FOSTER: Clare, Salma, Jomana, thank you all very much.

[04:40:00]

Now the Biden administration reached out to the North Korean regime last month to discuss possible cooperation on humanitarian issues including COVID-19. But got no response from Pyongyang. That's according to the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy. U.S. believes that North Korea is preparing to conduct a seventh nuclear test. And the International Atomic Energy Agency told CNN that North Korea appears to be building more facilities to enrich uranium.

Now still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you say to, you know, people who say why would somebody like you have to own an AR-15? What you say to them?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ask this guy right here. Any of those people can punch me once, I'm going to be lights out. But if I can defend myself and give me distance and time, then I have a fighting chance to live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: U.S. lawmakers are set to meet in the coming hours for more talks on possible gun reform. One proposal includes raising the age to buy semiautomatic weapons, although is receiving staunch opposition from most Republicans. Many of their constituents agree with them and believe in the right to own a semiautomatic rifle. CNN's Randi Kaye spoke to some gun enthusiasts who explained why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Anna Thomasson learned how to shoot an AR-15 style rifle back in 2015 after a battle with breast cancer sidelined her from running marathons.

ANNA THOMASSON, FOUNDER AND FIREARMS INSTRUCTOR, TRUE AIM GROUP: Being a girl in my family that was what the boys did, so I had never learned how to do that before.

KAYE: Did it give you confidence, learning how to use it?

THOMASSON: Incredible confidence. It's incredibly empowering. The energy coming off of that gun, I feel like goes into your body and then you're not tired again.

KAYE (voice over): It energized her so much, she became an instructor.

THOMASSON: Eyes and ears.

[04:45:00]

KAYE (voice over): And along with her husband, Bryan Wertz is now teaching others how to use it. We caught up with them at Eagle Gun Range in Farmers Branch, Texas.

KAYE: Does it fire differently when you use it compared to other rifles or I mean --

BRIAN WERTZ, FIREARMS INSTRUCTOR, TRUE AIM GROUP: It is softer shooting than most. It doesn't have a lot of recoil, and it almost feels like shooting like an air gun as opposed to something that's really heavy.

KAYE (voice over): Bryan also likes the AR-15 style because he says they are easier and safer to handle than handguns, so you don't need to spend as much time and money on training.

WERTZ: The thing about easy that matters is that when you defend yourself, it's more accurate. So, if you're in a home and your family is all there, you'll be more accurate with that.

KAYE (voice over): Bryan and Anna use their AR-15 style rifles for target practice, but mainly for their own protection.

KAYE: What do you say to, you know, people who say, why would somebody like you have to own an AR-15? What do you say to those?

THOMASSON: OK, ask this guy right here. He, he, he, he -- any of those people can punch me once, I'm going to be lights out. But if I can defend myself and give me distance and time, then I have a fighting chance to live past today.

WERTZ: I know some people are just afraid of them and they're not comfortable with them. If we can introduce it to them safely, then they normally say, that thing is not even scary.

REY RODRIGUEZ, MANAGER AND FIREARMS INSTRUCTOR, EAGLE GUN RANGE: This is an AR-15 chambered in 556 with the EOtech red dot.

KAYE (voice over): Rey Rodriguez is also a big fan of the AR-15 style rifle.

RODRIGUEZ: I fell in love with it the very first trigger pull.

KAYE (voice over): Rey says he owns them for protection.

RODRIGUEZ: I can clear my apartment if I need to.

KAYE (voice over): Rey says the AR-15 style is especially popular because they are so customizable, often described as Legos for adults, and a personalized hers to fit her small frame. It weighs less than five pounds. THOMASSON: We've had to find different components to make it as light as it can be. I would not be able to hold up a 20-pound gun and fire it where I needed to fire it.

KAYE (voice over): Bryan also had Anna's AR-15 style rifle decorated with a pink Hello Kitty decal. Others took it to greater extremes. And then there's Rey, who tattooed a picture of his heavily modified rifle on his arm.

KAYE: When you add on to the real gun, you're going to add on to the arm?

RODRIQUEZ: I'm going to keep adding on to -- yes, adding onto the art. Yes.

KAYE (voice over): Despite his loyalty to the AR-15 style rifle, there are still many who will question why anyone needs to own one.

RODRIGUEZ: I would say give a proper gun range the ability to coach them through what an AR-15 is capable of and what you can do through proper training and proper coaching. You can see that it can be a sport and it is a sport.

KAYE: After mass shootings we typically see a run on this type of weapon. People here, a lot of talk of gun rights, a lot of talk of banning this type of weapon so they tend to rush out and buy these AR- 15 style weapons.

But we spoke to the Eagle Gun Range where we did our story and they told me that they haven't seen any uptick in sales or demand for this style of weapon. And one other note, there are about 20 million AR-15- style weapons in the United States. That's a very small percentage of the total number of firearms in the United States. In fact, there are 393 million privately owned firearms in the U.S. right now and about 20 million of those, once again, are these AR-15-style rifles.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Just ahead, down in the polls, unpopular with voters, politically wounded by a Tory rebellion, and now comes question time in Parliament for Boris Johnson.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Brace for fireworks at the British Parliament as Boris Johnson faces question time in just a little over two hours from now. The Prime Minister is trying to shift focus from his closer than expected confidence vote to domestic reforms -- popular with the public. But a former Tory leader tells Reuters that Johnson saying on as Prime Minister would be like driving down the highway with two flat tires.

As Nina dos Santos is live this hour outside 10 Downing Street. Is it a test today for Boris Johnson or was that test the other day when he had the confidence vote?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the first time he's going to be in the House of Parliament facing down four out of 10 of his own MPs who will be standing behind him, who have no confidence in him. So, so this is going to be a really big issue for him. He is going to face some difficult questions, not just from the leader of the opposition, but also some thorny questions from his own benches behind him.

So, the spectacle of that again will draw more unpleasant headlines from a Prime Minister who has generated so many unpleasant headlines recently that he has lost the confidence of 41 percent of his own elected members of Parliament.

You can expect Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party to drill that message home. And also, to continue to push this narrative that the current government in number 10 Downing Street under the stewardship of Boris Johnson is one that continues to suffer from the toxicity of the "Partygate" scandal.

Remember that Boris Johnson is still facing a parliamentary probity and ethics inquiry on that very issue that continues the pact. This is going to be the narrative that you can expect the Labour Party to push forward.

But in the meantime, what Boris Johnson is trying to do to try to rally the forces around him in his own party and get some of those 41 percent of MPs, who voted no confidence in him just a couple of days ago back on board, is to offer some red meat for the conservative voter if you like. And that is in the promise of potential tax cuts going forward.

[04:55:00]

But that plan has been shot down by another senior conservative writing also in the "Times" newspaper, as you were pointing out, the earlier comments you were referring to come from Lord William Hague writing in the "Times" as well. Is that what they're concerned about here is this flip-flop of policies if you like.

The government here in Downing Street has introduced over the last couple years the highest rate of taxation since the Second World War, ostensibly to pay for the increased costs of the health care system after the pandemic. But now Boris Johnson potentially might say, well, what we need to do is cut taxes, cut taxes for business, cut taxes for ordinary people.

You've got concerns that that might be two populist a policy that could swing the pendulum between left and right about whether or not the government should be taxing so much or spending so much. And it might just be something that in the short time could keep Boris Johnson in office but in the long term won't necessarily convince his MPs. They've also got two bi-elections coming up at the end of this month, Max, so that's going to be difficult to navigate as well. The Conservative Party is projected to lose those two seats -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Nina, outside Downing Street, thank you very much indeed.

Now, before we go a glimpse of what could be the future of drive-thru fast food, delivery from the sky. Taco Bell opened a first of its kind concept restaurant called Taco Bell Defy in a Minneapolis suburb on Tuesday. There's four names

in the kitchen is on the top of the two-story building. Each lane has a specific focus. One is for customers who use the Taco Bell app, another is for delivery drivers and the others are for traditional drive-up orders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT PERSONS, BORDER FOODS REGIONAL MANAGER: Once the order is assigned to a lane, we just verify the customer's name, and we lift up the top of the lift, put the food in, push the two buttons, and it is on its way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Taco Bell says the design is in response to the way fast food orders have changed since the pandemic began.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. "EARLY START" is next.

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