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U.S., Germany To Send Advanced Tanks To Aid Ukraine War Effort; Meta Allows Trump Back On Facebook And Instagram; Pence Classified Documents Included Briefing Memos For Foreign Trips; Emergency Power Outages Introduced In Kyiv And Four Regions Due To Threat Of Missile Attack; China Says COVID Deaths, Severe Cases Have Fallen Over 70 Percent Since Peak. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired January 26, 2023 - 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: Thanks for being with us. I'm John Vause. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom. How about those ethnic deeds now? With Germany and the U.S. setting battle tanks, Ukraine has renewed a push for fighter jets and long range missiles.
Suffering in silence as the pandemic spreads like wildfire beyond China's cities, many seem unaware it was COVID that was making them sick.
And one of the greatest winter athletes in history, American Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin speaks to CNN fresh off her record setting 84th Women's World Cup win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: It seems getting the tanks was just the start. Now that months of bickering is over and the U.S. and Germany have announced they'll send dozens of modern highly sophisticated tanks to the front lines.
Ukrainian officials are reviewing their push for Western made fighter jets, a request which was once considered a non-starter by NATO allies because of fears of escalation.
Similar fears of sending tanks were debated for weeks, but on Wednesday, the U.S. President announced the deployment of 31 M-1 Abram tanks, the equivalent of Ukrainian battalion. While acknowledging they were unlikely to arrive before the long awaited Russian Spring offensive.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany will send 14 Leopard II tanks, which could be ready in three to four months, with more to come. And NATO Secretary General says while the tanks will strengthen Ukraine's combat capability, much more assistance is still needed.
(BEGIN VIDEO LCIP) JENS STOLTENBERG, NATIO SECRETARY GENERAL: We need to provide even more support. Not only to ensure that Ukraine survives, but actually ensure that Ukraine is able to liberate more territory, win, and prevail as a sovereign, independent nation in Ukraine. And that's exactly what NATO allies are doing with the announcement we saw last week, but also with the announcement of battle tanks today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Germany has also cleared the way for NATO allies to send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine, which means Ukraine will receive about 80 of the tanks in total. Kyiv has said it needs 300 tanks to defeat the Russians. Still, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the commitment from the U.S. and others means, quote freedom is only getting stronger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today is a day of extremely good news for Ukraine. There is a tank coalition. The key thing now is speed and volume. The speed of training of our military, the speed of supplying tanks to Ukraine, the volume of tank support. We must form a tank fist, a fist of freedom whose hits will not let tyranny stand up again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's Oren Liebermann has been following developments. He reports it now from the Pentagon.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The announcement that the U.S. committed to sending 31 of its M one Abrams tanks to Ukraine is a significant milestone. One the Ukrainians have been asking for months, as we've seen Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy say they need Western tanks to take back territory to counter Russia's pure advantage in terms of its number of forces.
It's important to note that the U.S. made Abrams tank, an advanced complex system, will not arrive in the battlefield within a matter of weeks. This is a timeline of many months we're looking at. That's because first, the U.S. needs to prepare the tanks, but then it also needs to train the operations, the maintenance and the logistics of providing these tanks to Ukraine.
And this is a timeline that will take quite a number of months. However, the White House has said training could begin sooner, such that when the tanks are ready, the Ukrainians will already know how to use them and will be able to employ them on the battlefield.
But it's not just U.S. tanks alone. And that's what's important to note here. The U.S. announcement of tanks from President Joe Biden also coincides with Germany announcing that they'll send 14 of their own Leopard II tanks. It will also approve other countries in Europe sending Leopard tanks. So it's not just the U.S. acting here. It's much of NATO acting in
unison to make sure that Ukrainian forces have this very powerful new capability on the battlefield. And that's another point worth making here.
This is the most powerful direct offensive weapon we have seen the west provide to Ukraine. Up until now, it was largely attacking from a distance HIMARS, howitzers, these all operate from 30 to 40 miles behind the front line.
Tanks, however, are right on the front line designed for direct, face to face clashes with Russians as Ukraine prepares to try to take back more of its territory that was seized by Russia over the course of the past year or so in this conflict.
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It will take time for them to train up not only on the U.S. tanks, but also on the German and the UK tanks, as well as all of the other new systems, but that's part of the ongoing long term commitment from the US and the west to Ukraine. Oren Liebermann, CNN in the Pentagon.
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VAUSE: According to the Russians, they have the upper hand of the monthlong battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Ukrainian officials have reportedly confirmed Russia attacks have intensified, but say defensive lines are mostly holding and any Russian gains are described as incremental. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has details.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The Russian army claims its overwhelming firepower is decimating Ukrainian defenses on the most brutal front in this war around the town Bakhmut.
15 men just ran into this house. Yes, target hit. He managed to collapse the middle of the building.
Ukraine has now acknowledged losing its last foothold in the small town Soledar north of Bakhmut. The Russians there mostly mercenaries from the Wagner private military company judging by their own claim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We were fast to select the target. Charge up and hit it. We hit it precisely. We hit the building right in the place where the ATGM was located.
PLEITGEN: But despite sources telling CNN the U.S. has advised Ukraine to withdraw from Bakhmut, even Wagner commanders admit Kyiv's forces are fighting back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The enemy puts up fierce resistance to our fighters. The enemy is holding on and is getting additional reserves and military supplies. PLEITGEN: And the Ukrainians continue probing in other areas far from
Bakhmut. The military releasing this video of a daring raid across the Dnipro River in South Ukraine, taking out a Russian command facility there.
But to go on the offensive, Ukraine needs hundreds of main battle tanks. So far, Western partners have pledged about 100. Moscow has vowed to hit those tanks when they enter Ukraine, and is conducting a show of force of its own, sending the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, which Moscow says carries hypersonic missiles, to ocean drills with the Chinese and South African Navies.
But for now, Bakhmut is the epicenter of this conflict and Ukrainian soldiers here say they will fight for every inch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): One day their artillery works and the next day their infantry assaults. It's a difficult time now, but our boys keep standing their ground.
PLEITGEN (on camera): Ukrainian soldiers fighting on the front lines in and around Bakhmut, who were contacted by CNN say they are absolutely elated to hear that Western main battle tanks could be coming to Ukraine in the not too distant future. They say that tanks are a huge part of the equation here and have been helping the frontline troops a lot.
Of course, they understand it's going to be a while before any Western main battle tanks get here, but right now the Ukrainians say they need all the help they can get as the Russians are making a big push to try and go towards the west and take Bakhmut. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kramatorsk, Ukraine.
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VAUSE: For more with us now is CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier. Good to see you.
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to see you.
VAYSE: So U.S. and NATO commitment to Ukraine has clearly evolved over the past year or so from the initial goal of helping Ukraine defend itself to now, which has seemed a Western war against Russia with the goal of Russian defeat.
At what point and why did the west decide in the change of tactics? Had they made the assumption that those early concerns of Russian retaliation were perhaps just overblown?
DOZIER: Well, one of the things we kept hearing early on from Pentagon officials was the Ukrainians don't need any tanks from us. They've got plenty of their own. Plus it captured hundreds of Russian tanks, and that was the line that they stuck to for quite some time.
But as this war has dragged on, Ukraine has reported losses of up to 400 tanks. It's asking for at least 300 from its various new allies. And with this recent round of giving, it's not going to be about 100, somewhere around 75 if I'm doing my math right.
But I think what matters is that the U.S. and other NATO countries are saying, OK, we're going to put this deposit down. This is a pilot program, and we'll see how you do with this advanced technology. But it could definitely be the thin end of the wedge. You start with this. If all of these different platforms, the Leopard tanks from Germany, the Abrams tanks from the U.S., if they prove effective on the battlefield, and the Ukrainians prove that they can learn how to use these systems just as quickly as they have surprised Pentagon folks by learning other systems, then I think you're going to see more head their way.
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VAUSE: Well, with that in mind, once the tanks arrive in Ukraine, they are expected to be a game changer. Here's Ukraine's Defense Minister speaking to CNN.
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OLEKSII REZNIKOV, UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: We will use them as some kind of metal feast or iron fist to break through the defense line of our enemy. Because we need to continue our counter offensive campaign in different directions for the liberation our temporarily occupied territories.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So obviously this is a big deal for the Ukrainians in terms of their, you know, strategy on the battlefield but how much of a game changer has this decision been to Germany which seemed to cross the Rubicon (ph) of sorts here?
DOZIER: Well, Germany had been caught between part of its population worried that giving more weaponry especially heavy weaponry like this these tank systems would be an escalation of the war and German politicians didn't want to be seen as doing this alone, going it alone and that's why U.S. officials have said it's actually been frustrating trying to figure this out over the past several weeks between Germany and the U.S. coordinating this announcement and coordinating these tanks going in.
But now that they've finally come to this agreement and the German officials have the top cover of the U.S. doing it too, what it could be is also a way to signal other European countries to release some of their stocks as well so that could get eventually closer to the figure that the Ukrainians are looking for.
VAUSE: Well, within hours of Berlin and Washington making this announcement came a request from Ukraine for other big ticket items. Here's President Zelenskyy.
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ZELENSKYY (voiceover): We have to open the supply of long range missiles to Ukraine and it is important that we expand our cooperation in artillery and we have to start supplying aircraft to Ukraine. This is our dream and our task elite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So two questions here. When does this ever end? When will the request end and essentially is it now are the taps (ph) open?
DOZIER: Well look, the request would probably end when Russian troops withdraw. The problem with some of the systems that President Zelenskyy is talking about there if you listen to U.S. officials, especially some of those who are very cautious about giving Ukraine so much weaponry that it might threaten actual Russian territory, not just taking back its own. They'll be making the argument in the backrooms of Washington, D.C. that, OK, look, it's one thing to give them tanks, but to give them a long range missile that could reach deep into Russian territory, we can't take that risk. Even if they're promising us that they won't use it against Russian territory proper, because that would be escalatory.
That's the kind of debate that's been going back and forth in D.C. and slowly as this war has worn on those naysayers, those cautionary speakers have lost out against others who are saying, look, they need something because the Russian war machine isn't going to stop.
They have 30 million in reserves. They've only deployed 100,000 forces. Ukraine is a much smaller country. They need something to level the playing field and they need it fast, because even if you make this decision now, it's going to be months before that stuff reaches the battlefield.
VAUSE: Yes, the timeline here is significant and plays a factor in all this. Well, Kim, good to see. Thank you for coming in.
DOZIER: Thanks.
VAUSE: In the coming weeks, Facebook and Instagram say Donald Trump's accounts will be restored more than two years after they were frozen for allegedly inciting violence on January 6.
In response, Trump chided Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, saying the ban should never have happened and cost the social media company billions in lost revenue. It did not. Twitter recently ended a similar ban on Trump.
The American Civil Liberties Union praised Meta's decision as the right call when it comes to freedom of speech. But it also noted some of Trump's, quote, most offensive social media posts ended up being critical evidence in lawsuits filed against him and his administration.
And now to a CNN exclusive, multiple sources say the dozen or so classified documents found at Mike Pence's home last week included briefing memos foreign trips. One person says the materials were nothing unusual and described the classification markings as lower level. Another source tells CNN the documents may be overlooked during the
packing process.
Meanwhile, sources tell CNN the National Archives is considering asking all former living presidents and vice presidents to search their records for classified documents.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned that Iran has enough enriched uranium to make several nuclear weapons, but he does not believe they have done or built one at least not yet.
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IAEA Director General -- Director General Rafael Grossi is expected to visit Tehran next month for what he called much needed political dialogue. He claims his agency has been effectively blind to Iran's nuclear activities ever since 27 monitoring cameras were removed by Tehran last year.
Briefing European lawmakers on Wednesday grassy lamented that the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Nuclear Iran deal, is all but dead. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL GROSSI, IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL: The situation with regards to Iran is very challenging. There was an effort for more than one year and a half, trying to revive the JCPOA after the unilateral withdrawal from the United States in March 2018 and the subsequent retaliatory actions taken by Iran, which at this point mean that the JCPOA is an empty shell.
Nobody has declared it dead, but no obligation is being pursued. And as you just heard, every limit that existed in the JCPOA has been violated several times.
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VAUSE: At least two people are dead, seven others injured, after a knife attack on a passenger train in northern Germany on Wednesday. The suspect was arrested at this trade station. It's unclear if the train was stopped at the station or was traveling nearby when the attack happened. The motive remains unknown.
And in Spain, the suspect in a machete attack at two churches has been detained by police. They say this man wounded a priest at one church in southern Spain, then killed an assistant at another church. The assistant initially managed to escape, though officials say the suspect chased him down, killed him just before police arrived. The incidents are being investigated as terrorist attacks.
Still ahead. CNN goes on the road in rural China, but never far from the watchful eye of government minders, how they disrupted our coverage of COVID and Luna New Year. Also, formal charges filed against the suspected gunman accused of killing seven people in a California mass shooting. What he faces if convicted after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The death toll in antigovernment protests in Peru has now risen to at least 57. Police and protesters have been clashing daily since December, as the country faces its worst outbreak of violence in decades.
Peru's president vows to investigate alleged abuses by authorities against demonstrators, but Dina Bolarte says the violence has caused more than $1 billion in damages to public and private property.
Protesters have been calling for political changes since the impeachment and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo.
Officials in Malawi are urging precautions as a cholera outbreak spreads to a record high case number and a death toll that now tops 1,000. The country's health ministry reported more than 30,000 cases Wednesday.
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Authorities say the bodies of cholera victims should be handled with extra care before funerals, as outbreaks commonly follow the gatherings. Meantime, the death toll from a cholera outbreak in Kenya has risen to 79, more than 4,000 cases reported since October.
The Vaccination campaign is expected to begin in early February. More than 2 million doses being shipped to the country.
China says severe covert cases and deaths are down more than 70 percent since their peak earlier this month. Health experts are warning of a surging cases in rural areas as millions of people travel home for the Lunar New Year holiday. CNN's Selina Wang and her team visited a village in southern China. Government minders watching them every step of the way.
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SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIOAN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is how people celebrate the lunar New year in Dali Village.
WANG (voiceover): This year's celebration is particularly special. The adults around this table all work in factories in the cities. This is the only time when many of them can see their children.
The man next to me says we got to go wherever we can make money. And China's zero-COVID policy over the last three years has made it all even harder.
He said the policy prevented them from going home, but now that the country is open, they can all be together.
We came to this place in China's southern Guizhou province to see how a part of rural China is celebrating the Lunar New Year without pandemic restrictions. We visited a villager's home. Sanjay (ph) greets us with a treat and alcohol, both made from rice from the patty fields nearby. Drinking is a big part of celebrating here.
WANG (on camera): About a thousand people live in this village, and for hundreds of years they've lived in these traditional wooden houses. And you can hear the chickens crowing. And there are these ducks as well that they raise for food.
WANG (voiceover): In many ways, this place is like a time capsule. Its physical isolation has preserved their way of life for centuries. Their Chinese Dong ethnic minority. They have their own language, tradition and culture. But they can't escape the economic realities of modernity.
Normally, this village is full of the elderly and young kids, with most of the working age adults gone, working in far away factories, sending money home.
This couple works in a factory 500 miles away in Guangdong Province, making circuit boards. He tells me he hasn't seen his kids for a year. Last time he left, his son couldn't even walk. He said that's emotional to see them grow so much.
For the first time in three years, millions of Chinese migrant families are finally able to reunite without the fear of COVID lockdowns. Almost everyone I speak to on camera says no one around them has gotten COVID.
Like this elderly woman who makes traditional crafts. She says she has not been wearing a mask and points to her shoulder saying she's had the vaccine shots. But we run into another group of young people who say otherwise.
The man in the brown jacket with his back turned is a doctor at a hospital in a nearby city. He says almost all of the villagers have been infected. I ask him if they just don't realize they have COVID. In response, he says they've never been tested, but clearly they had COVID symptoms.
WANG (on camera): We've got the three government minders following us.
WANG (voiceover): It's common for local officials to keep a close eye on foreign journalists in their jurisdictions, but they were especially persistent in this village, following our every move. We drive out of the village to visit a public hospital in a neighboring county about 2 hours away, hoping these government minders won't follow us so people will feel more comfortable speaking freely.
We walk inside the fever clinic.
WANG (on camera): It's almost entirely empty.
WANG (voiceover): In the main hospital area there are more people, but it's not packed. It's a stark contrast to the images of overflowing hospitals in major cities across China from weeks before.
I ask a nurse on another floor of the hospital if it was packed with patients a few weeks ago. She says it's always packed and busy here. We try to ask why it looks empty here, but another doctor interrupts, ending our interview.
We find one woman, a patient's family member, who is willing to speak to us. She says everyone around her has already gotten COVID and recovered. Soon after, we realize we're being followed, apparently by a whole different crew.
WANG (on camera): There's at least two three government minders. They are still following us all the way here. It's very obvious.
WANG (voiceover): They follow us to hospital after hospital, preventing anyone from speaking to us. I try confronting them. I ask them why they're following us everywhere, and he ignores me.
WANG (on camera): He walked way.
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WANG (voiceover): So I tried this official. She refuses to even acknowledge my question. And what happens during my interview with this girl, shocks us.
WANG (on camera): OK, so I was just interviewing the girl and then the minders literally took her away for a while.
WANG (voiceover): The man pushes the girl and her family away, then later leaves them alone. But her interviews in the marketplace are over.
China CDC says the COVID peak across the country has passed, but in rural areas like this, experts say there's likely far more silent suffering. People who died at home because they couldn't afford to go to the hospital or were unable to get there on time.
Back in the village we're greeted by the sounds of squealing pigs getting ready to be slaughtered. It's a Lunar New Year tradition. Decades ago, for most countryside families, this was the only time of the year when they could afford to eat meat.
WANG (on camera): This is a whole family of relatives all getting together for the Lunar New Year, enjoying the freshly killed pig meat.
WANG (voiceover) Sanjia (ph) shows me the fabric she made herself. Sewing just a thin strip of this cloth takes her more than a day. Whether it's in the village or in faraway factories, they're hardworking people. They'll do whatever it takes to give their kids a better life, even if it means long bounce of separation from them, making reunions like these all the more meaningful. Selina Wang, Dali Village, Guizhou, China.
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VAUSE: The private military run by a Russian oligarch has been highly effective in a key corner of Ukraine despite suffering major casualties. When we come back, why the Warger Group poses such a unique threat.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom and we have this just in. Emergency power outages are now being implemented in Kyiv as well as Odesa and other regions of Ukraine as a step necessary to preserve the power grid because of the threat of missile attacks.
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This is needed because of -- to avoid significant damage to the energy infrastructure should enemy missiles actually reach their target. We know the Russians have been targeting the national power for months now and many have said it is close to collapse and will not sustain any more hits from the Russians. But more on that when we get it.
After months of pressure and debate though, Germany and the U.S. will now deploy top-of-the-line tanks to Ukraine. And other European allies are expected to follow, sending dozens more.
The battle tanks are seen as crucial to Ukraine launching a successful counter offensive against Russian forces.
Since the war began, fears of escalation especially in Germany, have prevented the U.S. and NATO from providing such high tech offensive weapons like tanks, but Germany said it would send Leopard 2 tanks if the U.S. sent Abrams tanks as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Abrams tanks are the most capable tanks in the world. They are also extremely complex to operate and maintain.
So we are also giving Ukraine the parts and equipment necessary to effectively sustain these tanks on the battlefield.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did Germany force you to change your mind on sending tanks?
BIDEN: Germany didn't force me to change my mind. We want to make sure we are all together, that's what we are going to do along. And that's what we're doing right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The Kremlin though warns, sending tanks will bring the fighting to a new level and they will burn down just like all the other tanks.
Meantime, Ukraine's president seizing this moment to push for long range missiles, as well as fighter jets.
The last hour, I spoke with military analyst, Malcolm Davis about the importance of these tanks as Ukraine prepares for a new Russian offensive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MALCOLM DAVIS, MILITARY ANALYST: Look, I think the key thing is that the Ukrainians are racing against time here, as are we, in the sense that we've got to get these tanks to the Ukrainians before the Russians launched a spring offensive in the Donbas Region, particularly in the Luhansk area.
And we've got to get them trained up, not only to fight with the tanks, in terms of driving them and shooting the cannon at a target but essentially also sustaining and maintaining those tanks -- both for the Leopards and also for eventually the M1s.
So I think the challenge is time. How quickly can we get sufficient numbers of tanks to the Ukrainians and get them trained so that they can use them effectively.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: When the western tanks arrived, they should give Ukraine an upper hand especially in the east where Russian forces have recently gained some ground. But those gains have been made by a notorious private militia.
CNN's Nic Robertson has a closer look now at the Wagner Group.
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JOHN KIRBY, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: The Department of Treasury will be designating Wagner as a significant transnational, criminal organization.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Putin's once deniable proxy, Wagner, outed -- transporting North Korean weapons for Putin's war in Ukraine.
CANDACE RONDEAUX, DIRECTOR, NEW AMERICA: They're a key part of Vladimir Putin's strategy for projecting power for Russia as well as sanctions (ph) invasion. It is a very important part of what the Wagner Group delivers.
ROBERTSON: Wagner's reach for the Kremlin is global -- Syria, Iran, Libya, Sudan -- corrupt, tin-pot (ph) dictatorships and failing states especially.
CHRISTOPHER FAULKNER, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE: It was the worst-kept secret of the Kremlin's foreign policy.
ROBERTSON: Yet Wagner boss, Putin's pal Yevgeny Prigozhin was key in helping Putin finance his war in Ukraine.
FAULKNER:: It is more than just a private military company. It also has a network of business entities that provides some serious financial benefit to the Kremlin.
ROBERTSON: In the Central African Republic, Wagner got diamonds. And in Sudan, they got gold. A convicted criminal, Prigozhin has become the artful dodger of
sanctions, evading the many he has, and still able, to make Wagner money.
SAMUEL RAMANI, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE: Headquarters that often shifted locations including Hong Kong, Argentina, St. Petersburg. So he was able to carry out a lot of gray zone financial transactions that were almost untraceable.
ROBERTSON: The hope is new sanctions will make Putin and Prigozhin's war-fighting harder hitting countries that channel Wagner money.
RONDEAUX: The United Arab Emirates which has been a central actor, a central node for a lot of the money laundering. They could see a situation where they are leaned on by Washington.
ROBERTSON: But there may also be blowback. Prigozhin sent the European parliament a sledgehammer, a less than subtle threat when they discussed putting Wagner on the E.U.'s terror list last year.
And in Russia it may even enhance his already self-inflated reputation.
RAMANI: This (ph) action could even be good for his stature inside Russia. It reinforces him as a patriot, an anti western hardliner, and it may actually help him politically.
ROBERTSON: But his rise, now shorn of deniability, may come at a cost.
RONDEAUX: It is better for Putin and it's better for the Russian army to have a scapegoat like the Wagner Group to blame for those war crimes, and atrocities.
ROBERTSON: Prigozhin's position may have just got a whole lot more precarious. But that seems to be where he thrives.
Nic Robertson, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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VAUSE: The city center of Odessa, Ukraine's historic southern port now officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The move could help preserve Odessa from any further destruction in the war because Russia really abides by these international conventions.
UNESCO (INAUDIBLE) states that all members including both Russia and Ukraine may not take any deliberate measures that directly or indirectly damage their heritage or that of another state party.
UNESCO also listed Odessa as in danger, meaning international assistance will be provided to protect and rehabilitate the city center.
The decision by the International Olympic Committee to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals in upcoming Olympic qualifiers as well as next year's Summer games in Paris and the Milan Winter Games in 2026 has been met with outrage from Ukrainian athletes and their supporters.
In a statement, the IOC argued no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport. But the rights group, Global Athlete, along with the group, Ukrainian Athletes, issued a blistering rebuke and warned Moscow would quote, "Use athletes once more to bolster the war effort and distract from the atrocities in Ukraine on one of the biggest multi sport stages in the world."
The suspect in the shooting rampage in Half Moon Bay, California, has been charged. Seven counts of murder, one count of attempted murder. Arraignment was scheduled for later in February but the suspect was in court Wednesday, where he learned important information about where the investigation goes from here.
CNN's Veronica Miracle has more now from California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 66-year-old Chunli Zhao has been charged with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the mass shooting that took place in Half Moon Bay.
Today, the prosecutor of San Mateo County said that Chunli Zhao faces the possibility of life in prison without parole, or even possibly, the death penalty.
When Zhao was in court today, he tried to cover his face with a sheet of paper so that he could not be seen by cameras or the media even turning his back to the media when his face could not be covered.
He spoke through a Mandarin translator and the Mandarin translator actually spoke on his behalf when the judge asked him one question which was, if his name was Chunli Zhao.
He has given a statement to the sheriff's office and the prosecution said that they were actually outside listening to that statement because at that time, he did not have a public defender, and he did not request an attorney.
And it is because of that, they believe they know the motive for this mass shooting, but the prosecutor would not reveal what that exactly is and said they're going to be making minimal statements as to not compromise the integrity of this case as it moves forward.
Here is what the prosecutor had to say when asked if he's ever seen anything like this in San Mateo County.
STEPHEN WAGSTAFFE, SAN MATEO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This one is in a category that is way beyond anything we have ever dealt with. I am sorry that we have joined the list of counties, around the county that have had to deal with this. I always hoped that that would not be something that would occur in my career but now that it's here, we'll step up and we'll see that justice gets done. MIRACLE: Zhao is expected to be back in court on February 16th when he
is expected to enter a plea.
Veronica Miracle, CNN -- Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visited the site of another mass shooting Wednesday, laying flowers at the scene in Monterey Park. In her condolences she said, along with the second gentleman, as well as President Biden and the first lady, they're all mourning the lives lost.
The vice president also called on Congress to do more about gun safety.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can this congress do anything?
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They absolutely can. They have the power to. Can they do something? Yes. Should they do something? Yes. Will they do something? That is where we all must speak up and speak to our elected representatives about what we have a right to expect that they will do for the (INAUDIBLE) of the safety, the security, and the well-being of the people like those whose lives were ended here and people around our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Spanish police have arrested a man suspected of sending letter bombs to high-profile targets across the country. Officials say, the 74-year-old suspect was detained after a police raid in northern Madrid on Wednesday. He's expected in court Friday.
Police say he sent letter bombs to six targets late last year including the Ukrainian and U.S. Embassies in Madrid and the of state's prime minister. A Ukrainian embassy employee was injured while handling one of those letters.
Spanish media report one of the letter bombs was sent to an arms manufacturer whose weapons were supplied to Ukraine.
Still ahead here on CNN, the energy crisis hits China during a record cold snap. Sky high prices and shortages are making it nearly impossible to stay warm.
More on that story, when we come back.
[01:39:36]
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VAUSE: Extremely cold weather sweeping across much of the east Asia during the busy Lunar New Year travel season. Temperatures plummeting to record lows. Officials in Japan say at least four people have died working to clear snow in the frozen conditions, while in South Korea, heavy snow forced hundreds of flight cancellations. The capital of Seoul saw temperatures fall to minus 15 degrees Celsius, minus 15.
Meantime forecasters in China are expecting the mercury to plunge in some parts to new lows. Experts say such extreme weather events are now, the new normal.
CNN's Paula Hancocks has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is widely known as China's North Pole. The city of Mohe, the furthest north in the country, has experienced its coldest day ever. Minus 53 degrees Celsius or minus 63.4 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday coming just months after China saw its worst heat wave in more than 50 years.
KEVIN TRENBERTH, NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH: With climate change we certainly expect that the extremes will be somewhat worse than they were before. This applies especially to the temperatures and the precipitation.
HANCOCKS: Extreme cold is having a deadly impact on Afghanistan, exacerbated by limited humanitarian aid being distributed after the ruling Taliban banned female aid workers from operating in the country. At least 157 people have lost their lives so far, according to a Taliban official. The death toll doubling in just the last week. Around 70,000 livestock have frozen to death.
ADAM COMBS, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: This is an extreme situation at the moment that we are facing with Subzero temperatures in many of our areas of operations, and families that already have been pushed to the brink for survival due to the economic crisis are even in more dire straits.
HANCOCKS: A wave of extreme cold has spread through northeast Asia. Subzero temperatures, moving in from Siberia, stranding thousands of travelers at airports in parts of South Korea, and Japan for the end of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Heavy snow is continuing to disrupt flights in Japan, with hundreds being canceled Tuesday and Wednesday. Videos posted on social media, show treacherous conditions. One focus for experts is the widening gap between seasons.
WOO JIN KYU, WEATHER ANALYST, KOREA METEOROLOGICAL ADMINISTRATION (through translator): If the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures during a year used to be about 40 degrees Celsius, the difference can be 60 degrees these days. The cold weather means the extreme points will be very dramatic.
HANCOCKS: One climate change expert says looking wider than the extreme cold in northeast Asia paints a very interesting pattern.
TRENBERTH: The distinctive thing, if you look at it on a hemispheric basis, is that it is extraordinarily warm in the north Pacific up into southern Alaska and it's extraordinarily warm in the north Atlantic all the way up through Norway and Sweden and Iceland and even further north.
HANCOCKS: Extreme cold in northeast Asia at least is expected to ease in coming days.
Paula Hancocks, CNN -- Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Meteorologist Britley Ritz joins us now.
So when they say ease, what are we looking at her? Is it going to warm up a lot?
BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, not much, John. But enough to make a difference, you'll feel it, for sure. A few degrees -- roughly about 5 to 10 degrees. And it helps, for sure, especially as it's so cold.
[01:44:55]
RITZ: High pressure has set in behind that front that's moving through Japan and with that northerly wind, I mean, it is brutal. Record breaking temperatures.
So just a friendly reminder to cover up the extremities, the nose, the fingertips, the ears, because frostbite can take place in just within 5 to 10 minutes of these temperatures being so cold especially when we factor in the winds.
Current (ph) temperatures right now, zero in Beijing. But some locations across central China, especially through the higher elevations, are well below zero.
Later on, we will try to warm up but of course, when we factor in that wind, temperatures the about 5 to 10 degrees, and in some cases, 15 degrees colder, depending on the speed of the wind.
Areas across Japan are reaching over 120 kilometers per hour. Those are wind gusts, of course, sustained winds a little less, but regardless it is still wind. Factored in with record cold highs across Japan on the 26th. Look at this, the central Japanese alps? Some of these areas are 16 below zero.
And Beijing? The morning was freezing. Temperatures in Beijing this morning, 16.7 degrees below.
Now, here is that small warm-up that we're trying to talk about there, a degree or two. I mean it is not much at all, but we are still saying below zero, well across eastern Asia.
The front itself, moving through, so it is not just the winds across Japan, it is the snow pack that sea-enhanced snowfall also makes a big difference in your temperature, and some of these locations across the western side of Japan, picking up nearly 60 centimeters of snowfall, John.
VAUSE: It is very, very unpleasant. I feel their pain. Britley, thank you.
(AUDIO GAP) Gas Service at Rapidan Energy Group. He joins me now Houston, Texas. It's been a while. Thank you -- thanks for coming in.
ALEX MUNTON, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL GAS SERVICE, RAPIDAN ENERGY: Yes. Thank you. Good to be with you.
VAUSE: Ok. So the much anticipated winter energy crisis which was expected in Europe, has arrived. But it has actually arrived in China. And just an idea of how cold it is there right now, here's a weather update from the north of the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XU LILING, HEAD OF MOHE METEOROLOGICAL STATION: Under the influence of an ultra cold polar air, the lowest temperature has dropped to minus 50 degrees Celsius for three consecutive days. The lowest temperature fell to minus 53 degrees Celsius, setting a new historic low.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, cold weather, even record cold weather, is not usually a big problem for China. But as the "New York Times" reports, when Russia halted exports to Europe last summer, nations bid up world prices as they stockpiled supplies from elsewhere. This is natural gas.
A seemingly warm winter has since helped push gas prices lower in Europe but the bitter cold is now pushing them even higher in China.
So the cold has arrived, and in many ways, people in China just cannot afford to heat their homes. So was this the end result of the law of unintended consequences or could this have been avoided in the first place.
MUNTON: Well, it is unfortunate. You know, China is experiencing this extreme cold spell and of course, natural gas is critical for heating -- Heating buildings and people's homes. So, the demand has increased. But in many parts of China, there just isn't the money to bring in the additional gas.
VAUSE: Yes. That's just -- I love the local authorities, the local governments but basically it's pretty much broke because they spent so much money on the pandemic. And then whatever little natural gas there is, a lot of it is being diverted to the factories to keep the production ticking over.
So this leaves the consumer last in line for any supplies that are out there.
MUNTON: That is right. There are several problems here, and one of them, of course, is that China's gas market is a regulated market. So even if companies want to bring in additional supply, you know, and pay those high international prices, they cannot actually, pass those costs on to consumers.
And so they'd be swimming at a loss. They have been selling at a loss. And companies, even if they are fully state owned will always seek to minimize amount of losses that they're accruing and that is one of the problems.
VAUSE: And what we've seen in Europe is a lot of countries starting to wean themselves away from that cheap Russian oil and gas. Is that an option for China and other countries in Asia?
MUNTON: Well, China's, you know, gas market is, mainly meant through its own domestic production. And you know, that has been a relatively bright spot for China. It's domestic gas production has been growing year on year for the last few years. But it's just not enough to meet the entire country's needs. And therefore, additional supplies are going to be required.
[01:49:47]
MUNTON: And that's going to come from Russia, and from the global LNG market. And you know, as we all know, global LNG prices, even though they have come down in the last few months, they've come down from an extremely high level. So they are still very high,
VAUSE: And then there are these sort of the unintended or unexpected crises which developed. And you know in Pakistan, which is (INAUDIBLE) soaring prices for energy, on Monday, almost the entire country lost power. Officials had planned to reduce electricity uses by shutting down the national grid overnight.
From oilprice.com we have this reporting. "The problem came when global technicians tried to reboot the electric system in the morning and found out that the infrastructure was not capable of booting up the entire nation's energy grid all at once.
Major cities, as well as smaller cities and towns across the country, were left in the dark for 15 hours.
You know, what often happens is that one crisis exposes a lot of other problems, which are just beneath the surface. So as this energy crisis goes on, what are you expecting in terms of, you know, problems around the world? what more will we see of this.
MUNTON: Well, it is a product of this extreme volatility. And of course, the epicenter is in Europe. But it's had a huge ripple effect worldwide. And many markets, emerging markets, in Asia, were happy when gas prices were very low and they reached record lows in 2020.
They have been badly caught out as the gas prices have skyrocketed, as Europe has passed the switch from Russian supply to global LNG. And there just hasn't been enough LNG globally available, and certainly not at a price that is affordable in countries like Pakistan.
And so the consequences, you know, there is not enough supply, and the lights are out.
VAUSE: That's what happens when you can't pay the bills I guess.
Alex, thank you for being with us. Alex Munton there, appreciate it.
MUNTON: Thank you.
VAUSE: We have this just in. According to an aide to the Ukrainian president, there are reports that a number of Russian missiles have been shot down. Part of the attack on the country's power infrastructure it seemed. Two missiles were seen flying over the region of Mykolaiv.
Just a short time ago, the Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv shut down the power grid there as a way of preserving it from any further damage should it be hit in any kind of missile or drone strike.
We know that the power grid and the national infrastructure have been under attack by the Russians since October. Multiple strikes happening many times a week. It appears that this one though has not at least the latest word that we have now is that no strikes have actually been recorded on the infrastructure so far.
But of course, this is the early information we have at this point. Continue to follow this story. We'll get more details to you soon as we have them.
In the meantime though, we'll take a short break. You're watching CNN.
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VAUSE: An Iranian chess grandmaster forced into exile for refusing to wear head covering met with the Spanish prime minister on Wednesday, even played a little chess. Sara Khadem, as she is she is known defected to Spain with her husband and infant son earlier this month.
She said she had been warned not to return to Iran after she failed to cover her hair at a tournament last month in Kazakhstan, a violation of Tehran's strict dress code for women even when they are outside the country.
Khadem recently told a Spanish newspaper that she did not feel good while wearing a head scarf. She decided not to wear one anymore. Good for her.
[01:54:51]
VAUSE: U.S. skiing star, Mikaela Shiffrin extended her World Cup victory streak to 84 wins on Wednesday in Italy. She is the top woman skier ever and her back to back giant slalom double puts her just two wins away from tying the overall record of 86 wins.
CNN World Sport Amanda Davies spoke to Shiffrin about her seemingly unstoppable streak as well as her personal reasons for competing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Do you feel like the greatest of all time?
MIKAELA SHIFFRIN, SKIER: No. I don't know what that's supposed to feel like.
DAVIES: It probably feels like, like you do now. But I mean -- you are -- you are the most successful female world cup skier in history.
SHIFFRIN: Yes, I know, what does that even mean? I mean -- I get it, I do get it, I understand it. It's just putting an emotion or feeling on it I can't wrap it up into words. It's just a lot.
Maybe someday. But right now I just feel like a ski racer. And I'm having a dang good season! But -- the greatest of all time is -- yes, I don't think that's something you feel. For me. Maybe some people do and kudos to them. But -- I'm not there.
DAVIES: It's almost exactly three years on since your dad's accident, does it have extra meaning the fact that you're back in Italy where you found out the news when it had happened?
SHIFFRIN: I wish I knew what he would say. I mean, people around me they tell me he would be proud, he would tell me he's proud. He would tell me he loves me. He'd tell me a bunch of things. Are he would feel a certain way.
But the truth is, we don't know that because he's not here. And that's just something that still makes me sad and it makes me angry. And I appreciate it when people tell me that he would be proud but -- and of course I know it, because I know how he felt in the past.
But at the same time, I'm like -- I don't want to hear that from anybody by him. And I can't hear it from him. So I guess that I don't want to hear it at all. And I don't even want to think about it. It's -- something I haven't really come to terms with yet, that I won't hear those words from him again.
It's a little bit hard to put that into words going from a moment like that, and just the last few years to where I am now. There's -- there's times when I feel like I haven't -- I haven't made any progress or healed at all. And then there's times when I feel like some sense of hope that maybe, maybe I still have some really wonderful things in life to look forward to.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Wow. Ok, I'm John Vause.
CNN NEWSROOM continues next with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church. See you right back here tomorrow.
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