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CNN INTERNATIONAL: Zelenskyy To Arrive In Washington On Dramatic Surprise Visit; Taliban Ban Women From Afghan Universities; Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court To End Title 42; Thousands Of Migrants Are Hoping To Request U.S. Asylum; Musk To Resign As Twitter CEO Once He Finds Successor; Could Patriot Missiles Transform Ukraine's Defenses?; Study: China Could See 1M COVID Deaths As Restrictions Ends. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 21, 2022 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:09]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead, Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy is on his way to Washington D.C. We'll have details on the dramatic visit at his upcoming White House meeting with President Biden. Then, condemnation pulls in from around the world as the Taliban ban all Afghan women from going to university.

Plus, a surge in demand for cremation services and huge queues outside hospitals. We'll have a report from Beijing on what the COVID situation is really like in China.

In the coming hours, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to arrive in Washington, D.C. on a visit that carries huge significance. It is his first trip outside his country since Russia invaded 300 days ago. Plans for the trip had been shrouded in secrecy until the very last minute. Here you can spot Mr. Zelenskyy arriving by train in Poland.

From there, we're told he's boarded a plane headed for the United States. Mr. Zelenskyy will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. Then the two leaders will hold a news conference. Later, Mr. Zelenskyy will travel to Capitol Hill to address the U.S. Congress.

President Biden is set to announce nearly $2 billion more in security assistance, including the sophisticated Patriot missile defense system that Ukraine's President has long requested. We've got complete coverage.

CNN U.S. Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood is in Washington, and Clare Sebastian joins us from London. First of, all to you, Kylie, just describe the security concerns around this visit, the risk that Zelenskyy is taking, and what he's doing it all for?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you said, this was a visit that was shrouded in secrecy for quite a while, as U.S. officials and Ukrainian officials were planning it. According to a senior administration official, President Biden offered for Zelenskyy to visit the U.S. back earlier this month, December 11. And then about a week ago, there was a formal invite.

And that formal invite is what launched there to be back and forth between U.S. and Ukrainian officials over the security dynamics here. What procedures, what measures had to be put in place to make sure that Zelenskyy could make this visit, because, as you said, this is his first time out of the country in 300 days since that Ukraine war began back in February.

Now, we don't know exactly all of the details that really went into planning this. We'll likely learn some of those after the visit has concluded because there is still an effort to try and keep close coordination around it to make sure that this trip doesn't have any issues.

We did see this morning Polish TV put out some images of President Zelenskyy coming into Poland over the Ukrainian border. He took a train, so we know that he took that train route that many world leaders have taken in and out of Ukraine over the last 10 months. U.S. officials aren't saying if Zelenskyy is going to fly to the U.S. on a U.S. military aircraft. That's, of course, something we'll be watching for.

But when he gets to Washington, the message from President Biden, according to senior administration officials, is going to be a reiteration of what we have heard. The U.S. will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. And it comes, of course, as there has been this tremendous amount of U.S. support for Ukraine. About $20 billion in security assistance.

President Biden expected to announce $1. 8 billion in additional security assistance today with those Patriot missile air defense systems that are highly advanced. And then, of course, we're coming on next year. And Congress is in the final stages right now of reviewing a spending bill for next year that includes about $45 billion in additional assistance to Ukraine.

So you do really have the wind at the back. So those who say the U.S. needs to keep supporting Ukraine, and this will be a highly symbolic visit for President Zelenskyy to Washington.

FOSTER: OK, Kylie, thank you. And whilst you were speaking, our White House team confirmed that American military aircraft was involved in bringing Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to Washington for his meetings on Wednesday.

Clare, as you watch all of this, or rather, as Moscow watches all of this, is there a risk that it could be provocative? The idea of Zelenskyy leaving the country and then signing this deal on Patriot missiles. Could it be provocative, which could prompt a escalation from Russia?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Max, I think that is always the risk with these things. Not so much Zelenskyy leaving the country. I don't think it's more the provision of these Patriot missiles, which is something that Moscow has previously expressed great concern about. The Foreign Ministry previously warning that this could be seen as a sign of Washington essentially being drawn into this conflict.

[08:05:04]

We heard from the Kremlin spokesman today who said that all this leads to an aggravation of the conflict and does not bode well for Ukraine. It's unclear what Moscow might do about this, but we have, in the last hour, Max, seen President Putin himself speaking a very strident speech to the expanded board of his Defense Ministry, a room full of men in military uniform, taking a very clear tone that he sees Russia as in direct conflict with the west and NATO.

Take a listen to what were essentially his opening comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Active military potential and the potential of all the main NATO countries is being used against Russia, as you know. Nevertheless, our soldiers, officers and sergeants are fighting for Russia courageously and staunchly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: He also talked about efforts to continue to modernize the military, new weapons like hypersonic missiles, making the point that Russia is learning from its experience in Ukraine. As I said, unclear what this means for the battlefield. Russia is clearly trying to take the approach that it is not afraid of the weapons that Washington and NATO are providing, but it does present a threat considering that Patriots are anti-aircraft, anti-missile defense systems, and that is Russia's playbook at the moment to bombard Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, Kylie, thank you both very much indeed.

Just a bit, we'll take a look at how much of a game-changer Patriot missiles could actually be for that war in Ukraine. The U.N. Secretary General is speaking out after the Taliban banned women from attending university in Afghanistan. Antonio Guterres says he's deeply alarmed by the decision, saying it violates equal rights and will have a devastating impact on the country's future. The U.S. special envoy for Afghan women said the Taliban are reverting to extreme policies of the 90s.

Nada Bashir is following these developments for us. She joins us live. These criticisms aren't really going to affect the decision, are they? And arguably, the more isolated Afghanistan becomes the stricter it could get.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Max. That is the concern now that as Afghanistan, as the Taliban becomes more isolated from the international community, we could see those fundamental rights and freedoms for women and girls being rolled back even further. And, of course, we've seen those rights and freedoms being rolled back over the last few months since the Taliban's takeover.

We saw school girls being prevented from returning to secondary school in March, just as those schools were set to reopen to them after months of closure. And we've seen restrictions being put in place in universities, classrooms being segregated, separate entrances for women and men, young women being told they aren't allowed to be taught by young male professors.

So we've seen a pretty stringent approach from the Taliban when it comes to enforcing those severe restrictions on education for women. And of course, on a much broader scale, we've seen women's rights being rolled back, of course, having to cover your face, having to work in certain sectors, of course. So there is a serious concern there.

We've seen that widespread international condemnation. We've heard from the U.N. Human Rights Watch, of course, condemning this decision. And we've also heard from the U.S. condemning the decision by the Taliban to prevent girls from going to university. We heard this statement from the State Department spokesperson Ned Price just yesterday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The Taliban have permanently sentenced Afghan women to a darker and more barren future without opportunity. No country can thrive when half of its population is arbitrarily held back. Education is an internationally recognized human right, and it is essential to Afghanistan's economic growth and its stability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: And look, Max, we've heard that condemnation, but it's unlikely that the Taliban will take heed of that. They have in the past, since that takeover, attempted to present the Taliban as a perhaps more moderate, more modernized entity than we would have seen in the late 1990s.

But as we've seen time and time again since the takeover in Afghanistan, we've seen those fundamental rights being rolled back, not just for women and girls, but for the Afghan population in general. The real concern now, of course, is as the Taliban becomes more isolated, we could see those rights being rolled back further.

And there's no telling, of course, how far the Taliban will go. But we've also seen video now emerging on social media, seeing those women and girls arriving at their universities, much as we saw in March when we saw schoolgirls upset, anguished by the fact that they weren't able to return to their schools. So, clearly, this is a moment of shock and real distress for the women of Afghanistan. Max?

FOSTER: Nada, thank you for joining us with that.

Now to the crisis on the U.S. southern border with Mexico, where thousands of migrants are waiting, many of them sleeping in tents or shelters, hoping to seek asylum in the United States. Their fate remains uncertain.

[08:10:03]

The Biden administration wants the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a bid by Republican states to keep a Trump era pandemic policy in place as legal challenges play out. But it wants the High Court to wait until next Tuesday to end Title 42, so the administration has got time to wind down the program.

Meanwhile, cities and states on the border are preparing for a massive influx of migrants once restrictions are lifted. David Culver joins us live from the Mexican border. What are you seeing today, David?

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Max. A big change just in the past few hours. And you can see behind me lined up several migrants, that's actually on the U.S. side and they're at one of the border entrance gates. And that's different from where we saw them just in the past few hours before that because they were about a mile down towards where barricades were set up by the Texas National Guard as well as Texas State Police.

And so it seems that there is some different opinion from the different law enforcement agencies on the U.S. side that you've got the Federal Border Patrol that are now moving the folks to this gate to try to potentially process them to get in. Now this doesn't guarantee that they're going to be able to stay in the U.S. but it does allow them to be processed for what many of them are seeking, and that is asylum.

And you can see just in the freezing cold temperatures how folks have been camping out overnight. They've got about a dozen camp fires set along the U.S. side trying to keep warm, as little by little they have been letting certain groups in to start the processing. But it was chaotic if you go back just 24 hours ago when the Texas National Guard along with the state police put up those barbed wire fences, the razor wire, to try to keep away migrants. And it seems the CBP has come up with another solution and that is to try to continue the processing on this side.

Now if you look on the Mexican side here where we are, these are folks who are likewise trying to keep warm, considering when they may decide to ultimately try to cross. But there's been so much confusion and uncertainty. A lot of these folks got to this point thinking, OK, the 21st today is when Title 42 will end. Of course, we know that changed with the Chief Justice's decision just about 48 hours ago to put it on hold, keep Title 42 in place.

Now it's still, little by little trickling down to the folks who have made very long journeys to get to this point. And it seems that there is a determination along with an increasing desperation, Max, from a lot of these migrants to figure out anyway possible to get into the U.S.

And if you talk with some of them, then you hear about the journeys that they went through, going through jungles, going through gang infested countries and territories to get to this point, it doesn't seem they're going to be dissuaded by one entrance being blocked by barbed wire. They're find another way it seems. At this point, Max, the Border Patrol is helping facilitate that bay (ph).

FOSTER: OK, David Culver in Mexico, thank you.

Democrats in Congress have been trying to get their hands on President Donald Trump's tax returns for years. And now the American public will finally get a look, possibly within the next few days as well. The House Ways and Means Committee has voted to release Trump's 2015 through 2020 returns. The committee says the Internal Revenue Service never properly scrutinized the returns whilst he was in office, as is required by the mandatory presidential audit program.

An accompanying report shows the former president claimed huge operating losses that reduced his tax liabilities to zero. And it raises questions about millions of dollars in charitable contributions, too. A spokesperson for Mr. Trump released the statement calling it, quote, an unprecedented leak by lame duck Democrats.

Elon Musk confirms he's calling it quits as Twitter CEO, as promised, but not right away. Musk says he'll step down and abide by the Twitter poll he created, where 57 percent of respondents voted for him to resign. First, though, Musk says he needs to identify a successor, whereas he tweeted, quote, someone foolish enough to take the job. Following his resignation, Musk says he'll still run Twitter's software and server teams.

Still to come, Ukraine's President has long asked for the Patriot missile system. Now it seems he's about to get it. Is this a game changer for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia? We'll discuss just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:37]

FOSTER: Welcome back. Patriot missiles, what are they, and how could they change the war in Ukraine? President Biden is set to announce almost $2 billion in additional military aid for Ukraine. And it's the Patriot missile system which everyone is talking about. If you haven't seen them before, here they are.

You can see why Zelenskyy wants them. You can also see why the Kremlin doesn't want him to have them. This is what we know about them. A few details for you. They are all altitude, all weather. They're an air defense system, crucially. Their range is 43 miles, and you can have up to 16 missiles per launcher. And they're already used in 17 countries. A lot of training is required for them, which is why training is part of this package as well.

Let's bring in Oren Liebermann, CNN's Pentagon Correspondent. Thanks for joining us. How will they change the battle? Why is the Kremlin so concerned about this deal?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Max, patriot missiles are some of the most advanced U.S. air defense missiles. Crucially, they are also long range. They almost fit like an extended range dome on top of the air defense systems that Ukraine already has. For example, the U.S. provided NASAMS, have been a very effective system for Ukraine in that medium range sort of envelope.

But they can't cover as much territory as a Patriot, and that's why Patriots are so crucial. There are also short-range options for air defense, like Stingers and other systems provided by some other countries, but it's the Patriot that offers the widest coverage. And that's why Ukraine has been looking for this system for so long, believing that it will enhance Ukraine's air defense capabilities.

We've seen Ukraine do quite well against Russia's barrages of missile rocket drone attacks against Ukraine's civilian energy, water and other infrastructure, but it hasn't been enough. Russia has the quantity to get missiles through, and that's where the Patriot will help. It doesn't change the game all on its own, but it adds to Ukraine's ability to defend its own territory.

As you point out, it takes quite a bit of training and dozens of soldiers to operate one of these, as well as maintain and sustain these. So that's part of the package. We'll see very soon how fast it is that Ukraine is able to learn this system. The Kremlin said there would be unpredictable consequences if the U.S. provides these.

The U.S. has basically said, look, it's an air defense system. It can't be used offensively. So it's not like we're adding a new capability, just a better version of the capability they already have. Max?

FOSTER: Is that true, though, because there's cynicism about that, there are missiles there? Why can't they be used offensively?

LIEBERMANN: Sure, that's a function of the guidance on these. They're not GPS guided, so you can't punch in a coordinate and say, go hit this target. They don't have an inertial guidance system, which would be another guidance system, for instance. They have a radar system, that radar detects something coming in from the air. And then the Patriot is launched specifically at that air missile.

As provided, it doesn't have the capability to carry out a long-range strike. It is simply a long-range aerial defense. The radar can see aerial targets coming from farther away and the missile can target those aerial targets. But it doesn't have, for example, the capability of what's known as an ATACMS. That would be a long-range offensive strike capability that could be used with HIMARS.

The U.S. has refused to provide those over concerns about escalation and the ability it would give Ukraine to strike deep into Russia. Patriot missiles don't give Ukraine that capability. And that's one of the reasons that the administration has made the decision to go ahead and approve these.

FOSTER: There has been some apprehensiveness about how handing them over, what is that concern? How might Ukraine escalate the war by using these? [08:20:07]

LIEBERMANN: So first, the ability of Ukraine to continue defending its aerial territory and its own sovereign territory means that Russia will have to use more to get through. That in and of itself certainly carries a risk of escalation. One of the other key reasons that these weren't handed over earlier is because of the training required to use these and the number of soldiers required to use these from the maintenance and sustainment end.

This isn't a small system that can be learned quickly. The U.S. training on these is something like 20 weeks, if not longer. And at first, the U.S. simply didn't know if the war would go that long. Was it worth sending a very advanced U.S. system into Ukraine that would take so long to learn if you're not sure how long this war is going to last?

The U.S. clearly now sees how long this is going on. The time is there, the space is there, and the need is there for patriots.

FOSTER: Oren Liebermann, appreciate your time. Thank you very much indeed for joining us from the Pentagon.

Still ahead, China says only a few people have died since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy. But crowded crematoriums and funeral homes tell a different story. A report just ahead from Beijing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: China is changing the way it counts COVID-related death. The change comes shortly after the government eased its zero-COVID policy. But there's now concern that officials may be trying to hide the true scale of the outbreak. CNN's Selina Wang reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): China has only reported a few COVID deaths since abandoning its zero-COVID policy, but what we see on the ground tells a different story.

(on-camera): There is a long line of cars that snakes across this entire area, of cars waiting to get into that cremation area. I'm in the parking lot right now and it's completely full of cars. I'm speaking here because there are many, many security guards patrolling this entire area.

And I spoke to a man earlier who said that his close friend passed away from a fever, though the hospital didn't say why. He said he's been waiting here for hours and he still has no idea if his friend's body can even get cremated today.

(voice-over): And it's not just in Beijing. Social media shows crematoriums and funeral homes around the country overwhelmed. In this funeral home in Jinan, the man is saying, it's going insane. Here, it is packed with cars and vans carrying bodies stretch all the way into the distance in front of this crematorium in Sija Zwang (ph), and families wait and stand in their morning clothes at this Wuhan funeral home with no idea how long they have to wait before their beloved ones can be cremated.

A new study by Hong Kong researchers estimates nearly 1 million people in China could die from COVID if the country doesn't take necessary public health measures like increased vaccinations. Long lines like these are forming across the country outside of hospitals in Hangzhou, people wait for hours outside in the cold rain. Crowds form outside of hospitals in Wuhan, ground zero of the original outbreak.

(on-camera): This is a COVID designated hospital in Beijing. There's been a steady stream of elderly patients in wheelchairs being led into this hospital. I spoke to a man who's been waiting outside for his elderly family members, who he said is very sick with a high fever from COVID. But he said this hospital is running out of bed space.

[08:25:10]

(voice-over): "Are you busy?" I asked the COVID worker outside this hospital. "Yes, extremely busy," he tells me. "We even work into the evenings." "Did a lot of people die here?" I ask. "Yes, every day," he says. "Is it all because of COVID?" "Yes," he says. "People with underlying conditions."

The country's COVID strategy has suddenly swung from one extreme to another. This is what China's Metropolis Xenching (ph) looked like a month ago during a mass COVID lockdown. A ghost city. But now, not only has Xenching (ph) lifted its lockdown, but the government announced on primetime television that people who have COVID, as long as they are only mildly sick or asymptomatic, well, they can return to work.

But people are still scared to go out. Restaurants and shopping malls in the city barely have any customers. Subways across major cities are eerily empty. But none of this is stopping Chinese state media from hailing the country's COVID strategy as victory after victory, as the Chinese people feel they are suddenly left to fend for themselves.

Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now, team Argentina are hopefully resting somewhere after the wild victory parade held in their honor.

On Tuesday, around 4 million fans turned out in Buenos Aires as Lionel Messi and his World Cup winning teammates rode an open bus through the streets. The frenzy crowds made it almost impossible for them to keep going. At one point, some of the team ended up flying helicopters over the parade in the end.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. "WORLD SPORT" with Andy Scholes is up next.