Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Wartime Visit; Bomb Cyclone. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired December 21, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN LIVE COVERAGE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: And it's an honor to be by your side in a united defense against what is brutal, brutal war wade by Putin for 300 days. It's hard to believe, 300 days you're going through this. (Inaudible) brutal assault on the Ukraine's right to exist as a nation and the attack on innocent Ukrainian people for no reason other than intimidate. And he's escalating his assault on civilians after schools, orphanages, hospitals, landmarks.

It's just -- he's trying to use winter as a weapon, but the Ukrainian people continue to inspire the world. I mean that sincerely. Not just inspire us but inspire the world with their courage and how they have chose, resilience and resolve for their future. And the American people have stood proudly with them, Democrats and Republicans, together with our allies in Europe, Japan and other places to make sure you have the financial, humanitarian and security assistance that is needed. We're going to talk about that today, and we're going to continue to strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself, particularly air defense.

And that's why we're going to be providing Ukraine with Patriot missile battery and training your forces to be able to accurately use it. Together with our partners, we're also going to continue to impose costs on the Kremlin and we'll support Ukraine pursuing just peace.

President Zelenskyy, the United States stands with the great people of Ukraine and we stand with you, you've been a great leader. And by the way, we have a famous thing that occurs once a year, to pick the Man of the Year in Time Magazine. You are the Man of the Year in the United States of America. So welcome. We have a lot to talk about. The floor is yours.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Thank you so much. Mr. President, great honor for me to be here. Your journalists, thank you so much for invitation. I really wanted to come tell, Mr. President knows about it. I couldn't do it because the situation was so difficult. Now if I'm came in that, we control the situation and because of support.

And first of all, because of your support and I really -- I understand that we have very important topics and we'll discuss them. And we're seeing so many challenges in Ukraine, in Europe, in the world. And from energy to (inaudible) on battlefield, first of all, I really -- all my appreciations from my heart, from the heart of Ukrainians, all Ukrainians, from our nation strong nation, all the appreciations to you, first of all, Mr. President, for your big support and leadership.

Of course, Europe, many countries helped us and are helping now because the war is not over. It's (inaudible) but anyway -- but that is your leadership. Thank you, first of all. Thank you so much, Mr. President. Of course, thanks for the bipartisan support. Thanks Congress. And thanks from our just ordinary people to your ordinary people, Americans., I really appreciate it.

I think it's very difficult to understand what does it mean when we say appreciate, but you really have to fill it. And thank you so much, great honor to be here.

And yesterday, I was on the bus in Bakhmut, that is the place on the east of our country. You know, all the details, we had so many phone calls and all detailing about it. And I want to give you something. One guy who's really real hero, real captain, he asked me to pass his award. He asked me to pass his award to President Biden.

You will understand. He is the captain of HIMARS battery. Yes. He's very brave. And he said give it to very brave president. And I want to give you that is the cross for military merit. That is one.

BIDEN: God love it.

ZELENSKYY: Yes. That is from him. And I have the list, hero list. Yes. I didn't read, Mr. President. I don't read. It's in Ukrainian language, but here the translation.

BIDEN: Thank you. And his name? Can I have his name? I can contact him?

ZELENSKYY: Yes, yes, yes.

BIDEN: Pablo.

ZELENSKYY: Pablo.

BIDEN: Well, undeserved but much appreciated. Thank you.

ZELENSKYY: Thank you. Thank you.

BIDEN: Thank you, thank you.

ZELENSKYY: He said that to all many of his brothers, this system safe. So thank you very much.

BIDEN: Well, we have a tradition here, and I will give it to him. My son, who fought in Iraq, they have what they call a command coin. You've seen those coins in the battlefield. I will make sure that he gets one of those.

ZELENSKYY: Give me, I will give.

BIDEN: Thank you, thank you.

ZELENSKYY: Thank you so much.

BIDEN: We appreciate it. What a great honor. Thank you, press.

(END LIVE COVERAGE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: All right. President Biden there welcoming in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. We saw, of course, President Biden continue the commitment of the United States to support Ukraine in its fight against this Russian invasion. That's gone down more than 300 days.

And from President Zelenskyy bringing, as he said, his appreciation, all my appreciation and all the appreciation of the people of Ukraine and then passing on from a captain that he was visiting with yesterday, this cross for military merit.

Let's bring back in CNN's Chief White House correspondent Phil Mattingly who was there in the room, CNN senior international correspondent Will Ripley and Kyiv, former US Ambassador to Ukraine Steve Pifer and retired Major Mike Lyons.

Phil, to you, the President, as he received that, said that he would send the command coin back to that captain, but also the quite obvious and genuine appreciation from the President of this cross that he received from the President. What did you see there in the room?

[14:40:09]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It was not expected, I can tell you that, in terms of bringing folks as we walked out of the Oval Office. And I think it was absolutely, as you heard from the President, he said, undeserved but very appreciated.

And I think it's also a very personal touch to a very real tragedy that President Zelenskyy is dealing with on a day-to-day basis in his country. President Zelenskyy alluded to the fact that, look, they have a relationship between the two of them. They speak on the phone constantly, they have video conferences fairly regularly, but this is their first face to face meeting since the invasion. And adding that personal element to what are expected to be very intensive discussions over the course of the next two hours.

I think is a level of understanding of, I think, personally how President Biden operates and kind of the depth in which he approaches issues in moments like this, but also a recognition of the necessity of displaying this to the American public as well.

So much of this trip is the obvious symbolism, the obvious parallels, perhaps, to the Churchill speech to Congress in the few days after Pearl Harbor, but also it underscores the moment that Ukraine is in a war that is very much at a stalemate moment right now, where more assistance will be needed, more commitment will be needed. At the same time that the Western coalition that has stood steadfastly behind them is without question, dealing with their own individual domestic issues. There is a very real concern about some level of exhaustion on the side of the coalition's part.

And so, making sure that the actual realities on the ground and what he can bring to help demonstrate that, I think, was critical, given not just what's going to happen over the course of the next several hours, which will be incredibly important, but also what's going to happen over the next several months, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes. The several months of winter there in Ukraine, and that brings me to you, Will Ripley. The President said that Russia is now using winter as a weapon. We've seen for months now in preparation for these colder temperatures, Russia hitting the infrastructure, knocking the power grid. And the Ukrainians, they're having to suffer through the darkness and the cold as this now goes on into the beginning of 2023.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Every single day, Victor. People who lived a life, a living standard in most places in Ukraine, comparable to the average American with electricity, running water, the comforts of home that we so easily take for granted. And now they're living with a few hours of electricity a day in many cases. Sometimes the inability to cook, the inability to heat their homes and they have to go to tents to warm up that the government has set up.

Times are tough for a lot of people here in Ukraine, and that's away from the front lines. Of course, the front lines are a whole different story where people in their homes, at any hour of the day or night, run the risk of having Russian artillery destroy their home, kill them or their loved ones. But anywhere else in Ukraine, every city in Ukraine is being touched and is sacrificing, and suffering because the power grid is operating at such a limited capacity because of these relentless Russian airstrikes.

Even as President Zelenskyy tweeted that he was on the way to go visit with President Biden, the air raid sirens went off across the country. That happens every single day here.

But I just have to also, as I was watching that extraordinary moment and President Zelenskyy giving President Biden that hero's medal. All I could think of is that this guy in many ways appears to be made for this moment and it would have been improbable to think of that given his background. He was a television comedian. He was very famous, probably Ukraine's most famous comedian, but he was not a serious, hardened character when all of this began, certainly when his political career began. He was popular, yes, but that popularity has now transcended to this new level. He has inspired people here in Ukraine.

And he's so confident in his ability to lead this country through this war that the elections scheduled for next year are still going on. He is still going to run again for president. He has not declared martial law and extended his term. He's going to run. And the odds are overwhelming that he will win by a landslide, because there's really nobody else in Ukraine that feels that they could do this better than he's doing it right now. The way that he schmooze, the way that he deals with Hollywood figures, politicians, just watching him in action. It's going to be really fascinating, Victor, to watch him meeting with members of Congress and giving that primetime speech later today.

BLACKWELL: Major, what's your reaction to what you saw there?

MIKE LYONS, RETIRED US ARMY: Yes. As a former captain of the artillery in combat, I didn't show the courage I'm sure that captain showed, but I was taken by that award. And the fact that he's a battery commander for HIMARS, they get up every day and defend their country. They have men and women in that battery. They have to survive. That's a weapon system making a difference on the ground tactically.

[14:45:00]

For what he did there, for what President Zelenskyy did in that, and highlight that to me just shows the level of appreciation I think he has for what US forces are doing there. But again, that equipment there, that's a difference maker and as a soldier looking at that, I was very moved by it.

BLACKWELL: Ambassador, as we wrap this to you, we, of course, have talked in the last segment about what President Zelenskyy wants to hear from President Biden, what they want to know about the support that will be sustained throughout the rest of this war. What does the US want to hear from Zelenskyy while he's here?

STEVEN PIFER, FORMER US AMABASSADOR TO UKRAINE: I think what President Biden will want to hear is to get some idea as to how President Zelenskyy sees the next several months playing out. What is Zelenskyy aiming to achieve? And that will be useful in terms of framing the kinds of assistance that the United States can provide in the coming months.

Because it is a delicate period, it's now winter. There was, I think, a fairly general expectation among Western observers that the pace of fighting might slow down, although some of the senior Ukrainian officials have suggested no. If they see an opportunity, they will go ahead and take advantage of it.

I just like to comment one thing. Again, it's kind of remarkable here as yesterday, President Zelenskyy was on the front line. And he does that. He regularly visits the front line and talks to the troops in the field. And yesterday, when he was in Bakhmut, that's a town that the Russians have been trying to take for more than four months now, and they've not succeeded.

When they showed film of Zelenskyy presenting awards to Ukrainian military personnel in Bakhmut, you could hear in the background the boom of the artillery. He's close to the front. Vladimir Putin has never gone near to the front. A day later, he's in the United States to bring that memento from his visit to Bakhmut and present it to President Biden. I think that was a nice personal touch. I think it also is indicative of the personal bond that President Zelenskyy is trying to afford with President Biden because he recognizes that Biden is critical both to Ukraine's support, but also critical to leading this coalition that has emerged in the last ten months to support Ukraine, isolate Russia, and impose economic sanctions on Russia.

BLACKWELL: All right. Ambassador Pifer, Major Lyons, Phil Mattingly, Will Ripley, thank you. Of course, we will see those two gentlemen again before that address before Congress this evening.

After an 18-month long investigation, several hearings and stunning testimony, the January 6 Committee will release its final report. We'll talk about what you should expect ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: More than 90 million people are under winter weather alerts. A brewing bomb cyclone threatens much of the US. Heavy snow, icy conditions, potentially life threatening cold or expected over the next few days. More than 80% of the population will see below freezing temperatures, 80%. With wind chill alerts stretching from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. Blizzard conditions in some areas are expected to make travel impossible during the busy holiday week. Several airlines issue travel waivers ahead of the storm. CNN's Omar Jimenez is live at Chicago's O'Hare airport, which is forecast to be one of the hardest hit cities there in Chicago. How are people preparing their, Omar?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor. I mean, one, they're looking at the forecast, they're looking at what's coming ahead and they're trying to plan around it. I mean, most of the passengers or not most, I should say some, a good portion of the passengers we talked today were folks who showed up days earlier than they initially were going to, to try and get home or to visit family for the holidays this weekend, including one we spoke to who -- she was just trying to get her entire family together last minute because she didn't want to take any chances with what is forecast to come. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA ROMEO, CHICAGO TRAVELER: We were planning to travel on Saturday when we saw the storm growing. We decided it'd better to leave before the storm hits because we didn't know what we'd be faced with on Saturday. So we got online to see if we could actually make it work on Monday and we did.

SHARON BASKIN, CHICAGO TRAVELER: The native Chicagoan knows you have three terrible months a year, and we're coming into them now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Look, I'd argue it's more than three months but, hey, we're here. People in Chicago, in the Midwest, they're used to snow and ice, things like this, but the National Weather Service here in Chicago said we're going to see that's not as common, it's not just the falling snow. It's going to be the rapid drop in temperature to negative 30 and below. The blowing snow that will come from wind gusts that could get over 50 points, create low visibility. And, of course, all of that combination with the demand of trying to get home for Christmas, creates a potentially dangerous situation that will affect not just travel by air, but, of course, the many people who will be driving, or at least attempting to drive home for Christmas. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Yes. The roads will be a mess. I was trying to figure out if you're saying January, February, March, what about December which can be rough in Chicago as well.

JIMENEZ: Look, I mean, I wasn't going to push back. She's from here. She's got some years and experience on me, but still I think more than three months.

BLACKWELL: More than three months, all right. Omar Jimenez for us there. Thank you, Omar.

Officials along the southern border say they have moved over 9,000 migrants out of El Paso over the last week. The mayor of that city says they absolutely cannot sustain this influx much longer. Well, he joins us ahead.

[14:55:00]

The House January 6 Committee is poised to publish its final report today. It outlines the findings of their investigation into the insurrection at the US capitol. CNN senior legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid is with us now. So, Paula, we're expecting it to come out at any moment now. What will you be focused on most?

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Victor. Here in Washington we're still waiting for this report to be released and, of course, we're looking for any new information because we know this committee or for the past over a year and a half, they've been gathering an enormous amount of evidence through interviews and documents. And we've gotten a preview, we've gotten some highlights during those hearings over the summer and even a hearing and a summary of the report that they released earlier this week. We want to see how they expand on that.