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Biden Arrives In Warsaw After Surprise Trip To Kyiv; Chinese Top Diplomat Wang Yi To Pay A Visit To Russia; 6.3-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Southern Turkey; North Korea Confirms Ballistic Missile Test, Warns Of More Powerful Steps. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 21, 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: Ahead this hour, Joe Biden's BFD visit to Kyiv. Nothing says we stand with you quite like physically standing by one another in Ukraine's Capitol with air raid sirens heard in the distance.
Another powerful deadly tremor rattles Turkey and Syria. And the chances of jail time for Alec Baldwin would have been greatly reduced, with prosecutors dropping one charge downgrading another in his manslaughter trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: The U.S. president is in Poland. At this hour he crossed the border from Ukraine around 8pm local time, traveling by train and bringing to an end and unprecedented presidential visit to an active war zone.
Biden traveled to key to show unwavering us support for the people of Ukraine. This was the first time an American president has been in a war zone with no significant U.S. military presence. In other words, the safety and security for the leader of the free world was left to the Ukrainian police and Ukrainian soldiers.
Air raid sirens could be heard ringing out in Kyiv, as Mr. Biden walked alongside the Ukrainian president around St. Michael's cathedral. During the visit, Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin's war of conquest is failing. And once again, he reaffirmed and reaffirmed his support for Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Freedom is priceless. It's worth fighting for, for as long as it takes. And that's how long we're going to be with you, Mr. President, for as long as it takes.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Along with words or gestures or support, there's also deeds. President Biden announcing a new aid package for Ukraine whilst he was in Kyiv with $500 million in military equipment. U.S. officials are hopeful this will be enough to help put Ukraine in a position to negotiate terms for an end to the war.
New package includes ammunition, anti-tank weapons, and radar to help detect possible Russian bombardment, but not the fighter jets Ukraine has been asking for is more now from one senior U.S. official.
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JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COMMS. CORRIDNATOR: Well, there's no plan to train fighter pilots right now on us fighters. The President has spoken to this we're going to stay in touch with the Ukrainians and with allies and partners about their needs.
You can't hardly blame President Zelenskyy for taking every opportunity that he can to ask for more systems. I won't get ahead of a future announcement. You'll see us announced some more here very, very shortly. And that will continue well into the coming weeks and months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Expect something very, very shortly that could mean well, almost anything could Joe Biden announced more military hardware for Ukraine when he meets Polish president and speak later today in Warsaw.
CNN will bring you those remarks live when they happen.
In the meantime, let's go to CNN's Kevin Liptak following developments. He joins us live from Warsaw. So is there any way of knowing what, you know, Kirby's actually talking about in that soundbite? What can we expect?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN REPORTER: Well, certainly President Biden has made clear that he's willing to ramp up steadily over the last year what he's willing to send to Ukraine. And you saw that over the last several months, at one point that Abrams tanks, the highly sophisticated vehicles, those were off the table, suddenly they were on the table. Now the U.S. says that they'll send them.
President Biden has said pretty explicitly no fighter jets are not on the table right now. But that doesn't preclude the U.S. making that decision somewhere down the line. And it all sort of depends on what the reality is on the battlefield. And that is something that President Biden and President Zelenskyy really discussed very intently behind closed doors yesterday in Kyiv, is what will the next several months look like?
What does Ukraine need in order to bolster its positions on the battlefield as both Ukraine and Russia prepare for this spring offensive and as this war enters what U.S. officials say is really kind of an uncertain phase. It's becoming more complicated, and you keep hearing U.S. officials warn that China may be preparing to provide lethal aid to Russia.
So this conflict is really becoming much more complex as it enters its second year, and as President Biden really works to bolster U.S. and Western support for Ukraine, and that is really sort of the overarching mission of his visit to Europe this week is to reiterate that the U.S. stands by Ukraine that the West remains united as the war enters this phase where no one really knows what comes next.
There is no certain end game to this war and there's certainly no negotiations underway now for ending this conflict.
[01:05:05]
And what you'll hear President Biden say today when he speaks from Warsaw castles he'll make the point that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a mistake when he launched this invasion, who in and I should say most American officials thought that Kyiv would fall in the opening days of that war and President Biden of course, standing in Kyiv yesterday, making the point that those estimates were wrong.
Now president's -- the President's speech in Warsaw is going to set up this extraordinary splitscreen because President Putin is also speaking today. He's speaking to political and military elites about what he calls the special military operation in Ukraine. So you do have this extraordinary moment, the two leaders both laying out their visions of this conflict a year in.
The choice of the Warsaw castle for President Biden's speech is very interesting. And you'll remember, John, that is where the President at a speech last year ad libbed at the end, that President Putin cannot remain in power sort of this implicit call for regime change in Moscow.
Of course, President Putin does remain very much in power. U.S. and European officials all say that his intentions have not really changed over the last year. And so President Biden's speech today very important to set down a marker as this war enters this new phase, John.
VAUSE: There's the sunrise over Warsaw. So it looks like past six plus seven in the morning now on Tuesday. Thank you. We appreciate your time.
China has already close ties to Russia under closer scrutiny with us claims that Beijing is considering legal support for Vladimir Putin's military. China's top diplomat expected in Moscow in the coming hours. Wang Yi was in Budapest over the past two days where he met with the Hungarian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Live now to Hong Kong, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout for more developments on this. So exactly what's on the agenda here for Wang Yi if he heads off to Moscow? What's the deal?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's the deal here? John, we got a hint of you know what's on the agenda last week when you heard from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and they call this visit by China's top diplomat Wang Yi, who's on route to Moscow, of course is an opportunity for both China and Russia to exchange views about the relationship and also an opportunity to talk about international hotspot issues, which is China code for the war in Ukraine.
Now on Monday, we did hear from Wang Yi he was speaking in Budapest. And while there he made this appeal, he said that China is willing to work with other countries for a lasting peace in Ukraine. We also heard from the Kremlin spokesman there saying that is not ruling out the possibility of a meeting between Wang Yi and the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Now, this visit comes, of course, during a time of deepening diplomatic tension between China and the United States over the Chinese balloon incident and over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Just last weekend, the U.S. Secretary of State gave that warning to Wang Yi saying that there will be consequences if trying to provide material support to Russia. And China responded forcefully at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefing on Monday.
This is just a statement of what we heard from the spokesman on Monday, let's bring it up for you saying quote the U.S. is in no position to tell China what to do. We would never stand for finger pointing or even coercion and pressure rising from the U.S. on our relations with Russia. And that was a point that was made multiple times by the spokesman during that briefing.
Look, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine we've seen both Russia and China edge closer together on a political level on an economic level as well. China continues to buy Russian energy which of course softens the impact of sanctions. And we will see just how far this no limits relationship is when Wang Yi touches down in Russia did it touch down Tuesday afternoon, local time, and whether or not he gets that meeting with Vladimir Putin. Back to you.
VAUSE: It is a fine line that China has been walking for the last year it's getting tougher all the time. Kristie Lu Stout, thank you so much there live in Hong Kong.
LU STOUT: Thank you.
VAUSE: Two weeks after a powerful earthquake left almost 40,000-45,000 people dead in Turkey and Syria. The region has been rattled again by another tremor magnitude 6.3 aftershock brought devastation onto devastation.
And that is the moment the ground shock when Monday's earthquake struck in southern Turkey in Hatay province. At least three people were killed almost 300 injured in Turkey.
In northwest Syria, the White Helmets organization reported more than 130 were injured. In both countries several buildings that badly damaged by the last earthquake have now collapsed. On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss among other issues, earthquake recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States is here to support you and your time of need. And we will be by your side for as long as it takes to recover and to rebuild.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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VAUSE: For more now on the aftershock, we're joined by meteorologist Britley Ritz at the CNN weather center. So this has been just one of so many aftershocks. They've gone through hundreds, I think over the last two weeks.
BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Really. Absolutely, John, and this 6.3 aftershock took place at 8:04 local time, just south of the original epicenter, where it originally occurred right along the East Anatolian fault line where that Arabian plate pressed up against the Anatolian that strike slip occurred. And that's kind of what's happening right now. And that's the reason why it's still considered an aftershock.
Population. Look at that, that orange line that you're seeing, or we saw very strong vibrations that we had populations of over 300,000 people, and many of these aftershocks will continue at roughly 3.02 to stronger. So that is on average, you get about one to about 10 of those.
We are with many aftershocks, just as John mentioned, where you're seeing the yellow dots, that's more than 24 hours, but the last 24 hours, you're looking at the oranges and that's where these aftershocks have occurred and you can expect more.
As for temperature, notice we're a little bit warmer. Current temperatures at Gaziantep seven degrees, Aleppo at eight degrees are expected to stay around one to two degrees roughly Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for your forecast lows in Gaziantep. And Aleppo slightly warmer by maybe a degree or two.
The quake recovery here. We are showing you the scattered showers and maybe a little bit of snowflake action going on across central Turkey through Thursday. We can expect that the original earthquake 7.8 as we mentioned, backup a week ago that originally took place on February 6 rather a couple of weeks ago. And that is what we focused on around there with the epicenter and then of course the aftershocks to follow which was that 6.3.
Noticing your forecast scattered showers here expected. Notice this continues on off and on throughout the rest of the upcoming week. And notice the initial quake with the aftershocks continuing. Expect that unfortunately here in the upcoming days, John.
VAUSE: Britley, thank you. We appreciate that.
Well, Kit Miyamoto is president of the nonprofit Miyamoto Global Disaster Relief. He joins us this hour from Kyiv. Thank you, sir, for being with us. We'll talk about why you're in Kyiv, in a moment. But first, to the fallout for the earthquake in Turkey, the president there has promised all homes destroyed in the quake will be rebuilt within a year.
So given the extent of the devastation, if they want to keep that timeline, can they actually keep this keep up to Turkey's own building codes can actually meet their own regulations, which are on the books right now?
KIT MIYAMOTO, PRESIDENT, MIYAMOTO GLOBAL DISASTER RELIEF: Well, I mean, first of all, the Turkish building code changed it when updated every few years. And since 1989, by the way. And so Turkish building code is good. There's nothing to change about that. And Turkish engineers actually pretty good to sort of contractor.
What failed here is the work order building stuff built prior to 2000s. Really dangerous and concrete structure, something you see in even U.S. do. And but anything bill after the problem is there's no license system for engineers and contractors. And there's no requirement for engineers to be on site to make sure that the things get done right. So those things are lacking.
And I'm sure that the government would change that immediately. And reconstruction can be started. And Turkish construction industry is extremely robust, as you may know. So, I will not be surprised they will build a 30,000 mid-rise apartments and within a year that's I think, I guess impossible. Anyone can do that with Turkish.
VAUSE: Right. Well, here's the question, though, is Turkey building safety standards? I said to be among the best in the world, which many people believe they. What's the point having them if they're not being enforced, you're correctly?
MIYAMOTO: Well, essentially, the ISO is quite bad. And obviously when I see that, well, we are everywhere, right? We saw the examine how the things have failed and why it's failed and how it can be done differently. And the new construction, you see, I don't see a demonstrable lack of false play. You know, plenty of concrete frame or steal. We saw wreckage collapse buildings.
However, little things like in it. See seismic resistance is the very subtle, make a little things it makes a huge difference. For example, the pillar support the floor of the apartments, right? If the pillar fails, everything fails. This pillar is really important. And inside of here, there's a hoop around. The hoop so critical. If you install right, you live. If you install wrong, you die. I mean that sample actually.
VAUSE: 45,000 people, close to 45,000 people now confirmed.
MIYAMOTO: Yes.
VAUSE: How many of those people would be alive, is it possible to know, how many would be alive if the safety standards which are on the books had been met and had been enforced in these buildings
[01:15:02] MIYAMOTO: Well, this area except that some certain Asian area like Hatay, you know that many people may thousands people died there because of slow effect. That's where that the really issue what I saw there about place like Gaziantep was sits on at the fairly farm rock cite that that was really limited only less than 2 percent of buildings collapsed versus Hatay of 50 percent collapsed.
So, it's a huge difference between what you at, makes a huge difference. And even Hatay, if you go into mountainside there's a rocky side and you live up there. So there's no damage there you see there. I will say that the probably a, you know, one of the 10 buildings we saw out there, which is a newer construction, now maybe more than that, maybe 20 percent. So, I would say there's somewhere between 40,000. I wouldn't be surprised 10,000 people alive if those new constructions built correctly by having the right engineering inspection happened along the way.
VAUSE: We're now in a situation where you have the situation in Kyiv, where you are right now, which will sooner or later is about to go undergo some very extensive reconstruction after Russian has destroyed pretty much everything there.
And yet same time, it's likely that there'll be some overlap with the reconstruction of Turkey and Syria.
MIYAMOTO: Yes.
VAUSE: What will be the impact of all that other cost of raw materials or supply lines which have been filled with already just the labor residual supply? So, how is this all going to impact each other and the rest of the world?
MIYAMOTO: It's hard, you know. I mean, if the construction estimation here is right now somewhere between $100 billion, maybe 50 billion, Turkey may be going up. And also inflation is really high. Well, you're -- obviously push the inflation more because there's the push for the engineers and contractors and materials and concrete, rebar and the window, you name it. So it's definitely the sole goal huge construction boom will happen in both countries because of a reconstruction. But it's happening almost same time.
So yes, it's definitely the hotspots for construction. So it's definitely a material shortage will be happening. And also the donors, the, you know, EU, to U.S., to many other countries is definitely the, you know, there's so much finite amount of money is here. So it's a -- it makes it extremely difficult.
The key is though not only public money, but private sector investments actually really critical. If you look up the audit disaster in the past, around a 10 to 50 percent of the reconstruction done by public money rest has come from the privately actually. So it's actually made it easier for the private investment, especially here in Ukraine. And Turkey too of course, I think that makes a huge, huge, huge differences.
VAUSE: Kit Miyamoto, thank you so much, sir. We appreciate your time to speak with you.
MIYAMOTO: Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
VAUSE: Well, the devastating earthquake has torn apart families and left many children orphaned and both Turkey and Syria. CNN's Nada Bashir has their stories.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voiceover): Their laughter hides their loss pull from the rubble, their parents still missing the identities of some mystery. This orphanage has become home to some of Turkey's youngest earthquake survivors. Authority say the search for living relatives continues. But some of these children are believed to have lost everyone.
MERVE BAS, ISTANBUL PROVINCIAL SOCIAL SERVICES (through translator): When we first received these children, we observed signs of post- traumatic stress disorder. Children were very fragile. So as well as providing shelter and security to these kids, we also began providing psychosocial support.
BASHIR: The devastation wrought by the earthquake has left countless children orphaned or separated from their loved ones. And while authorities say they're so far managed to reunite more than 900 children with their families, many are still waiting to be processed. And NGOs fear that millions could be at risk of acute psychological distress.
OBEN COBAN, SAVE THE CHILDREN: They already have their loved ones lost. They already have their homes lost. They already have their schools lost, all schools exact are gone. But if they also lose their hops (ph), that means loss of generations.
BASHIR: That loss is all too familiar to this Syrian family. Three generations now temporarily hosted in a small one bed apartment in Istanbul, their home in Antakya now a mountain of rubble. 26-year-old Raghad says she was the first awake when the earthquake struck, pulling her mother and four sisters safety just moments before their home collapsed.
RAGHAD, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: When the earthquake happened, I think it's your (INAUDIBLE). Yes, there is a very, very big sound that it's not going out from my head. Every time it's here.
BASHIR (on camera): It's still here.
RAGHAD: Yes.
BASHIR (voiceover): But this is not the first time Raghad and her family have faced a tragedy of this magnitude. Originally from the Syrian city of Homs, the constant barrage of airstrikes forced the family to flee their home in 2014.
[01:20:05]
But having her life upended by catastrophe, time and time again has taken its toll on Raghad's mental health.
RAGHAD: That's not my first time I get a life from a war or something bad. And every time I said why, and now I'm asking myself, why, why am alive? Maybe it was easy if I am not --
BASHIR (on camera): Easier than going through
RAGHAD: Yes, because it's not my first time that I'm start from zero. Yes.
BASHIR (voiceover): Starting from zero for these children may not be as challenging. It's a catastrophe. They are simply too young to understand. But just like Raghad and her family, their lives have been changed forever by the earthquake. Nada Bashir, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: If you would like to help earthquake survivors visit cnn.com/impact. There you'll find a list of verified organizations working on rescue and relief efforts.
Still ahead here on CNN Newsroom, the Israeli prime minister said it was a great day and a great night. Tens of thousands of protesters in the streets of Jerusalem would like to disagree.
Also, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has some tough words for the US. There will be no missile tests unless the United States holds military drills with South Korea detailed report in a moment.
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VAUSE: At least 40 people are dead after heavy rain and landslides hit Brazil's Sao Paulo state during Carnival festivities. Hundreds have been left homeless. A 188 state of calamity has been declared in six cities. Brazil's President was given a view from above of the disaster on Monday. It's feared many tourists could also be in the trapped area. Many could be a chapter erotic which is flooded more than 130 rescue teams are now out there looking for survivors.
Israel's ultra-conservative government is one step closer to taking greater control of the judicial system, with Israeli parliament or Knesset, passing the first three readings of a bill which would effectively put Judicial Appointments under full governmental control, as well as overturn Supreme Court rulings with a civil parliamentary majority.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has been charged with corruption is in favor of these changes so to his coalition partners. After the initial vote, Netanyahu tweeted that it was a great day and a great night. The bill now heads back to committee and then pass two more readings to become law.
Lawmakers our ability divided over this. Some way flags inside the chamber others escorted out by security and outside the Knesset. There was a series (ph) Israeli flags roughly 75,000 people showed up to protest and CNN's Hadas Gold was there.
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HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is the main road that leads not only in front of the Israeli Supreme Court but also ends in front of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, and that's where these thousands of protesters are heading.
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For these protesters today here, they believe that these judicial reforms would threaten the independence of the Israeli judiciary. Some of them believe that it's only to help Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, in his ongoing corruption trial, something he denies.
The protesters here are chanting things like democracy. They're chanting things like Israel it will not become a dictatorship. For many of them here, they have this visceral belief that these reforms are really threatening the Israeli way of life in the Israeli democracy.
But for the counter protesters, and there are counter protesters here, they support these reforms. They believe that they're very much needed. They believe that it's a long time coming and that this is what the Israeli voters voted for in those November elections when Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies won a 64-seat majority in the Israeli parliament.
But, Benjamin Netanyahu is facing external pressures, including from the American ambassador to Israel, who in a recent podcast in recent days, called on the Israeli government to pump the brakes, he said, he said to slow down the legislative process and allow time for consensus, allow time for negotiations. Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
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VAUSE: And after pressure from the U.S., the United Nations Security Council softened the language condemning Israeli plans to expand settlements in the West Bank. The Council issued a non-binding statement that expressed concern and dismayed after Israel decided last week to legalize 10,000 new settlement units, a resolution demonic they'd be altogether halted would have likely been vetoed by the US.
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LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UN: These unilateral measures exacerbate tensions. They harm trust between the parties. They undermine the prospects for a negotiated two-state solution. The United States does not support these actions full stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law because they unwind land which Israel captured from Jordan more than 50 years ago. Israel says the land is historically Jewish.
The UN is also warning them missile launches by North Korea poses a serious risk to international civil aviation and maritime traffic. During our meeting of the Security Council Monday a top UN official call for immediate steps to resume dialogue.
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MOHAMED KHALED KHIARi, UN ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL TO MIDDLE EAST, ASIA AND PACIFIC, PEACE OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT: We welcome the Security Council commitment to a peaceful, comprehensive diplomatic and political solutions to the situation on the Korean peninsula, as well as the importance that council has placed it on working to reduce tensions. Diplomacy, not isolation is the only way forward.
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VAUSE: The UN Security Council meeting comes after North Korea launched three ballistic missiles over the past three days, claiming it has developed missiles capable of a successful reentry. CNN's Will Ripley has details.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The massive missile is a managing (ph) site moving into place at Pyongyang's airport. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and gave the order just hours ahead of Saturday's surprise launch, statement it says, this intercontinental ballistic missile a Hwasong-15, hitting hypersonic speeds hurtling high above the earth, barreling back down to Japan's territorial waters about 67 minutes later.
Saturday's missile one of many on display just last week, a record number of ICBMs more than any military parade in North Korean history. Kim ordered mass production of ICBMs earlier this year, the parade featuring new missiles and a new face.
Kim Ju-ae, Kim's daughter, believed to be just nine years old. She began appearing on state media three months ago, fueling speculation she's been groomed as the next North Korean leader.
RIPLEY (on camera): So given the fact that Kim Jong-un chose to introduce his daughter on the day of his previous ICBM launch, what do you make of the timing and symbolism of that?
CHAD O'CARROLL, FOUDER, KOREA RISK GROUP: I think it demonstrates that she's been groomed as the next leader. And that to me suggests there could be something behind the scenes maybe a health problem with Kim Jong-un accelerating I need to do this now rather than years later when she's a bit older.
RIPLEY (voiceover): Kim's daughter now a fixture on state media, sitting with her father at a weekend soccer match, posing together for a postage stamp dad daughter and the family arsenal.
Two smaller missiles fired Monday. A test of tactical nuclear weapons state TV says. The bellicose broadcast came with a warning from Kim's younger sister Kim Yo Jong, saying the frequency of using the Pacific Ocean as our shooting range depends on the nature of the U.S. military's actions.
She's referring to upcoming military drills on the Korean peninsula, the U.S., South Korea and Japan responding to the ICBM launch with joint air exercises over the weekend, fueling fears of further escalation,
PARK JIN, SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER: If North Korea conducts the seventh nuclear test which could happen at any time it will be a game changer in a sense that North Korea could develop and deploy tactical nuclear missiles.
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RIPLEY: And growing arsenal, some say, has one purpose, preserving the power of the ruling Kim family for generations to come.
Will Ripley, CNN -- Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Next up here on CNN NEWSROOM. How did the president of the United States go to Kyiv without anyone actually knowing? Details from one of the reporters allowed on the journey. That is ahead.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone, I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
U.S. President Joe Biden is now in Poland after his unexpected trip to the Ukrainian capital. A visit to Kyiv was an unprecedented journey to an active war zone where the United States has no military presence.
So how did it go down? Details from one of two reporters who traveled with the president to Kyiv provides some insight. The journalists handed over their cell phones to the Secret Service before leaving Washington.
Their plane sat in the dark, next to a hangar with the shades down. The journalists did not see President Biden board the plane.
Upon arrival in Poland, the presidential motorcade traveled without sirens and lights through the streets of Warsaw to a train station.
On the way to Kyiv, the train made several brief stops, at least one, for extra security personnel. The journey by rail took ten hours, Biden arrived in Kyiv 8:00 a.m. local time.
This is actually Joe Biden's eighth trip to Kyiv, but he's never been there as president, obviously since the Russian invasion.
Alex Marquardt has highlights of this historic visit. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Russian forces trying and so far failing to make real headway in the opening stages of a new offensive in eastern Ukraine, a devastating toll on both sides in the months-long battle for Bakhmut where Ukraine is mostly facing mercenaries and convicts from the private Wagner Group.
Today, a Ukrainian soldier in Bakhmut taking the time to thank President Joe Biden for his historic visit to Ukraine.
COL. YURY FEDOROVYCH MADYAR, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE: This is the most powerful message of support for Ukraine at this moment.
MARQUARDT: In the capital, the U.S. and Ukrainian president seemingly undeterred by an air-raid siren, trying to show the world they are in lockstep.
Together, briefly visiting St. Michaels Church before emerging to lay a pair of wreaths, Ukrainian and American flags in front of a wall of portraits of soldiers who died in the fight with the Russia.
Biden keen to remind Russian President Vladimir Putin of his failures in the past year.
[01:34:47]
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Putin thought that Ukraine was weak And the west was divided. As you know, Mr. President, I said this at the beginning. He's counting on us not sticking together. He thought he could outlast us. I don't think he is thinking that right now.
MARQUARDT: While Zelenskyy called the moment the most important in the history of the U.S.-Ukraine relationship.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is the visit in this most difficult period for Ukraine, when Ukraine is fighting for our own liberty. Today, our own negotiations were very fruitful. They were very important and crucial.
MARQUARDT: Negotiations about continued military aid. Today, president Biden announcing an almost half billion dollar aid package for Ukraine, including ammunition, howitzers, and air defense systems.
But big ticket items that Ukraine wants like longer range missiles and fighter jets, still up for discussion.
ZELENSKYY: This conversation brings us closer to victory.
This surprise, unprecedented visit on the eve of a bloody anniversary. Extreme secrecy shrouding Biden's journey. No word, but there were signs. Deserted streets and a heavy police presence suggesting a prominent arrival.
President Biden quietly left Washington for Poland just after 4:00 a.m., under the cover of darkness. And after a long train ride across western Ukraine, arrived to warm smiles and laughter from Ukraine's first couple. His feelings left in a hand written message about solidarity and friendship, which was echoed on the streets of Kyiv.
ANATOLY, KYIV RESIDENT: It is support for us and a message for the Russians that this issue must be resolved, and Ukraine must win. We hope that his visit will speed up the events.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Matthew Schmidt is director of international affairs at the University of New Haven and at this hour he joins us from Ukraine's capital. Matthew, thank you for taking the time.
MATTHEW SCHMIDT, DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: My pleasure.
VAUSE: So Kyiv has seen a steady stream of world leaders, as we defer to what Prime Minister from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, three weeks after the war began.
But when the President of the United States shows up and promises quote, "our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine's steady, sovereignty and territorial integrity and then goes on to say this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Freedom is priceless. It is worth fighting for, for as long as it takes and that is how long we are going to be with you, Mr. president, for a long as it takes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: To quote your vice president Joe Biden that's a BFD -- a big f- ing deal. So explain why it's such a big deal.
SCHMIDT: Ukrainians see this, in essence, as a kind of victory already. They want a place in the west, they are now seen as a full partner, having the commitment of the leader of the west, the United States of America, who came here during wartime, took significant risks to do it, all to sent a message to the enemy that the west is behind Ukraine and Ukrainians, that United States is prepared to defend them. I mean you could probably to support them in this upcoming offensive.
VAUSE: I want you to listen to the Secretary General of NATO talking about Vladimir Putin's mindset right now, almost a year since the war began. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: We see no sign of Putin has changed his (INAUDIBLE) in Ukraine. We see the opposite. He is not planning for peace. He's planning for more war. For new offensives.
He has mobilized hundreds of thousands of new troops, he is setting his economy more and more on a war footing. And then he is reaching out to (INAUDIBLE) like Iran and North Korea, to get more weapons.
So the only this concrete (INAUDIBLE) to step up our superior and So the only response that we can give now is to step up our support foreign Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So with that in mind, and there is a message from the U.S. president to the Russian president which is something like I am in Kyiv and you are not. What would be the sort of reaction or response here from Putin for what is essentially an international humiliation?
SCHMIDT: He said publicly already, that he is using this now as a proof positive that Russia is not fighting Ukraine. We are not fighting Ukraine, we're not finding Ukrainian, we are fighting the west. We are fighting NATO. We're fighting the United States.
He is stepping up to the plate and he is accepting the challenge that he sees coming from Joe Biden.
VAUSE: So we're in a situation now where there is no other way out of this conflict it seems other than one side having a crushing victory over the other? (INAUDIBLE)
SCHMIDT: That's what it seems like right now. It is unclear if that is possible in the battlefield, in other words it is unclear that either side can win strictly speaking with their military prowess.
They're well, evenly matched right now and they'll see in the coming weeks. I think perhaps even sooner than the coming weeks, the ability of the Ukrainian armed forces to get into the field to control the operational tempo and really put the Russians on the back footing.
VAUSE: Ukraine's president had invited Joe Biden a number of times to visit Kyiv. I want you to listen on what Zelenskyy says is the significance this represents to Ukraine. Here he is.
[013955]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY: This first visit of the U.S. President to Ukraine in 15 years is the most important in the entire history of relations between Ukraine and the U.S. in this particular period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Both the Pentagon and the Secret Service were opposed to this trip. The Kremlin was notified ahead of time by the White House. Speak to the personal risks here for Biden, as well as why this is so unprecedented for a sitting U.S. President.
SCHMIDT: I think they were quite extraordinary. He came with a smaller retinue of security. I think most important, he put his life in the hands of the Ukrainian military, the Ukrainian government and I think that more than anything was a personal show to Zelenskyy that Biden, the man, trusted him and was willing to come and do this.
Remember, for Joe Biden politics is personal. He said many, many times that international relations is simply getting to know the other person in the room. And I think that is what you see here.
You see that he got to know Zelenskyy. He became close to him, and most importantly he is trusted him so the trust between the two nations, between the two militaries to operate in support of each other is there. And it is represented in the trust between those two men.
VAUSE: Matthew, we appreciate you being with us. Thank you very much, this time from Kyiv, appreciate your time.
SCHMIDT: My pleasure.
VAUSE: It's been almost a year since Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops into Ukraine. Those 12 months have taken a heavy toll on the country, as well as its people.
Some iconic photographs have captured the pain, the heartbreak, the loss this war has fraught. From the early days when many sought shelter from bomb blasts and the safest place they could find, the underground.
Men, women, children all heading into the subway system in hopes of staying safe and staying alive.
The March 16th bombing of Mariupol of the drama theater, one the most brazen of Russia's attacks. Officials say hundreds of people have taken refuge in the building with the word "children" painted outside on the sidewalk.
Just days later a memorial was set up in the city of Lviv to honor the children killed in that war. 109 baby carriages placed in the central square, one for each dead child.
Some of the most iconic and graphic images from the war came from the bombing of a maternity hospital, also in Mariupol.
An Associated Press photo of emergency workers tag (ph) a pregnant woman on a stretcher outside the hospital was seen around the world. There is no happy ending, the woman and her baby did not survive.
Those photographs are just some of the many images that stand out from a year of war in Ukraine.
Photojournalist Anastasia Taylor Lynn has been documenting the situation in Ukraine since 2014. And her photographs have just on display in the imperial war museum in London.
CNN's Isa Soares spoke with Taylor Lynn about some of the incredible stories she has captured while in Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's start off with really the image that is just over your right shoulder, and that is the Maidan Revolution. That moment, was that, did you think a turning point?
ANASTASIA TAYLOR-LIND, PHOTOJOURNALIST: It was absolutely a turning point. It was the moment when ordinary civilians deposed a president who had very close ties to Russia and demonstrated that they wanted to move forward with closer ties to Europe. It is ironic, of course, that I believed I was documenting the end of violence in the country. And now we know it was the only beginning.
SOARES: And we saw at that very moment what we have been seeing over the past year, the fight, the resilience of Ukrainians.
TAYLOR=LYNN: Well of course, they are faced with no choice, are they? But to be resilient and not to fight. No one chose this, no one in Ukraine chose this war.
And I am particularly concerned, in my work and personally, about the civilian experience of war. Everybody is affected by it in some way.
SOARES: Much of your work focuses on that lived experience of the traumas around this war. You focused in particular on one family, one that lived in the rural part of Ukraine.
This is Alya and her husband Nikolai and (INAUDIBLE) and Ukraine. Hey lived on the front line already. So (INAUDIBLE) head to be a born husband
And so both their kids were born after 2014. I mean looking at the they had never seen piece.
Pictures like this one, seen more precious and more important and more poignant than they ever did before because everything that you can see here is gone
SOARES: You've got to photos focusing on one soldier in particular.
[01:44:43]
TAYLOR-LIND: Yessem (ph) is an IT consultant. I photographed him in 2014 after he had been beaten very badly by the Bekhut (ph) riot police. And this photograph he has a concussion, you can see his two black eyes as well and his hand was broken.
He was also arrested and he was detained for several days. So he had just gotten out when I made this picture.
SOARES: And then here is again, this is last year March of 2022.
TAYLOR-LIND: So unsurprisingly, Yessem volunteered the day after the full scale Russian invasion along with a lot of (INAUDIBLE) in my van. And now he's a member of the armed forces of Ukraine.
We know the Ukrainian army became very professional and well equipped. And very well trained in that time. Because they had to. SOARES: What do you admire about the Ukrainian spirit? What is so
special about it?
TAYLOR-LIND: Can I give you a specific example.
SOARES: Absolutely.
TAYLOR-LIND: From my friend, Julia (INAUDIBLE) who's a Ukrainian -- young Ukrainian photojournalist and filmmaker. We're working together the Donbas this summer and we have been very close to the front lines when it was very active shelling.
And when I woke up in the morning. I was so filled with fear. I went to Julia and I said, Julia, I can't -- I just can't go today. I'm so sorry.
I know you want to go anyway but I want to go I'll wait here for you. And she said I understand. This is my war. And if I die, that is ok.
SOARES: How do you envisage this war ending?
TAYLOR-LIND: This is entering the ninth year of war already. We are coming towards the first anniversary of the full scale Russian invasion.
When this war and? Because it is not and for the people who've been living through it within a cease-fire. Any cease-fire. It continues, their whole lives I think. War stays with people until the very end.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The search for a missing mother of two in U.K. has ended in tragedy. British police confirm the body they found in a river Sunday was Nikola Bulley. The 45-year-old went missing more than 3 weeks ago.
Local police prepared a statement from her family shortly after they were notified of the news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DECS PAULINA STABLES; Our (INAUDIBLE) liaison officers have had to confirm our worst fears today. We will never be able to comprehend what Nikki had gone through in her last moments and that will never leave us.
[01:49:51]
STABLES: We will never forget Nikki. How could we? She was the center of our world. She was the one who made our lives so special. And nothing will cast a shadow over that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Police say there is no evidence at this point to suggest a third party was involved. They believe she fell to her death ending up in the river.
In the U.S. prosecutors have downgraded the manslaughter charges facing actor Alec Baldwin, over a fatal shooting on his movie set. He no longer faces so-called fire arm and (INAUDIBLE) charge, which would have carried a five year prison sentence if convicted.
CNN's Chloe Melas has more now reporting from New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHLOE MELAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's incredibly significant that the New Mexico district attorney office announced on Monday that they no longer plan to charge Alec Baldwin with the firearm enhancement charge. He still faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Each charge carrying up to 18 months in prison. But now that this firearm enhancement charge is no longer on the table, at least he no longer faces potentially five years.
Same goes for the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed who also faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter. We've reached out to Alec Baldwin's attorney, Hannah Gutierrez Reed's
attorney for comment. I do want to read you a part of the statement from the district attorney office that read quote, "In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys. The district attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearms enhanced the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on "Rust" film set."
Adding that quote, the prosecution priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big city attorneys. Wow.
That is a strong statement. Coming out swinging. But look, we have had experts on our air saying they have felt as though this was an overcharged case.
Now, we know that Alec Baldwin, he has said that he plans to fight these charges. Will not be taking a plea deal of offered and that plans to see this through to a trial.
But again, this is something constantly developing. We do know that Alec Baldwin and other members of the film are planning this spring to finish the movie. Because some of the money was going to go to Halyna Hutchison's widower, Matthew Hutchins It looks like that is on track to happen. But again, this is ever evolving and we will make sure to keep you posted. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Chloe Melas, thank you for that.
Still ahead here on CNN, music that makes a difference.
Ukrainians finding strength in song, the national anthem inspiring a country at war.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The official civilian death toll in Ukraine is more than 7,000 but the U.N. admits the reality is many, many more have died.
More than 12 million are refugees 12 million are refugees. Millions more are internally displaced. This has been a war of extermination. Putin's stated goal to wipe Ukraine from the map.
Amid this battle for survival, Ukrainians have embraced what they are fighting for. Their culture, their stories, tradition and Ukrainian music. And that's become a soundtrack of defiance.
[01:54:49]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From a bomb shelter in the western city of Lviv, to a bombed apartment complex in the capital of Kyiv. From subways and beyond.
The Ukrainian anthem rang out. Known by its unofficial title, Ukraine's glory has not yet perished. By sheer coincidence, a reflection of the national pessimism in the first few days of the invasion. How long could Ukrainian fighters hold off the mighty Russian army? But when Putin's three-day blitz to the Capitol stalled, Ukrainians kept singing.
Only now, more in defiance than defeatism. In the Russian occupied port city of Badansk (ph), a truckload of Putin soldiers surrounded by a mob in full voice. And there would be more acts of defiance in the weeks which followed.
Many risking detention or arrest by singing, a Ukrainian pop song. More than 300 miles away to the west in Odessa. The national anthem was the soundtrack of resistance.
Ukrainians digging in, ready for a long fight. (INAUDIBLE) became more like Fort Odessa. But then, amid it all, a moment to pause, to breathe. As 100 musicians perform Verdi's Opera La Bucco.
And in the capital, about 20 members from an orchestra which usually numbers up to 70. An open air concert to rally a nation.
Unable to defeat Ukrainian fighters on the front lines, Putin's war machine targeting civilian infrastructure. Homes, schools, hospitals. And when a bomb landed just meters from her apartment building south of Kyiv, Irena decided to leave. But not before making music one last time. Her response to the violence, the destruction, the death.
Everywhere across, Ukraine from the seven year old girl with a mighty voice in the bomb shelter, to the impromptu performances by musicians in Dnipro.
Or the volunteers who arrived in Bakhmut. Gifts for children, and music from amid the rubble of the church.
Ukrainian resistance has played out music and song as much as it has on the battlefield. And by November, the national anthem sung in triumph by the Ukrainian president as he toured the liberated city of Kherson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A lot more in a half hour. Music that makes a different special this Saturday 9:30 a.m. in Kyiv, 3:30 pm in Hong Kong.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. My friend and colleague Paula Newton is up after a very short break. See you right back here tomorrow.
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