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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Set To Visit Washington; House Committee Will Release Years Of Trump's Tax Returns; Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court To Let Title 42 Border Policy End; U.K. Braces For Biggest Strikes In Years Over the Holiday Period. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 21, 2022 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Wherever you are around the world, you're watching CNN Newsroom.
In the hour ahead, Mr. Zelenskyy goes to Washington and once he arrived the U.S. is expected to grant Ukraine's request for the most advanced air defense system in the world.
Donald Trump's no good, very bad, terrible week just got worse. With the congressional special committee voting to make public his tax return and Tom Cruise went up himself with what the makers of the next Mission Impossible movie say is the biggest stunt in cinema history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: 300 days after Russia launched its unprovoked war on Ukraine, CNN now reporting that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on his first international trip, traveling to Washington for a White House meeting with the U.S. president on a Wednesday. Zelenskyy is also expected to address a joint meeting of Congress. We're still waiting for official confirmation, but the U.S. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, all but confirmed it was happening.
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NANCY PELOSI, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: To have an out, complete, total hero in the Congress of the United States fighting for democracy, leading people who are fighting for democracy, to bring honor to the Congress of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: With Zelenskyy in Washington, the U.S. president is expected to announce another huge military aid package for Ukraine worth almost $2 billion, and for the first time, military assistance to Ukraine from the United States will include Patriot defense missiles, the most advanced air defense system in the world. Multiple officials say the U.S. also expected to send Ukraine precision bomb kits, which turn existing unguided munitions or dumb bombs into precision guided smart bombs known as Joint Direct Attack Munitions JDAMs. One White House official had this blunt assessment for Russia.
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JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESMAN: I would venture to say that things could be a heck of a lot less complicated for the Russians in Ukraine if they would just get the hell out.
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VAUSE: CNN correspondents tracking all of these developments. We'll hear from Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon in a moment. But first, here's Phil Mattingly reporting in from the White House.
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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): For more than 300 days. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not left the country of Ukraine over the course of that period of time. Obviously, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a grinding war that continues to this moment.
However, on Wednesday he will depart. He will depart and has already departed for Washington DC in what will be a historic and quite symbolic moment, a meeting face to face with President Biden, the U.S. serving as the number one ally and certainly number one when it comes to scale of defense assistance up to this point during that war.
And in that meeting, which will be extensive, largely behind the scenes consultations between the presidents and their top two teams, President Biden will also make a significant announcement of his own. $1.8 billion in new security assistance that's on top of more than 20 billion the U.S. has already directed towards Ukraine since the start of the war.
And inside that $1.8 billion, the most significant weapons system the U.S. has been willing to provide Ukraine up to this point. Patriot missile defense systems, which President Zelenskyy has repeatedly, over the course of the last several months, asked for, talked about, personally, pleaded with President Biden in phone calls, I'm told, for those weapons systems, particularly in the wake of the last several weeks of Russia ramping up its attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Now, President Biden is willing to say yes, and start the process of sending those towards Ukraine. The expansion of the security systems, the face to face meeting, the first visit for President Zelenskyy out of his country since the invasion began, all underscoring a relationship that President Biden has said explicitly and unequivocally, over and over again will continue, quote, as long as it takes.
That relationship will also carry over onto Capitol Hill where Zelenskyy is expected to deliver a primetime address to a joint session of Congress at the very moment. Lawmakers are considering another $45 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine.
Critical bipartisanship behind those votes up to that point, despite some Republicans raising concerns, something President Zelenskyy will certainly be trying to ensure continues at a moment where the U.S. has made clear that support is not changing or going anywhere anytime soon. Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: In the next Ukrainian security assistance package that we're expecting when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Washington, visits the White House, we're expecting the U.S. to announce two crucial systems that fill two different roles.
The first is the Patriot Air Defense system, one of the most advanced U. S. systems for aerial defense and, crucially, a long range system, that will sit it almost like a dome on top of the systems the U.S. has already provided. The medium range NASAMS system and then some of the shorter range systems such as Stingers and MANPADS that Ukraine has already used for aerial defense. That's on top of what other countries have also provided.
Patriots have their challenges, though. They are large, complex systems so the training, the maintenance, the sustainment, all of that will take time to learn. And that's part of the process here.
The other crucial system that we're learning about the precision bombing kits known as JDAMs, Joint Direct Attack Munitions, that allows Ukraine to turn, quote unquote, dumb bombs into precision guided bombs. We have seen them use with great effect precision guided munitions for example, the HIMARS systems. The Excalibur guided artillery systems. All of these have been critical for Ukraine's successes on the battlefield so far.
This will largely fill a similar role these JDAMs. They can be used on a variety of different bombs from 500 pound bombs up to 2,000 pound bombs. They're relatively inexpensive. According to Boeing, only about $22,000 per kit, which is a fraction of the price of the GMLRS munitions that are used with HIRAMS and some of the other high-end munitions that have been provided to Ukraine.
And yet they fill that role of precision bombing that can be done at range, so you don't have to get in very close. The standard JDAMs have a range of about 15 miles, and some of the extended range have a range of 40 miles or more. It's unclear exactly what the U.S. will provide at this point.
Of course, these have to be air launch. They are launched from fighter jets. So Ukraine will have to figure out a way to mount these on Soviet era fighter jets that they have so that they can use them and then find a way to be able to control them from a Soviet era cockpit.
But crucially, Ukraine has shown that ability already. They did it with the U.S. provided antiradar missiles, and they'll have to do it again here to make this work. Oren Liebermann, CNN in the Pentagon.
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VAUSE: We'll have a lot more this hour on Russia's war in Ukraine, including a report from CNN's Nick Payton Walsh. Now, Moscow is making inroads into the Arctic Circle. While much of the world's attention is focused on Putin's war of choice in Ukraine. That report coming up in about 30 minutes from now.
Donald Trump's lawyers fought all the way to the Supreme Court to prevent the release of his tax returns. And when they lost that legal battle last month, it seems it was only a matter of time before they were made public.
On Tuesday, the Democrat controlled House Ways and Means Committee voted to release six years of Trump's tax records from 2015 to 2020. The committee has found the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service, failed to follow its own procedures and did not audit Trump during his first two years as president. We are more now from CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Now, it's been years since House Democrats, after they came to power in 2019, demanded Donald Trump's tax returns went through a court fight that Donald Trump took all the way to the Supreme Court to try to shield those tax returns from becoming public. He lost that fight.
Ultimately, those returns turned over to Democrats just a matter of weeks ago. But in a party line vote, the House Democrats in their final days in power, the Ways and Means Committee voted to release those tax returns from six years, six of recent years, as well as not just his individual returns, but his business returns as well. That vote 24 to 16 along party lines to release both a report from the committee investigating this as well as all of those returns.
Now, first on the report, there are two that were released late on Tuesday night, one of which is a committee's investigation that found that the mandatory presidential audit system that the IRS employs for all sitting presidents, they say that it was dormant during the Trump years.
They say that is an essential program because they need to ensure that a president is not compromised in any way in signing legislation into law. But they said he was not essentially in use until April of 2019. That is when Richard Neal, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, a Democrat, started to inquire about Donald Trump's tax returns. They say at that point that's when the IRS audit program kicked into gear, and they said it never was completed over the six years of returns that they ultimately obtained.
Now, there's a separate report by the Joint Committee on Taxation analyzing those returns. It raises some questions about some of the deductions that Donald Trump took, suggested that perhaps more investigation might be warranted. It did not make a judgment one way or the other, but it got into the numbers of his deductions, his losses in the income that he ported.
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But we expect a lot more, including all details of those tax returns in the days ahead. Right now, the committee is trying to redact some of the sensitive security information, some of the confidential information, like Social Security numbers and the like.
Once that is done, they will be released. It will come out before Democrats are no longer in power in the House. January 3rd is when Republicans take over. Republican is attacking Democrats for misusing their power and releasing Donald Trump's returns. Donald Trump's spokesperson also attacking Committee Democrats.
But nevertheless, they are moving forward and also moving forward on legislation to mandate how presidents are audited under the -- by the IRS. That is something Nancy Pelosi, in her final days of speaker plans to bring to the floor. Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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VAUSE: Joining us now from Los Angeles, Michael Genovese, President of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Mary Mountain University. Good to have you with us, Michael.
So here's the Democratic Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee on what the release of Trump's tax returns is not. Here he is.
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RICHARD NEAL, U.S. HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE CHAIR: I want to say this after a long process that this was not about being punitive, it was not about being malicious.
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VAUSE: OK. So apparently it's in the public interest accused Democrats for evaluating the audit process of the IRS because they did not audit Trump in the first two years in office. Really? Is that for real? Is that we got to buy that.
MICHAEL GENOVESE, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL POLICY INSTITUTE AT LOYOLA MARY MOUNTAIN UNIVERSITY: I think there could be very good legislative reasons to do this. And you mentioned the Audit Act, but there's also a partisan dimension involved. I don't think we need to fool around about that.
Democrats are going to lose control of the House in a few weeks. This whole effort will be for nothing. That will stop. You've got to get it all now. They're just getting in under the wire.
VAUSE: Yes. And Republicans on that committee voted unanimously against the release of Trump's tax returns. And here's one reason why. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEVIN BRADY, U.S. HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE, REPUBLICAN: So, regrettably, the deed is done over our objections in opposition, Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee have unleashed a dangerous new political weapon that overturns decades of privacy protections ravaged taxpayers.
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VAUSE: Again, are we going to buy that? Trump is no average taxpayer. He was president. He wants to be president again. To your point, why can't Democrats just come out and make that argument?
GENOVESE: Well, you know, I think for the Democrats, you've got to go back to tradition and just simply stress that since Richard Nixon, all presidents except for, period, Gerald Ford and then Donald Trump have released tax information.
This started in 1968 by George Romney, the father of Mitt Romney, who was running for president in '68, released all of his taxes for a dozen years. And the public began to expect. Now they demand to see and there are some very good public policy reasons for demanding that, the Democrats have been stressing that is the President or was the president susceptible to pressure from people who he owes debt to foreign interests. There's a very good public policy reason for doing this.
VAUSE: It does beg the question in the case of Donald Trump, a question which has been asked repeatedly since 2015, 2016, what does he have to hide? What could be in those records that is so damning?
GENOVESE: Well, John, I don't know what's in the records, but I do know that Donald Trump has been fighting like crazy to prevent us from seeing what's in there. And so that's -- to me, that's just a red flag that's saying, if you don't want me to see it, there probably is something in it that I want to see.
I think, you know, Donald Trump is obsessed with protecting his brand. And his brand may be damaged if he's not as rich as he's been claiming, if he owes more money than he's been claiming, if he doesn't give to charities. There's all kinds of reasons why Donald Trump might be embarrassed and his brand might be damaged.
VAUSE: Yes. Well, the other big headline from the Trump world, Trump's former White House ethics lawyer apparently told Cassidy Hutchinson to give misleading testimony to the January 6 committee. That's according to CNN's reporting.
Hutchinson is a former Trump White House aide who showed a lot of backbone earlier this year to testify before the January 6 committee specifically about Trump's state of mind on January 6. Listen now to Democrat Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.
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REP. ZO LOFGREN (D-CA): For example, one lawyer told a witness the witness could, in certain circumstances, tell the committee that she didn't recall facts when she actually did recall them.
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VAUSE: So, in other words, the White House then ethics lawyer told a White House aide it was OK to lie. That says a lot about the former administration. So what are the implications from this?
GENOVESE: You know, this is a world class bombshell. Witness tampering, obstruction of justice. CNN's reporting has been terrific on this. You know, it reads like a bad mafia movie. Godfather, Part Three. Not one or two.
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This is what thugs do, you pressure witnesses. Don't answer the questions. You don't have to talk about that. Smoothing your answer here and there. This is just outrageous. It is -- the delicious irony here is that the former White House ethics lawyer is doing this. I mean, only in the Trump administration would you see something just that blatant and that bold, but, you know, it's part of that whole cesspool that was going on in the Trump White House.
VAUSE: Yes. Michael, it's a good point to make. We'll leave it there. Thank you so much for your time. Good to see you.
GENOVESE: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: Frustration is rising among migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border as a Trump era border policy remains in place. On Tuesday, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to end Title 42, which has allowed border agents to expel migrants without any legal recourse.
The White House is also asking the court to reject an emergency legal bid by Republican led states to keep that policy in place, which was set to end over the coming hours. The White House says it will lead a few days to wind down Title 42, asking for a delay by the court until next Tuesday.
Another dark chapter is set to begin in Afghanistan, with yet another despicable edict from the Taliban. These loving extremists have suspended university education for women, effective immediately. Human Rights Watch says it's shameful. The UN Secretary General says he's deeply alarmed, calling it another broken promise by the Taliban.
The US is also strongly condemned it.
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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) VAUSE: Before seizing power last year, the Taliban promised a more moderate, inclusive government, but instead had methodically rolled back two decades of progress on women's rights. Girls were banned from receiving a high school education in March, the only country on the planet that does so. Women are almost totally banned from working. Most cover their faces in public and must be escorted by a male relative whilst out in public.
Still to come here on CNN, Britain's winter of discontent getting worse. Hundreds of thousands of workers walking off the job from all sectors at a cost of living crisis, and the Chief Twit calling it quits. Elon Musk has had enough fun running Twitter into the ground. Before he could walk away, he says he needs to find a replacement.
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VAUSE: UK health officials have warned patients will be put at risk going to strike by ambulance workers in England and Wales, which is set to begin in the coming hours.
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Workers across multiple sectors in the UK have been staging mass walkouts to running increased wages as the cost of living skyrockets. CNN's Nada Bashir reports the strikes are especially testing an already vulnerable healthcare system.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voiceover): In the midst of the festive season, Britain is at breaking point. Nurses, paramedics, postal, transport and border force workers have had enough and are going on strike as workers face rising inflation and stagnating wages, bringing the UK to a grinding halt just as Christmas approaches.
Here outside St. Mary's Hospital in London, these nurses have joined tens of thousands of other protesters up and down the country to demand better pay to keep up with the cost of living.
EMILY HITCHEN, NURSE: We've seen so many nurses leave the profession due to being overworked and our staff, and we're just not appreciated. I think that a pay increase and we're just asking to match inflation, we're not asking for anything extra will help us to retain staff and to get more staff into the profession, which will help us to care for the patients that we have at the moment.
BASHIR: With so many essential services walking out at the same time, the British government is struggling to keep services running, with one junior health minister advising the public to avoid risky activity on strike days.
WILL QUINCE, BRITISH MINISTER OF HEALTH AND SECONDARY CARE: There will be disruption to service and it is important that where people are planning any risky activity. I would strongly encourage them not to do so, because there will be disruption on the day.
BASHIR: The government has even resorted to drafting in the army to mitigate a walkout by paramedics and border force workers.
HITCHEN: We see such an increase of patients, especially in London, of patients who are calling ambulances, who could make their own way to bust the storm in. And I think that demand on the surface is not sustainable.
BASHIR: But with rail strikes becoming more frequent, support from the British public is waning. According to a recent poll by Savanta, less than 50 percent of those surveyed said they were in favor of strike action by railway, aviation and postal workers during the festive season.
But nurses fared slightly better, with nearly 56 percent of people saying they support their strike even during the holidays.
The Britain's winter of discontent has come at a time when the country is facing a severe cost of living crisis. With inflation nearing an eye watering 11 percent, working families are struggling to cope with rising food and energy costs, making the cold even more unbearable.
And for those hoping that the new year would bring in new resolutions, there could be disappointment ahead, with nurses and railway workers threatening to kick off 2023 with further walkouts if the government fails to come to the negotiating table, meaning more chaos and more uncertainty for Britain. Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: Live now to Los Angeles and CNN's European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. Good to see you, Dom.
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thank you for having me here, John.
VAUSE: Sure thing. Now, at this point it's probably easier to name where workers are not on strike or planning to do so, but here's a list of where major industrial action is either underway now or soon will be. So across the UK, postal and rail workers as well as warehouse employees at Amazon, passport control agents at major UK airports. In England and Wales, nurses and ambulance staff while in England, national highway staff, teachers in Scotland on strike, bus drivers in London taking industrial action, baggage handlers as well as Heathrow and a whole lot more than that.
Now, even workers at the Haywards Pickled onion factory have walked off the job. Has there ever been a period similar to this with widespread industrial action across so many sectors of the British economy involving so many people?
THOMAS: Yes, John, I mean this is absolutely unremarkable situation that's going here and in fact, really it's only the rich that are shielded from this particular context and who've seen their wealth grow, whereas elsewhere in the country we've seen growing economic and social disparities that would fit well into Dickens novel when he was describing the best of times or the worst of times. In real terms here what you're seeing is vast sections of the British population that are seeing a discrepancy between what they're earning and the purchasing power. And it's not just the scale of these strikes that is important, it's the fact that you have certain sectors like the nursing sector entering into the strike for the first time in history.
And so all of this points to a much bigger, broader infrastructural problem that shows underfunding for educational sector, the social care sector and of course the health care, and therefore exacerbating the broader crisis that the UK faces right now. John.
VAUSE: Well, the chief executive of the nurses union says a pay deal is possible. They want one by Christmas, but it's up to the Prime Minister to begin those negotiations or at least enter into those negotiations.
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To this point, Rishi Sinak reportedly has no plans to do so. Just as a reminder, this is what he told the nation on his first day at number 10.
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RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: You saw me during COVID doing everything I could to protect people and businesses. I will unite our country not with words but with action.
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VAUSE: That compassion stuff didn't really last that long. He made that speech back in October. So what happened?
THOMAS: I think the moment he took over, John, the reality is that his commitments and promises ultimately ended up being made to the Conservative Party and leadership. And this meant not increasing public spending, but in fact continuing to shrimp away at public spending while at the same time refusing to increase taxes on oil and gas companies and other energy companies.
And all of this in a context in which once again look at these inflation numbers. You've got to go back all the way to 1982, some 40 years to be able to find this. And the situation is disproportionately impacting precisely the red belts areas of the country which are those that provided such significant support to Boris Johnson in the last general election or rather to the Conservative Party and ultimately gave them the majority that they have.
So Rishi Sunak has not gone down that road and what he's been doing does not correlate with the statement he made when he assumed the office of Prime Minister.
VAUSE: And we look at the response from the Prime Minister, you know, deploying more than 1,000 soldiers for instance, to work as ambulance drivers and at border control agents. Is this simply part of a strategy of kind of waiting it out and hoping that eventually public opinion will turn against the unions and not the government?
THOMAS: Well, any strike game is ultimately a game, right? A game of chess when one applies pressure and it's clear that the impact of this strike is going to be felt and it happens to come at a time when of course the holidays are there, which is part of the process of putting pressure on the government.
I don't think Prime Minister Sunak has the upper hand in this situation here because the striking sectors represent such a vast array of the country and the realities they are talking about are a mirror to essentially the broader economic realities that the country is facing as a whole after twelve years of Conservative Party rule, where they've effectively seen their pay falling on the heels of what we're clearly seeing developing, which is the negative impact of Brexit.
And all of this to be placed in a broader situation, which is the political and economic uncertainty due to the energy crisis and the conflict in Ukraine.
Well, what I think is just one final point that's interesting to make is elsewhere in Europe there is labor action, there are strikes taking place, that the uniqueness of the UK context is that this really is a context of economic, political, social, and one could even argue of cultural decline. And it's unclear at this moment whether those at the helm, in other words, the current Conservative Party leadership, are able to address this problem. And to this extent, unfortunately, it means that this situation is only going to get worse, John.
VAUSE: And if you look at the government refusal to negotiate these wage claims and nurses and other industries as well on the one hand, and then also on the other, you're refusing to raise taxes on the energy companies and on the uber wealthy. Is that essentially putting the cost of this economic crisis, the cost of this energy crisis on those who can afford at least?
THOMAS: It absolutely is. And I think that really goes back to the point I made about the red belt and those that are being really impacted by this. And politically, it makes absolutely no sense, of course. So you see a Prime Minister yet again, which I think explains the sort of the instability in the Conservative Party leadership structures catering to ultimately the membership and to Conservative Party MPs.
And there is a total disconnect between the realities of the country as a whole and this within the context of a pending general election. And unless Rishi Sunak is able to dramatically change his policy direction, which would therefore lead, enlisting, and mobilizing the Conservative Party leadership towards changing policies, their days will ultimately be numbered.
VAUSE: Just wondering, how many hundreds of millions of dollars which Rishi Sunak worth again? Anyway, I forgot. But a lot. Dominic, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it.
THOMAS: More than the king. VAUSE: More than the king, absolutely. Thank you.
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Well, if nothing else, at least Elon Musk is true to his word and he's calling it quits as Twitter CEO. He's stepping down after a Twitter poll, which he started, found 67 percent of users voted for him to resign.
First though, Musk says he needs to identify a successor or as he put it, someone foolish enough to take the job. He also said he'll continue to run Twitter's software and server teams meaning he'll still have plenty of influence.
Since acquiring Twitter less than two months ago, Musk has faced a backlash and a mass layoff, silencing of journalists, and a whole lot of unpopular policy changes that just haven't really worked out.
Still ahead, Vladimir Putin admits challenges in his war on Ukraine, (INAUDIBLE) over Russian-appointed officials at the Ukrainian regions he claims to have annexed, also ahead.
Three weeks of political chaos in Peru. Is there any sign of a resolution that will stop the protests and stop the violence? More on that when we come back.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
The White House has now confirmed the visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He'll be in Washington in the coming hours with his first trip beyond Ukraine's border since the war began ten months ago.
President Joe Biden invited Zelenskyy him as a sign of the United States' enduring commitment to Ukraine. Zelenskyy will also address a joint meeting of Congress.
During the trip, the U.S. president expected to announce another huge military aid package worth almost $2 billion. And for the first-time, military assistance to Ukraine from the U.S., will include Patriot defense missiles.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy visited the frontline city of Bakhmut. A Ukrainian soldier handed him a flag signed by Ukrainian troops as a gift for President Biden and Congress to say thank you for the weapons they've sent.
During that visit Zelenskyy's seemed to drop hints about his D.C. trip, while making it known what he would be asking for once he gets here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: It is a complicated situation, the enemy increases the number of its troops. Our boys are braver and we need more sophisticated weapons. We will pass on gratitude from our boys to the U.S. Congress and U.S. president for their support. But it is not enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Rare admission from Russia's President Vladimir Putin. The war in Ukraine is not going well. On Tuesday, the Russian president presented the country's highest state award to the acting leaders of the four Ukrainian territories Moscow illegally annexed back in September. And in a recorded statement he gave this assessment of the battlefield.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I would like to call attention to the security agency unit that have begun their work in Russia's new region.
Yes, you are faced with difficult tasks now. The situation in the (INAUDIBLE) and Luhansk People's Republic and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia region is extremely complicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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VAUSE: Meantime, state media reports that Putin will lead a meeting Wednesday reviewing the military's performance this year, also laying out its task for next year.
More now from CNN's Clare Sebastian.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Russia is continuing to put on a show of integration with the four Ukrainian regions it illegally annexed. Putin awarding the acting heads of those regions state awards on Tuesday, praising their contribution to the motherland even as Russia's efforts to maintain control of those territory flounders.
And as if to hammer that point home, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy held his own awards ceremony on Tuesday for soldiers, actually in one of those annexed regions, in Donetsk.
Zelenskyy paid a surprise visit to the town of Bakhmut, an area currently seeing some of the most intense fighting in its war.
And President Putin is clearly facing mounting pressure. A day earlier, he actually admitted that the situations in those regions was quite extremely difficult. And amid increasingly regular attacks on Russian soil, he's tightening control at home urging Russia security services to step up surveillance in what he called traitors, spies and saboteurs, and to step up control of the country's borders and strategic facilities.
It heads to the end of the year with minimal gains, despite a partial mobilization, Russia's next move in the conflict is the subject of much speculation. On Wednesday Putin is set to meet with the board of his defense ministry. That will be closely watched.
Clare Sebastian, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Despite the big losses and ongoing setbacks in Ukraine, Moscow's military reach continues to expand elsewhere, in particular, building new bases in the arctic circle.
Details now from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Up here in the arctic, you wouldn't get the feeling Russia's military is crippled by its catastrophic invasion of Ukraine. For Moscow, this ice, quickly receding with climate change, is vital to its defense and future.
These new satellite images obtained by CNN revealed the changes at key military installations over just the past year and show that despite the damage done to Russia's military from their invasion of Ukraine, they are still expanding up near the arctic circle fast.
Towards the east, three ray domes (ph) have been built up here at (INAUDIBLE) between this October and last. Work here too over the last year on the runway in the (INAUDIBLE) air field far up near the arctic circle.
And one of five new resonance and radars which they claim can find stealth jets emerging out of nowhere here.
And this new building, at one radar station nearer Norway emerging since June last year.
In an exclusive interview, NATO's chief is aware of the growing threat.
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: What we see now is a significant Russian military buildup in the high north. As we see, Russia re-opening all the soviet bases, military sites but also testing novel weapons in the arctic and the high north.
WALSH: The arctic is vital to Russia, not only for oil and gas. But also as part of its nuclear defense.
The Kremlin is also urgently launching new atomic icebreakers to ensure it retains influence over a shorter trade route from the Pacific to Europe, opened up by climate change, reducing the arctic ice cover.
But the war in Ukraine has led to major changes on both sides. Russia sent 75 percent of its Arctic Iron (ph) Forces to Ukraine. A senior western intelligence official has told me that it's navy is almost untouched, semi-detached from the war.
They added also after strikes on air fields deep inside Russia, jets have been dispersed around its territory, some to the north boosting effectively their presence in the arctic.
NATO is also sending its messages.
What you're seeing here looks like a normal air drop of a supply pallet. But it is an unprecedented exercise over Norway by U.S. Special Forces this year. Dropping off a cruise missile on a parachute.
Here, it ignites, the U.S. military keen to show it can fire such arms from a cargo plane, greatly increasing its range near Russia.
Shaken by a recent sabotage of Baltic Sea pipelines, NATO is now focused on protecting Norway's energy infrastructure. Now Norway, not Russia, supplies about 30 percent of the gas exports to Europe.
STOLTENBERG: Since the sabotage in the Baltic Sea, we have doubled our presence with ships, with submarines, with night time patrol aircraft in the Baltic and the north seas.
[01:39:50]
WALSH: A change unlikely to calm Moscow or reduce its footprint somewhere so close to home.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The commander of Iran's Elite Al Quds force is lashing out at media organizations which he considers to be anti-government. Esmail Qaani told state media there will be retaliation for anyone who has done one day of work against the regime, they would be stricken one day.
Last week Iran's Intelligence Ministry said anyone who creates chaos or riot against the nation must pay a price like the dozens of people who now face execution by the regime for taking part in those anti- government protests.
In a newly (INAUDIBLE) video on Twitter the U.S. President Joe Biden appears to be concerned what many already suspected. The Iran nuclear deal is dead. His comments came in response to a question from an Iranian activist in California last month. The White House not disputing the authenticity of the video. A senior U.S. official says Mr. Biden's remarks reflect the reality that there's been no progress on the nuclear agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: We have been for quite some time here and several months, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is just not our focus right now. And, it's not our agenda. We simply don't see a deal coming together anytime soon while Iran continues to kill its own citizens. And selling UAVs to Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Iran is also wrapping up its nuclear program, insisting it's only for civilian purposes.
Well, Peru has ordered Mexico's ambassador to leave declaring him persona non grata. And it comes after Mexico's president criticized Peru's state of emergency. Mexico offered asylum to the family of the jailed former president Pedro Castillo. Peru says Castillo's wife and children will be allowed to leave.
Details now from CNN's Rafael Romo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN LATIN AMERICA CORRESPONDENT: The debate in the Peruvian Congress was heated.
Peruvian lawmakers were trying to decide what measures they need to take -- to put an end to two weeks of fresh violence and turmoil in the South American country.
More than two dozen people have already died and there are hundreds of injured after clashes between protesters and security forces.
This wave of demonstrations broke out on December 7th when then president Pedro Castillo, was impeached and arrested after he announced plans to dissolve congress and install an emergency government.
He was apparently trying to get ahead of congressional vote on his impeachment. Dina Boluarte, Castillo's vice president was sworn as the new president after his impeachment but she may not last long.
This congresswoman says that after so many deaths, Boluarte should resign.
The new president says her resignation wouldn't solve anything and cause even more problems.
Tuesday night, the Peruvian congress approved the bill to hold national elections in April 2024, two years earlier than scheduled.
The Peruvian Supreme Court ruled Friday that former President Castillo must remain in pretrial detention for 18 months after being charged with rebellion and conspiracy which he denies.
Mexican foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard confirmed Tuesday, Castillo's family was in Mexico's embassy in Lima and had been granted asylum only hours before the Peruvian congress granted them safe passage to leave Peru. Peru's unrest has brought a vast section of the local economy to a screeching halt, and has also left many tourists stranded due to the fact that protesters have blocked roads and stormed airports.
JON ROYER, U.S. TOURIST STRANDED IN PERU: The whistle started and all the doors started slamming and people running up the street. And I got separated from my girlfriend. She was still in the restaurant. And they locked down so that nobody can get in. And so I just ended up having to run up the street with the rest of the people.
ROMO: Peru's Cusco airport which serve tourists, traveling to the ancient city of Machu Picchu, resumed operations over the weekend. Peru's transportation ministry announced, Monday, that the Arequipa Airport had also resumed operations.
Rafael Romo, CNN - Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: 2022 is looking to be a stellar year for the seizure of deadly drugs. Ahead here, so much of a man-made opioid has been taken by U.S. authorities that it could kill everyone in the United States.
Also ahead, China facing a major surge in COVID infections but the reality is the world may never know how many will die because of Beijing's sudden decision to end zero-COVID.
[01:44:35]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Almost twice the amount of fentanyl has been seized in the U.S. this year by authorities compared to last year. Here are the numbers -- it's almost 380 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl. Do the math, enough fentanyl to kill every person in the United States with plenty to spare.
These drugs are in the form of 50 million fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of powder. The highly addictive man-made opioid is more 50 times potent than heroin.
China is facing a surge in COVID infections, it's now narrowing the definition of COVID related death. The count will now only include patients who died of respiratory failure directly caused by the virus.
That decision raises real concerns over officials trying to keep the true scale of its outbreak under wraps.
CNN's Selina Wang reports now from Beijing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 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. There's a long line of cars that snakes across this entire area of
cars waiting to get into that (INAUDIBLE) area. I'm in the parking lot right now and it is completely full of cars.
I am 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 has been waiting here for hours and he still has no idea if his friend's body can even get cremated today.
And it's not just in Beijing. Social media shows crematoriums and funeral homes around the country overwhelmed.
In this funeral home in (INAUDIBLE), the man is saying he's going insane. Here, it is packed with cars and vans carrying bodies stretched all the way into the distance in front of this crematorium in (INAUDIBLE).
Families wait and stand in their mourning 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 does not 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 formed outside of hospitals in Wuhan, ground zero of the original outbreak.
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 has been waiting outside for his elderly family member who he said is very sick with a high fever from COVID. But he said this hospital is running out of bed space.
"Are you busy", I asked the COVID worker outside this hospital.
"Yes, extremely busy", he tells me. He's even working into the evenings.
"Did a lot of people die here," I asked? "Yes, every day", he says.
"Is it all because of COVID." "Yes" he says, "people with underlying conditions".
[01:49:54]
WANG: The country's COVID strategy has suddenly swung from one extreme to another. This is what China's metropolis Tongxin (ph) looked like a month ago during a mass COVID lockdown -- a ghost city.
But now, not only has Tongxin lifted its lockdown. 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)
VAUSE: Japan's birth rate expected to hit a record low this year with the total number of births set to fall below 800,000 for the first time since records began in 1889.
The health ministry believes the pandemic might may have delayed marriages and the baby making which follows. But the country has been struggling with population decline for years now.
We'll take a short break. When we come back, parade pandemonium. Millions turned out in Argentina to greet the World Cup champions. Sometimes though, people just don't know when to stop, do they the?
Plus ahead, Tom Cruise pulls off a heart stopping stunt for the new "Mission: Impossible" move, a free promo for them when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: An estimated 4 million people welcomed home Argentina's world cup champs but who really knows. I mean -- this is what (INAUDIBLE) on Tuesday with a frenzy. Everyone celebrating their first world cup title since 1986.
The government declared Tuesday a national holiday, because let's face, no one was going to go was going to work anyways. More now from Stefano Pozzebon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: In the end Lionel Messi and his teammates of the National Football Team of Argentina were not able to complete the day parade as they were planning to do on an open bus cruising through the streets of Buenos Aires (INAUDIBLE).
That is because simply because there were too many people on the streets and after spending more than three hours to do just the sheer 25 kilometers from the international airport, the team decided to jump on helicopters and instead they did a fly over, over the ocean of people that gathered in and around the Buenos Aires (INAUDIBLE) to celebrate the victory in the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
It was late on Tuesday, the party here in Buenos Aires, is still going and it is perhaps a sign of how much this victory is felt in a nation that really breathes through football but it's also finding some elation, some relief and some pride at a deep, troubled economy in dire straits.
But for the past three days, this country really put on a party like no other before.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon -- Buenos Aires.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:54:50]
VAUSE: So the question for Tom Cruise is this. What next? What next, Mr. Cruise? In his latest "Mission: Impossible", "Dead Reckoning", Tom Cruise pulls off one of his most dangerous stunts ever, or so they say.
CNN's Jeanne Moos has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Whatever you do, don't tell Tom Cruise to go jump off a cliff because he will.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is far and away the most dangerous thing we have ever attempted.
MOOS: Yes, yes. I bet you say that every "Mission Impossible".
But is he really going to drive a motorcycle -- off a mountain?
Oh yes he did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I won't return my ear plugs. Then I'll hear myself scream.
His fans are screaming about how insane this is. How many different ways are there to say Holy --
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(CROSSTALK) MOOS: After riding the bike off of a Norwegian mountain, he eventually opened his parachute. And though he nailed him on his first take, Tom did not stop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six times today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cruise can add this latest stunt to hanging off of a plane during takeoff. And standing atop a biplane. And don't forget scampering around the outside of the world's tallest building, not to mention, rock climbing that most folks would have to have rocks in their head to attempt.
For the latest "Mission Impossible 7", they built a special motocross ramp to practice on. 13,000 jumps say the movie makers. 500 precious sky dives. Tom didn't break an ankle. Like you did when he slammed into a wall. So this is from the side -- here we go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You shot it with street cameras. Ok. here it goes and boom.
MOOS: Tom watched the painful replay on the "Graham Norton Show".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now anyone else would go, well, that's over. No. Up he gets. Up he gets and he's running.
MOOS: In four decades, Cruise has gone from jumping off of a coffee table in his undies to riding off a cliff.
Jeanne Moos, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And he's 60 years old, how about that?
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us, the news continues with Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.
I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
[01:57:26]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
