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China Considering Lethal Aid To China, CIA Report; Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) Is Interviewed About EPA's Plan To Toxic Waste From Train Wreck To His District; Major Blow On Fox Against Lawsuit From Dominion Voting Systems; Ukrainian Ballerina's Refuge In The U.S. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 26, 2023 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. And we begin this hour with the war in Ukraine and its global implications. The director of the CIA confirms what CNN has been reporting that the U.S. is confident that China is thinking about providing lethal aid to Russian troops in Ukraine. The agency does not believe a final decision has been made. And today, the White House is urging caution.

(BEGN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: You know, Beijing will have to make its own decisions about how it proceeds. Whether it provides military assistance. But if it goes down that road, it will come at real cost to China. And I think China's leaders are weighing that as they make their decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: But let's begin with the latest in the fighting in Ukraine. Alex Marquardt is there for us.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Jim, some of the heaviest fighting with some of the worst casualty rates on both sides is now taking place around the eastern city of Bakhmut. Russian forces primarily from the Wagner Mercenary groups of convicts and contractors appear to be making gains. They have claimed that they have taken several villages to the north of the city in an attempt to encircle it.

Ukrainian forces say that they are standing their ground in the face of what they call intense Russian assault. Now, the fight for Bakhmut has evolved over the past few weeks and months from a longer-range fight, using tanks and artillery and mortars to something that is much closer quarters, urban warfare. The fight going from street to street, building to building.

Ukrainian officials for now are not talking about leaving the city, surrendering it to the Russians. But President Zelenskyy's stance on that has softened over time. He has said that they will not defend it at any cost if it means losing all of their troops.

Meanwhile, Biden administration officials now openly warning China against sending lethal aids. So, weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine. The Biden administration had already warned China about nonlethal aid that was being sent to Russia. But now, top officials say that China is actively discussing sending weapons to Russia. They cautioned that no decision has been made yet.

But the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations said that this would be a red line, because it would be a significant boost to Russia in this fight. Here's a little bit of what the CIA director Bill Burns told CBS News this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: I think Putin is right now entirely too confident of his ability to wear down Ukraine, to grind away. And that's what he's giving every evidence that he's determined to do right now. At some point, he's going to have to face up to increasing costs as well. In coffins coming home to some of the poorest parts of Russia. There's a cumulative economical damage to Russia as well. Huge reputational damage. It has not exactly been a great advertisement for Russia in arms sales.

UNKNOWN: Right.

BURNS: So, this is going to build over time. But right now, the honest answer, I think, Putin is quite determined.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Burns also talked about relationship between Russia and Iran which has been supplying Russia with Kamikaze drones and ammunition for artillery and tanks. Burns saying that Russia is now offering Iran help with its missile program and considering sending Iran fighter jets in exchange for their support to Russia. That relationship, Burns says, proceeding at a fast rate in a very disturbing way. Jim.

ACOSTA: Alex Marquardt, thank you. Let's go to Ukraine's capital. CNN's Clarissa Ward is in Kyiv for us. Clarissa, thanks so much for being with us. What is the reaction there to this possibility of China supplying weapons to Russian troops. I talked to Colonel Alexander Vindman in the previous hour. He said this could be a game changer and it's a very worrisome development.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think privately Ukrainians authorities are probably concerned about this. Publicly, they're being quite careful to put a very diplomatic face on it.

We have heard President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his long press conference that he gave on the anniversary on Friday saying that, you know, he very much hopes to meet with Xi Jinping, China's leader, that he hopes to have a positive relationship with China.

[17:04:55]

I also met with a senior Ukrainian official who was asked several times about this issue by other Ukrainian journalists. And he, again, was keen to say that, you know, that it's really incumbent upon the Ukrainians at this stage to try to reframe the relationship with China and try to draw support away from Russia.

I think the Ukrainians understand more broadly speaking that while they have been very successful in garnering support in the west, there is more work to be done in the rest of the world. And particularly, in the global south. So, that requires a lot of diplomacy. That is something that they will continue to endeavor to try to do.

But nonetheless, certainly, concern here about this news and what it would portend for the future, if indeed it comes to fruition. At this stage, as Alex just said, it still appears to be a consideration rather than a conclusion.

ACOSTA: Right. It sounds like it's still a big if. And Clarissa you have a special hearing (ph) tonight on CNN that looks at a year of war in Ukraine. It's been a remarkable year, surprising year in many ways. What can you share about that?

WARD: Basically, we traveled around the country, Jim, trying to understand how it is that Ukraine has come this far. Because a year ago I was standing here telling you that this was all supposed to fall in three or four days' time. Those were the predictions that were being given by intelligence services. And a huge part of the success of Ukraine's resistance to this Russian invasion has been from ordinary people.

But also, what we've seen is the horrifying cost that that has come at, the sacrifices that people have been made, the scale of the loss as we saw when we spent time with one young woman from Dnipro who lost basically all of her family in a horrifying attack. Please take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WARD: When you look at it now, what do you feel?

NASTYA: Emptiness.

WARD (voice-over): The missile sliced Nastya's one bedroom apartment in half. Killing both of her parents in the kitchen, while just inches away, Nastya (ph) clung on to life.

(On camera): I think for a lot of people it's hard to understand why Russia would use this huge missile that's intended to take out an aircraft carrier in a residential area. How do you try to understand why Russia would do something like this?

NASTYA: I don't understand.

WARD: Can you tell me a little bit about your mom and dad, what they were like as people? NASTYA: They were very cheerful people. They were always ready to lend

a helping hand. And all their lives they were next to each other. And they left behind a person like me. I'm very grateful to them for putting the best in me.

WARD: Do you ever wonder why you were saved? It's this extraordinary image that we see of you surviving the unsurvivable.

NATYA: I've been thinking about this a lot. Because, well, it's unrealistic. My mother's last words were, Nastya, go get some rest, you have to go to work. And the time was late, almost half past four, and I had to leave for work at seven.

WARD: Take your time if you want to take a break.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WARD: And, Jim, this was not the first loss that Nastya had experienced. Her boyfriend who she was hoping to marry was killed fighting in the front lines in Kharkiv just a couple of months ago. And I think in many ways, Nastya's story and her sort of determination to hold her head up high and get on with life is the story of Ukraine and Ukraine's success is this extraordinary endurance and resilience and courage, but underscoring all of that, just heartbreaking loss. Jim.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. So many profiles in courage I'm sure all around. Clarissa Ward thank you so much. And everybody, be sure to watch Clarissa's special tonight, a CNN Special Report, "The Will to Win: Ukraine at War" airs tonight at 8:00 eastern right here on CNN.

[17:10:06]

Let's bring in former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, retired General Wesley Clark. General Clark, I want to ask you about something that just come across here at CNN. It says that Ukraine's commander of joint forces operation has been dismissed from his post. That President Zelenskyy has just announced this in a decree today. And no reason was given. It's unclear at this point why word why this person was dismissed. But any -- and I know I'm just catching you maybe a little bit off guard here, out of the clear blue on this, but your sense of why that might be happening?

WESLEY CLARK, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Jim, it would be pure speculation. And I just don't want to engage in this. I've met with General (inaudible). I've got close relations with a lot of people in Ukraine. It's just not the right -- I just can't speculate on it.

ACOSTA: Totally understand. Well, let me get to something that you can comment on because we've had some time to digest it. And that is whether or not China is inching closer to his red line as it's been described, as it's apparently considering giving lethal military aid to Ukraine -- or excuse me, to Russia in Ukraine. I had a chance to talk with Colonel Alexander Vindman in the last hour. He said that this would be a game-changer. It would be a very worrisome development. Your thoughts on that? What do you think? CLARK: I agree with Alexander. It is worrisome development. If the CIA director says they are considering it, well, he would know. It may already be happening. I've heard informally that there are Chinese intelligence people in there and other things and no doubt there is close liaison. The Chinese known what's happening. They don't want to see Russia defeated. They're not necessarily happy. They would want to see triumphant.

So, in a way, their strategy might mirror that of the United States. Give them enough to keep them in war. Hope the west will weaken and fall away. What we've heard so far is drones and ammunition. But one thing is for sure, China has plenty of military equipment and it can get it there on a train probably a lot faster than we can reinforce Ukraine.

And, Jim, what has worried me and so many others -- of us on the outside of the administration is that we seem to be so deliberate, so incremental in providing the assistance to Ukraine. There's a window of opportunity now to have a strategy to get to negotiations that could lead to a successful end of the conflict, if we give Ukraine sufficient equipment now.

But that equipment is not coming. I'm talking about the M1A1 tanks. They're 18 months away. F-16 fighter -- ATACMS missile, drones, the SB 600 Switchblades, that things that the Ukrainians have really sought, as well as the artillery that they need and the ammunition. So, what we've done is we sort of moved forward. It's like we're bleeding out both sides and we just hope they'll finally just say, oh, this is too much trouble. I can't keep my 16-ounce gloves up anymore, I surrender.

But that's not what's likely to happen. This war is dragging on. It's going to bring more and more parties into it. It's going to become more and more destructive. And there is a window of opportunity now with the Ukrainian ability to mount a counteroffensive if they have sufficient equipment to threaten what Putin values most, which is Crimea.

And that would bring the Russians to the negotiating table. Whether we would get out of it what we want, don't know. But Putin does not want to lose Crimea. So, this is the path forward. It's to have a strategy, a diplomatic strategy, and link the military outcome to it. And provide the resources to get that military outcome. And that tight strategy doesn't seem to have emerged yet from the west.

ACOSTA: And do you have any sense as to why? Because the president -- President Biden was pretty, I think, he was pretty clear that he does not want F-16s going to Ukraine right now. He didn't completely close the door to it, but he sounds very reluctant to sending it anytime soon. Why do you suppose that is? Why do you suppose there is this reluctance?

CLARK: Well, I think there's been a sort of unchallengeable assumption, that if we would not over escalate our assistance that we could stay below the nuclear threshold with Russia and maybe hold where we are, and maybe get a favorable negotiation and that it wasn't worth the risk of trying to do more than this. But as you see with the possibility of China coming in, with the

continuation of conflict, those risks go up. And so, we might look back on this and say, we should have done more sooner.

[17:15:00]

Look, you may be ruling out sending F-16 fighters now, but if you make the decision, it's nine months of training before they can get there. So, why wouldn't we have Ukrainian pilots training right now so that if and when the decision is made, they can go there. It's like the M-1 tank decision, if you think you might need them, be prepared.

That sends an important deterrent message to China and Russia, as opposed to then saying, okay, now we're going to send them so, they'll be there, let's see, in 12 months. By that time, the battle field situation might be entirely different. So, I know we're trying to hold down the risk of escalation, but we're doing so not only at the costs of tens of thousands of Ukrainian casualties, but at the risk of long- term escalation that is far more dangerous.

ACOSTA: Well, the Ukrainians have performed so valiantly over the last year, certainly, almost the entire world wants to see that continue. General Wesley Clark, as always, really appreciate the insight. Thank you so much.

CLARK: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Thank you. And new on CNN tonight, details about where the EPA plans to ship contaminated water and soil from East Palestine, Ohio. I'll speak to one congressman who said his district was impacted by the leak and is calling on Norfolk Southern to do more to help.

Plus, legal experts say Fox News could be in deep trouble over private messages showing its anchors slam Trump's election fraud claims off camera while telling their viewers something very different. I'll talk to one expert who calls this evidence a major blow.

And later, why the fate of abortion medicine in the United States could rest in the hands of a district judge from Texas. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

ACOSTA: We have an update on the EPA's plans for getting toxic material out of East Palestine, Ohio in the wake of that train derailment. We're now told it will go to two locations in Ohio. Federal teams are on the ground in East Palestine, Ohio going door to door and passing out flyers with new resources following that deadly train derailment.

The FEMA twitter account posted these images earlier today. Their personnel offering information on how to receive health assessments and getting water tested in that area. Also in that flier, the phone number for a dedicated poison control hot line. Details about a meeting on the derailment scheduled for this Thursday.

Pennsylvania Congressman Chris Deluzio joins us now. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it and we know that your district borders so much of this area that it has been affected by this, what your constituents have been impacted by this.

And we've learned that the contaminated soil and water will be sent to a town that borders your district in Ohio. This is information that is just coming into CNN. That apparently some of this toxic waste is going to be going to a facility in East Liverpool, Ohio. That may be very close or border your district. And maybe you can shed some light on that. What's your reaction to that?

REP. CHRIS DELUZIO (D-PA): Yeah, so, you know, that part of Ohio, borders much of my district, Beaver County. It's just across the state line, just as my district was right across the state line where this derailment happens. I've got constituents within the evacuation zone. I've got constituents just across the Pennsylvania side of the line where East Liverpool is as well.

So, this is, you know, certainly my neck of the woods. My folks live there. All of this is impacted with the folks who I represent and I'm fighting for to get some justice here.

ACOSTA: Are you concerned about this toxic waste from this derailment being shipped to a facility that's right next to your district, I guess is the question?

DELUZIO: Well, certainly and, you know, the work for me will be to make sure that this is done in a way it doesn't contribute, frankly, to what my folks have already been going through. People are scared about their air, their water, their soil or animals, their businesses, their health. And I do not want anything to happen here that's adding to that as part of this cleanup, which is a cleanup that has to happen and Norfolk Southern has to foot the bill for. So, I'll be digging it here to make sure my folks are safe.

ACOSTA: And what are your constituents being told now? What are they telling you? Are they telling you stories of some of the similar things that we're hearing out of East Palestine, which is folks having difficulty breathing, not trusting what's in the water and so on?

DELUZIO: We're hearing a lot of the same fears and concerns. And one of the things that I've been worried about is that my constituents, my folks in Beaver County, Pennsylvania aren't getting the same attention as their neighbors who are just in much in need across the border in Ohio, where the derailment happened.

But we're so close, we have folks who were evacuated. We have folks who are worried about their health, their air, their water, that we've been encouraging to get the testing. But to make sure that this cleanup happens, that Norfolk Southern foots the bill and that there's a commitment to make these folks whole. Every penny of pain this railroad has caused, that got to be paying for that.

ACOSTA: And I know you got some tough words for Norfolk Southern. You feel as though they're kind of getting away with this type of stuff a little too often and, I mean, what can be done about it? I talked to former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood yesterday who said Congress just needs to get more to tighten these regulations that we're losing during the Trump administration. And these trains just have to be made safer. That's just all there is to it.

DELUZIO: Look, I agree. I mean, these railroads have been plenty profitable. I mean, they've cut their workforce nearly a third at Norfolk Southern in the last 20 years and they've increased what's gone to shareholders 4,500 percent in that timeline.

They've had plenty to invest in safety and they don't because what matters to them is reporting massive profits for Wall Street. They've lobbied against essentially every measure that could make the railroad safer. And I represent a community like (inaudible) across this country where these tracks run through our neighborhoods. They run through our towns.

[17:24:59]

And this will happen again if this culture doesn't change. If there isn't action to make rail safer. I've got a legislation I'm working on with Ro Khanna, we'll have out soon, to improve some of these regulations. And I suspect, but I hope they don't, I suspect the railroads will lobby against it, as they have throughout our recent history here, and done everything they can to weaken anything that might make rail safer, if it costs them a penny.

ACOSTA: All right. Congressman Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, right next door to Ohio. Can't forget that folks in Pennsylvania are also dealing with this difficult situation as well. Congressman, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

DELUZIO: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. A treasure trove of messages between some of the biggest names on Fox, all blasting election fraud claims behind the scenes by then President Trump. Are they -- a major smoking gun and a major lawsuit against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems? Legal expert Floyd Abrams joins me next to talk about all of this. And we'll have that in just a few moments. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: A $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News is shedding damaging light on what people at the network really thought about Donald Trump and his baseless election fraud claims. In private text messages between Fox personalities, they expressed real doubts about any notion the election was stolen, while they went on to promote the president's lies on the air.

In a statement, Fox says, "The core of this case remains about freedom of the press, freedom of speech which are fundamental rights afforded by the constitution." And joining us now to talk about this is Floyd Abrams. He's one of the most renowned First Amendment attorney in the past 50 years. He's been involved in decision from the Pentagon, papers, to the Citizens United Ruling.

And Floyd, it's a pleasure to have you here. Thanks so much for joining us. You have said the revelations in this case are a major blow to Fox. They're, you know, talking about the first amendment. Do they have a leg to stand on?

FLOYD ABRAMS, CONSTITUTIONAL & FIRST AMENDMENT ATTORNEY: They've got a real tough case. A mean, journalists get a lot of protection, as you well know. And that's a specialty. So, I want to talk about, you know, matters of public interest. And one of Fox's major problems here is that they had people on the air, again and again and again, who were saying that these voting machines were phony, that they were built for fraud. That they were purposefully created for fraud.

And at the same time, and right after, those things were being said, more senior people at Fox are saying the person that's saying that was a liar. I know she's a liar. She lied to me.

ACOSTA: Right.

ABRAMS: And similar statements -- one statement by a very senior on- air person was exactly saying, but it was -- that person is a complete nut.

ACOSTA: Right.

ABRAMS: And that person is back again and again on the air. So, it makes it very difficult, maybe not impossible, but really difficult for Fox to defend on the ground that, well, we're just journalists interviewing people.

ACOSTA: Well, case in point. I mean, this wasn't just about saving face but saving the network that pays their bills. On November 12th, 2020 one reporter over at Fox was pushing back on a Trump tweet claiming that Dominion had deleted or switched millions of votes, Trump votes, and we have this tweet up on screen, saying there's no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised."

But then, as you know, Floyd, Tucker Carlson erupted in a private message to Sean Hannity saying, "Please get her fired. Seriously, what the F. I'm actually shocked. It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. It's measurably hurting the company." What do these kinds of private messages show, do you think?

ABRAMS: Well, first of all, it's really unusual for a libel plaintiff to be able to get their hands on messages like this because they are so inculpatory that they so threaten the ability of the broadcast company afterwards to say, well, look, we're just interviewing something. We believe it -- we don't know what's true. We're just looking for the facts. If they're saying to each other at the same time, you know, that person is a nut.

ACOSTA: Right.

ABRAMS: It makes it very hard, maybe not impossible. I mean, who knows? But if it makes it an unusual case, too, because evidence of that sort really rarely comes up in a libel case.

ACOSTA: It's extraordinary to see behind the curtain in this instance, and here's another example from November 18th, 2020, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham privately reacting to these outrageous claims made by trump advisor Sidney Powell. Carlson text, "Sidney Powell is lying by the way. I caught her. It's insane. Ingraham responds, "Sidney is a complete nut. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy."

Carlson conti8nuees, "Our viewers are good people and they believe it" And then Fox kept putting Sidney Powell on the air despite these outrageous lies, Floyd. In your view --

ABRAMS: And that's exactly --

ACOSTA: Yeah. And does that prove that they defamed Dominion?

ABRAMS: Well, it's clear that they defamed, but the legal question is can they say we believed it?

[17:35:00]

And so far, as I know, no one from Fox has come forward, even in a course of a lawsuit and said, oh, yeah, that's what we believe. We, I, myself, really believed that these voting machines were fraudulent. So, there's none of the validation that occurs so often in libel cases.

And instead, Fox is left with a situation where they have people on repeatedly saying defamatory things about this company and another company that makes the voting machines. And at the same time, the offensive things are being said, the same time people are saying, you know, these machines do not work on purpose, that it's fraud.

At that very moment, people from Fox, you gave examples of saying, oh, yeah, I know, that person is a liar. And then they invite her back again.

ACOSTA: Well, and I have to ask --

ABRAMS: That's the real problem.

ACOSTA: Yeah. And I suppose Dominion could argue that they have been damaged in all of this. Because I mean, there are just so many people on the right side of the political spectrum who have has never -- who may never believe a Dominion voting system, you know, election in the future, that they've been a part of. Isn't that something they're going to be talking about?

ABRAMS: Yeah.

ACOSTA: Yeah.

ABRAMS: And, I mean, when entities -- when cities, when states want to purchase voting machines, are they going to take account of the fact, and why would they not take account of the fact that, you know, on a major network in America, there are repeated statements that those voting machines were fraudulent.

So that's why the revelation in the brief filed by Dominion that, I mean, all these people were saying that's not true. That this person is not to be trusted, that person who they have on again is not to be trusted. That's very damaging to Fox's case.

ACOSTA: And, Floyd, I have to ask you, because Fox has been such a monumental presence in American news media for so many years. If Dominion were to be ultimately successful in all of this and Fox were to have to pay this kind of huge penalty, would that do to Fox? What would that do, I guess, right wing media in this country?

Would it force, do you think, some of these folks on the right, maybe on all sides of the spectrum, to be more careful with the facts, be more careful with the truth?

ABRAMS: You know, I don't want to dodge the question. It's just so hard to know. And especially, it's hard because so many people have already been so persuaded by Fox and the pretty far right media entities about essentially corruption of everyone else but them, that I'm not sure they're going to lose their audience or if they do, that it won't go to another very far right-wing entity. We just can't tell. What we can tell, is that this is an unusually, highly unusual threatening lawsuit against a major, major media entity.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. Well, Floyd Abrams, we couldn't think ever a better expert to have come on to talk about this. We really appreciate your time. Good talking to you, sir.

ABRAMS: Thanks.

ACOSTA: I'm sure we could talk for hours about this. We'll have to do it another time, but thank you so much.

ABRAMS: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Thank you, Floyd. All right. Her homeland is now a war zone. So, what keeps this Ukrainian ballerina from worrying about her family back home constantly? You'll hear from her next. You're live in he CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

ACOSTA: A teenage ballerina made her way to the U.S. from Ukraine arriving just one day before Russia invaded her homeland. Now, a year later, she's finding solace in dancing. But at just 17-years-old, the war is keeping her from being with her family in a place she calls home is a war zone. CNN's Polo Sandoval has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This New Jersey dance studio is where Yeva Hrytsak finds refuge from a war raging half a world away. As the Ukrainian ballerina will tell you, keeping her focus on dancing is the only distraction from the fact that her family remains back in her home of Dnipro, Ukraine.

Just over a year into the war, and that region continues to come under Russian artillery fire. Like so many Ukrainians waiting out the war in the U.S., Yeva says she feels tormented not knowing when she will see her family again.

But rather than give in, she gives hope by lacing up her point shoes and doing what she says her family would want her to do, just dance.

(On camera): When you're on the stage performing, are you thinking about the war?

YEVA HRYSTAK, UKRAINIAN BALLERINA: As soon as I'm in ballet, I'm trying to escape this world. So, I'm going into, more into something unrealistic, I would say. So, when I'm dancing ballet, I'm just enjoying the moment and I'm imagining that I'm somewhere like a fairy tale.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Yeva says she left Ukraine to pursue a ballet career the day before Russia invaded her country. She remembers getting a phone call from her mother a year ago asking her not to return home for her own safety.

HRYSTAK: There was the moment when I realized that I don't know when I can see them.

[17:45:02]

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Yeva captured these images as she eventually journeyed back home just two months ago.

HRYSTAK: I knew that it's not safe. I knew that there is always a risk, but for me it was very important that I did this step. And I saw with my eyes what's going on in my country.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Her city scarred by war was hardly recognizable.

HRYSTAK: The places that I used to have fun and I remember like, from my childhood, and then I see these places destroyed. It's so hard.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): What she did recognize, her father's smile as she spotted Yeva through her window.

HRYSTAK: Leaving was the hardest. Leaving, it was like, you never know when you can come back and you never known when you can see your family again.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Yeva calls New York city home at the moment where she was placed in a ballet academy by former Bolshoi ballerina Larissa Saveliev. She found Youth America Grand Prix after defecting from Russia in the early '90s. The organization scouts rising start dancers offering them scholarships for academies around the world. When Russia troops advanced in Ukraine, Saveliev shifted her focus to evacuating dancers out of the war zone. LARISSA SAVELIEV, BALLET INSTRUCTOR: We sent an e-mail to all of our

partner schools with a profile of the kids and say, guys, that's the young dancers and we have to get them out as soon as possible. And all the schools were like, absolutely.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Saveliev says over the last year, YAGP has helped more than 250 Ukrainian dancers leave their country. Eleven, including Yeva are continuing their training in the U.S.

SAVELIEV: We'll just try to deal with the situation how best we can. Nobody get a memo how to place ballet students in the middle of the war. At least I didn't, you know.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Yeva's hope is that her grace and success on an American stage will help carry her family through another year of Ukraine's conflict.

HRYSTAK: You just leave and you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

SANDOVAL (on camera): Yeah. And then you dance.

HRYSTAK: And then you just dance and then you just like float in a different world.

SANDOVAL: Yeah. Even if for a little while.

HRYSTAK: Exactly.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: It's a heroic tale of a World War II navigators' survival after being shot down and captured. His granddaughter, our own Chloe Melas, joins us next to talk about it. There she is. She'll be with us in just a few moments. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:50:00]

ACOSTA: And in just a few days, a memoir telling the courageous story of a World War II American hero will be hitting shelves again. And "Luck of the Draw: My Story of the Air War in Europe." Frank Murphy details what it was like to be a navigator for the 100th bomb group, known as the Bloody 100th.

He writes about his B-17 being shot down and surviving months in a German prisoner of war camp. And Frank's granddaughter, CNN's Chloe Melas, our very own Chloe Melas joins me now. Chloe, this is so amazing. It's a personal mission for you, I know. You and your mother wrote the foreword. Talk to me about what your grandfather went through and what makes this so special to you.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Well, first of all, it's so incredible to be here talking about this. So, thank you. My grandfather, like you said, was a navigator of a B-17 in the Bloody 100th, and he flew 21 missions. He was shot down on his 21th mission while flying over Muenster, Germany. Two of his crew didn't make it.

He parachuted out and he was captured, and he was a prisoner of war for 18 months. He was in the same prison camp as the Great Escape. I'm sure some of you have seen the movie with Steve McQueen from many decades ago. And my grandfather said that that movie was actually pretty close to what it was really like.

And he just had this harrowing -- these harrowing experiences. You know, he got the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, the POW Medal, and I used to listen to these stories when I was a little girl. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I really realized what he went through. And before my grandfather died in 2007, he decided to write a book for the family.

And he spent almost 10 years writing "Luck of the Draw." And my mother and I, we teamed up and we decided that we want everyone to be able to get this book. So, we've teamed up with a publisher and it comes out Tuesday. But this has been many years in the making, and my mother and I, we wrote the foreword.

ACOSTA: That is so cool. Congrats to you. And the book has gotten a lot of praise from people including General David Petraeus, formerly Energy Secretary Rick Perry. I saw on the cover of the book, we could put it up on screen again, even Tom Hanks. You got Tom Hanks? Unbelievable. What do you hope readers take away from this story.

MELAS: You know, Tom Hanks says, how did those boys do such things? And that's what is really the most important reason why I am sharing my grandfather's story. It's not about him. He wrote this for his fellow man. After Pearl Harbor, these young men enlisted and they were barely 18 years old. My grandfather, you know, he had no experience, you know, being in planes, really, other than a few aircraft lessons.

And you know, I actually recently spoke to Don Miller who wrote the book, "Masters of the Air," that has been optioned by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. The TV show comes out this fall. And he knew my grandfather.

ACOSTA: Wow.

MELAS: And he spoke to me this week about what those boys went through.

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DONALD MILLER, AUTHOR, "MASTERS OF THE AIR": I write books and I make movies and I want to pull people in. And the pulling power of this story was the heroism and resolve of the guys inside the planes and the way they stuck together as units. Each plane had 10 guys in it. And there are no foxholes in the sky

If a guy is getting hurt, you put him on the floor of the freezing plane, it's 45 to 50 degrees below zero. There's no heat in the plane. You put a blanket over him. You give him morphine; you hope he lives.

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MELAS: I mean, look, also, my grandfather took part in a harrowing death march from one prison camp, Stalag Luft III to Stalag VII-A, and hundreds of men died on that march, Jim. And, you know, all of those stories are in the book. And he is going to be one of the characters in "Masters of the Air" this fall, and I'm really excited about that.

ACOSTA: That's so cool. Your grandfather was a real-life hero. I mean, that's just all there is to it. Chloe Melas, thank you so much. Again, you can see it on screen right now. The book is "Luck of the Draw: My Story of the Air War in Europe." It's out on Tuesday. Chloe, thanks for sharing the story. Good luck with the book. We appreciate it.

MELAS: Thank you. Appreciate it.

ACOSTA: Thank you. All right, you bet.

More uncertainty over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic as another U.S. agency gets behind the lab leak theory. We'll talk about it in just a few moments. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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