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Volodymyr Zelenskyy Delivers Powerful Address To U.S. Congress; U.S. Announces $1.85 Billion In New Security Assistance For Ukraine; Benjamin Netanyahu Announces Controversial New Government; House Committee To Release Final Report Thursday Investigating The January 6th; Long Lines At U.S.-Mexico Border As Title 42 In Limbo; President Zelenskyy Addresses Congress; Zelenskyy Cements Role as Defender of Democracy; Former FTX CEO Extradited from the Bahamas. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired December 22, 2022 - 00:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, President Zelenskyy leaves Ukraine for the first time since Russia's invasion to thank the U.S. for the billions spent on the war and plead for even more help.

Plus, Benjamin Netanyahu beats the deadline to form a new government expected to be the most right-wing in Israel's history.

And the documents show key Trump allies refusing to testify in the January 6th investigation.

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

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is "alive and kicking and will never surrender", those powerful words from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he delivered an inspiring and historic address to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress just hours ago.

Ukrainian leader was greeted by cheers and a standing ovation from lawmakers in a remarkable moment coming 300 days after Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of its country.

Zelenskyy's visit to Washington last just hours. But marked as the first trip outside Ukraine since the war began. He went before Congress to express his gratitude for critical U.S. support, but also to ask for more assistance. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: it's a great honor for me to be at the U.S. Congress and speak to you and all Americans. Against all odds and doom and gloom scenarios, Ukraine didn't fall. Ukraine is alive and kicking.

Ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender.

So, here the front line, the tyranny which has no lack of cruelty against the lives of free people, and your support is crucial not just to stand in such fight, but to get to the turning point to win on the battlefield.

We have artillery, yes. Thank you. We have it. Is it enough? Honestly, not really.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now, hours ahead of that historic speech to Congress, Zelenskyy met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House where the two leaders displayed a united front against Russia's war on Ukraine. A visit coming as the U.S. announces a new nearly $2 billion military assistance package for Ukraine that includes a Patriot Missile Defense System.

Inside the Oval Office, Zelenskyy presented Biden with a Military Cross medal that belonged to a Ukrainian soldier serving on the front lines and calls his visit to Washington a great honor. Similar sentiment echoed by Biden who emphasized the importance of meeting his Ukrainian counterpart in person. Here they are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's all about looking someone in the eye. And I mean it sincerely.

I don't think there's any, any, any substitute for sitting down face- to-face with a friend or a foe and looking them in the eye.

And this guy has in his --to his very soul is who he says he is. It's clear who he is. He's willing to give his life for his country.

ZELENSKYY: We have the same values and the same understanding of the life. We really fight for our common victory against this tyranny. That is real life. And we will win. And I really want win together. Thank you so much.

Not want. Sorry. I'm sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Phil Mattingly is following all the developments and has more on Zelenskyy's visit from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): For a leader that has become a beacon of to some degree freedom, hope, democracy for the Western world over the course of the last 300 plus days, there was no more dramatic and potentially consequential seven to eight hours. [00:05:04]

In that seven to eight hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spent going from the White House meeting with President Biden up to Capitol Hill speaking to a joint session of Congress all through the lens of a conflict that shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

And that was one of the primary takeaways from his sprint through Washington D.C., his first trip out of Ukraine since Russia invaded at the end of February.

The reality that as long as Vladimir Putin, as long as Russia continues to mount the invasion that they've had ongoing now for nearly 10 months, there are no compromises to make.

In the words of Zelenskyy, there is no change. There's no shift. And this is not just a battle between two countries, an invader and the Ukrainian people. This is a battle, really, to some degree, at least in the framing of Zelenskyy, for democracy, for many of the Western values that President Biden has made clear are essential in this moment in time.

And that is why this visit when you talk to White House officials was so critically important given the scale of the U.S. assistance over the course of the last nine or 10 months, given the fact that while Zelenskyy was here, Biden announced another $1.8 billion in security assistance, including the most substantial addition of weapons capability in the Patriot Missile Defense System that has ever been put on the table, something that Zelenskyy made clear he wants more of.

They need lawmakers to continue to support that, they need the American public to continue to support that and Zelenskyy made clear that was in part why he was here and had a very, very clear message, take a listen.

ZELENSKYY: Your money is not charity. It's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.

Russia could stop its aggression, really, if it wanted to, but you can speed up our victory. I know it.

MATTINGLY: Now, officials familiar with Biden's closed door meeting with Zelenskyy lasted a little more than two hours with a one-on-one meeting and a bilateral meeting between their two national security teams. So, there are no clear moves towards some type of peace pathway, that is simply not on the table so long as Vladimir Putin and the Russian military continue the pathway they've pursued.

But they all seem to agree that next year, starting in just a couple of days, is a turning point, a critical year, and a moment where the Ukrainian forces plan to make some type of breakthrough. How they're going to do that, though, remains somewhat unclear.

We talked to U.S. officials, they see this now more as a stalemate when it comes to the battle space than any type of progression forward on one side or the other. And that underscores another critical component, Zelenskyy making clear they would be asking for more assistance pretty much daily from here on out, underscoring that while the U.S. is by far given the most money, weapons, economic support up to this point, much more will be needed in the months and perhaps longer ahead.

Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And joining me now is Matthew Schmidt, Associate Professor of National Security and Political Science at the University of New Haven. Thanks so much for being here with us.

So first, I want to start with the symbolic significance of this visit. I mean, a few days ago Zelenskyy was, you know, on the front lines in Bakhmut yesterday addressing Congress in English in his trademark battle green, what's that for you?

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NATIONAL SECURITY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: This is a man in his moment, if there ever was one, he is authentic, he is empathic. And you know, he's just an amazing communicator, and how he's able to take the Ukrainian experience and flip it into American lives. And look at his audience and say, I wish for your kids to be able to do the things you know our kids will do in the future, to go to college.

I mean, he's really bringing the war home in a way that I think few leaders can. And as far as the trip out from Bakhmut, I think that this is a thumb in the eye of Vladimir Putin directly to say that he can go -- he can go to the frontlines when Putin can't. And then he can leave from there and end up in the you know, most capital, the most powerful country in the world is saying a lot about who's on his team.

BRUNHUBER: So, you call him an impressive communicator, do you get the impression Zelenskyy actually sold his message to his intended audience there?

SCHMIDT: It's complicated. I think he's a pop culture icon also. And so, a lot of what I think he's doing is playing to the American public, in the hopes that that public will keep the pressure on their representatives, to keep money and support going to Ukraine.

We've seen some of that slip in the last few days in a Washington Post poll, but I have questions about the poll because of the way it was worded.

[00:10:02]

So, I think we have to wait and see. He needed to do this trip. He needed to speak to the American public and he needed to speak to Congress, and we'll find out in a few weeks how the new Republican Congress reacts.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, among the needs there is the Patriot Missile System. I mean, that was central to his ask.

So, practically speaking, why is getting more of them so crucial?

SCHMIDT: Russia's strategy right now is to use the Ukrainian public as a weapon, to use winter as a weapon as the president said, to drive people from their homes into the cold, to cut off electricity and they're doing that with missiles that are hitting civilian infrastructure. And the Patriots have a good shot at stopping those missiles from doing that. In other words, from blunting the key weapon that Putin is using right now.

BRUNHUBER: So, the fear was that the Patriots might be seen as a serious escalation. Why do you think that the thinking on the U.S. side may have changed? And are they responding to anything that they're perhaps learning from the Russians?

SCHMIDT: So, this was a question in the -- in the -- in the press or earlier on and the president basically dismissed it and said, we've discussed this and we feel fine.

I think the real answer here is that Putin could find any reason to call this a proxy war between America and Russia.

And so the fact is, is that there are a lot of reasons that Putin doesn't want to do that, because he doesn't want to draw NATO in.

And so, I'm not sure how this time is any different than previous escalatory periods in the war right now where Russia said things but didn't actually escalate.

BRUNHUBER: When it comes to President Biden, how aligned are he and Zelenskyy do you think? And where is the daylight still?

SCHMIDT: I think you have to take him at his word that he's in all the way. I think what's happened is that American policy has sort of -- has sort of gone, you know, step-by-step in this direction. And now essentially, it's all in, even though it did, you know, very slowly over the course of the last year, but now we're here and we can't back out, right.

The fact that we're in as deep as we are means we have to -- we have to finish the war. And we have to allow Ukraine to win this in the battle space, which Biden said over and over again, in order to create security for Ukraine, that the way out of this is security for Ukraine.

If negotiations aren't going to get that for him, then he has to win on the battle space, and I think that's what everybody's looking at now.

BRUNHUBER: All right, well, I have to leave it there, but really appreciate your analysis. Matthew Schmidt, thanks so much.

SCHMIDT: My pleasure.

BRUNHUBER: So, as President Zelenskyy speaks about the current war, Russian President Vladimir Putin is talking about possible future ones.

On Wednesday, he announced Moscow will step up investment in its military to prepare for what he called inevitable clashes with its adversaries. And he made it clear the main adversary is NATO, which President Putin claims also weaken and split Russia.

The Russian leader also said the war with Ukraine was bound to happen at some point, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It became obvious that clashes with these forces, including in Ukraine were inevitable. The only question was when it would happen.

Of course, military operations are always associated with tragedy and loss of people. We understand this very well. And we are aware of this, since it was inevitable, better today than tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The new investment includes increasing the size of Russia's military and stepping up work to deploy its latest intercontinental ballistic missile.

Israel is one step closer to having its most right-wing government in history. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Designate Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he formed a new governing coalition. The announcement came just minutes before his deadline to do so.

The incoming cabinet is set to include politicians who are once considered to be on the extreme fringes of Israeli politics.

Hadas Gold reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The new Israeli government setting off alarm bells around the world. Even allies warily eyeing Benjamin Netanyahu's new ministers who will make up the most right- wing government in Israeli history.

A stark change from the last coalition now made up all of men and all Orthodox except for Netanyahu himself.

Most recognizable is Itamar Ben-Gvir, once convicted of anti-Arab racism and supporting a Jewish terrorist group. Now, National Security Minister in charge of Israeli police.

Eager to allow Jews to pray at Jerusalem's holiest site where only Muslims are now allowed to worship, a place that has sparked intifadas and even wars.

Former Israeli ambassador to the United States Danny Danon warning Washington will be on high alert. DANNY DANON, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: If they will perform what is conceived in Washington as provocations. For instance, change of status in Temple Mount, or unchecked enlargement of new settlements. This could be a very, very big problem for and it's anyhow and for the government.

[00:15:12]

GOLD: Then there's Bezalel Smotrich, another far right settler lawyer turned politician has been named Minister of Finance and has also been given power to appoint the head of the Israeli body, which controls border crossings and permits for Palestinians.

Smotrich supports abolishing Palestinian Authority and annexing the West Bank. Israel staunchest ally the United States perhaps hoping the rhetoric won't match the actions.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We will gauge the government by the policies it pursues rather than individual personalities.

GOLD: Other appointments causing uproar include a gay rights opponent who has vowed to ban pride parades to position in the education ministry, and proposed changes to the law of return for the restricting who was considered Jewish enough to be permitted to immigrate to Israel.

Netanyahu for his part has repeatedly claimed that the buck will stop with him.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER-DESIGNATE: I've had such partners in the past, and they didn't change an iota of my policies. I decide the policy with my party.

GOLD: But as the government has taken shape, his critics like this cartoonist say he's creating a monster he won't be able to control.

Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: All right, still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. The U.S. House Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection releases the first of hundreds of witness testimony transcripts. Plus the lines of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border are getting longer with the Trump- era immigration policies still in limbo. Look at the unprecedented emergency that's brewing, coming up, stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. House Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection is expected to publish its final report in the day ahead.

On Wednesday it released transcripts of interviews with more than two dozen witnesses including some major players in Donald Trump's orbit.

CNN's Sara Murray has details. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The January 6 committee failing to meet the deadline they set for themselves to release their full report on Wednesday instead saying that full report is going to be available to the public on Thursday. We're expecting that to be eight chapters, hundreds of pages, everyone is still waiting.

In the meantime, though on Wednesday evening, the committee did release 34 transcripts. These are largely transcripts of people who didn't answer investigator's questions in most cases, they invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. But they included big names, they include Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, the former Trump lawyer, John Eastman, who we know is under DOJ scrutiny and one of Donald Trump's longtime allies, Roger Stone.

And they give you a look into how these folks kind of tried to stymie congressional investigators. You know, in a two part interview, Jeffrey Clark, that former DOJ official was sort of combative.

[00:20:07]

I mean, at one point, his attorneys presented a 12-page list of objections to why they didn't think he should be there.

In his second deposition, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 120 times.

The other thing that sticks out, though, is in the questioning, the investigators made clear in their questions for a number of these folks, they've still been able to obtain e-mails or text messages that even these witnesses who did not want to provide anything with a committee are listed on.

So, it gives you some insight into just how much congressional investigators were able to obtain. They got e-mails, they got text messages, even from witnesses who did not believe that they wanted to hand anything over to the committee because of their Fifth Amendment rights.

We are of course waiting for the big report still to come. Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: We're learning new details about Donald Trump's taxes thanks to pair of reports from Congress. One shows the former president paid no federal income tax in 2020, his last year in the White House. It also shows he had a pattern of losing money caring for tens of millions of dollars of losses that helped reduce his tax bill.

The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to make public six years of Trump's tax returns within the next few days. The lines of migrants are growing longer by the day at the U.S.-Mexico

border with the Trump era immigration policy known as Title 42, still in limbo. That policy which allows border officials to quickly expel migrants to slow the spread of COVID was due to expire Wednesday, before the Supreme Court's Chief Justice stepped in to put its termination on hold.

Border cities as well as the Biden administration are still preparing as if Title 42 will end sooner than later.

But until it does, uncertainty looms over the thousands of migrants trying to seek asylum.

And some of the migrants who are tired of waiting are crossing into the U.S. illegally arriving daily in border cities.

Now, as a major arctic front sweeps across the country, officials are worried asylum seekers will be left unprotected on the streets in the bitter cold.

CNN's Rosa Flores has more from Brownsville, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The anticipation building on the Mexican side of the border on the day Title 42 was set to be lifted.

These videos shot by a migrant and provided to CNN show migrants in Matamoras using rafts to cross the Rio Grande.

Some in the crowd provide commentary saying they're tired of the long wait and that U.S. immigration authorities are watching it all happen.

I'm in Brownsville, Texas. The river is right behind me, our drone cameras capturing a similar scene. A large group of migrants on the Mexican side, a large law enforcement presence on the U.S. side and our cameras were rolling as a group of migrants including a child crossed into the United States and turn themselves into authorities. All this contributing to what one law enforcement source says it's up to 1,200 migrants turning themselves into border authorities every day in this part of South Texas.

Border Patrol is dropping off hundreds of them in respite centers say advocates. Most of them travel out the same day. But local shelters are starting to see an uptick of migrants who can't afford to.

So, migrants from all over the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they're coming in from all over the world.

FLORES: Like this family from Venezuela who say they sold everything they owned and borrowed money to migrate to the U.S. as a situation in their country became unbearable.

They say that about four months ago, word spread in Venezuela that the U.S. border was open? That's why you decided to come here.

Omar and Glenny (PH) want to go by their first names only because of fear it could impact their case. For 29 days, they braved the elements with their 8-year-old daughter Camila in an encampment in Matamoros.

Once you got to the border, you realize that the border was closed.

They turned themselves into immigration at the Port of Entry this week.

What would you tell migrants?

He says that it's not worth selling everything you own to come to the United States because the border is closed.

As evidence by these videos showing migrants risking their lives and the lives of their children to end their weight in Mexico and start life in the U.S.

The Venezuelan couple in our story says that their first appointment with an immigration judge is set for November 2024. That's nearly two years from now. But that speaks to the backlog in U.S. immigration court.

According to analysis of federal data by a group at Syracuse University. For the first time in history, the number of cases in U.S. immigration court now exceeds two million.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Brownsville, Texas.

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[00:25:00]

BRUNHUBER: The U.N. Security Council is calling on Myanmar's military rulers to release all political prisoners, including the country's president and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. In its first ever resolution passed on Myanmar, the U.N. called for more humanitarian assistance for its citizens and refugees expressed concerns over the ongoing state of emergency imposed by the military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA WOODWARD, BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Today we've sent a firm message to the military, that they should be in no doubt we expect this resolution to be implemented in full. We've also sent a clear message to the people of Myanmar that we seek progress in line with their rights, their wishes and their interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now, this comes nearly two years after the coup in February of 2021, where military leaders overthrew Myanmar's democratically elected government.

Well, despite swift international condemnation, the Taliban are moving ahead with their decision to suspend higher education for Afghan women. Female students walked out of Kabul University Wednesday after a professor said staffers were instructed to turn them away.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the ban a grave step backwards tweeting "As a father to daughters, I cannot imagine a world in which they're denied an education." He also said the world is watching and the Taliban will be judged by their actions.

All right, still ahead, more on our top story, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's historic visit to Capitol Hill and the rousing and inspiring speech he delivered to Congress. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: We'll celebrate Christmas, celebrate Christmas and even if there is no electricity, the light of our faith in ourselves will not be put out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome to all you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Back to our top story this hour, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's historic speech at the U.S. Capitol before a joint meeting of Congress.

The wartime p resident expressed not just his gratitude for American support but also the gratitude of the Ukrainian troops he visited on the front lines just a day earlier. He also made a plea for more help in the fight, emphasizing the Ukraine's armed forces are outnumbered and outgunned by the Russian military.

President Zelenskyy told lawmakers American support is crucial for Ukraine to win on the battlefield on what he called the frontline of tyranny. Here he is.

[00:30:08]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: The battle continues, and we have to defeat the Kremlin on the battlefield. Yes. This battle is not only for the territory, for this or another part of Europe. The battle is not only for life, freedom and security of Ukrainians or any other nation which Russia attempts to conquer.

This struggle will define in what world our children and grandchildren will live. And then their children and grandchildren. It will define whether it will be a democracy of Ukrainians, and for Americans, for all.

This battle cannot be frozen or postponed. It cannot be ignored, hoping that the ocean or something else will provide a protection. From the United States to China, from Europe to Latin America, and from Africa to Australia, the world is too interconnected and interdependent to allow someone to sit aside and, at the same time, to feel safe when such a battle continues.

Our two nations are allies in this battle. And next year will be a turning point. I know it. The point when Ukrainian courage and American resolve must guarantee the future of our common freedom. The freedom of people who stand for their values.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Zelenskyy's historic visit was meant to highlight the continued commitment of U.S. Support for Ukraine. And it comes at a pivotal time, as President Biden's ability to maintain that support is being tested.

Republicans will assume control of the House in just a few weeks. CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Dean reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presenting a historic address to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday night, thanking the American people for all that they've done to support Ukraine and its fight against Russia, and thanking Congress, as well, for the billions of dollars that it has authorized to be sent over to Ukraine.

Ironically, as we speak, the Senate is voting on an omnibus bill overnight and into -- likely into the morning, as well, that will authorize $45 billion in additional funding.

All eyes, though, on a small contingent of House GOP members who have been very vocal that they do not support Ukrainian funding in the same way that we have seen coming out of Congress in the past year or so.

We did speak with House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who says that he does support Ukraine, but he does not support what he calls a blank check. There were other members of his caucus, including Matt Gaetz, who said he attended out of respect but not agreement.

Why this is important is because, of course, Republicans will be taking over the House in January for the new Congress. And any sort of additional funding that Ukraine may hope to get is going to have to clear both chambers of Congress.

The question is, what will House Republicans do about this? What type of level of support will that be?

We did speak with Senator Lindsey Graham, who is very much a supporter of Ukraine and Ukraine aid, a Republican from South Carolina.

DEAN: He called the anti-Ukraine contingent of the party very small, a minority. He believes that the party will continue to support Ukraine.

Jessica Dean, CNN, Capitol Hill. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: President Zelenskyy's visit to the U.S. is helping to cement his role as a defender of democracy in the face of Russian aggression. It all started with a career as a comedian.

CNN's Will Ripley reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENSKYY (through translator): I remain in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine. My children are in Ukraine.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From that moment on February 24, Volodymyr Zelenskyy became the symbol of Ukrainian resistance, even as Russian forces poured into Ukraine.

Amid speculation he would be evacuated, Zelenskyy said he didn't need a ride; he needed ammunition. A week into the conflict, in his bunker in Kyiv, Zelenskyy told CNN it was about much more than Ukraine.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): It's very important for people in the United States to understand that, despite the fact that the war is taking place in Ukraine, it's essentially for values in life with democracy for freedom.

RIPLEY (voice-over): A message he's repeated in dozens of video appearances at the U.N., NATO, the U.S. Congress, and countless parliaments around the world.

From the early days of the war, Zelenskyy told his visitors Ukraine cannot fight Russia alone. It needs money and, above all, weapons. Whenever one type of weapon arrived from Western supporters, he asked for another. A 100 percent air shield for Ukraine, he says, will be one of the most successful steps against Russian aggression.

[00:35:11]

His resolve, and that of Ukrainians, was hardened by atrocities committed by Russian forces, especially North of Kyiv in March.

Even as the city of Lysychansk was about to fall this summer, he went there to award soldiers metals.

Slowly, the tide of the conflict turned, thanks to advanced U.S. and NATO weapons and some brilliant generalship.

Last month, Zelenskyy went to the only regional capital the Russians had taken, Kherson, hours after its liberation.

ZELENSKYY: People waited for the Ukrainian army, for our -- for our soldiers, for all of us. And so, what can I -- what can I say? Ready (ph), great job.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Zelenskyy's spontaneous and relaxed presence among Ukrainians, in sharp contrast to Vladimir Putin's staged and grim-faced appearances.

After his election in 2019, Zelenskyy is, in some ways, the ideal leader to rally his country in wartime: a former comedian with a gift for finding the right words. Also, youthful stamina and resolution to resist when the odds and casualties have been so great.

Zelenskyy has a well-honed popular touch. He's welcomed Hollywood to his office, posed for selfies with wounded soldiers, met children under fire.

But Zelenskyy is keenly aware, nothing is won yet. He and his generals expect a new Russian offensive early next year. At real personal risk, he continues visiting the frontlines.

ZELENSKYY (through translator): First of, all I would like us to -- to thank those who are not with us with a moment of silence. Let's honor all heroes who died.

RIPLEY (voice-over): That was Tuesday in Bakhmut, where soldiers signed a flag, thanking the United States for its weapons.

Within hours, Zelenskyy was carrying that flag across the Atlantic for a whirlwind Washington tour, presenting a war heroes metal to President Biden and securing billions of dollars in aid and weapons.

Meeting with members of Congress, who gave him a more than two-minute standing ovation.

ZELENSKYY: Your money is not charity. It's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Zelenskyy's powerful primetime address compared to Winston Churchill in World War II.

Back home in Ukraine, this war is far from over. More than 300 days on, many fear it may be just beginning.

RIPLEY: As triumphant as this moment is for Ukraine's president, he comes back home to the reality that most people here didn't get to see it, because they don't have electricity. Many of them don't have heat or running water.

Also, the speech was in the middle of the night here.

But when the sun rises, people will undoubtedly be proud of their president. But also living with the reality of life under constant bombardment.

Will Ripley, CNN, Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The head of a now-bankrupt crypto exchanges is on his way to the U.S. We'll take a look at what's ahead for FTX's Sam Bankman- Fried. Plus, the charges two of his former top lieutenants now face.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:44]

BRUNHUBER: The World Health Organization says it's concerned about the rise of COVID infections in China. The country is seeing an uptick in cases after dropping its harsh zero-COVID restrictions earlier this month. The WHO is urging China to share more information.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: WHO Is very concerned over the evolving situation in China, with increasing reports of severe disease. In order to make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, WHO needs more detailed information on severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The WHO is praising the country's renewed strategy to get more people vaccinated, and warns that it will be hard for China to curb COVID infections with just social measures.

Two of the former top lieutenants for the crypto-exchange FTX have now been charged with defrauding investors. And the former CEO of the now- bankrupt company has been extradited from the Bahamas.

These images show Sam Bankman-Fried being taken to the United States to face charges. In a hearing earlier in the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried confirmed to a local magistrate his decision to leave the island country.

Here's Patrick Oppmann with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When Sam Bankman- Fried boarded a U.S. government plane at the airport here behind me --

OPPMANN: -- it marked the end of his legal troubles in the Bahamas but the beginning of a new chapter, where he will have to fight eight U.S. federal government charges, including fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, that he now faces in the U.S.

He had, SBF as he is known, tried to stay in the Bahamas. But after he was sent -- denied bail and sent to prison here in the Bahamas, then he changed his tune, essentially, and said he was willing to go back, waive extradition and go back and face those charges.

It still took several days and a lot of back and forth in the courtroom for that to happen. But finally, on Wednesday, we saw Bankman-Fried stand up before a judge and say that he was ready to go home. In the words of his lawyer, that he wanted to help -- OPPMANN: -- the many customers that lost millions of dollars, if not more, in the United States become, quote, "whole again."

OPPMANN (voice-over): And then he appeared to have a bag of belongings with him, as if he was ready to get on the plane right away at the courthouse.

And when the judge in Nassau, in the Bahamas, asked him where he was currently living --

OPPMANN: -- Sam Bankman-Fried replied that that was a little unclear right now.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Nassau, the Bahamas.

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BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT starts after the break.

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