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Dems Could Confirm Biden Judicial Nominees; Russia Using Dummy Missiles to Wear Out Ukrainian Air Defenses; Man Overboard Survivor Tells His Story; China Eases COVID-19 Restrictions Slightly after Weeks of Protests; Russia Sends Creepy Letters to Ukrainian Diplomats; Inside a Cryptocurrency Mine. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired December 03, 2022 - 05:00   ET

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

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ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, we're live at the World Cup in Doha, where everything is on the line for the U.S. men's soccer team as it prepares to face the Netherlands.

All eyes are on Georgia's Senate runoff. We'll take a look at why this matters, when it comes to judicial appointments for President Biden.

Plus police in Idaho say they have new information about the crime scene where four college students were stabbed to death.

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BRUNHUBER: We are just a few days away for the runoff election for Georgia's U.S. Senate seat. Friday was the last day of early voting. Nearly 1.5 million voted early by the end of Thursday.

On Tuesday, Democratic incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will face off once again. A new CNN poll by SSRS found Warnock is leading Walker by about 4 percentage points.

The poll indicates George's Black voters overwhelmingly back Warnock by 96 percent. Coming Tuesday is the formal Election Day in Georgia, CNN's Eva McKend talked to Georgians a last day of early voting. And filed this report.

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EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER (voice-over): On the final day of early voting, long lines did not deter Georgians from heading to the polls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This runoff is so important.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is a sense of accomplishment to come in and get it done early.

MCKEND (voice-over): Just four days until Tuesday's runoff and neither candidate is letting up.

HERSCHEL WALKER (R-GA), U.S. SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I say, enough is enough. Now what we've got to do is we've got to get out and vote.

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): We can't rest on our laurels. We -- it is way too early to do a happy dance.

MCKEND (voice-over): New CNN polling shows Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock holds a slim lead over Republican challenger Herschel Walker.

Among likely runoff voters, 52 percent say they plan to support Warnock, 48 percent say they plan to vote for Walker. Both candidates enjoy overwhelming support from their respective parties. Independents, however, break in favor of Warnock 61 percent to 36 percent but make up a relatively small slice of likely voters.

Turnout has been strong during the early voting period but the overall turnout still lags behind the Georgia Senate runoffs in January 2021 with this year's runoff having fewer days of early voting under the State's new voting law.

WARNOCK: Hello, Kennesaw State.

MCKEND (voice-over): Both candidates making their closing arguments to voters with Walker continuing to tie Warnock to President Joe Biden.

WALKER: He went to Georgia and said that he was going to represent Georgia but what is -- who is he representing?

Joe Biden.

MCKEND (voice-over): And Warnock urging voters to keep pushing, not taking the early vote totals for granted and maintaining the race is about competence and character.

WARNOCK: Georgia, I need you to do it one more time.

MCKEND: As for now, Georgia remains the center of the political universe as it holds the only Senate contest that has not been called; at least, for the next few days -- in Atlanta, Eva McKend, CNN.

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BRUNHUBER: And there's a reason why interest in this race remains intense even though Democrats are guaranteed a majority in the Senate.

Speaking with Republicans who voted for Donald Trump -- and many will tell you that they backed him despite the tweets, despite his personality, despite his shortcomings -- Over his time he seated about 230 judges at the federal level.

And then start with the Supreme Court, Trump appointed three, tilting the balance of that body to the Right for potentially decades. So far President Biden had one high court justice confirmed.

On the influential U.S. Court of Appeals, Trump chose 55 judges, Biden so far fewer than half of that and 174 judges on the U.S. district courts for the former president, 61 for his successor.

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BRUNHUBER: Joining us from Chicago is CNN legal analyst and civil rights attorney, Areva Martin.

Thank you for being with here with us. I want to start with first of all having that 50-50 Senate as we have had.

What effect has this had on the nomination pipeline?

How have Republicans been able to either slow down the picks or affect the type of judges that Biden has nominated?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, we know, Kim, that Donald Trump has had up to a point over 200 federal judges and at least one-third of the U.S. Supreme Court justices. Joe Biden hasn't had that opportunity to appoint as many federal judges.

And having that 51, in the Senate, if Raphael Warnock wins, will give Joe Biden an opportunity to have a much easier time to appoint those types of judges that will balance out the Donald Trump judges.

We know that some of the appointees for Donald Trump have acted in a way consistent with conservative principles and ideologies and have been less willing to bow to what many pundits believe to be the law.

They have been favorable to Donald Trump. We saw that with respect to the federal judge in the Mar-a-Lago case. So this 51st seat in the Senate would be a huge benefit to the Democrats.

BRUNHUBER: But that's the question I guess, if Biden doesn't have to worry so much about courting Republican support or about alienating the moderate or Right leaning Democrats, do you think he will be more aggressive in the types of judges that he can recruit?

Or would that go against his brand as a centrist who can work with Republicans, which might be relevant, right, if he plans to run for a second term?

MARTIN: Well, I think Joe Biden has proven that he definitely can work across the aisle. He promised that he would do so and he has done that. He has gotten major pieces of legislation, like the infrastructure bill, passed because of that.

But he is also proven that he will step out of that role and he will act in a way that is more consistent with what the Democrats want to see him do, with respect to the student loan debt forgiveness that he ushered through.

So I think in this last two years, particularly since Democrats don't have control of the House, we're going to see a more emboldened Joe Biden. We're going to see a Joe Biden that understands what the assignment is.

And that assignment is going to try to even out the federal bench and he has an opportunity if Warnock wins the election in Georgia to do so and I think be far more aggressive with the respect to the appointment of liberal and liberal-leaning judges.

BRUNHUBER: And given that Republicans will control the House -- and they have vowed to grind the Biden administration's agenda to a halt -- appointing judges may be one of the most important things that Biden can actually get done.

So what are some of the big issues that could be impacted by these judicial picks?

MARTIN: Well, we know there is abortion. That is a big issue that has really galvanized with respect to midterms. There's still gun control issues. There is the affirmative action issue. There are so many hot button issues that would come before the federal courts indefinitely before the U.S. Supreme Court.

And there are all of these potential charges against Donald Trump. We know that he's under investigation in several jurisdictions.

So the issue is, is Donald Trump himself going to be held to account for some of the investigations that he is under and might he find himself having to go before the federal court, as we've seen in respect to the Mar-a-Lago case?

So there is a lot at stake in respect to the federal bench. And Democrats have not been always so focused on judicial appointments in a way that we have seen Republicans do over the last couple of decades.

So this will give Joe Biden, I think, an opportunity to really focus an issue where many Democrats feel like Democrats have not been as consistent or as diligent as Republicans have been.

BRUNHUBER: That's a great point. That something that's really animated conservatives; liberals, not so much.

So how much opportunity do you think Biden will actually have?

Are there still lots of vacancies coming up?

And any chance of another Supreme Court justice, do you think?

MARTIN: Oh, I hope, so I think many Democrats are hoping that Joe Biden gets another appointment. He made that promise that he would appoint the first African American female to the U.S. Supreme Court. He made good on that promise.

But there is a lot of hope, maybe that there's going to be retirement. Obviously we don't want anyone to expire. But perhaps a retirement would give him an opportunity to make another appointment.

But we know that the federal judiciary-- I live in the state of California and I've been a part of that judicial review process when Kamala Harris was a senator in the state of California. And the federal courts are overcrowded.

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MARTIN: And there is a need for additional judges, pretty much at every level of our federal court system. So there is a lot of opportunity for Joe Biden to try to even out some of those appointments that Donald Trump made when he was president.

BRUNHUBER: So much on the line. We will find out the results on Election Day next week. Thanks so much for speaking with us, Areva Martin, we really appreciate it.

MARTIN: Thanks, Kim.

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BRUNHUBER: And Georgia's runoff between Democratic senator Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker is now three days away. CNN's special coverage is set to start at 4 pm Eastern next Tuesday.

U.S. House lawmakers are racing to finish their investigation into the January 6th insurrection before the current congressional term ends. Still undecided is whether to refer the committee's work to the U.S. Justice Department for potential prosecution. CNN's Sara Murray has those details.

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REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): The clerk will call the roll.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Running up against an end of year deadline --

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIR, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We're close to the putting down the pen and going to print. The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol convening privately today to weight its final moves and discuss its final report.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D), MEMBER, JANUARY 6 SELECT COMMITTEE: If we don't make a recommendation and this is not relevant to Mr. Trump or any other person, it doesn't mean necessarily that we don't think they shouldn't investigate. But we want to make sure we are on firm ground if we make any recommendations over the DOJ.

MURRAY: The committee still weighing what to do about criminal referrals. The panel also discussing what to how to present evidence of possible obstruction, perjury and witness tampering in its final report and deciding whether to hold accountable to five GOP lawmakers, including House Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Congressman Jim Jordan for refusing to comply with committee subpoenas.

REP. MO BROOKS (R-AL): I've got a message that I need you to take to your heart and take back home and along the way, stop at the Capitol.

THOMPSON: The ayes have it.

MURRAY: Committee Chair Bennie Thompson telling reporters, there are three options. Refer the lawmakers to the Ethics Committee, hold them in contempt of Congress or quote, do nothing. The committee also vowing to make interviews with more than 1000 witnesses and volumes of other evidence available to the public.

SCHIFF: We are also going to be releasing the evidence, which maybe the most important thing. The voluminous transcripts, the documents and emails -- we want to make sure that that is put before the American people.

MURRAY: As McCarthy is still scrambling to secure the votes to become the speaker the next Congress --

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): We'll take the speaker's fight to the floor.

MURRAY: warns the January 6 committee to preserve all of its records and transcripts.

LOFGREN: They have been pretty clear that they'd like to undermine the work that we have done but we are going to prevent that. We're going to release all the information we've collected so it cannot be selectively edited and spun.

MURRAY (voice-over): Also waiting on those transcripts, the Department of Justice. The committee says DOJ will see them when the public does.

In the meantime, federal prosecutors are moving ahead. Trump's former White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, and his deputy, Patrick Philbin, spotted at court today, after a judge ordered them to provide additional grand jury testimony in DOJ's criminal probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 election -- Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

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BRUNHUBER: New European sanctions against Russian oil could have a global impact when they take effect next week. Coming up, we'll explain why the E.U. and its allies have put a price cap on Russian crude being sold around the world.

Plus Ukraine says Moscow is trying a new strategy to deplete its air defenses. Why Russia is reportedly firing dummy missiles and why could be a major problem for Ukraine, stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The European Union and other countries are once again targeting Russian oil. That bloc, along with the G7, have agreed to set the $60 barrel price cap on that crude.

Some E.U. members wanted a much lower cap of $30 or $40 a barrel. Now the decision has come ahead of the European Union's embargo on Russian oil traveling by sea, which takes effect on Monday.

Together they represent one of the most comprehensive attempts yet to cut into Russian oil revenues, which helped fund the war in Ukraine. The head of the European Commission explained how the price cap will work. Here she is.

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URSULA VAN DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: This price cap has three objectives. First, it strengthens the effects of our sanctions. Second, it will further diminish Russia's revenues.

And thirdly, at the same time, it will stabilize global energy markets because it allows some Russian seaborne oil to be traded broker (ph) transported by E.U. operators to their countries, as long as it is sold below the cap.

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BRUNHUBER: Global energy experts admit they cannot predict what impact the price cap will have on the oil market or how Moscow might respond.

Now in Ukraine, new indications that Russia is preparing to evacuate civilians from some occupied towns in the Zaporizhzhya region. One community had posted a notice from pro Russian officials asking residents to prepare for a possible evacuation.

Ukraine says that Russian troops have already withdrawn from three settlements in the region.

Meanwhile, new video shows the aftermath of a Russian rocket strike in Kharkiv region. Ukrainian officials say a rocket tore through this apartment building on Thursday, wounding two people. The rocket apparently took out an entire chunk of the building, leaving it in ruins.

But some of the missiles Russia has been firing on Ukraine are reportedly dummies. Ukrainian military those are nuclear capable but don't have any kind of explosive warheads. But Ukraine says that they are far from harmless and Russia is using them for a reason. For more, Will Ripley joins us from Kyiv.

So Will, explain to us what is that reason then for using those dummy missiles?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, when you look at the attack last week on, largely, civilian infrastructure targets, Russia launched over a period of about four hours, over 70 projectiles.

Some of those were rockets and missiles that had live warheads and others were these 1980s nuclear capable missiles that, if you look at the video, they are big. They are obviously hurtling through the air at tremendous speed.

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RIPLEY: And if they hit a target, they can cause a lot of damage. They have fuel inside. They can cause an explosion.

So even if there was a warhead, that could be destructive. But what Ukrainians think the strategy here is, is that by overwhelming Ukraine's air defense systems and launching a mixture of these older, dummy missiles and then newer missiles that have warheads, there is a greater likelihood of inflicting huge damage on the energy -- the power grid here in Ukraine.

In fact the foreign minister said last night they're bracing themselves for a massive Russian attack in the coming days, on the power grid with the intent of trying to knock out power across the country.

Here in Kyiv right now, they are at about 70 percent capacity. And the Russian goal is to weaponize winter with these colder temperatures, knock out power to as many people as possible in as many places as possible.

So by launching these dummy missiles, it makes it more difficult for the Ukrainians to shoot everything down. Think about their success rate. They launched more than 70 missiles, the Ukrainians shot down more than 50 of them. That still leaves though about 20 hitting their targets.

It's just impossible to do all of them down, even with a very accurate and increasingly powerful missile defense systems. But Kim, certainly the fear here is that Russia will continue to try and overwhelm the missile defenses as they target the power grid, just as they've just rebuilt the systems and got them back online.

It could be a very difficult period ahead here in Ukraine, which is why they're asking for Patriot missile defense systems from the United States and other missile defense systems as soon as possible, to be able to shoot down more of these things.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, the challenge as they restore the power, things are still getting knocked out. Millions, I understand, are still in the dark there in Ukraine. What is the latest on that front of trying to get power back for so

many people in Ukraine?

RIPLEY: Yes, it's really a struggle. Here in Kyiv, people are dealing with power cuts for several hours every day. Often they are on a rotating basis. They are scheduled and some people can kind of plan their lives around when they know they're going to have electricity and when they're not.

But it's a much more dire situation when you are farther outside the capital, when you get to these areas where, sometimes, they can go for most of the day with no power and only have electricity for a few hours every day.

Especially if someone is living at a higher level floor in an older building, where you need the elevator to go up and down, otherwise it is a trudge through darkly, you know very dark stairwells.

And obviously with temperatures plummeting it can be very, very arduous for people that are trying to deal with those conditions. But I will say that I am observing just in my first hours here on the ground here, just incredible resilience, when you have these small businesses that are all equipped in many cases with generators.

When the lights are, off they fire off the generators and continue to operate. They are still serving, you know, a smaller menu or they're still serving coffee but they're moving forward.

And that really is the overall spirit that we're feeling on the ground here in Kyiv and across Ukraine people are determined, despite what Russia, brings that life will go on, even though it may be very difficult depending on how successful this anticipated attack is.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, resilience is the word as you said, Will Ripley in Kyiv. Thanks so much.

New developments in the stabbing deaths of four college students in Idaho. We'll bring you the latest in the murder mystery that has gripped the U.S.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it started going getting back toward nighttime again, the water started getting colder. And at that time, I thought, you know, how much longer am I going to have to be out here?

BRUNHUBER (voice-over): He survived treading water for 20 hours after falling off a cruise ship. Now he is sharing his story. That is coming up. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back, to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber, this is CNN NEWSROOM.

Investigators of the murders of four college students in Idaho last month, say they have cleared another person of any wrongdoing. Now all the people on the lease of the home, where the killings took place, have been ruled out as suspects. But many questions remain. CNN's Veronica Miracle reports.

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VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've now gotten confirmation from detectives that they have now spoken to that sixth person on the lease. They say the sixth person moved out before the start of the school year and was not home at the time of the attacks.

They are saying that this person did not have any involvement in those murders. So now we know that the two surviving roommates, as well as the sixth person on the lease, have been cleared in these murders.

In terms of the investigation, there is still no suspect, no motive and no murder weapon. And detectives are working around the clock to try to get some information out. They say that they have to withhold a lot of the advancements that they have been making, because it could compromise the investigation.

Which is really tough for this community. It is important to reiterate though, that the entirety, essentially, of the Moscow police department is working on this in addition to the FBI, as well as a lot of Idaho state police officers who have come into the city to help and assist the Moscow police department.

So there is progress being made, according to the police. But the community is reeling for answers. Students from here at the University of Idaho actually get out of school at the end of next week, for the semester. And they won't be coming back until mid January.

I asked university officials what they plan on doing in terms of security. They said they're going to have to revisit that plan, next year when students get back and see how this investigation unfolds day by day -- Veronica Miracle, CNN, Moscow, Idaho.

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BRUNHUBER: We're learning much more about the man who went overboard from his cruise ship and survived as much as 15 hours in the shark infested Gulf of Mexico. Treading water, praying for help, you will remember this video of the U.S. Coast Guard rescuing James Michael Grimes.

We're hearing from CNN's Randi Kaye he has no memory of how he fell into the water and no idea how he survived. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES MICHAEL GRIMES, RESCUED CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER: I wanted to see my family and I was dead set on making it out of there, you know?

I was never accepting that "This is it. This is going to be the end of my life."

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): James Michael Grimes has a story to tell. And it's nothing short of a miracle that he survived to tell it.

As he told ABC's "Good Morning America," he was on a cruise, with 18 members of his family, last month, when suddenly he ended up overboard.

GRIMES: My worst fear is drowning and that was something I did not want to have to face.

KAYE (voice-over): It was Thanksgiving Eve. The 28-year-old says he spent the day, having fun, with family, which included him taking part in this air guitar contest.

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KAYE (voice-over): He won a free drink, at the contest but says he was not drunk. Later, around 11 PM, his sister said he excused himself to go to the restroom. But he told ABC he doesn't recall going to the bathroom or falling overboard.

GRIMES: When I came to regain consciousness, I was in the water with no boat in sight.

KAYE (voice-over): How he managed to stay afloat, when he was passed out in the water, is a mystery.

GRIMES: I can't float myself even when I'm trying to. So there had to be, you know, the Lord was with me, when I was out there, because something was holding me up, the whole time, while I was passed out.

KAYE (voice-over): His family had no idea James had fallen off the Carnival Valor ship and didn't tell anyone on board the ship, he was missing, until the next day.

More than 12 hours had passed, since James was last seen, by the time the ship alerted the Coast Guard. Their search area included more than 7,000 nautical square miles, about the size of Massachusetts, all the while James was treading water, in the Gulf of Mexico, an area frequented by sharks.

GRIMES: I thought it was a shark. I mean, I was swimming in one direction. It had more like a flat mouth and it came up and bumped one of my legs and I kicked it with the other leg. It scared me, not knowing what it was or, at the time, how big it was.

KAYE (voice-over): As it started to get dark again, James feared he wouldn't survive another cold night at sea, when suddenly he saw a tanker ship. As he swam toward it, the Coast Guard spotted James, flapping his arms, in the water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

KAYE (voice-over): The Coast Guard believes James had been in the water, more than 15 hours. His daring rescue, caught on camera and just in the nick of time.

RICHARD CLARK HOEFLE, RESCUER: I swam to him as fast as I could. As I got to him, I shoved the rescue sling, under his arms and he collapsed into it. He had nothing left.

KAYE (voice-over): Not even his clothing.

GRIMES: First thing I actually told him was "I don't have any clothes on," because I didn't. I done stripped out of everything.

He said, "That's fine, all right."

I was just like, "OK." And he told me to hold on to this life vest, when I was just thinking, "Thank you. You know, you're like a guardian angel, coming down for me."

KAYE (voice-over): That guardian angel and the others hoisted him up to the helicopter. He was suffering from hypothermia but remarkably not a single cut or broken bone.

GRIMES: The fall didn't kill me, you know, sea creatures didn't eat me. I felt like I was meant to get out of there.

KAYE: And he did say that he saw a stick floating by in the water, he thought it was bamboo so he snacked on that for a bit but that is all he had while he was in the water. And it really is truly incredible that he survived.

The water temperature was about 70 degrees. But there was wind, there were waves, there were, of course, big fish. And there is a Coast Guard lieutenant, who told CNN that, in his 17 years on the job, he has never seen such a rescue quite like this one.

Most people who go overboard on a ship do not survive. According to a group who tracks this stuff, in 2019, 25 people went overboard and only nine survived -- Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach, Florida.

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BRUNHUBER: A senior U.S. diplomat says weeks of anti lockdown protests across China appear to have had some impact on China's leadership. While there has been no public declaration to end the government's zero COVID policies, harsh restrictions are being eased in some places.

For more on what has been happening recently across China, here is CNN's Selina Wang in Beijing.

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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chinese authorities are cracking down hard and fast on protesters. But it appears their voices have been heard and are even reaching the very top.

An E.U. official told CNN that Chinese leader Xi Jinping told the European Council president that protesters were mainly students, frustrated after years of COVID. And Xi apparently said Omicron is less deadly, which makes the government feel more open to further relaxing COVID measures.

We don't know the exact language Xi used. But this is a big deal on several fronts. For one, authorities have been censoring all evidence of the protests at home. And here's the supreme leader apparently acknowledging that they have it.

And after years of denizing (ph) COVID-19, this is a big and clear shift. But it doesn't mean that zero COVID is going away. There's been no road map announced or talks of transitioning away from zero COVID.

And video show hazmat clad police and hogs forcibly pulling and dragging a man from his home. Apparently the man had been identified as a close contact and is trying to avoid getting sent to a mass quarantine facility.

Many of them are terrible, run down and in unsanitary conditions. There are many cases over the past few years that we have seen of people being forcibly dragged to quarantine. Countless videos of authorities and COVID enforcers using excess force or violence.

But what makes this case really unique is that, this time, authorities actually apologized and put out a statement, saying that they are reprimanding those responsible.

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WANG: And we are seeing, as well, some small but significant changes being made to COVID rules. Some places are lifting lockdowns and relaxing COVID testing rules. With that being said, our lives here are still very restricted.

I still need a recent COVID test to enter most public areas. We're still tracked everywhere we go and forces scan our health codes. And there's still the threat of lockdowns and quarantine that always hangs over you.

And the reality is, health experts say China cannot just easily walk away from zero COVID. Because instead of focusing on boosting vaccinations and the country's infrastructure, China for the last few years has been pouring all of its resources into enforcing zero COVID- 19 -- Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Ukrainian diplomatic offices have been inundated with suspicious letters and mail bombs in recent days. Now the country's foreign minister talks exclusively with CNN about who could be behind them. That is ahead.

Plus a grim mood in Russia as the war in Ukraine shows no end in sight.

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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine says its diplomatic outposts have become targets of a fear campaign. That's after 17 Ukrainian embassies and consulates received either letter bombs or suspicious packages in recent days.

In some of these cases, the letters contained separate animal eyes. One package exploded at the embassy in Madrid on Wednesday, injuring an employee.

Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke exclusively with CNN about who may be behind it.

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DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Well, it started with an explosion in the embassy of Ukraine, in Spain. But what followed was this explosion was more weird. I would say, even, sick.

[05:45:00]

KULEBA: Because we started to receive letters with eyes, animal eyes, cut off.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Animal eyes?

KULEBA: Animal eyes, yes.

In some cases or in one case, it is most probably an eye of a cow and an eye of a pig, in another case.

CHANCE: Let me ask you, who do you suspect?

Who does Ukraine suspect of being behind this?

KULEBA: Well, of course, I feel tempted to speak -- to name Russia, straight away, because, first of all, you have to answer the question, who benefits from that?

It is, definitely, this campaign that is aimed at sowing fear and terrorizing Ukrainian diplomats. I think it is either Russia itself or someone who sympathizes to the Russian cause.

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BRUNHUBER: And security has now been stepped up at Ukrainian diplomatic offices around the world. A short time ago, Russia's foreign ministry responded to Dmytro Kuleba's suggestion that Moscow could be behind the packages. It issued a statement calling him, quote, "psycho."

Economic sanctions, a failing military campaign and grim prospects ahead. That is what Russia is facing as it heads into the first winter of its war in Ukraine. And as Fred Pleitgen reports, the mood in Moscow is reflecting it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As Moscow lights up for the holiday season, the festive mood is dampened by a dose of melancholy. And there seems no end in sight to what the Kremlin calls, its special military operation, in Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think the operation is not going well, to put it mildly, because there are many losses on our side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't know what the goal of the operation is but it's not reaching it.

PLEITGEN: After Russian forces were forced to retreat from large parts of northeast, eastern and southern Ukraine, many here don't even want to talk about what is happening on the battlefield.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): To this question, I don't know what to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is a provocative question. I don't want to answer it.

PLEITGEN: Even after the Kremlin ordered a partial mobilization, drafting around 300,000 Russians between September and early November, gains have been hard to come by for Moscow's forces, in Ukraine. Still, many Russians say, they trust their leadership's decision- making.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): As far as the military operation goes, I can only say one thing, that it is underway and that I should not comment on it, because we all support our president of the Russian Federation.

PLEITGEN: And, Russian President Vladimir Putin is asking for more support and patience, promising things will turn around.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We, as all of you here rightfully said, we must achieve our goals and we will achieve them, in the end.

PLEITGEN: but increasing numbers of boarded up shops, show Russia's economy is running out of steam, as sanctions bite and some goods are becoming scarce.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Of course, many things we have grown used to buying have disappeared but life goes on. We have to adjust somehow.

PLEITGEN: Economic expert Sergey Zhavoronkov tells me he fears the economic woes could lead to wider discontent.

SERGEY ZHAVORONKOV, ECONOMIC EXPERT: It is unknown effect. A short victorious war may provoke enthusiasm but if the war goes on endlessly and does not lead to the desired outcome, comes disappointment.

PLEITGEN: For now, the lights remain bright in Moscow, even as dark clouds of economic uncertainty loom over the Russian capital -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, we will take you inside a crypto mine and show you one company that says it's managed to turn a profit amid the crypto winter. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: In what's been called the crypto winter, digital currency companies are falling like dominoes, following the FTX implosion. The latest casualty is Bitfront, a crypto exchange backed by the Japanese social media app Line. It says it's shutting down after failing to overcome turmoil in the industry.

They claim the decision wasn't driven by the collapse of FTX. Meanwhile, crypto lender BlockFi filed for bankruptcy this week, citing significant exposure to the FTX exchange as well as its sister hedge fund.

Now despite the turmoil, crypto mining is still a hot prospect, as Anna Stewart shows us in this report from Sweden.

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ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, this is what a cryptocurrency mine looks like, rows and rows of computers. In fact, there are 116,000 here.

As you can hear, it sounds pretty noisy and I can say that it feels really hot up close to these machines. There's about a 30-degree centigrade difference though between here and here under one of the big bends where you're getting the cold air from outside.

So you can feel the energy that is coming out of these lots of power a small city, one of the reasons crypto mining can be just so controversial. But that is why Hive Blockchain Technologies have set up shops here in the north of Sweden. Come take a look why.

Outside, some 500 meters along the River Lulea is a hydrogen power plant, a source of abundant cheap and renewable energy. JOHANNA THORNBLAD, PRESIDENT, HIVE BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGIES: This is the energy that is powering the Boden community and our data center that is located just nearby so this is also one of the main reasons that Hive has decided to bet on the Boden community.

STEWART: Given Europe is in an energy crisis, there will be people that think this is renewable energy. Should it be used for cryptomining?

Shouldn't it be used to power people's homes and industry, keep lights on in hospitals?

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STEWART: What do you say to that?

THORNBLAD: There are not enough inhabitants or companies to use all the energy that is available, so the community of Boden was inviting data centers to come to use this renewable stranded energy really.

STEWART: One crypto mining company is not just turning a profit in the midst of a crypto winter but also trying to forge a greener future. There are nearer term plans to turn the excess heat from the crypto mining into something more fruitful.

THORNBLAD: In the spring, we're going to support a Swedish company called Agtira. So they're building a huge, big greenhouse just at the back of our data center. And so we will have tomatoes and cucumbers grown all year round in the very north of Sweden.

STEWART: Wow, that's incredible.

THORNBLAD: It's really incredible. And if you look at going to room to room it's like crypto cucumbers.

STEWART: Crypto cucumber.

Capture it and use it. No waste of energy.

THORNBLAD: No waste of energy.

STEWART (voice-over): Anna Stewart, CNN, Boden, northern Sweden.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, that wraps this hour up of CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Kim Brunhuber, you can follow me on Twitter at Kim Brunhuber. For viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. The rest of the world, it's "Leading Women."