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Russian Military Silent on Dissenting General; Italy Issues Heat Red Alerts for Rome and 9 Other Cities; U.N. Calls for Probe After 87 Bodies Found in Mass Grave; Pakistani Boy Among 600+ Killed in Shipwreck off Greece; General: Cluster Bombs Can 'Radically Change Battlefield'; Austin: 'No Doubt' Ukraine Will Join NATO after War. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired July 14, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:00:35]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Putin has already lost the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Fresh off a successful NATO summit, U.S. President Joe Biden declares Putin cannot win his war of choice in Ukraine.

Parts of Europe brace for a heat wave named Cerberus, after the mythological three-headed hound from Hell.

And his name is Abuzza (ph). He's 14 years old. He is dead, among the hundreds who did not survive when their battered boat capsized off the Greek coast.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: Wherever you are around the world, thank you for joining us this hour. We begin in Helsinki, Finland, where the U.S. president declared Putin has lost the war.

During a joint news conference with the president of Finland, Joe Biden also vowed to protect every part of Finland, the 31st and newest member of the NATO alliance.

The U.S. president was fresh off a two-day NATO summit, which began with divisions over Ukraine's future membership, but ended in agreement and declarations the alliance has never been stronger or more united.

And it's that renewed unity and strength which Joe Biden says is why Putin will not win his war of choice in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: Putin has already lost the war. Putin has a real problem. How does he move from here? What does he do? He could end the war tomorrow. He could just say, I'm out. But what agreement is ultimately reached depends upon Putin and what he decides to do. But there -- there is no possibility of him winning the war in Ukraine. He's already lost that war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Call it symbolism, a stark contrast, or just a sign of the times, but that declaration of a defeated Putin by Joe Biden and the message he is sending to Moscow was made in the same city, in the same presidential palace, the same week five years ago when Donald Trump infamously threw the U.S. intelligence community under the bus and publicly sided with the Russian president and his denials of interference in the U.S. presidential election.

The current unity among NATO members, also another sign of the times, compared with the acrimony, frustration, and outright hostility from then-President Trump.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked by a Russian reporter Thursday about the new streamlined membership process for Ukraine and its guaranteed place in NATO. He talked about an increasing threat to Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As for Ukraine's membership in NATO, this creates threats for Russia's security, obviously. And one of the reasons for the special military operation is the threat of Ukraine joining NATO.

I'm convinced that it won't improve the security of Ukraine itself and, in general, it will make the world a lot more vulnerable and will lead to additional tension on the international stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Another Russian general appears to have disappeared, with no sign of Major General Ivan Popov, who is removed from his command post in Ukraine. His crime, it seems, was to speak honestly to his superiors about the dark conditions for Russian troops on the front lines of the war with Ukraine.

More now from CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is how the Russian defense ministry wants to portray its army. Well-trained, equipped, and effective.

But the reality looks increasingly chaotic. The recent battlefield deaths of one top general, now another saying he's been fired, telling the truth about the dire situation on the front line. MAJ. GEN. IVAN POPOV, 58TH ARMY COMMANDER (through translator): Now it

is possible to confidently say that an order was issued and I was removed from my post.

CHANCE (voice-over): General Popov was the commander of the Russian 58th Army, heavily engaged in battles around Zaporizhzhia in Southeastern Ukraine.

One of Russia's most senior commanders, he says it raised questions about high casualty rates and the lack of artillery support. One Russian M.P. criticized his audio link as a political show, but there's been no official pushback on its content.

[00:05:00]

POPOV (through translator): I had no right to lie in your name, in the name of my fallen comrades. So I outlined all the problems which exist.

CHANCE (voice-over): It feels like another swipe at Russia's beleaguered defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, seen recently touring this Russian arms factory.

Russian military bloggers. often the only source of comment in the absence of any official reaction, say his chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, signed the order to have Popov removed.

YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, HEAD OF WAGNER GROUP: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

CHANCE (voice-over): There are unmistakable echoes of the criticism made by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who went on to lead an armed uprising against what he said was an incompetent Russian military leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

CHANCE (voice-over): That ended in failure, we think, but it seems discontent among Russia's senior officer class may be widespread, a worrying sign for the Kremlin.

And there's still no word about what's happened to this Russian commander, General Surovikin, last seen calling on Wagner to abandon their mutiny last month.

"The Wall Street Journal" is now reporting he's been detained for suspected Wagner links.

Though this senior Russian MP is now playing that down. Surovikin is not reachable, he told this Russian blogger and is resting, he says.

Wagner, according to its leader, is resting, too, as the Russian military takes control of its heavy weapons and ammunition.

Amid setbacks both on and off the battlefield, the Kremlin appears to be tightening its grip, purging its ranks of dissent.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Matthew Schmidt is an associate professor of national security at the University of New Haven. He's an expert of defense and intelligence, as well as Vladimir Putin and Russia.

It's good to have you with us.

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: It's good to be here, John.

VAUSE: So, against this background of what appears to be either cracks or chaos in the Kremlin, the U.S. president, Joe Biden, had this assessment of the war. Listen to this. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Putin has already lost the war. There is no possibility of him winning the war in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: OK, so apart from the outcomes of either win or lose, does Putin still have the option of playing for a draw, if you like, by dragging this conflict out, or have the internal domestic problems that he's facing right now reach the point that time is no longer on his side?

SCHMIDT: I think Putin controls the clock more than Zelenskyy does. He can play for a draw, but he won't call it a draw. He'll call it a win and he'll be able to frame it, because he has control over the media and he has a population that's basically apolitical at this point.

It really is going to take a stunning victory, probably in Crimea, that Putin can't deny, can't push off on someone else, in order for him to really lose outright. And while that's possible, it's not a very probable outcome.

VAUSE: So what will be the outcome here? What is President Joe Biden essentially saying here, not just to Putin but to the rest of the world?

SCHMIDT: I think this week, when he said that Ukraine wasn't yet ready for membership in NATO, what he was really signaling was the United States and Russian allies were going to give Ukraine what they've been asking for. They're going to get long-range fires from the Storm Shadow from the U.K. We're going to support F-16s. We're going to give them cluster bombs.

But it came with a kind of catch. Right? It was a light deadline, where Biden said, Look, you have to take as much territory as you can between now and maybe a year.

But when you do, and when we freeze this conflict, NATO will come in and we will secure that territory forever. But it's whatever you can take now.

VAUSE: But there is this negative assessment, which we heard from Major General Ivan Popov, the Russian general, had very similar complaints from the mercenary boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, about you know, lack of ammunition, high troop rotations, you know, and high casualty rates.

Are the comments from Popov far more damaging to Putin because, unlike Prigozhin, Popov has actually real credibility in terms of military service?

SCHMIDT: I just don't think they are, John. If you look at the response of military bloggers, some of them went with Popov and said, you know, he's a traitor. He's -- he's potentially calling for a new march on Moscow.

Some have defended him, but Putin's own, you know, deputies in the Duma, in his own party stepped in, very strongly, and said Popov meant this message to be private. He's a patriot. He should be allowed to say these things. Right? His conscience is clear, is what they actually said.

[00:10:08]

So I think it's kind of a wash in the end. It doesn't look to me like anybody has the kind of juice to march on Moscow and really threaten Putin's rule yet.

VAUSE: Well, at this news conference in Helsinki, where Biden, who was also asked about the increasingly desperate Putin and how he might resort to extreme measures like nukes in Ukraine, or maybe election interference in the United States. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: They have already interfered in American elections, so that would not be anything new.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: What a difference five years makes. Same city, different U.S. president. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People came to me, Dan Coats came to me, and some others. They said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Just for old time's sake, that was about election interference. They had a U.A. president defending the Russian president before the world. We now have a U.S. president basically say time's up, Putin. You're about to lose. I mean, this is just stark contrast between these two presidents.

SCHMIDT: You know, one president, the current one, understand international politics far better than the other one. It is the short of it.

But in the end, you know, Trump, I think, was motivated by personal interest. Not necessarily corruption, but simply that he -- he was driven by how he looked to the outside world and the realities of the things he was talking about, the realities of politics and how politics affect real people's lives in Russia.

For instance, in Europe, facing a Russian threat just -- just wasn't there. He just wasn't thinking about that. And Joe Biden, for whatever faults he has, he feels other people's pain. Right?

To quote Clinton, he's there and he is empathetic; and he's looking at this war, and he's saying, essentially, international politics is about -- is about two people meeting and looking at each other eye to eye.

And when Biden does that with Zelenskyy, he's saying, Man. Right? To use his phrase, man, I understand the pressure you're under. But I can't hold back the American political process forever. You've got to move, and you've got to win quick.

And he wants that to happen, because he wants that for the Ukrainian people. And that -- that's the difference between Biden and Trump.

VAUSE: Yes. One of the many differences, I guess. Matthew, as always, it's great to have you with us. Thanks for your insights. Thanks for your time.

SCHMIDT: Take care.

VAUSE: A Russian newspaper is reporting new details from President Vladimir Putin's closed-door meeting with Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and his commanders just days after their short-lived open rebellion.

Putin is quoted as saying he made clear the options for Wagner commanders who wanted to stay in the military.

But, when asked if Wagner will continue as a fighting unit, Putin told the newspaper Wagner doesn't exist, because such a group would be considered illegal under Russian law.

But he did concede the group does exist, but legally, does not?

Much of Europe has been sweltering this month, and climate scientists at the European Space Agency warn it's only just begun. Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Poland bracing for a major heat wave. And temperatures are expected to reach a staggering 48 degrees Celsius.

It's 118 degrees Fahrenheit on the island of Sicily and Sardinia, which could be Europe's hottest ever recorded temperatures. Millions are bracing for scorching temperatures from the Mediterranean

to the Middle East, Southern Eastern Turkey and North Africa. The Italian health ministry has issued a red alert heat wave warning for ten major cities, including Rome and Florence.

And CNN's Barbie Nadeau is one of millions set to swelter in Rome. Here's her report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rome, the eternal city, lately is more like the infernal city. A deadly heat wave gripping Southern Europe has made those trying to enjoy a Roman holiday rather uncomfortable.

CATHERINE HODGDON, TOURIST: I mean, it's hot. But yes, it is -- it is a little disappointing. I was thinking today, because we're planning to not be out when it's the hottest, like, we're missing some hours to be able to do stuff. But ultimately, to be able to enjoy it the most, we are going to have to cut out those hot hours in the day.

NADEAU (voice-over): Temperatures are climbing and expected to top 40 degrees Celsius, 104 degrees Fahrenheit in Rome. Italians have named the heat wave Cerberus, after a figure in Greek mythology that guarded the gates of.

Officials say the best way to combat the heat is with water, and Rome has no shortage of that. Rome has more than 4,000 public water fountains with drinkable water, and Rome's civil protection agency has an app that will help visitors locate the closest one.

GIUSEPPE NAPOLITANO (ph), COMMAND CENTER HEAD: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

NADEAU (voice-over): The command center head, Giuseppe Napolitano (ph), tells us that common sense is key, and staying hydrated is essential. So is using water to cool off, he says.

But tempting as it may be to swim in a fountain, doing so runs the risk of a several hundred dollar fine.

SARAH SMITH, TOURIST: We can't stay out all day, that's for sure.

ANDY SMITH, TOURIST: I think we just have to take a lot of breaks and not try and over plan.

NADEAU (voice-over): The heat wave is supposed to last at least through next week, and for most tourists, canceling is not an option. Which means another week of hell, not fit for man or beast.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Kristina Dahl is a principal climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. She is with us live from San Francisco. Good to see you again.

KRISTINA DAHL, PRINCIPAL CLIMATE SCIENTIST, UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS: Great to be here, thanks.

VAUSE: OK. So Italy and, you know, practically all of Southern Europe it is in the grip of this heat wave. And we now know that more than about 60,000 people died because of last year's record hot summer in Europe.

Is it safe to assume that the death toll rises and will rise again and it will fall with the mercury. The hotter it gets, the more people will die, which means more this year than last, assuming most places remain woefully unprepared to deal with these spikes in temperatures?

DAHL: Yes, there's a very strong relationship between temperature and mortality or death.

So, as the temperature rises, this is true in Europe. It's true in the United States. It's true all over the world. We see heat-related deaths increase.

So, last year we had record-breaking temperatures across Europe for the summer. It's the hottest summer on record. And so we saw a new study was just found where over 60,000 people died of heat-related causes that summer.

So we like to say that all heat-related deaths are preventable, and that is true. And yet, we don't have the systems in place yet to make sure that we can actually put that theory into practice.

VAUSE: The reality seems to be that, you know, record new high temperatures are now the new normal, and we really shouldn't be surprised. Maybe we should take the opposite view. We should be surprised when we don't get new record highs?

DAHL: I think you're onto something. Because I wouldn't say that this is a new normal, because what is normal is changing so quickly. So whether it's hot this summer or not, don't get used to it, because we know that it will just get hotter and hotter over time, if we continue to burn fossil fuels and emit heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere.

We know from climate models that Europe will see much more frequent, much more extreme heat in the decades ahead if we don't start to reign in those heat-trapping emissions.

VAUSE: And also, for the U.S., it's already been a stinking hot summer. Phoenix is on track for 18 straight days of temperatures of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, or 43 degrees Celsius or higher. I want you to listen to a spokesman for the Phoenix Fire Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. ROB MCDADE, PHOENIX, ARIZONA, FIRE DEPARTMENT: This is a very dangerous heat wave. I think sometimes we're insulated in our homes. The air conditioning's on. We're in our air-conditioned car. We go out. We travel across the parking lot for one minute, and then we're inside the restaurant.

But it is dangerous, and you -- it is fatal. It's fatal, and it's something that you just can't brush aside. You should absolutely be leery of extreme heat like this for extended days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the U.S. may be better prepared in some ways to cope with the heat, because many places have air conditioning, unlike Europe.

But research a few years ago from the International Energy Agency found that global energy demand from air conditioners is expected to triple by 2050, requiring new electricity capacity, the equivalent of the combined electricity capacity of the United States, the European Union, and Japan today.

This correlation between a hotter planet and increased carbon emissions from people using air conditioners to stay cool seems to be a blind spot here, which no one is really talking about, no one is really addressing.

DAHL: Yes, but it's a mind-boggling statistic, isn't it? And it really speaks to the fact that there is much of the world that is living without air conditioning.

And so yes, people are very underprepared when it comes to extreme heat, because we know that access to air conditioning is literally lifesaving during heat waves.

And so it's critical that we start to transition our energy systems, to clean carbon-free sources like solar and wind so that we can run those air conditioners and stay safe while not perpetuating the climate crisis. It's going to be a huge challenge.

VAUSE: We had that great big free ball up in the sky that gives us that solar energy for nothing, and it's time to use it. Kristina Dahl, I keep saying that over and over again. Thank you again for being with us; appreciate it.

DAHL: Thanks so much.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break, when we come back, a horrific discovery in Sudan's West Darfur region, bearing the atrocities of ethnic cleansing from 20 years ago. More on that in a moment.

[00:20:03]

Plus, the 14-year-old boy who wanted to provide for his family in Pakistan, just one of the hundreds who are missing, believed drowned when their boat capsized off the coast of Greece.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: An International Criminal Court investigation is under way into violent attacks in Sudan's Darfur region since mid-April, when rival military factions went to war. The ICC says reports of gender-based violence have surged in Darfur,

including allegations of mass rapes, deaths, and violence against children. This comes as the U.N. says it has found dozens of bodies in a mass grave in the Darfur region.

More details now from CNN's Stephanie Busari, reporting in from Lagos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A mass grave with at least 87 people was discovered in Sudan's West Darfur region, a United Nations agency said Thursday.

The grave was discovered outside the region's capital, in el-Geneina. And the U.N. said some of the bodies were of ethnic Masalit people, who are often targeted by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, also known as RSF.

BUSARI (voice-over): The U.N. says it has credible information that the killings were carried out by the RSF, who are fighting against the Sudanese national army.

The RSF have denied their involvement in the attacks. The RSF evolved from the Janjaweed militia, which were accused of genocide and war crimes in Darfur 20 years ago.

The United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, said that he was, quote, "appalled by the callous and disrespectful way the dead, along with their families and communities, were treated."

The U.N. has said crimes against humanity are being committed in Darfur and that they are fears that history could be about to repeat itself 20 years after the genocide that killed more than 300,000 people and displaced millions.

The gruesome discovery came as leaders from Sudan's six neighboring countries met in Cairo for more mediation talks. Egyptian President El-Sisi presented an initiative based on a cease-fire, opening up safe packages for aid, and comprehensive dialogue between the warring parties.

Leaders at the summit also expressed their concern over the spillover effects Sudan's three-month conflict has had on their borders. The U.N. says nearly 2.8 million people have fled Sudan, many without passports. Some of these countries such as Ethiopia, Chad, and Libya.

BUSARI: Stephanie Busari, CNN, Lagos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Syria will allow U.N. humanitarian aid deliveries to cross over from Turkey into rebel-held areas for another six months.

[00:25:04]

Earlier this week, Russia vetoed a plan by the U.N. Security Council to renew relief operations for nine months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASSAM SABBAGH, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: We have made the decisions, and we wanted this crossing point, crossing the border. And the coordination and the cooperation between Syria and the United Nations is always there and will continue to be there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The U.N. estimates more than 4 million Syrians rely on humanitarian aid, 80 percent of whom are women and children.

An earthquake in February made this crisis even worse. It's been ongoing now for a decade, ever since the Assad government began waging war on his own people.

The Senegalese navy has intercepted a boat carrying some 70 migrants bound for Europe. Their boat was stopped at the mouth of the Senegal River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Just a day earlier, a separate migrant boat capsized in the same area. At least six people are believed to have died.

Dangerous journeys from migrants in West Africa pick up during these warmer months. Nearly 100,000 migrants have already arrived in Europe just this year, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency.

Italy is by far the most popular destination, followed by Spain, and Greece. And it was near Greece that a dangerously overloaded boat, crowded with more than 750 migrants, capsized in June. Almost everyone on board drowned, including a 14-year-old boy from Pakistan.

Women and children were locked in the boat's cargo hold, according to U.N. officials, and had little chance for survival. CNN traveled to his home in Punjab province and spoke to his devastated father.

CNN's Anna Coren has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lush plains of Gujarat in Punjab province are home to some of the most fertile land in all of Pakistan. The mighty Indus River and its tributaries, the lifeblood.

But not everyone here prospers from its richness. Fourteen-year-old Mohammed Abuzza (ph) felt the heavy burden of responsibility. His father, a school van driver earning less than $90 a month, was struggling to provide for the family.

Abuzza (ph) worried about the future of his younger brothers, especially 6-year-old Hassan (ph), who is severely disabled.

"My son pleaded with me to be sent abroad," he explains. He said, "Look at how we live. We'll die of hunger. It's best for me to leave so I can support our family."

Many older boys from the village had already made the trip to Europe through human smuggling operations, sending hefty remittances back home. Abuzza's (ph) uncle had decided to go, and the teenager knew this was his chance.

"The people smuggler said it would cost more than 8,000 U.S. dollars to send my son to Italy. I said, I can't afford it. He told me, Your kid will earn that in a couple of months."

At the beginning of May this year, Abuzza (ph), his uncle, and a small group of teenage boys from the village set off.

Human smugglers organized for the group to fly from Karachi to Dubai, then to Egypt before transiting to Libya. From Tripoli International Airport, they drove to the Libyan port city of Tobruk and waited in a cab filled with other illegal migrants for the next month.

The day before the group set sail for Italy, their final destination, Abuzza (ph) sent a video to his brothers, hoping to make them laugh. He then recorded the group's final prayers. That night, he called his father.

"My son was really happy. He said, 'Don't worry, Dad. It will be OK. We'll have lifejackets. It's a big boat. Once I'm there, you'll have nothing to worry about."

On the 9th of June, Abuzza (ph) boarded the Adriana, a fishing vessel with a capacity of 100. Instead, 750 illegal migrants were crammed aboard, of which almost half were from Pakistan, according to the Pakistani interior ministry.

Within days, the trawler would capsize off the coast of Greece, as a Greek coast guard ship watched on. More than 600 people drowned, in what would become one of the deadliest migrant boat tragedies.

Among the survivors, only 12 Pakistanis. Abuzza (ph) was not one of them.

"Dying of hunger is better than this. Don't send your children away. For us, life and hell are now the same."

But this grieving father's warning is falling on deaf ears. According to U.N. migration, last year Pakistanis won't even among the top ten nationalities arriving in Europe.

[00:30:04]

This year, however, they're ranked No. 5, with economic migration fueling the surge. A financial crisis in Pakistan and record-high unemployment is driving many families to make these life-altering decisions.

ROBERTO FORIN, HEAD OF E.U. OFFICE, MIXED MIGRATION CENTRE: The common narrative is that smugglers are there to sort of lure people into -- into this dangerous journey. We look at who are the people influencing the decision of migrating, and it is mostly family. So migration is a family investment.

COREN (voice-over): For this mother in Vandeli (ph) in Pakistani- administered Kashmir, her 20-year-old son was supposed to be on that ill-fated vessel. She says the human traffickers disembarked him because of overcrowding.

He's now waiting for the next boat.

"I asked him to come home, but he won't," she explains. "He wants to go to Europe, like other boys from our village. I pray that he makes it."

Anna Coren, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Confirmation from the Pentagon, Ukraine has now received shipments of cluster munitions. Coming up, CNN speaks exclusively with a senior Ukrainian commander about what these controversial weapons will mean for Ukraine's counter offensive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Ukraine says the military offensive South of Bakhmut continues to gain momentum. Across the South, Ukrainian officials say they are consolidating recent gains. Up to 200 Russian troops were killed in a recent strike in the city of Tokmak (ph).

To the North, though, Ukraine is on the defense, digging in and building new fortifications along the border with Russia and others to protect sabotage groups and armored vehicles from crossing into Ukraine.

The first shipment of U.S. cluster bombs have now arrived in Ukraine. Cluster munitions are banned by more than 120 countries, because unexploded bomblets litter the landscape and remained lethal long after the fighting has stopped.

U.S. President Joe Biden defended his decision as a difficult one but said it was necessary to keep Ukraine in the fight.

More details now from CNN's Alex Marquardt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: General, very nice to meet you.

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavsky is in charge of what is arguably the most important parts of Ukraine's counteroffensive, trying to punch through the Russian defenses in Southern Ukraine and split Russia's forces.

Now, he told CNN exclusively he has a powerful new weapon: American cluster munitions. [00:35:02]

MARQUARDT: Have you used them already? And how much do you think they're going to change the fight?

"We just got them. We haven't used them yet," he says, "but they can radically change the battlefield. The enemy also understands that with getting this ammunition, we will have an advantage."

Radical changes are needed, as Ukraine's counteroffensive has made only modest gains in his area, riddled with mines. The Russians, he said, prepared intensely.

"The counter offensive is successful but not as much as each of us would like," he tells us. They made dense, complex minefields, which are now located in the areas where Ukrainian equipment and personnel will go through.

Tarnavsky hopes that the Russians will abandon areas where clusters would be most affected. He says the munitions will be strictly used away from civilians and only with the approval of senior leadership.

They've arrived as artillery ammunition is running low and as news comes that a Ukrainian missile strike, reportedly with a British cruise missile, killed a Russian rising star, Lieutenant General Oleg Sarkov (ph), the most senior Russian killed in Ukraine so far.

Long-range ammunition that can reach well beyond the front line, Tarnavsky says, is in dire need.

"Long-range ambition is effective," he says. "This may be the most problematic issue today. It's like boxing," he adds. "We hold the opponent at arm's length. At long distances, we defeat them effectively."

MARQUARDT: The Pentagon has now confirmed that these U.S.-made cluster munitions are indeed in Ukraine. They are banned by more than 100 countries but not by Ukraine, Russia or the United States.

If Ukraine uses these U.S.-made clusters, Russia says, they will be forced to respond, they say, in a reciprocal manner. But Russia has been using their own cluster munitions since the very beginning of the war, and not just on the battlefield but against civilians, as well.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Dnipro, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he has no doubt Ukraine will become a NATO member after the war. Him and everyone else, it seems. He spoke with CNN's Wolf Blitzer after the NATO summit in Lithuania, where Kyiv received security guarantees, but no timeline for joining the alliance. Here's part of the interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: From a military standpoint, Mr. Secretary, how close is Ukraine to meeting NATO standards?

LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: There are eight number of things that -- that will have to be done, as you know. A big part of their inventory is legacy equipment, and so in terms of training and equipping, there's work to be done.

We're doing that work as we're helping them as they fight this war, and so, thanks have been done up to this point. There's more that will need to be done to ensure that they have a full complement of capability.

BLITZER: So you have no doubt that after the war, Ukraine will become a member of NATO?

AUSTIN: I have no doubt that that will happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Secretary Austin added that Ukraine needs to reform the judiciary, shore up its democracy, fight corruption, tick a few more boxes.

When we come back, double trouble for Hollywood. Actors are now officially on strike alongside the rioters and even the A-list celebrities won't cross the picket lines, bringing most production across the U.S. to a standstill.

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VAUSE: There's outrage in Italy after a court acquitted the school janitor of sexual assault for groping a teenage girl, because the act lasted less than ten seconds.

The 66-year-old man said he touched the student under her briefs as a joke, an explanation which the judges apparently accepted.

The ruling sparked viral reactions on social media -- no wonder -- with video showing people touching sensitive parts of their bodies for ten seconds to show how long that really is and how potentially life- changing ten seconds can actually be.

About 160,000 actors are officially on strike, effectively shutting down much of the movie and TV industry in the United States. Extended contract negotiations fell apart on Thursday. Actors are calling for increased pay for streaming residuals, as well as protections surrounding A.I. technology.

They're joining writers on the picket lines for the first time since 1960 that both unions will be on strike together. At a news conference announcing the industrial action, union president -- that's the actors president -- Fran Drescher said that the studios left the actors no choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FRAN DRESCHER, SAG-AFTRA PRESIDENT: I cannot believe it, quite frankly. How far apart we are on so many things, how they plead poverty, that they're losing money left and right, while getting hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs. It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history.

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VAUSE: Word of the strike came during the British premier of the biopic "Oppenheimer" in London. The cast walked out of the screening to support their colleagues.

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FLORENCE PUGH, ACTOR: It's been a really, really tense few days for a lot of people, not just actors but everybody in the industry affected by this decision, a decision that is necessary.

KENNETH BRANAGH, ACTOR: We know it's a critical time, and at this point, the industry and the issues that are involved need to be addressed. I know everybody is trying to get a fair deal. So we'll support that.

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VAUSE: In response to the industrial action, the TV, film studios and streaming services say the union turned its back on a substantial offer for increased pay and improved benefits.

I'm John Vause. Thank you for watching. My friend and colleague Michael Holmes will have more of CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour. WORLD SPORT starts after the break. We'll see you right back here next.

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