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Former U.S. President Carter Receiving Hospice Care At Home; U.S. Directly Confronts China Over Suspected Spy Balloon; North Korea Fires Long-Range Missile In Surprise Drill; Rail Company CEO Promises To Help Community Recover Following Train Derailment; U.S. Secretary Of State To Visit Turkey On Sunday; Football Star Christian Atsu Found In Rubble In Turkey; Russian Scheme To Deport Ukrainian Children; Movie Sparks Tourism Boom In Search Of Fictional Island. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired February 19, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:33]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

This hour on CNN NEWSROOM, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter is now receiving hospice care at his Georgia home. We'll bring you the latest reaction to this news. Plus, Anthony Blinken meets face to face with his Chinese counterpart in Munich. What the U.S. secretary of State said about the balloon shootdown over the U.S. And later, disturbing reports that thousands of Ukrainian children have been forcibly relocated to Russia. We'll talk with one human rights advocate about what's being done to end that.

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

BRUNHUBER: From here in Georgia across the U.S., and around the world, people are sending thoughts and praying for peace and comfort for former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. His family says he has decided to begin hospice care at home after facing deteriorating health for some time.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more on the story from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter has begun to receive hospice care. In a statement on Saturday, the Carter Center said that, quote, "After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention." It went on to say that he has full support of his family and his medical team.

Now Jimmy Carter is the oldest former U.S. president living. Former U.S. president at the age of 98. And he has kept a low profile over the course of the coronavirus pandemic but has still spoken out in democracy and is known as a champion of human rights. Now him and President Biden share a long-standing relationship dating back to Biden's time as a young senator when he endorsed then Governor Jimmy Carter.

Now President Biden visited the Carters in 2021 after the inauguration. And at the time, Biden said that they, quote, "talked about the old days." Now the former president is receiving hospice care and we have learned from his grandson, Jason Carter, a former Georgia state senator, that he visited them on Friday, the Carter family, and that they are at peace.

Now Former president Carter has had medical issues in the past. He beat brain cancer in 2015 and had health issues in 2019. But for now, his family is asking for privacy.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The decision to begin hospice care is a difficult one for the patient and for their family. There are many things to consider before making that choice. Here's what one doctor had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DEVI NAMPIAPARAMPIL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF REHABILITATION MEDICINE, NYU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: They start to wonder why am I enduring all of these painful treatments? Why am I being rushed to the hospital? Being hospitalized is itself a painful process. You don't get sleep. You're often woken up all the time, blood draws, sometimes painful procedures, et cetera.

And you start to question why am I doing this if this is not going to achieve the outcome that I'm looking for? So then you start to think about, well, you know, if I'm going to die, what do I want to have left behind? And then that can change what you're doing.

Also, you know, usually in hospice, people think about not just the person who is sick, but the caregivers. Who is left behind after all this is done? Because oftentimes for the family, it's extremely stressful trying to treat this person who's extremely sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Reaction to the news of the former president's health is pouring in from all over. Jimmy Carter's home state of Georgia, Senator Raphael Warnock tweeted, "Across life's seasons, President Jimmy Carter, a man of great faith, has walked with God. In this tender time of transitioning, God is surely walking with him."

And comedian Jon Stewart tweeted, "Jimmy Carter is one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I've ever had the honor of meeting. He's the best of us." And the Secret Service posted a message, "Rest easy, Mister President. We will be forever by your side." Well, talks between the top diplomats from the U.S. and China were

meant to ease strained relations, we're not seeing any signs of it yet. On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, a tense exchange between U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. It marked the first face-to-face meeting since China suspected spy balloon was shot down in U.S. airspace two weeks ago.

Afterward, Blinken tweeted, quote, "I condemn the incursion of the PRC surveillance balloon and stress it must never happen again."

[04:05:08]

During their meeting, Blinken also said he warned China to stay out of Russia's war in Ukraine, saying U.S. have observed disturbing signs that Beijing was considering sending weapons and ammo to Moscow. In his address to the Munich conference, Ukraine's president said his country was thoroughly committed to reclaiming all of its territory from Moscow. On Saturday Blinken backed up that position saying any land concessions to Moscow would only invite more aggression. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: We all have a profound stake in, as Annalena said, a just and durable peace. And what do we mean by that? Just in that any peace has to be consistent with the principles of the United Nations charter. It is fundamentally against the interest of every other country around the world to wind up with a result that somehow vindicates the seizure by force of territory. That validates that.

Because if we do that, we will open a pandora's box around the world and every would-be aggressor will include that, if Russia got away with it, we can get away with. And that's not in anyone's interest because it's a recipe for a world of conflict.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Our Nic Robertson is covering the conference for us in Munich and Marc Stewart is standing by in Tokyo.

So, Nic, let's start with you. Plenty of issues on the table. The war in Ukraine, China, and crucially the intersection of the two. Take us through the major points.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Well, certainly, tough political language coming out of that diplomatic meeting between Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Both have constituencies at home that they need to appear tough with this difficult relationship between the two countries at the time. It does, if you will, show some possibility for continuing diplomatic dialogue.

Of course, always in these context, better to have face-to-face conversations and the sort of pull apart nature of where the relationship stood the cancellation of Secretary Blinken's trip to China just recently after the issue with China's balloon over the United States. But it did allow for that very frank exchange over the issue of China's continuing support of Russia and the changing nature of that support, the Russia and the war in Ukraine. And that's the concern for the United States.

That was a concern that they shared here with their allies and partners in the Munich Security Conference, that China is potentially coming up to a line that if it crosses, it would then be providing military, lethal aid to Russia for use in Ukraine. And Secretary Blinken said, this is a scenario that cannot be repeated. That Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Wang Yi, for his part, when he talked about the potential for peace, talked about the possibility of China playing a role, and he said that European nations essentially need to take seriously legitimate security concerns, which I think for a lot of people here reads, China says you have to listen to what President Putin is saying. His pretext for the invasion of Ukraine, which is not taken at face value as Putin puts it, that he was under threat from NATO here.

And I put some of this to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a very significant European politician diplomat, and asked her about her thoughts on all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Is there the sense of urgency within the support of Ukraine?

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Absolutely. And President Zelenskyy is right. It is urgent. Therefore I'm planning now to convene the European Defense Industry, for example, to scale up and to speed up the production of standardized ammunition. We need it. We need it badly.

ROBERTSON: And the coordination that's required, I think this is something that Vice President Harris is speaking about. Coordination to effectively get all this equipment and ammunition to arrive in a useful way for Ukraine. Are we developing that?

VON DER LEYEN: Very important coordination on the sanctions. We've been able to put forward another tense package of sanctions together. And we've been able to coordinate the global oil price cap, which is really hurting Russia. Russia loses 160 million euros every single day because of the oil price cap. So this wouldn't have been possible without the coordination between us.

ROBERTSON: The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke. Did you get any sense from his speech that China is listening to Europe's message not to support Russia in this war?

VON DER LEYEN: Well, we've seen that China and Russia signed an unlimited partnership. And I think we need more proof and more action to see that China is not supporting Russia. So far we see the opposite. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So, that concern there ongoing about China and how much support it's giving to Russia. And of course she was talking there about a big trust of the conference here, and that is the military support that's required for Ukraine at the moment.

[04:10:08]

BRUNHUBER: All right, great to get that interview.

Nic Robertson in Munich, thanks so much for that.

Let's bring in CNN's Marc Stewart in Tokyo.

So, Marc, about that high-stakes meeting between the U.S. secretary of state and his Chinese counterpart. What was China's take on the meeting?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, China has again being very stern, especially about its position about the balloon, which has been a big sticking point, at least on the public sphere. China maintains this was still an accident. There was nothing nefarious and the American response was over the top. Yet this meeting between Secretary Blinken and his Chinese counterpart was very symbolic. Take a listen to the response from China's top diplomat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG YI, SENIOR CHINESE DIPLOMAT (through translator): We asked the United States to handle it calmly and professionally based on consultation with the Chinese side. Regrettably, the United States disregards these effects and used advanced fighter jets and downed a balloon with its missiles. This is, I would say, absurd and hysterical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: Absurd and hysterical. That is the Chinese response. Yet through all of this, the United States, Secretary Blinken at least, is being portrayed as being very direct and unapologetic about the U.S. position.

Kim, finally, there has been this question about diplomacy. You talk to Nic about this. The U.S., through an official at least, is saying that Secretary Blinken at least did still leave the door open for a discussion between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi. But at this point no timetable as to -- even if this would occur.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. All right, and then on the topic of Ukraine, China is talking about some form of peace plan. But then as we heard earlier from Nic, the U.S. suggesting China is considering ramping up assistance to Russia.

STEWART: Right. And the U.S. is making those claims. It says based off of intelligence that, yes, indeed, China is helping Russia build its arsenal and its intelligence that it has shared with its allies within the European Union, and is really portraying China, at least publicly, saying that it's for peace but privately helping behind the scenes. And as you heard in that interview with Nic, this is certainly getting the attention and the ear of the E.U.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much, Marc Stewart in Tokyo. Appreciate it.

Well, Secretary Blinken says the U.S. has long worried about China helping Moscow evade sanctions or send weapons and ammunition to Russia in its war against Ukraine as we heard. Now so far there's no indication Beijing has done that. But Blinken told CBS the U.S. is concerned the Chinese leadership may be thinking about it. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINKEN: If you go back to the very first conversations that President Biden and President Xi had about Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, just a couple of weeks into the war, President Biden shared with President Xi our deep concern about the possibility China would provide lethal support to Russia in this effort as well as engage in the systematic evasion of sanctions. And the reason for that concern was just weeks before the aggression, you'll remember present that President Xi and President Putin had a meeting in which they talked about a partnership with no limits. And we were concerned that among the lack of limits would be Chinese support for Russia in the war.

We've been watching this very closely. Today, we have seen Chinese companies and of course in China there's really no distinction between private companies and the state. We have seen them provide nonlethal support to Russia for use in the Ukraine. The concern that we have now is based on information we have that they're considering providing lethal support. And we've made very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: We're learning more about North Korea's latest long-range missile tests, its third in less than a year. State TV reports an intercontinental ballistic missile was fired on Saturday in a surprise drill under the written orders of leader Kim Jong-un.

CNN's Will Ripley has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: North Korea always conducts these kinds of highly provocative tests for a reason. Could they have been doing it because of the G7 foreign ministers meeting at the Munich Security Conference? Did they want to get the attention of, you know, the leaders of places like the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., the E.U.?

Well, they certainly did get it. They got a statement from the G7 members strongly condemning North Korea's launch of what is believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, an ICBM, like the one that they launched back in November that traveled around 22 times the speed of sound.

[04:15:12]

Could potentially hit the U.S. mainland, Japan has warned, and was in the air for more than an hour. Now, this was, essentially, the same statistics with preliminary information. Today's -- you know, Saturday's launch from that November launch which was later determined to be a Hwasong-17. But the question now is that, is this is an old North Korean ICBM? Or is it something new? Because remember last week, they had a military parade in Pyongyang.

They've showed an apparent mockup of new solid fueled ICBMs. Solid fuel dangerous because they can fill it up and launch it very quickly without spy satellites getting a glimpse of it. Kind of a surprise attack sort of thing. And North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wants to build a lot of these, wants to mass produce them.

Also on Friday, North Korea threatened the U.S. and South Korea over these upcoming military drills. They're going to be happening computer simulations. They called them tabletop drills at the Pentagon, but then next month, boots on the ground drills on the Korean Peninsula. So don't be surprised. A lot of Korea watchers say North Korea steps things up. I mean, they've certainly with an ICBM launch, they're sending a strong message. And world leaders are listening. But the question is, what can they really do to stop them?

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Still ahead, the railroad company is promising to help the Ohio community where that train derailed carrying toxic chemicals, but is it enough? We'll hear from an expert next. Plus more war crimes allegations against Russia. A new report says Moscow is forcibly deporting thousands of Ukrainian children from occupied areas.

We'll have the story ahead on CNN. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:35]

BRUNHUBER: The CEO of Norfolk Southern Rail Company is promising to help East Palestine, Ohio, recover and thrive again. Those comments came as he visited the site where that train carrying hazardous materials derailed more than two weeks ago.

CNN's Polo Sandoval has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Norfolk Southern is the rail company that the U.S. EPA says will be held accountable because of its role in this disaster. The company for its part on Saturday, tweeting a reminder that they said that they will not be walking away from this situation. In fact, on Saturday, also tweeting a link to an air testing service for businesses and homes in the area, free of charge, and also saying that they will be in it for the long haul.

But still, this is doing little to assure many other residents of East Palestine, including some that have reported some symptoms like sore throats, nausea, feeling headaches. They're worried that these symptoms could potentially be linked to the chemicals that were released after that derailment in early February. And even after authorities have said that multiple tests have shown no elevated levels of chemicals and drinking water or in the air, there are still many concerns that remain for the residents there in eastern Ohio.

KRISTINA FERGUSON, RESIDENT: We need help. We do. We need -- we need President Biden. We need FEMA housing. People are getting sick.

JAMI COZZA, RESIDENT: The railroad sent out his toxicologist who deemed my house not safe, but had I not used my voice, had I not thrown a fit, I would be sitting in that house right now when they told me that it was safe.

JIM STEWART, RESIDENT: I don't recommend you put anything in the ground. I mean, vegetables or tomatoes or anything this year because we don't know.

SANDOVAL: Late Friday, federal officials announced that FEMA will be supplementing the federal response on the ground in the coming days in the form of a senior response official. Also, a regional incident management assistance team. The goal will be to assess the long term needs for members of the community there.

They can also expect authorities to set up debris clinics, potentially, there to provide medical personnel and also even toxicologists an opportunity to evaluate some of these individuals that have come forward with some of these symptoms that may, potentially, be linked to the events earlier this month.

Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Peter DeCarlo, an environmental health professor at Johns Hopkins University, spoke to CNN earlier about the accuracy of the tests in the area.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER DECARLO, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PROFESSOR, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: The EPA differentiates between monitoring and air sampling. And they've been doing both. Monitoring seems to be what is heavily relied upon especially in screening people's homes, and it's the data that's mostly reported on that response Web site. And the problem with monitoring data is it doesn't give us chemical specificity.

It doesn't tell us what chemicals are present and what concentrations. It gives us an idea of generally how much of a class of chemicals is there. But it doesn't specify the specific chemicals. And that's what's important to understand. The exposure and potential toxicity. The air sampling data, we haven't seen updates on that for quite some time. And we certainly haven't seen data from samples taken at the accident site, on downwind of the accident site in terms of air sampling, in terms of the chemicals that are being released that people are potentially exposed to.

And without that data, it's really hard to know what people should be worried about and what next steps may be. But from reports on the ground, from people who live there and who have come back, there are certainly still odors and chemicals present in the area. And there are chemicals that we can smell. There are chemicals that we can't smell. And it really comes down to being able to measure those and understand what's in the environment.

And I really want to stress, it's probably most important to know what's in people's homes. What, from that accident, may have gotten into people's homes or into the soil that people track into their homes? With small children, I would always be worried about what they're getting into and their potential exposures. Because ultimately, they are some of the more vulnerable people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Emotional ceremonies were held across Michigan this weekend to honor three students killed in the mass shooting in Michigan State University last Monday.

[04:25:06]

Mourners gathered Saturday for a vigil for Arielle Anderson. She'll be laid to rest Tuesday. Her family remembers her as a loving person who worked in her community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DESIREE CALHOUN, COUSIN OF ARIELLE ANDERSON: Arielle, she was a sweet young lady. She was nice and kind. She was always helpful. She had a ministry of health, you know, she could've been God servant herself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Funerals were held Saturday for the other two shooting victims. The service honored Brian Fraser, described by friends and family as charismatic and hard not to like. Mourners also gathered to say goodbye to Alexandra Verner. She's remembered as a positive person who touched many lives.

All right, just ahead, the U.S. secretary of state will arrive in Turkey in the next few hours to survey the earthquake damage affecting an important NATO ally. We'll have a live report from Istanbul coming up. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: And welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I am Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Updating you now on our top story. Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter is now in hospice care at his Georgia home after battling deteriorating health for some time. At 98 years old, Carter is the nation's oldest living president. His grandson, a former Georgia state senator, Jason Carter, says he saw both of his grandparents on Friday, and they are at peace with the decision. And their home is full of love. An author who wrote a book about Carter had this to say about him.

[04:30:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAI BIRD, AUTHOR, "THE OUTLIER: THE UNFINISHED PRESIDENCY OF JIMMY CARTER": He was the only president who used the White House as a stepping stone to greater things. And it's true. You know, he had a remarkable ex-presidency. Just a continuation of his presidency in many ways, doing good works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Carter was the 39th president of the U.S. After leaving office, he founded the Carter Center and has devoted his life to advancing world peace, health, and human rights.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will be visiting Turkey in the coming hours. While there, he'll get a look at the rescue and recovery efforts and the damage from the devastating earthquake that hit two weeks ago. The death toll in Turkey alone rising to more than 40,000, according to the most recent figures from a Turkish disaster management agency.

Across the border in Syria, more than 5800 people are dead. The majority of them in rebel-held areas, according to the United Nations.

So for more on this and the latest developments on the ground in Turkey, I'm joined by CNN's Nada Bashir in Istanbul.

So, Nada, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will be there in Turkey to, among other things, offer aid which is obviously so desperately needed.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is hugely needed there, Kim. This has been an immense amount of loss for those in southeast Turkey, and the message that we heard from aid groups on the ground there simply needs to be more. They need more support from the Turkish government. They need more support from the international community.

We've seen that support in the form of aid and humanitarian assistance committed by the United States government, as well as other international partners. The United Nations now appealing for $1 billion in aid over the next three months. That follows an earlier appeal for nearly $400 million in aid in support of the rebel-held northwest Syria where of course that devastation has been immense. We're talking about an area already heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance. Now completely decimated by the earthquake.

But there has been a groundswell of support here in Turkey in response to the earthquake. We've seen aid centers being set up, donations being brought in each and every day. Volunteers, thousands of volunteers working around the clock to support that humanitarian response effort. And there have been thousands of people down on the ground supporting that search and rescue effort as well, including teams from across the globe.

And that search and rescue effort is still continuing. We're remarkably still seeing people being rescued into the weekend on Saturday. A number of people rescued from beneath the rubble. But we are also seeing that death toll still climbing, and the window for finding survivors is certainly closing. And of course, as that window closes, the focus is now shifting to supporting those who have been made homeless by this earthquake.

Thousands and thousands of people left with absolutely nothing. And the Turkish government says, it is committed to rebuilding parts of southeast Turkey within a year. They say there are some 90,000 buildings which have either been destroyed or require immediate demolition because they are simply unsafe. And they have also said that by March, they will have begun construction of some 30,000 departments.

But this is going to be a long challenge ahead for the Turkish government. It will take months, if not years, to help those in southeast Turkey who've been made homeless. And we're already beginning to see families being evacuated to other parts of the country, including here in Istanbul, where we have already seen families being put up in university dormitories. Some being hosted by volunteers opening up their homes to those impacted by the earthquake.

But of course, that need for humanitarian assistance, will only continue to grow as we begin to see the real toll of the earthquake as we begin to grapple with the real impact that it has had. Field hospitals being set up, ships carrying medical equipment are heading still to southeast Turkey. This is a round-the-clock response effort by the government here.

And as Secretary Blinken now comes to visit to see the destruction there in southeast Turkey, that need for international support is only going to be underscored that there will be a continued need for that support. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted that Turkey has taken the world's largest portion of refugees over the last few years following the war in Syria. And that now is the time for the international community to stand behind Turkey, and of course also to stand behind those impacted in northwest Syria -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much. Nada Bashir in Istanbul.

The soccer world is mourning the loss of Ghana's Christian Atsu. His body was found on Saturday in the rubble of a destroyed building in Turkey less than two weeks after the earthquake, which has devastated so much of the country. CNN's "WORLD SPORT's" Patrick Snell spoke with Turkish soccer player

Merih Demiral.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORT ANCHOR: On Saturday, very, very sadly, indeed, we learned of the news regarding the Ghanaian international footballer, Christian Atsu, whose body was found under the rubble.

[04:35:11]

How do you pay tribute to him and to his life?

MERIH DEMIRAL, ATALANTA B.C. DEFENDER: Yes. It's really, really sad because I see all of it today from the interview and like I said, it's really sad because he -- people saw already 14 or 15 days before his last game, and he scored also in this game. But -- so I'm really, really sad. I don't know, I don't know what I can say. You know? Because I feel really, really sad for him, for his family. And yes, I cannot say anything anymore because I'm really sad.

SNELL: At times like this, we've seen the global football league community coming together as one. Today, in the English Premier League, the tributes to Christian Atsu and his life really powerful gestures which speaks so much about him as a person and a player, as well. Right?

DEMIRAL: Yes. Yes. I see it also. I see some clubs did some -- like Chelsea, like Manchester, because he played these clubs. Like I say, it's a really difficult moment. And I don't know what I can say. And I wish for his family, for his friends. It's a really difficult moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And Atsu's Turkish club tweeted that his body will be sent back to his hometown in Ghana.

All right, still ahead, a top Russian official is accused of leading a scheme to forcibly deport Ukrainian children to Russia. We'll have the detailed report coming up next. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:40:01]

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is urgently requesting more ammunition to fend off attacks from Russia. In the east, Russian troops and mercenaries are claiming to have captured a village near Bakhmut. But the Ukrainian military says its forces are still fighting to repel the offensive.

Now this comes as the U.S. is leveling serious accusations against Russia. On Saturday, Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that Moscow's forces were committing crimes against humanity. In a speech, she outlined evidence of horrific attacks against Ukrainian civilians. And we want to warn you, images you're about to see are hard to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Think of the images of Bucha, civilians shot in cold blood. Their bodies left in the street. The jarring photograph of the man who was riding his bike. Think of the 4-year-old girl who the United Nations recently reported was sexually assaulted by a Russian soldier. A 4-year-old child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, stunning new report alleges that Russia's commissioner for Children's Rights is at the center of a government scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children from occupied areas to Russia. Something the United Nations considers to be a war crime.

CNN's Melissa Bell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She claims to be the savior of Ukrainian children.

Demure, devout, and devoted she says to welcoming orphaned or abandoned children of war to the motherland.

MARIA LVOVA-BELOVA, PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSIONER FOR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS (through text translation): Welcome to Moscow.

BELL: But this is no humanitarian adoption program. Russia's Children's Rights commissioner is in fact in charge of something far more sinister. According to both the American and European governments, and a new report by Yale University, thousands of Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia.

Although Moscow denies it's doing this against their will, some have been taken thousands of miles and several time zones away from Ukraine.

NATHANIEL RAYMOND, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, YALE HUMANITARIAN RESEARCH LAB: Maria Lvova-Belova is basically the point person at the Kremlin level for this entire program.

BELL (on-camera): And so these children are essentially being held hostage?

RAYMOND: Yes.

BELL (voice-over): The woman in charge is herself a 38-year-old mother of at least 10, including five adopted children, and her work takes her all the way into the occupied territories.

LVOVA-BELOVA (through translator): This time we came to Mariupol itself. We will do everything for the children and teenagers who are here.

BELL: From Lvova-Belova's Telegram channel to Russian propaganda videos, the deportations are no secret, yet the children are totally beyond the reach of either their families or Ukrainian authorities.

ALYONA LUNYOVA, ADVOCACY DIRECTOR, ZMINA HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER: Some of those children are really small. We see on the propaganda video of Russia that, you know, seven, six months, you know, four years. Those children just do not remember where they are from, who are their parents.

BELL: And once across the border, there is no contact anyway. Some are adopted by Russian families, others are taken to what are billed as summer camps. In fact, reeducation centers aimed at turning Ukrainian children into Russian citizens.

LVOVA-BELOVA (through translator): Unfortunately, we see that these children were brought up in a completely different culture and they did not watch the same films our children watched. They did not study history as our children did.

BELL: But Ukrainian lawyers fighting for the return of the children fear that those already adopted may be lost for good.

KATERYNA RASHEVSKA, UKRAINIAN LAWYER: During this process of adoption, parents can change all personal data, names, surnames, date of birth, and we think that some children that transferred to Russia without documents.

BELL: Among those already adopted is a young boy from Mariupol by Maria Lvova-Belova herself. At first, she says he sang the Ukrainian national anthem. Now he is a good boy, as she told Vladimir Putin himself this week.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Did you adopt the child from Mariupol yourself?

LVOVA-BELOVA (through translator): Yes, thanks to you. 15 years old. Now I know what it means to be a mother of a child from Donbas. It's difficult, but we definitely love each other.

BELL: Melissa Bell, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, for more on this I want to bring in Nataliya Gumenyuk. She's an independent journalist who's worked with a number of media outlets in Ukraine.

Thanks so much for being here with us. This is incredibly disturbing story. It's an issue you've been looking into as well. What have you seen?

[04:45:03]

NATALIYA GUMENYUK, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: So to follow up, within the Reckoning Project, which I also represent, we closely follow the story and actually broke the stories about the family from Mariupol. 12 years old boy, his two years who've been taken to Moscow, and later was -- they're retrieved miraculously thanks to this small boy, 12- year-old boy being very persistent.

But what is also interesting that in our report that (INAUDIBLE) was exactly with the same group as this small boy, Philippe, whom Maria Lvova-Belova adopted. We were able to reconfirm his surname, his appearance, and what else, when talking to our lawyers and legal experts, maybe some people who really do not (INAUDIBLE) understand (INAUDIBLE) amount to the war crime.

But this indoctrination of the kids, trying to explain to the kids whose houses have been bombed by the Russian army that it was the Ukrainians, actually has a very long lasting damage to their future. We really can verify that the kids were -- also in our further reports we can verify that the kids were taken from Kherson regions, from Kharkiv region, so it's really different parts of Ukraine.

But something for me important to add, so yes, the fact that Maria Lvova-Belova last week -- this week talked to Vladimir Putin can be considered the recognition by the highest Russian official of committing these crimes. But I think it's very important not to be focused just on her, but the system which is in place in Russia.

Also, two days ago, the Russian -- one of the parliamentary MPs had signed a bill which might be adopted on the 21st of February, the day of the anniversary of the Russian invasion, that all the minors before 18, who are more smaller than 18 years old, might be considered so- called kids of the special war operation, which can even more facilitate this unlawful practice of the deportation and taking the kids from Ukraine.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I mean, it's incredible. Just from an emotional point of view as a parent, I can't imagine what it would be like to be frantically looking for your child in another country. A country with whom you're at war. I mean, what are the parents tell you?

GUMENYUK: So parents are frightened. You know why we know about less of these cases because also we are journalists but we're also researchers, we're documenting crimes within the Reckoning Project. So, you know, for us, it's not important that much to read the story and be the fastest. So we talk to more people than we report. And of course the most important is that these kids (INAUDIBLE) so parents they'd be frightened to talk publicly unless their kids are retrieved.

But for me, it's very important for our team to talk to his family from Mariupol. We stay in touch for half a year. And they really -- you clearly see that the kids didn't want. You know, even when it was clear that the father is alive, he was taken to the prison for some time, and again, the kid said, like, we want to talk to our father. And they still were forced to adopt, to choose like whether to stay longer in the camp or they are adopted.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We will have to leave it there. But it's incredibly an important issue and we'll keep shining a spotlight on it.

Thank you so much for talking to us, Nataliya Gumenyuk in Kyiv. Appreciate it. The movie "The Banshees of Inisherin" has been nominated for multiple

awards this season. But the setting of the film, this fictional island may turn out to be the biggest winner. I'll have that story straight ahead. Please stay with us.

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[04:52:52]

BRUNHUBER: The British Academy Film Awards ceremony will be held later today. "The Banshees of Inisherin" is nominated for 10 BAFTAs but if the Irish tourism officials have their way the countryside portrayed in the film end up being the big winner.

Michael Holmes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLIN FARRELL, ACTOR: Just tell me what I've done to you.

BRENDAN GLEESON, ACTOR: You didn't do anything to me. Just don't like you no more.

FARRELL: She liked me yesterday.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The film, "The Banshees of Inisherin," is getting high honors at award shows, winning three Golden Globes and nominated for nine Oscars. But it's the film's location featuring island, sea-sprayed Atlantic Coast that's stealing scenes.

Inisherin is a fictional place back to places where the movie was filmed namely Achill Island in Western Ireland and in a small part of the Aran Islands are ready for visitors.

Tourism Ireland has launched a marketing campaign and tourism video to capitalize on the film's popularity. And while the banshees of Irish folklore are omens of death, the "Banshees of Inisherin" is pretty good business. Filming has brought in nearly $2 million worth of revenue to the area. There is now a tour of the movie shooting locations and some of the shops have started selling souvenirs.

ALAN GIELTY, MANAGER, ACHILL ISLAND COACHES: There's a lot of people with gift shops already. And they're in the process of doing gifts with banshees stuff on it. So yes, we're getting there. It's giving us time. Our tour season really starts from (INAUDIBLE).

GLEESON: Starting from now.

FARRELL: But just like it. You know, a suspect.

HOLMES: Like the characters in the film, having a drink at the pub is likely something many visitors will want to do, although the pub in the movie was just a set. But a local bar says it did manage to save a few memorable props. MICK LYNCH, OWNER, LYNOTT'S PUB: As it turns out, these are the

infamous sheers. I don't want to ruin the film for anyone. But trust me.

HOLMES: This woman was one of 120 extras in the movie. The donkeys are her own. No relation to the famous Jenny the donkey who also starred in the movie. But she says the island is planning parties for Oscar night to root on the hometown hit.

[04:55:00]

MADELINE CONDELL, EXTRA ON "THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN": We almost feel like we deserve an Oscar as well because, you know, the beauty of the area and, you know, it's such a lovely place to visit. And anyone that ever does visit always falls in love with the place.

HOLMES: The dark comedy centers on the loss of a friendship played out in thatched roof cottages, moon swept beaches, and vast panoramas of the Irish countryside. So far, that's a winning combination on screen and off.

Michael Holmes, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A new dunk champion has been crowned at the NBA All-Star weekend. Philadelphia guard Mac McClung stole the show this Saturday with a series of jaw-dropping highlights in this dunk contest. He easily won the title after recording three perfect scores in four attempts. That capped off an entertaining Saturday night in Utah which also featured the hometown team winning the skills challenge. Important star Damon Lillard taking home the three-point shooting title. The action will continue tonight with the highly anticipated all-star game.

Well, cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952 due to overhunting and loss of habitat. But now a new beginning. 12 cheetahs have arrived in India from South Africa. Conservationists brought the big cats from Johannesburg to an Indian air force base. From there, the 12 cheetahs will travel by helicopter to the Kuno National Park. Their arrival is part of an initiative by both countries to reintroduce the cheetah in India.

All right, I'm Kim Brunhuber. Stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM continues after a quick break. Please do stay with us.

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