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North Korea Fires at Least One Ballistic Missile; View from the Front Line in Kherson; Putin: Russia Defending Right to Exist and Develop; U.N. Issues Second Dire Warning Ahead of COP27; Ayatollah: Perpetrators of Shrine Attack Will Be Punished; Myanmar's Military Warns Against Pressure on Time Frame for Peace Plan; Kyiv Reels from Latest Strikes on Ukraine's Energy System; Prince Harry's Memoir to Be Released in January. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired October 28, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:00:18]

The world according to Vladimir Putin, where Mother Russia is threatened by a hostile West, Russia made no threat of using nukes; and the West is forcing Moscow to hold a gay parade.

The world's shame. Outrage over Russian targeting Ukraine civilians, lip service when civilians in Myanmar are slaughtered by the dozens by the military.

And let the Musk-era tweets begin. The world richest man now owns Twitter, promising it won't become a hellscape.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Those stories in a moment, but we begin this hour with word of another North Korea missile test. This is according to the South Korean military.

Pyongyang fired at least one ballistic missile, landing in the waters East of the Korean Peninsula. By CNN's count, this would be the 28th missile test this year alone, a dramatic uptick, and there are growing concerns a nuclear test is imminent.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout tracking the very latest developments, live from Hong Kong. What do we know at this hour, Kristie?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Yes, John. Amid rising tensions in the Korean Peninsula, North Korea has fired yet another ballistic missile. This is the country's 28th such test so far this year.

And it comes just days after South Korea's navy, its marine, its air force started to conduct these joint amphibious landing operations, which began on Wednesday and are wrapping up today on the East coast of South Korea. This is what we learned from a text message that was sent from South

Korea's joint chiefs of staff, saying that an unidentified missile was fired by North Korea earlier today off the East coast of the Korean Peninsula. The South Korean military, of course, closely monitoring the situation.

And this comes amid a flurry of missile tests being conducted this year by North Korea. You know, it was not that long ago when they fired a missile over Japan, the first such missile launch since 2017.

In fact, this year, North Korea has fired the greatest highest number of missiles since Kim Jong-U.N., the leader of North Korea, took power in 2011.

Tensions continue to simmer between North and South Korea, in particular, earlier this week, there was that exchange of warning shots at sea between the North and the South.

Not that long ago, mid-October, we saw South Korean military jets scramble in response to North Korean warplanes that were edging too close to their shared and heavily-fortified military border.

Not long ago, the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-U.N., was sounding very confident and offered a very fiery statement about North Korea's, not just missile capabilities, but nuclear capabilities. That is the fear here.

I want to bring up the statement that Kim Jong-U.N. made. According to KCNA, the North Korean state news agency, saying this, quote, "Our nuclear combat forces proved again their full preparedness for actual war to bring the enemies under their control," unquote.

Of course, the world is watching for any signs of a potential nuclear test after this flurry of missile tests by North Korea. If and when that happens, it would be the first such nuclear test since 2017.

We did also hear that statement earlier this week from the United States and its allies in the region, South Korea and Japan, saying that, if North Korea was to conduct such a test, quote, "an unparalleled response would be necessary."

Back to you, John.

VAUSE: Makes you wonder what unparalleled would actually be.

STOUT: Yes.

VAUSE: Kristie, thank you, Kristie Stout there, live for us in Hong Kong. Appreciate the update.

In a rambling, almost four-hour-long speech Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied making any threat to use nuclear weapons; played down he extent of Russian losses in his war with Ukraine; in many ways played the victim while airing old grievances, accusing Western elites of blaming Russia for the world's problems, saying they were playing a dangerous, bloody, and dirty game. As for his special military operation in Ukraine? All going according

to plan, says Putin.

Planning has slowed in recent days. Ukrainian forces are struggling with difficult terrain and bad weather in the Kherson region, while Russia troops are reportedly facing shortages of equipment and warm winter clothing.

Ongoing Russian airstrikes on Ukraine's national power grid have pushed the capital to the brink of almost complete black=out. Kyiv is now under severe and unprecedented restrictions on power usage.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, delivered his nightly address standing outside in near total darkness, promising a bright dawn to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Shelling will not break us. To hear the enemy's anthem on our land is scarier than the enemy's rockets in our sky.

[00:05:02]

We are not afraid of darkness. The darkest times for us are not the times without light but those without will. Our military is strong. Volunteers are tireless; partners are reliable; and people are indomitable. We know that the darkest night becomes the dawn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Russian state media reporting the situation in the Kherson region stabilizing. Less frequent artillery fire, no counterattack from Ukrainian forces.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports now from the front lines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Across these fields are the Russians. That means we need to get into the trenches that snake their way through this battle space in Southern Ukraine.

PLEITGEN: So this is the actual front line between the Russians and the Ukrainians. They say that the Russians are only a couple of kilometers in that direction, and obviously, there's a lot of shelling that goes on here almost all the time.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): A destroyed tank turret right outside the Ukrainian position shows just how fierce the fighting is here. Spent cartridges from cluster bombs and Russian flak vests also still lying around.

While some thought the Ukrainians might quickly oust the Russians and take back the key city of Kherson, in the trench, a feeling of stalemate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): There's shelling every day; in some places less, in some more. We would shoot back, but we have nothing to shoot with here.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Inside the main headquarters, the unit commander, who goes by the call sign "Nikafor" (ph), shows me the gear they use to monitor the Russians' movements and communicate with their own units. He says they've observed the Russians strengthening their defensive positions here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They have dug in very well for the moment. But with our efforts, we are showing them that we are stronger and are slowly pushing them back from our territories.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): This territory was all Russian-controlled, but now Ukrainian troops are inching ever closer to Kherson. Having taken out most Russians supply routes across the massive Dnipro River, Ukraine's president says Moscow's forces need to get out of this region or risk being besieged.

ZELENSKYY: They are not ready to go out of Kherson. But they know that it will be, if we will have success. They will not have possibility to exit.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Ukraine's military is pushing Russian troops back on several frontlines across the country. And as his army displays clear signs of weakness, Russian President Vladimir Putin ripping into the U.S. And its allies during a speech in Moscow.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Well, domination is what the so-called West bet its game on. But that game is, without doubt, a dangerous, bloody, and I would say, filthy one.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the Ukrainian troops in the trenches say they are resisting for their own country's sovereignty and hope to retake much of this key area in South Ukraine before winter sets in.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, in the Kherson region of Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Steve Hall is a CNN national security analyst and former chief of Russia operations for the Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA.

Welcome back, Steve. Good to see you.

STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to be here.

VAUSE: OK, so I want you to listen to three of Putin's statements from Thursday. Maybe you can translate the translation at the end. Here's soundbite No. 1.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): Russia is not challenging the Western allies. Russia is just defending its right to exist and to freely develop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Little bit of victimhood and delusion there, it seems like.

No. 2 is on the use of -- of nuclear weapons. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): We never intentionally said anything about the possibility of using nuclear weapons by Russia. We only responded with hints to Western leaders' statements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Just because you say it doesn't make it true.

Soundbite No. 3, almost out of nowhere: Russia has a right to be straight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): The West can do whatever they want with gay parades, but they shouldn't dictate the same rules for Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: I don't know which Western nation is insisting on Pride Week in Moscow, but more to the point, who would want to go?

This can't seriously be how Putin views the world?

HALL: No, I think what's going on here is that we have messaging to different audiences.

So certainly, the first and I think the third, are certainly directed primarily at -- at the Russian -- at the Russian people, the domestic audience.

There's a little bit of international audience in there, too, but I think his primary focus here is -- is to try to convince the Russians on the first point, for example, that Russia is simply defending itself.

This, of course, despite the widely-known fact that it was Russia who invaded Ukraine, and nobody was invading Russia.

So that's primarily a domestic -- a domestic thing that is, I think, designed to pump people up, pump the Russians up, as things continue to go badly in Ukraine.

[00:10:08]

VAUSE: That last sound bite, though, about gay parades, that brings us to this move by the Russian Parliament to expand laws prohibiting so- called "gay propaganda." Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER KHINSHTEIN, DEPUTY OF THE STATE DUMA (through translator): We propose to establish a ban on propaganda, of nontraditional sexual relations or preferences, regardless of age.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: This sort of anti-gay agenda seems to weed its way through Russia's national security strategy. You know, it lays out who should be protected and from what.

Now it's sort of raised to this international level. It's sort of this homophobia masquerading as foreign policy.

HALL: Yes, it's really fascinating. Because again, there's a lot of resonance inside of Russia. You know, having lived there, I've seen it myself. There is a lot of resonance inside of Russian society against -- against anything having to do with the gay movements. There's a lot of discrimination that happens.

But this is an interesting thing, because when he raises it, there is now a new international audience, which I would argue, a number of years ago, didn't exist.

This is not just the far-right wing in the United States. These are the Viktor Orbans of the world. These are the very conservative, populist governments that are popping up in NATO countries, in the West, this populist movement; which is oftentimes much more culturally traditional and is also uncomfortable about things like the gay movement and being gay.

So there is also an international audience to that particular argument, although how it relates to Ukraine is -- is a little strange.

VAUSE: Yes, it all sounds kind of a little strange. Putin added this prediction for good measure. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTIN (through translator): We are standing at a historical front here. Ahead is the most dangerous, unpredictable and, at the same time, the most important decade since the end of World War II.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Why? Because, you know, in the past, there seems to be this perception that Putin, yes, he's an autocrat. Yes, he has a heavy hand. But, you know, Russia had the appearance of moving towards a democracy. There's a parliament; there's a vote, that kind of stuff. Now it seems it's all just gotten out of hand. He does seem to be kind of crazy.

HALL: Yes, you know, there's very few things that I agree with Vladimir Putin about, but that statement, just taken as that statement, is indeed a true fact. The next, you know, couple of years in the world are going to be very interesting and very dangerous.

They're dangerous, though, because of people like Vladimir Putin, who seemingly -- you know, we get back to the gay question and other non- traditional parts of society -- it doesn't seem to be able to trust his own populace, his own people, or people elsewhere in the world, to make their own decisions.

Now, of course, that's going to come as no surprise to Russians. The social contract in Russia is a little different than many places, where Russians give up considerable more -- a greater amount of their freedoms in exchange for what Putin refers to as stability.

But, you know, yes. The next couple of years are going to be interesting, because what Putin is trying to do is challenge, you know, the -- what he sees as Western dominance in the world today.

VAUSE: Yes, it's interesting. It will be dangerous; it will be challenging because of the stuff that he's doing in the world. And then sort of trying to walk it back, saying he's not -- the whole thing was this sort of closed, circular loop of crazy, in many ways, for me.

HALL: It's a -- it's a very interesting thing that's coming out. Now, somebody put it, I think, interestingly as the mirroring effect. So what he will do is he will, you know, undertake activities, you know, attacking, annexing a neighboring country. You know, trying to -- trying to keep certain sectors of his own populace, you know, down and under control.

And yet, then what he does is he turns around and says, Well, no, this is really what the West is doing. We had nothing to do with any of this.

So that mirror imaging is just -- is just a fascinating psychological phenomenon.

VAUSE: It truly is. Steve, thanks for being with us. Appreciate it.

HALL: Sure.

VAUSE: When world leaders meet next month at the COP-27 climate summit in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, the head of the United Nations will stress, this will likely be their last, best chance to avert a global calamity.

Here's the rub. The same thing was said a year ago at COP-26 in Glasgow.

Still, the latest data on carbon pollution is not good. For the second time in two days, a U.N. report warns that global commitments to carbon emissions are not nearly enough. That's is those commitments were even being kept, but they're not.

If they were, they wouldn't come close to the level of carbon reduction needed to prevent the planet from heating more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. And so, once again, the U.N. secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, is

pleading with world leaders to act before it's too late.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: Global and national climate commitments are falling pitifully short. The window to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees is closing fast.

Commitments to net zero, are worth zero without the plans, policies, and actions to back it up. Our world cannot afford any more greenwashing, fake movers or late movers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:15:02]

VAUSE: Derek Van Dam has more on this. Antonio Guterres is absolutely right. But you know, this is going to take leadership and courage and bold moves.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, here we are once again, John. Right?

VAUSE: Yes.

VAN DAM: Kicking the proverbial can down the road. Another damning climate report. It's almost getting frustrating, having to repeat this time and time again. But here we are, once again.

This particular report, called the Emissions Gap Report -- it's from the United Nations. What it does is it analyzes, basically, the gap between what countries have pledged to do, versus what must be done to limit that global warning, underneath what was agreed upon in Paris in 2015, that 1.5 degrees Celsius or lower.

And unfortunately, as you heard, just a moment ago, we are falling pitifully short in this.

So the gap is this. The emissions gap report, we know that the world has already warmed 1.2 degrees Celsius since we started burning fossil fuels. Those heat-trapping gases emitted by driving our vehicles, flying in our planes.

Now, we are trying to reach this limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius. That was agreed upon in 2015 in the Paris climate accord, but what this Gap Emissions Report states, that if we continue unchecked, without any kind of current climate policy changes, we are going to warm by the end of the century to 2.8 degrees Celsius.

And unfortunately, this would become more common. Seeing drought, seeing the food insecurity. Seeing the landscape-altering wildfires that we saw over the Western U.S. the past several years.

So what do we need to do to reach these targets? Well, because the pledges agreed in 2015 in Paris aren't being reached, each year, each individual country needs to pledge more and more and more just to stay on target.

The current climate policy, this report actually calling for a 45 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 just so we can say underneath that 1.5 degree Celsius agreed-upon goal. And if we want to stay under warming of 2 degrees Celsius, we have to cut our current emissions by 30 percent.

Very complex report, but that's really the gist of it. We are just kicking the can down the road -- John.

VAUSE: Keep doing it, Derek. Thank you. Derek Van Dam for us. We appreciate the update.

Elon Musk now owns Twitter, one of the world's most influential social media platforms. And he just tweeted, "the bird is freed." Huh? What it actually means is anyone's guess.

But earlier, Musk met with employees amid reports their new boss plans to gut the company, drastically reduce staff numbers from around 7,000 maybe to 2,500.

The sackings have already begun. Three top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, all gone.

Musk will also decide if former U.S. President Donald Trump will be unblocked, allowed back on. Musk has given mixed signals on that in recent days.

On Thursday, he tried to address some of the concerns related to his ownership, telling advertisers the platform "cannot become a free-for- all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences." Hmm.

Still to come here, why the slaughter of civilians by Myanmar's military is not causing the same action and outrage as Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians. More on that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:20:22]

VAUSE: The Iranian government is calling for nationwide rallies on Friday to condemn the deadly attack on a Shia shrine. Iran's supreme leader is vowing to punish those responsible for what the government is now calling a terrorist act.

ISIS is said to have claimed responsibility, but authorities now say anti-government protesters are also to blame, releasing this video on state media of the apparent protestors who are complicit in the shrine attack.

CNN's Nada Bashir is tracking the growing unrest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, protests in Iran are once again gaining momentum, but the crackdown on demonstrators is also intensifying.

On Thursday, we saw video emerging from the city of Mahabad --

BASHIR (voice-over): -- in the West Azerbaijan province, of protester clashing with the Iranian security forces from (ph) a funeral held for a protestor who was reportedly shot dead on Wednesday. Videos emerging showing tear gas being deployed against protesters; buildings set alight, even according to Amnesty International, live fire being used against protesters.

Yet another example of the excessive and lethal force being used by the Iranian security forces against protesters, who have been taking to the streets over the last six weeks in response to the death of 22- year-old Mahsa Amini, many now calling for regime change.

BASHIR: There are also concerns that the regime could now be setting the pretext to double down on its violent and brutal crackdown, following an attack on the Shah Cheragh shrine in the Shiraz southern city on Wednesday.

BASHIR (voice-over): According to the authorities, this attack has been claimed by the Islamic State. According to state media, the regime has now identified three key assailants who they say opened fire on worshippers on Wednesday evening, killing at least 15 people and injuring 40 more, as foreign nationals.

BASHIR: But this could essentially play into the narrative that the regime has been pushing forward for weeks now: that the protests that we're seeing across the country have been stoked, encouraged, and facilitated by foreign agents, namely the United States and Israel, who they accuse of encouraging unrest and creating instability in the country.

On Thursday, Iran's armed forces said that the attack on Wednesday, which they characterized as a terrorist incident, was a product of these protests, and that those taking to the streets are complicit in this violence.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said that the Iranian regime will respond directly to this incident. And they have called now for a rally to be held on Friday against the violence that we've seen.

But there are concerns being expressed by human rights groups across the board that this could set the pretext for the Iranian regime to really double down and intensify an already brutal and deadly crackdown on peaceful protesters who continue to take to the streets, demanding regime change, demanding that their fundamental human rights are upheld and respected. And crucially, demanding that the rights of women across the country are also respected.

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: It's a done deal between Israel and Lebanon. Years of negotiations ended with an agreement defining their maritime border in the Mediterranean.

The U.S. brokered a deal which assigns ownership of major oil and gas fields in the city.

Now, the two countries are still technically at war, so the paperwork was signed by the Israeli prime minister and the Lebanese president in two different locations.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid hailed this deal as a victory for Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YAIR LAPID, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This is an historic agreement that strengthens Israel's security and Israeli's economy, and will bring stability to the region, which was the No. 1 operative of the whole thing.

AMOS HOCHSTEIN, U.S. MEDIATOR: This is clearly a historic day for two countries that never ended their state of war to be able to reach an agreement that enhances Israel's security and stability and that will ensure economic prosperity on both sides of the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Lebanon's president, Michel Aoun, downplayed some of the deal's significance, tweeting that it was a technical process without political dimensions; that it would have no impact on his country's foreign policy.

The military government in Myanmar is warning pressure from neighboring countries to put a timeframe on a proposed peace plan would create what it calls "negative implications."

That warning comes after members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met in Indonesia on Thursday to discuss the crisis.

Myanmar has been wracked by violence since the military overthrew the elected government in a bloody coup in February last year. That gave rise to a number of armed rebel groups.

And on Monday, one rebel group released video, claiming the aftermath of an airstrike by Myanmar's military that killed dozens of people. A military spokesperson denied involvement in that attack, saying they do not attack unarmed civilians.

[00:25:11]

CNN could not independently verify the information.

The Southeast Asian group says it's concerned a restore peace plan to end the violence, to start dialogue, and now allow humanitarian assistance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RETNO MARSUDI, INDONESIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The Association of Southeast Nations' Foreign Ministers express concerns and disappointment that no significant progress has been made on the implementation of the five=point consensus. The concern is clear, and some countries expressed their frustration on the lack of progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joining us now, Tom Andrews. He's the U.N. special rapporteur for Myanmar. He is in New York.

Thank you, Tom, for coming in. We appreciate it.

TOM ANDREWS, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR MYANMAR: John, thank you for having me.

VAUSE: OK. So from ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the regional body which, in theory, should have the most influence over the dictatorship in Myanmar, we heard this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSUDI (through translator): The meeting today was held with openness. There were many sensitive issues discussed, like in a family. Open discussion is important for the good of everyone. The approach to sweep problems under the rug should not be an option.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Well, also, ambassadors from 14 different countries, from Australia to the United States, issued a joint statement: "This attack underscores the military regime's responsibility for crisis and instability and its disregard for its obligation to protect civilians and respect the principles and rules of international humanitarian law."

There is a lot of talk here. Talk about talking from ASEAN. A lot of talk about how bad the regime is in Myanmar. But ultimately, talk is cheap. There's not a lot of doing going on. So why is that?

ANDREWS: Well, frankly, John, I think it's because of a lack of -- of political will. You know, there's lots of crises going on in the world, lots of areas of the world other than Myanmar where the international community is focusing its attention.

So the kinds of actions that we've seen in crises like the invasion of Ukraine, where Russia, financial institutions were isolated, assets were frozen, access to the international banking systems were ended, none of that has occurred when it comes to Myanmar.

A coordinated, clear, focused strategic approach is required to address this crisis, and we have yet to see that. And frankly, I think it's because of distraction and because of a lack of -- lack of political will.

VAUSE: The general secretary of the KIO, the Kachin Independence Organization, which was targeted here, issued a statement which read, in part, "We understand the intention of the airstrikes was largely to inflict chaos and massive pain to the public, in a large volume and with as much damage as they could inflict."

The E.U., the U.S., as well as others like Canada, Australia, they not only condemn targeting civilians in the strongest possible terms but also join in a painful regime of economic sanctions. Except, that's on Russia for the war on Ukraine.

So when it comes to non-Europeans, or those with different customs, different traditions, different religions, why the difference?

ANDREWS: It's a very good question, John. And I asked that many times. In fact, I've been asked that by hundreds of people in Myanmar that I've spoken to just over the last few weeks.

I mean, listen, that -- the junta is targeting civilians. There was a concert that people were attending. At least 60 people have died. Just last month, two helicopter gunships descended upon a school. Soldiers opened fire on children. At least 13 people were killed, including at least 11 children.

So these are war crimes. This -- these are crimes against humanity. They're escalating. Over 1 million people have been displaced. At least 2,300 people have been killed.

Entire villages are being burned to the ground. Twenty-eight thousand homes have been -- have been burned.

So this is a desperate situation. The economy has collapsed. The healthcare system has collapsed. Tens of thousands of children are going to lose their lives this year alone because of a lack of access to routine immunizations.

It is inexcusable, in my view, for the international community for not taking the kind of action that is required to take away from the junta its ability to continue these horrible, horrible massacres. And until the international community does so, and coordinates itself to do so, we're going to -- we can fully expect to see more and more of these kind of massacres.

VAUSE: At the U.N. Wednesday, you spoke about the connection between the people in Myanmar and the people of Ukraine. Here you are. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREWS: There's a connection between the people of Myanmar and the people of Ukraine. Among them is the fact that some of the very types of weapons that are being used to kill people in Ukraine are being used to kill the people of Myanmar, and they come from the very same source. They come from -- they come from Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:30:09]

VAUSE: Well, here's another connection. This is from September 8th last year from the group Justice for Myanmar. Headline reads, "Ukraine arms transfers to Myanmar are enabling the junta's terror."

Now until 2014 and the Russian takeover of Crimea, Ukraine was one of the bigger arms exporters. And even after the military coup in Myanmar, which toppled a democratically-elected government, Ukraine continued weapons sales. They also sold equipment to the military, which was, in all likelihood, used as part of the attempted genocide of the Uyghur Muslims.

You know, isn't this a salutary (ph) lesson to all nations which sell weapons around the world? Just be careful who you sell to? Because you never know when it's going to come back?

HALL: That is exactly right. That is exactly right.

You know, since the invasion -- since the coup of just last year, Russia and China, we know, have continued to sell -- to sell weapons to -- to this regime. We know that these weapons are being used to massacre civilians. We know that there were airstrikes that attacked those concert goers. Helicopter gunships descending on these children.

We know that massive weapons are being used, military weapons, attacking civilians. So you're exactly right. If you continue to sell weapons, if you continue to allow this proliferation of weapons and weapons technology, including dual-use technology, then don't be surprised when these weapons, in the hands of people like this military junta, is used to unleash fire against innocent people.

It is just absolutely incredible what's going on, literally as we speak.

VAUSE: Yes. Tom, thank you for everything that you do. Thank you for bringing a light to this, as well. It's an important story. Thank you.

ANDREWS: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Well, Russian troops losing on the battlefield, Moscow pushes on with attacks on Ukraine's power grid. Airstrikes leaving energy facilities on fire, causing near blackouts in the capital. More on that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

An update on our lead story. It now appears North Korea fired not one but two missiles, according to officials in Seoul. We're told they were short-range ballistic missiles, fired into the waters East of the Korean Peninsula.

This comes as South Korea wraps up its joint air-navy force and -- air force, navy and marine drills on its East coast.

North Korea says earlier, its launches are a response to those military exercises, which it called provocative.

This is Pyongyang's 28th missile test this year.

[00:35:04]

Parts of Ukraine's capital have been sent into darkness after the latest barrage of strikes on the energy system. Some power facilities caught on fire as Russia knocked out at least 30 percent of the region's power supply on Thursday.

Electricity was latter restored to some areas, but hours ago, officials say more than a quarter million homes in that Kyiv region were still without power.

A complete blackout in the capital was avoided only by imposing severe power restrictions.

Russia has been striking Ukraine's power system for weeks now. Ukraine says Moscow's goal is to make life more difficult for Ukrainians ahead of an unusually harsh winter.

CNN has gained an exclusive access to a power plant which has been crippled by one of these Russian attacks. CNN's Nic Robertson has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The sirens are going off. We've only just arrived at the power plant. Everyone is going into the bunker. We're going to have to go in, too.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): There's no fuss. Everyone here knows what to do. We've agreed not to show faces or name the power plant, for security reasons.

ROBERTSON: We've been given these safety jackets to wear. Officials here are telling us that it's quite normal for them to end up in the bunker several times a day.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): The coal-fired power plant hit twice since Putin began targeting electrical facilities 17 days ago.

Cards, dominoes, messaging loved ones passes the time. But as this 29- year veteran of the Soviet era plant tells me, every minute in the bunker is time wasted. They need to be up top, repairing the bomb damage.

An hour and a half later, the all-clear. Everyone back to work.

ROBERTSON: One of the first things you notice here is just how quiet it is. No generators thumping away.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Around the corner, engineers already out of the bunker, making repairs. But those cables, the easy bet. Russian cruise missiles and drones ripped through the hardest part of the plant to repair.

ROBERTSON: The drone, they say, got tangled up in the high-voltage cables up here, ripping equipment apart. All on the ground here, all around, burnt-out cables. And over here, burnt-out equipment.

And the problem, officials say, is that this part of the site was the most sensitive part. It's been offline since.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Officials here convinced Putin's power engineers are advising his military how to crash Ukraine's grid.

PAVLO BILODID, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, DTEK GROUP: For sure they know the weak place. And actually, they hit it three or four times in the same place.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): As for how long repairs will take, no one knows.

BILODID: The equipment is quite unique. To produce some of them, we need from -- from 8 to 18 months. And actually, we don't have so much time.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): The clock, despite some speedy repairs, ticking in Putin's favor. More than 40 percent of the grid taken offline in less than three weeks.

ROBERTSON: This is where the cruise missile impacted. Two drones came down over there. The pylons here were taken out. They've been repaired already. But that's the big test right now. Can Ukraine repair faster than Russia can bomb and destroy?

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Nic Robertson, CNN, at a power plant in Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Prince Harry has written a book. Speculation is rife over his memories of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and that heartbreaking funeral 25 years ago.

Back in a moment.

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VAUSE: Brazil votes for a new president Sunday, the second and final round of voting in an election that's being described as the most important in Brazil's history. Aren't they all?

Leftist former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, challenging the incumbent far-right Jair Bolsonaro.

The election comes with Brazil's economy struggling with high inflation, poor growth, and rising poverty. Neither candidate received more than 50 percent in a first-round vote earlier this month. Hence the run-off on Sunday.

Some scary moments for passengers on board a plane. The damaged plane was forced to make an emergency landing. This was after experiencing severe weather while flying from Santiago, Chile, to Asuncion, Paraguay.

Images there of the badly-damaged plane with its nose cone missing and windshield smashed. Video shared with CNN shows the frightening moments just before the landing. Look at this.

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VAUSE: That does look frightening.

Authorities say an investigation is underway. Forty-eight people were on board. The airline tells CNN all passengers and all crew made it safely to the ground.

The highly-anticipated memoir of Prince Harry will be entitled, "Spare." And it will be due to release January 10th. Originally, it was expected this year. It's unclear if Queen Elizabeth's death caused the delay, or if it will be mentioned in the book.

Proceeds will go to a number of charities.

CNN's Max Foster explains the title, "Heir and the Spare," and what's known about the contents.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: "Spare" is a reference to being the spare air. No. 2 to Prince William, effectively, growing up. And Prince Harry would often be called the spare. That would often be his nickname. And something it's that he'll analyze in this book, as we understand it.

It all starts at that very poignant moment during Princess Diana's funeral, where we saw her two young sons walking behind the coffin, everyone wondering how they were feeling, what would become of them. And this is Harry's perspective, his view on that.

According to the publishers, with this raw, unflinching honesty, "Spare" is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self- examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.

For Harry, it is his chance to tell his story. He's been frustrated that he hasn't been able to tell his side of the story as it was, as he grew up in royal life. And this is his chance to put that on the record in a book coming out in January.

I'm told by Prince William's side and by King Charles's side that they will not be making a comment. They've haven't had a preview so far either.

We'll wait to see what's in the book. Max Foster, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: He's now, like, spare four times removed, I think.

I'm John Vause. Back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. In the meantime, WORLD SPORT is up after a very short break. See you in about 16 minutes. Thanks for watching.

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