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Russia Launches Wave of Attacks on Ukraine, Explosions Rock Kyiv; Democrats Vulnerable Ahead of Midterms as Biden's Popularity Sinks; Biden to Make Campaign Stops in Western States This Week. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 10, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, retaliation, Putin threatens Ukraine with a tough response if so-called terror attacks continue, this after a massive explosion damaged a key strategic bridge linking Crimea and Russia.

And damaged infrastructure, Ukrainian officials say several regions are now without power after Russian missiles slammed critical energy plants.

CNN has every angle of this developing story covered. Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen is in Kyiv and International Security Editor Nick Paton Walsh is in Dnipro, Ukraine.

Fred, let's begin with you. You and your team heard several blasts this morning. I know there have been air raids as well. Give us a sense of what things look like right now because these are images we haven't seen since the very early days of this invasion right there in the country's capital.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is exactly what it felt like, Bianna, as these air raid sirens were going off in the early morning hours of today. And we sort of felt the first impact and heard the first impact, I would say, right quarter past 8:00 in the morning, so really right in the early morning rush hour here in Kyiv. And the early times there was sirens going off for a very long time, and then just blast after blast that took place as the rockets were impacting the Ukrainian capital here.

And some of the places that we went to were in Central Kyiv. For instance, there was a playground that was hit leaving a gigantic crater there, but there was also a busy intersection that was hit and that we went to. And there was just a scene of absolute carnage at that intersection with several cars completely destroyed. We saw some dead bodies there as well. And the Ukrainians later told us that five people were killed at that place alone.

And just to give you an idea of the area that that was in, this was next to a museum and next to a university building. It is unclear that there would have been any sort of military infrastructure there. There certainly didn't seem to be any from what we were seeing. And the Ukrainians are telling us that this is a scene that is going on in many parts of the country here in Ukraine. They say that more than 80 cruise missiles were fired at Ukrainian territory by the Russians, also more than 20 drones as well. And the Ukrainians say that they managed to take a lot of those down with their air defenses, but, of course, they weren't able to take down all of them.

And so what you have right now in Kyiv is that there are still several districts that are without power and it is a little more calm now, certainly also because a lot of people have opted to stay inside. But the state governor -- or the mayor of the city, Vitaly Klitschko, he has urged people to stay inside and seek shelter because, clearly, the Ukrainians believe that this could maybe not be the end of it just, that there could be more to come, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: That is exactly what Vladimir Putin warned, that more could be coming. And as you mentioned, this happening rush hour commute this morning, targeting infrastructure facilities but also civilians as well.

And, Nick, we were talking in the last hour, this seems to be part of their M.O., on the Russian part, to target civilians, to cause as much terror to those there in the country. I'm just curious, Ukrainians were anticipating some sort of response after that explosion, the Kerch Bridge over the weekend, that critical artery between Russia and Crimea. But talk about what kind of reaction they were expecting and in how big of a surprise this was.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Look, I mean, I think there was the notion, some sort of a response that happened. The question has always been what is still left in Vladimir Putin's arsenal.

But it's an important lesson we're sort of learning from here. Yes, this was a busy rush hour road, yes, there was a bus caught by this, the second missile that landed here. You can see just how enormous the firepower deployed was. Five people critically injured on that bus. It has since been taken away. But the real question about this response, 80-plus missiles, say Ukrainian officials, is what were they trying to hit.

Now, we know the power is out, we know critical infrastructure has been hit, but this is partially abandoned, if not entirely, a telecoms building. That was the predominant target, the second missile hitting here two minutes later.

And so with this bid by Moscow to flex their military muscles, which was clearly shown today, there was a portion during the morning where it seemed like pretty every city in Ukraine was certainly having an air raid siren, if not under attack. It's exactly what they chose to target. They have had some, it seems, some perverse recourse success in knocking out the power. 80,000 people in the region I am in apparently are without electricity at the moment.

But the kind of inaccuracy here, hitting this busy main road, hitting a building, this is essentially empty, underlies, I think, some of the clumsiness of the entire military strategy and campaign we've seen since February the 24th, when Russia first invaded. And the fact that we've seen this moment of extraordinary violence meted out to civilians, frankly, and these times poorly imprecisely hit targets and has many worried here about the possibility of yet more ferocity.

[10:05:09]

There is a new Russian commander to the campaign who got his name in Syria, where Russian Air Forces were used to prop up the Assad regime there and caused great civilian casualties as well.

There is anger amongst people we talked to about how there is obviously no military target here. There are people desperately trying to put U.N. sheeting over their walls in this apartment block because of how awfully cold it is suddenly getting. One woman saying she ran out right with one-year-old children into the kitchen out of the back and the two minute gap between the missile strikes because they fear here when one hits another, may come immediately afterwards to accentuate the civilian toll.

But even with the speed of the clean-up here, which is remarkable, there is still the question of why here, why this sort of level of firepower, not cheap to fire cruise missiles to this extent, and quite what that says about how good Russia's information is and how good their weapons are, frankly, if they still even seem half of the time to miss their target. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: It could be a review of what is to come. You mentioned that it is getting colder there and winter is on the horizon and a lot of people there are concerned about what the next few months will look like on the ground there as Russia is regrouping.

Frederik Pleitgen, Nick Paton Walsh, thank you.

Well, let's get to our experts. Joining me now is Jill Dougherty, a former CNN Moscow bureau chief and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and Colonel Cedric Leighton, a CNN military analyst and retired Air Force intelligence officer.

Colonel Leighton, let me begin with you and pick up from what we just heard from nick in talking about Russia flexing its military muscle now with these strikes, over 80 missiles launched. It comes at a time when its military itself, in terms of what is happening on the battlefield, has really been hit hard and regrouping. We had that mobilization over 200,000 Russians called to action here and they have to be trained over the next few months. There had been some thought and speculation about what that may look like as Russia regroups. Are we getting a preview by these strikes overnight? Is this what is going to be happening as these soldiers are being trained?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Brianna, it is a partial preview. Russians have always looked at artillery and rockets as the kind of the god and goddess of war. And what you're looking at their initial response to what happened with the Kerch Bridge, the one that connected Crimea with Russia, or did at least. So, this is part of what they're going to do. And then they're going to be ramping up training. The training is going to be haphazard for those 200,000 folks that have been called up to serve in the military. And, of course, they've got another extra 100,000 that they'll probably put in the pipeline right after that. So, this is part of the preview of upcoming attractions, so to speak, but it is not the only thing that they're going to be doing.

They still, of course, have other capabilities in their arsenal. Some of those will be more conventional things, like we've seen already, more rockets. So, I think that they probably have more cruise missiles available than we know, and that will probably be what they'll use. But that supply is still limited no matter how big it is.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, it is indeed.

Jill, I'm curious how this is being received inside of Russia, and interesting to note that Vladimir Putin has chosen this attack on the Crimean Bridge to call an act of terrorism. This is clearly a huge blow for an infrastructure standpoint, militarily for Russia, but also psychologically for Vladimir Putin as well. He invested a lot of political capital. His best friend helped build this 12-mile bridge.

What is the response been among the Russian public there as he calls this an act of terrorism and perhaps even playing into the hands of some of those right-wing bloggers that have been asking for more of a escalation over the last couple of weeks?

JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: I think that you're hitting on a really important thing, Bianna, because right now it is very difficult to judge what Russian average citizens are thinking about this, almost impossible.

However, you could look at Russian media, state-controlled media, and exactly as you said, there has been a push for Vladimir Putin to -- a lot of criticism too. Vladimir Putin isn't doing enough. He's not taking the fight to the enemy. Therefore, he has to really be merciless.

And I think if you look at this, Putin is responding to that pressure coming from the really hard, hard forces in security, et cetera, who are saying you just have to really destroy Ukraine. As Nick was mentioning, he brings in this new general, who is the general who essentially flattened the city of Aleppo in Syria.

[10:10:04]

So, this is a technique that they will use. And then I think as you begin to kind of indicate, this is really a personal thing for Putin. It is his bridge. It is symbolically connecting Crimea, which he illegally annexed and calls his own with Russia. And just the temerity he would think by those -- by Ukrainians, or whoever did it, to take down this bridge or part of it is an is affront to him. And I think there is now -- and there always has been, but right now there is a element of personal emotional element that is coming into this. GOLODRYGA: Colonel, there has been some analysis from Russia watchers that Putin has historically dragged his heels and procrastinated in any sort of response. We've seen so many change in military leadership over the course of this war. I want to get more thoughts from you on this new general, Sergey Surovikin, who was brought in. He's known as a brutal man, and somebody, as Jill just said, has been blamed for masterminding a lot of atrocity that we saw in Syria. Give us a sense of what you know about him.

LEIGHTON: So, General Surovikin is a very interesting character. He's known for his brutality, even against his own fellow officers. So, this guy is an interesting character, to say the least. He's 55 years old. He commanded the Air Force, which is kind of interesting given the fact that he actually is an army general. So, I'm sure that created a lot resentment within the Russian Air Force.

And Jill mentioned that he masterminded the siege of Aleppo. That is exactly right. He was one of the ones to actually be in charge of that and is clearly a protector of the Assad regime in Syria and enabled that regime to stay in power.

So, as far as his next moves are concerned, he is one of eight generals that has come into new positions in the recent months and that is something that shows that there is a tremendous lack of leadership and confidence in that leadership within the Russian hierarchy, and that lack of confidence, I think, is spilling over into their performance in this war. So, it is a very dangerous situation for all concerned, actually.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, a lack of confidence in the hierarchy and lack of morale amongst every day troops, a recipe of disaster there for Vladimir Putin.

Jill Dougherty, Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you, as always.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Well, now to Iran, where at least four protesters were reportedly killed during a crackdown by authorities on Saturday. An Iranian human rights group claims 185 people have died since violent protests started gripping that country for weeks following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She died while in custody after being detained by the government's morality police for apparently not wearing her hijab properly.

It comes as pro-reform protesters allegedly hacked Iranian state T.V., disrupting its nightly news program, which was airing a segment on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They replaced the broadcast with a photo of Khamenei with a target superimposed on his face alongside photos of young women who have died in the Iran over the last month.

And still to come, President Biden gearing up to hit the campaign trail in western states less than one month away from the midterm elections. Can he help Democratic candidates despite his low approval numbers? And later, former D.C. Police Officer Michael Fanone, who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, reveals tapes that he secretly recorded while meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy after the insurrection.

Plus, a look at the tech the federal government is recommending that could force you to drive the speed limit. That is up next.

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GOLODRYGA: President Biden's sinking approval rating may be leaving his party vulnerable with less than a month until the midterm elections. In CNN's poll of polls, which tracks five major national polls, Biden's approval rating stands at 39 percent, 52 percent disapprove of the job he's doing as president. Yet many Democratic candidates still seem to be holding leads in a number of battleground states.

CNN's Harry Enten is here with me. So, Harry, where do things stand as of now?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes. So, I'm a fan of looking at the Senate races. They'll determine control of the United States Senate, Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania. If Democrats win in these four states, they are probably going to maintain control of the United States Senate. And they are, in fact, leading by four points in all of these. But look here. Joe Biden's approval rating is well under 50 percent in all of states.

In this era of high polarization though, you might be saying, can Democrats actually maintain control of the Senate given Biden's low approval rating in these important states? So, you know what I did? I decided to go back in time to see, okay, let's look at some historic races that Democrats won in the Obama administration when the president's approval rating was under 50 percent in 2010 and 2014.

And look at this, Bianna, there is a slew of them, Colorado, Nevada, West Virginia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Virginia. Barack Obama's approval rating in all those states was under 50 percent, yet Democrats were able to win. So, if Democrats win in those we mentioned earlier, it really wouldn't be that big of a surprise.

GOLODRYGA: Yet, now, many are asking the question, why is it so difficult for Republicans, given that the economy still remains on shaky ground and given that, historically, that the party in office usually gets to be the one that is beat up at the midterms?

[10:20:04]

So, why are things different now for Republicans?

ENTEN: It all comes down to candidate quality, candidates, candidates, candidates. The net favorability ratings of GOP Senate candidates in these key races, Arizona, Blake Masters under water, Georgia, Herschel Walker under water, Don Bolduc, under water in New Hampshire, and in Pennsylvania, Mehmet Oz well under water.

So, what is essentially happening here is these races have become a little bit more localized, and these GOP candidates are, to be honest, in the voter's minds, just not very good, and that's why they're trailing.

GOLODRYGA: Candidates matter.

ENTEN: Candidates matter. Who knew?

GOLODRYGA: Who knew, Harry Enten? You knew.

ENTEN: I know, maybe.

GOLODRYGA: Thank you. Good to see you, as always.

ENTEN: Nice to see you.

GOLODRYGA: And later in week, President Biden will head out west to campaign for Democrats in California, Colorado and Oregon, with a message highlighting his party's efforts to bring down rising gas prices and historic inflation. But will Biden's presence on the trail help or hurt Democrats?

Here with me to discuss is White House Reporter for the Associated Press and CNN Political Analyst Seung Min Kim, and White House Bureau Chief for The Washington Post Toluse Olorunnipa. Good to see you both.

Seung Min, let's begin with you. We're expecting to see the president out on the trail. What are we expecting to hear from him and why is it that he's welcome in some states and it appears there are others that he's skipping, case in point, Arizona.

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. Well, the message that you're going to hear from the president this week is going to be the message that he has driven, that the White House has driven, all throughout the last several months, especially as the campaigns heated up. And that is that this election, even though it is a midterm election, that it is a choice, that it is a choice between the Democrats' view perhaps of health care and protecting Medicare and social security against what Republicans have put up. And that is what the White House has really been trying to hammer home, the fact that -- or their view that voters could make this a choice election rather than a referendum election.

But you're certainly right. President Biden is not a popular person for Democrats on the campaign trail these days. And, certainly, for example, in Colorado, where he does remain a little bit more popular, he will be heading there this week. But you're seeing how because candidates don't want to campaign directly with the president, the White House is finding kind of unique ways to bolster these candidates. And in Colorado this week, we expect him to actually designate the first national monument of his administration in Colorado. That is an ask of Senator Michael Bennet, who is in a tough race there.

GOLODRYGA: So, a bit of a gift for Michael Bennet.

Let me ask you, Toluse, about the race for governor specifically in Arizona, Republican Candidate Kari Lake still refusing to admit that President Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election. When Republicans are asked this question, even those who have acknowledged the fact that President Biden has won, they tend to focus on let's just talk about the future, that is what voters really care about. How big of an issue is this though there amongst Republicans? Is there a divide within the party as to how to come to terms with this question that really shouldn't even be on the table at this point?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It is a big divide within party in part because we see candidates who have leaned in most hard on election denialism suffering the most, people like Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, not having a very good election in terms of his campaign thus far in the polling, and he has been one of the leading figures when it comes to denying the election. He was there on the Capitol grounds on January 6.

We are seeing some of the candidates there trying to sort of move away from their past positions, including in New Hampshire, where a candidate there had denied the election and then after winning the primary, said he looked at it and actually believed that the election was free and fair. So, some of these candidates are caught in a bind because they campaigned very hard during the primaries, supporting the former president and his lies about the election.

And now, they're trying to campaign to a broader electorate, trying to win over some of the voters who are going to determine the midterms, some of the middle of the road voters, who are swing voters, who don't believe in election denialism, and so some of these candidates, including Kari Lake in Arizona, are caught in a bind trying to pivot from that issue. I thought it was very interesting that she introduced President Trump during a rally over the weekend, and in her 18-minute speech, did not address the 2020 election, talked about a bunch of other issues. So, it does appear some of the candidates are trying to move on but their records and their past positions are going to haunt them as Democrats try to make sure voters know where they stand on the issue of the 2020 election.

GOLODRYGA: Well, speaking past haunting candidates, let's turn to Georgia, Seung Min, and specifically Herschel Walker, which we should note is still a relatively tight race given all of the controversy that has come out about his past and the reporting that he had allegedly paid for a girlfriend and ex-girlfriend, one of the mothers of his children, reportedly, to have an abortion.

[10:25:01]

We have two Republican big names, right? We have Rick Scott and Tom Cotton now going to campaign for him in Georgia despite all of the negative headlines we've seen over the past few weeks. Why is it that they're rushing to embrace him at this point?

KIM: Well, Republicans have made a calculation that in such a pivotal race for Senate control this November, that they're not going to ditch their candidate at this stage in the race despite all of the allegations that are surrounding him. I did find the visits pretty remarkable from two conservative figures, powerful figures in the parry, because it is one thing to issue a statement saying you stand by the candidate, you're going to let the race play out, but it is another thing to go down there and campaign on his behalf.

But that is the posture of the entire Republican -- basically the entire Republican Party right now. You have powerful campaign committees, whether it is the official campaign arm or the Republican super PAC. They are not withdrawing from the race. I think this debate between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker this Friday will be fascinating to watch, to see how Walker defends himself against -- or defends himself from these allegations and what other issues come up for a race that, again, is so pivotal to Senate control this November.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And Republican Senator and Candidate Raphael Warnock, Toluse, has remained relatively quiet throughout all of this. Did Democrats view this as a wise decision on his part, sort of sit this one out?

OLORUNIPPA: Well, we'll definitely see, especially as we get closer to that debate, how much Democrats want to make this an issue, how much they want to aggressively campaign on this issue. I think there has been a calculus that just allowing Herschel Walker to sort of walk in his own shoes and sort of try to figure this out on his own and as he has stumbled over his answers sort of getting the political blowback by not even addressing this, some Democrats think that it doesn't make sense to pour more water on this fire. Just Allow Herschel walker to suffer on his own.

Now, that is a question that a number of Democrats have, as to whether or not they should lean in on this more and we may see over the course of the next several weeks, especially with this debate, whether Democrats decide to try to help voters to focus on this and allow them to make this decision as their approaching November, specifically making this election about character issue, about Herschel Walker's character and not just about the issues.

GOLODRYGA: Potentially high stakes debate and crucial next few weeks.

Seung Min Kim and Toluse Olorunnipa, thank you, as always. It is great to see you both.

And still ahead, the Capitol police officer who suffered a heart attack during the Capitol insurrection reveals tapes that he secretly recorded while meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. More details straight ahead.

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