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Russian Missile Attack Hits Market In Ukraine, 16 Dead; 2023 Is On Track To Be The Hottest Year On Record; Japan Launches Rocket Carrying Moon Sniper Lunar Lander; Moderna, Pfizer Say Updated COVID Shots Generate Strong Response Versus Newer Variant; Mexico's Supreme Court Decriminalizes Abortion; Spain's Hermoso Files Complaint Over Rubiales' Kiss. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired September 07, 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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[01:00:28]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up on CNN, mass murderer in the marketplace. Dozens killed and wounded in eastern Ukraine, targeted by a Russian long range ballistic missile.
2023 is set to be the hottest year on record, and possibly the new baseline for accelerating temperatures on an overheating planet.
And a moment of truth for the Japanese Space Program, with a successful launch of a three times delayed mission to the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: Thanks for joining us. We begin this hour with anger and grief in Ukraine after the deadliest Russian missile attacks on a civilian target in months, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens more. At 2:00 p.m. local time Wednesday, many in the city of Kostiantynivka, were out shopping at an open air market. Then suddenly.
There was a bright orange explosion. Surveillance cameras recorded the moment of impact from the long range Russian missile, a red daytime attack, which sent dozens running for cover and set nearby buildings on fire. The moments after the missile strike were chaotic and gruesome. Victims were trapped beneath rubble and debris.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack was carried out by Russian terrorists, a term he often uses to describe the military leaders within the Kremlin and he said it was utter inhumanity.
The missile strike coincided with a visit to key by the U.S. Secretary of State who was in the capital to show support for the Ukrainian counter-offensive now its fourth month. Antony Blinken announced a new infusion of aid worth more than a billion U.S. dollars. More details now from CNN's Melissa Bell reporting in from Kyiv.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The moment a peaceful market was flattened. The CCTV footage posted by the Ukrainian president even as he prepared to meet with Washington's top diplomat. The Russian missile killed at least 17 people including a child in an industrial town just 90 miles from Bakhmut.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We know that area very well. We understand that they delivered a deliberate strike.
BELL: One of the deadliest attacks in months came just hours after the Kremlin warned that the United States was intent on keeping the war going until the last Ukrainian.
DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON (through translator): They are essentially going to continue to keep Ukraine in a state of war and wage and continue this war until the last Ukrainian without sparing any money for it.
BELL: Moscow's reaction as Secretary of State Blinken arrived in Kyiv. His third visit to the city since the war began.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are determined United States to continue to walk side by side with Ukraine.
BELL: The aim of Blinken's trip to align Washington and Kyiv's message ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, but also to announce fresh support that will now include depleted uranium munitions, a controversial addition to Ukraine's arsenal that's expected this fall
BLINKEN: In the ongoing counter-offensive, progress has accelerated in the past few weeks. This new assistance will help sustain it and build further momentum.
BELL: The boots on the ground meanwhile turning their focus to expanding their recent gains in the South after breaching Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhia village of Robotyne. A tactical retreat claims Moscow to do with withdrawing to nearby hills for a height advantage.
In the east, the situation is more difficult for Ukrainian forces. A Ukrainian commander is saying the enemy is not abandoning its plans and is stubbornly preparing to take revenge. A warning that President Zelenskyy is likely to take to New York, as he calls on Western allies to stand not only firm, but ever firmer. Melissa Bell, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The slow pace of the Ukrainian counter offenses raises problems to Kyiv not just on the military front, but also politically. The corner in Washington and the Ukrainian capital is the longer this offensive drags on without significant progress the more likely NATO allies are to waver in their support. [01:05:09]
CNN's Sam Kiley breaks down now where Ukraine has had some success and where the Russians are pushing back.
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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Antony Blinken has just been in a cave with another check for a billion dollars worth of American military aid for the Ukrainian war effort, very significant increase upon the already massive levels of donations coming from the United States and others but the Americans are way ahead in terms of their support for Ukrainian war effort.
But the critics in the United States are pointing to these very small yellow and white dots here on the map. These are the very small incremental gains that the Ukrainians have been making. Now their critics are saying they're not getting through those America -- the Russian frontlines hard enough, or fast enough.
The Ukrainians response to that and indeed, more sensible voices, frankly, within NATO, as saying, Well, this whole front line here has been a long anticipated and indeed all of this stuff, down in the south to the Russians have had plenty of time many months to reinforce. They've got at least three lines of defense in some areas, possibly five that includes minefields, tank traps, it's now up to infantry to infiltrate these areas, clear the mines by hand, and then get that armor that the United States and others have been donating into the battlespace.
This is going to be where the concentration at the moment of the future operations of the Ukrainians are likely to be. And that is because they want to expand this area so they can use that as a bridgehead to go forward into Crimea, and indeed cut the Russian supply lines to the east and west.
But the Russians get a vote in this. If we take a look at what's going on, on the Eastern Front, we'll be able to see much more closely. First of all, where these Russian gains have been made, but also where the Ukrainians have been pushing them back, particularly here, south of Bakhmut.
But of course, just in the last 24 hours, the Russians have struck back killing a large number of civilians and others here in Konstantinovka, in a missile attack with at least 16 killed more than 20 injured. Now that is part of the steady state of this war, the constant attacks on civilians behind the front lines as part of the Russian effort to try to drain the energy out of the Ukrainian war effort.
Now, of course, the new Ukrainian commander is saying that every single inch of Ukrainian territory as far as they're concerned will be liberated as part of that campaign. But again, the Russians are counter attacking, particularly here, up near Kupiansk and all along this northern front here. They actually made some minor gains that the Russians have, but they've been assaulting with very severe and heavy numbers of armor tanks in particular being put to use there they are being held by the Ukrainians.
But all of this is adding up to a degree of frustration among the Ukrainians, allies in the West very often derived from a lack of understanding of what this battle space really is like. And speaking as somebody who's been on the ground here, the NATO doctrine is you need three to one advantage in terms of troops from the Ukrainian perspective.
Indeed, the troop numbers are actually the other way around. So any kind of Ukrainian advance under those circumstances, particularly without air cover, and they have none so far, is nothing short of something close to a miracle.
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VAUSE: Now, thanks to Sam Kiley for that in London. Now climate experts please the record high temperatures over the past three months are just a preview of what's to come as the planet continues to heat at an alarming rate.
The latest climate data shows both air and ocean temperatures smash records around the world during June, July and August making it officially the hottest summer in the Northern Hemisphere in human history. With ocean surface temperatures now the warmest they've ever been 2023 is on track to be the hottest year on record.
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CLARE NULLIS, WORLD METEOROLOGIST ORGANIZATION: Global sea surface temperatures are unprecedented. Antarctic sea ice is unprecedented key low for this time of year, and it was the hottest August on record by a big margin.
This record breaking summer sets the scene for the fact that we are seeing more extreme heat. We are seeing more heat waves. This does have an impact on human health and on air quality.
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VAUSE: And a warmer winter and the southern hemisphere has been blamed for severe and deadly weather. In Brazil South more than 30 are confirmed dead and heavy flooding caused by an extra tropical cyclone. Recent rainfall is equal to what the area normally receives in the entire month of September.
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Our affiliate CNN Brazil call it the worst natural disaster to strike the region in 40 years. The death toll is rising in Greece with three people now confirmed dead, intellectual rain and flooding. Storms are also killed at least five others in Turkey and Bulgaria. Their stock rainfall has shut down the port of Volos in Greece, which received a month's worth of rain and a single day on Tuesday. More details now from CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGSIST (on camera): Devastating pictures coming out of parts of Greece here where there have been almost three quarters of a meter of rainfall, a meter of rainfall there in some of these areas that have been so hard hit where the rain simply will not stop. And it will not stop again today, another level three for meteoalarm for heavy, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, and the rain that comes down just isn't going to soak in. There's no place for it to soak in.
When you're looking at 754 millimeters in the past three days. Even Volos with those pictures were 375 millimeters. It's been stuck there for a bit. I would suspect that many of the even the rain gauges aren't even working at this point. There's your low to the southwest, making the rainfall come up in the same places that we've had rainfall for day after day after day.
Here's what it looks like right now. This is still that convective purple, heavy rainfall coming down there, especially on the eastern coast here of central Greece. The rainfall finally moves away, it will go away finally for Friday and Saturday, but it's going to take some more time, still another 100 millimeters possible there along that same coast.
And then there's hurricane Lee in the middle of the Atlantic going to be a very hefty storm. Very, very big storm here will be called a category four hurricane, at this point in time, somewhere in the ballpark of 240 kilometers per hour missing all of the islands so far. All the models taking it to the north, and then eventually even a turn to the right, and maybe away from land but it's too early to tell. I think really we won't even see any landfall for seven to 10 more days. And that could be anywhere from the Carolinas in the U.S. all the way up toward Nova Scotia. We simply don't know where this thing's going. It's just too far out there. It's in very warm water right now rapidly intensifying.
But look at this blue. This is the wake of what was Hurricane Franklin. Hurricane Franklin was also a 240 kilometer per hour storm out here in the Atlantic, churning up the water using the energy and the heat from the water and that's where the storm is going. There may be some time where this storm stops intensifying. So that is some of the good news.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks to Chad Myers. Now drugmakers, Moderna and Pfizer say they're updated. COVID-19 vaccines have shown a strong response against the latest cell variant of the Coronavirus. The strain known as BA.2.86 is highly mutated and according to CDC could have a higher rate of infection with those who either been vaccinated or have caught the virus earlier.
The sub-variant has been detected in the United States, Britain and other countries as well. Let's go into the WHO. Both drugmakers claim and increase in antibody response against the virus. Each is in different stages of approval but are expected to be available in the coming months maybe sooner. Just at the end of the emergency declaration WHO though says the Coronavirus is still a global threat.
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DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We continue to see concerning trends for COVID-19 ahead of the winter season in the northern hemisphere. Those are increasing in some parts of the Middle East and Asia. ICU admissions are increasing in Europe. And hospitalizations are increasing in several regions.
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VAUSE: Anne Rimoin is a professor of Epidemiology at the University of California Fielding School of Public Health. She is with us this hour from Los Angeles. Welcome back. It's been a while.
ANNE RIMOIN, PROFESSOR, EPIDEMIOLOGY DEPARTMENT, UCLA FIELDING SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Thanks for having me. It has been a while.
VAUSE: Yes, which is a good thing, I guess in some ways. The head of the World Health Organization talked about the increased number of COVID infections globally. And he had this concern about the current data. Here he is.
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GHEBREYESUS: Data are limited. Only 43 countries, less than a quarter of who member states are reporting this to WHO and only 20 provide information on hospitalizations.
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VAUSE: So internationally, there's a lack of testing out like a data being collected. And here in the US the CDC, their latest numbers, so more than 17,000 people were admitted to hospital last week. That's up almost 16 percent in a week.
But is there a similar problem here with potential underreporting in the United States, especially after the authorization to collect public health data and, you know, back in May.
RIMOIN: John, we have a lot of problems when it comes to data today because we don't have the same kind of rigorous reporting that we had the height of the pandemic, but also most people are getting tested or getting tested at home and so those report -- those results are not getting recorded anywhere.
[01:15:07]
So we really don't have any idea about the true numbers of cases. But what we do know is that we've seen wastewater data uptick, we've seen hospitalizations start to go up. So these are indicators that are pretty clear, we're seeing a lot of COVID circulating in the population. And whatever it is that we're seeing in terms of numbers of cases that are recorded. We can assume that there are a lot more out there. VAUSE: With that in mind, the new director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had this message on Wednesday. Here she is.
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MR. MANDY COHEN, DIRECTOR, U.S. CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: You know, look, COVID is here with us, we are going to have to continue to live with it.
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VAUSE: And that means adapting to variants like BA.2.86, which may be more capable of causing infection and people who had previously had COVID-19 or had received COVID-19 vaccines. But Moderna announced Wednesday, outdated COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong human immune response against a highly mutated BA.2.86 variant will continue to be an important tool for protection as we head into the fall vaccination season, that's in the northern hemisphere.
So vaccines are great. And they're effective it seems but they're only effective when they become vaccinations. Right. So is that still the weak link in the chain here in many ways?
RIMOIN: Well, we do have a reasonably big wall of immunity built up from previous vaccinations and from widespread infection. But that vaccine can make a very big difference in terms of decreasing the probability of severe disease, hospitalization and death. So the vaccines may be very important, in particular, for people who are in that vulnerable category, people who are older, people who are immunocompromised, people who are living with others who have these conditions, those are the people that are going to be really the most important to get vaccinated, because that's going to provide an extra layer of immunity.
And for everyone, and when you do get vaccinated, it's a very strong possibility that it may prevent long COVID, which is something that we know is a serious consequence of getting infected. So, I think that we'll hear from CDC next week who they recommend to get vaccinated again with this booster. But that's my guess is that that will be those populations that will be targeted first.
VAUSE: Well, the U.S. First Lady recently tested positive and according to CDC guidelines, anyone exposed to COVID, like her husband should wear a mask for 10 days. Here's the U.S. president.
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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Let me explain to the press. I've been tested again today. I'm clear across the board. But they keep telling me because it has to be 10 days or something. I got to keep wearing it. But don't tell him I didn't have it on when I walked in.
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VAUSE: To be fair, the president tested negative on Wednesday, he's been testing negative, you know, throughout this, but does he get a pass because of that? And just what we have here, what is the effectiveness of wearing masks anyway?
RIMOIN: Well, I think that the key here is that if you want to protect the people around you, it's a great idea to wear a mask in particular if you've been exposed. And if you've had a high risk exposure, which we assume the President has been close to the First Lady.
So my, you know, my suggestion to everyone is to think about not only yourself but to people or to the people around you. And if you're going to be around vulnerable people in particular, it's a great thing to do to put that mask on.
Now, testing is an excellent way to be more certain that you don't have COVID but most people are using antigen tests. Now those antigen tests are not as good ads as catching early stages of COVID. But nonetheless, the President did test so that's a better indication that he probably is not infectious. Just you know, couple hours later view you could be where you weren't in the morning. So you know, best case wear a mask if you've been exposed.
VAUSE: Why hasn't really changed so bad. It's so good to see you. Thanks very much.
RIMOIN: My pleasure.
VAUSE: Coming up here on CNN, a big win not just for women's rights, but also for human rights in Mexico, with a landmark legal ruling which lifts a federal ban on women's right to choose.
Also, the fallout from an unwanted kiss at the Women's World Cup that's growing. Now a formal complaint has been filed over the incident. More details on that when we come back.
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VAUSE: Illegal landmark in Mexico with a Supreme Court ruling which clearly states abortion care is a human right, and preventing access to the medical procedure is a clear violation of those rights. The court ruled Wednesday that a federal ban on abortion is unconstitutional. More details now on the fallout from all of this from CNN's Rafael Romo.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The effort to decriminalize abortion in Mexico has been going on for years, especially in Mexico City where abortion rights groups have taken to the streets to say my body my decision. In fact by the time the Mexican Supreme Court issued a ruling Wednesday decriminalizing abortion at the federal level, 12 out of 32 states had already invalidated laws banning abortion.
MARIA ANTONLETA ALCAIDE, IPAS/MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA: Our reaction was of pure joy and celebration, but also have been very proud of being part of this green wave, this movement that have been working to advance the abortion agenda.
ROMO: In a statement, the court said that banning an abortion is unconstitutional because it violates the human rights of women and people with the capacity to gestate. Anti-abortion groups in Mexico blasted the ruling.
ALICIA GALVAN, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, PATRIA UNIDA FOUNDATION: There are millions more Mexicans who are in favor of life from the moment of conception until natural death.
ROMO: The Supreme Court first ruled that it was unconstitutional to criminalize abortion in 2021. Same day the ground shook in Mexico. The earthquake was filled for about a minute but the shockwaves sent across the nation by that court's ruling are still being felt.
GALVAN: It is a black day for Mexico. The country's mourning. The Supreme Court of Justice, the highest level institution in the country. they want in charge of watching over justice and human rights, both betray the first human rights without which no other human rights can exist life.
ROMO (on camera): Back in 2021, the Court issued a decision on a law enacted in the northern state of Coahuila, which said that women who get an abortion may get punished with up to three years in prison and a fine.
ROMO (voiceover): Exactly a week before Wednesday's ruling, Aguascalientes had decriminalized abortion becoming the 12 states to do so. Mexico City was the first jurisdiction to end the ban on abortion in the country back in 2007. Starting a trend in the still mostly conservative country where more than three quarters of the population identify as Catholic. Abortion rights groups say even before the ruling, Mexico had already become a destination for some American women seeking an abortion.
ALCAIDE: Before Mexican women used to go to the U.S. to look for abortion services. And now Mexico, more and more American women are coming to Mexico for services.
ROMO: And while no woman can be prosecuted any longer for having an abortion in Mexico, there are still 20 states where the procedure remains illegal. But the ruling paves the way for the federal healthcare system to start providing abortions. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
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[01:25:04]
VAUSE: Spanish prosecutors can now move forward with a case against the country's Football Federation chief. That's after a star player on the Women's National Team filed a formal complaint over that unwanted kiss after the Women's World Cup final last month, The fallout has led to a major shake-up in Spanish football. CNN's Patrick Snell has the latest.
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PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well on Wednesday, we learned that the player that Luis Rubiales kissed after last month World Cup final in Australia, Jenni Hermoso has now filed an official complaint with prosecutors against Rubiales himself. And this is highly significant because this legal complaint is the next step required for the Spanish justice system to proceed with a case against Rubiales.
Spanish prosecutors had opened an investigation into him late last month saying they would contact Hermoso within two weeks to inform her of her rights as a victim of an alleged crime of sexual aggression. And now they've issued a statement which reads in part yesterday, Ms. Jennifer Hermoso submitted a complaint for the events that you all know. The national courts prosecutor's office will file a complaint as soon as possible, which will be sent to you as well as the press release. The statement took place at the State Attorney General's office to protect the privacy of the victim.
That comes after a series of key developments earlier in the week we saw the appointment of a new Spanish women's team head coach Jorge Vilda sacking with Montse Tome succeeding him. Former Spain Captain Veronica Boquete saying that replacing Vilda as head coach of the team wasn't enough quote, the change we're talking about isn't about changing one president for another. It isn't changing one coach for another. It's about making a much deeper change.
Tome on Tuesday becoming the first woman ever to be appointed head coach of a Spanish national team. The 41-year-old former player has been working for the Spanish Federation since 2018, and did work under Vilda whose team went on to win the World Cup last month in Sydney after beating England's Lionesses.
Meantime, Vilda himself saying he feels his sacking was unfair. Vilda has long been considered a close ally of Rubiales and was seen applauding his defiant speech where he refused to resign nearly two weeks ago. Vilda was the man in charge of Spain winning their first ever Women's World Cup crown. But it does now bring to an end and at a tenure that's been steeped in controversy and complaints from some of the players about the structures and management in place.
JORGE VILDA, FORMER HEAD COACH, SPANISH WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM (through translator): I am as good as one can be after being named World Champion 16 days ago, then 10 days ago getting a four-year contract extension plus the year I had left and then after today being fired what I believe to be unfairly.
SNELL: Well for now the scrutiny on Rubiales remaining as intense as ever. He's refusing to resign and says that kiss was mutual and consensual. Though Hermoso herself says there was absolutely no consent on her part. And with it, right back to you.
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VAUSE: Thank you Patrick Snell. A manhunt is underway for a British soldier who escaped from a London prison. Daniel Abed Khalife was awaiting trial on terror charges which he dies. He's accused of planting fake bombs at a military base. Authority say Khalife made his brazen escape on Wednesday by addressing as a chef and clinging to a delivery van.
Prison escapes in the UK are red. Khalife was being held in Wandsworth, one of Britain's largest prisons with more than 1,600 inmates. And in the United States, the search continues for a convicted murderer who escaped from Pennsylvania prison last week.
New surveillance video shows Danelo Cavalcante crab walking up to walls at the prison. According to the acting warden, Cavalcante then pushed through razor wire which was recently a sought after an earlier prison break. Cavalcante was convicted of murdering his girlfriend back in 2021. And is also wanted in a homicide case six years ago in his native Brazil. His escape is live nearby residents on edge and forced to nearby school districts. Close.
Up next year on CNN a big legal setback for two of Donald Trump's co- defendants in the Georgia elections diversion case. We'll have the details on this first televised trial in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone.
I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
Yet another legal blow for Donald Trump. A federal judge ruled he is liable in the second defamation case brought by former columnist E. Jean Carroll.
In May, a jury found the former one-term presidents actually abused Carroll and that she was defamed by his repeated claims that he didn't rape her, he didn't know her. And she wasn't his type anyway.
On Wednesday, the judge ruled that the jury's finding is now binding in that second case. The trial set for January will be limited to determining damages. Carroll is reportedly seeking $10 million.
Donald Trump's fourth indictment in the state of Georgia is now the first to be --- first trial to be televised. Cameras were allowed into the Fulton County court room, televising the judge's ruling against two of Trump's 18 co-defendants. The two had filed motions to be tried separately from the former president.
CNN's Paula Reid has details.
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JUDGE SCOTT MCAFEE, FULTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT: So based on what's been presented today, I'm not finding the severance from Mr. Chesebro or Powell necessary to achieve a fair determination of the guilt or innocence for either defendant in this case.
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee in court Wednesday, giving the first glimpse into how he plans to handle the sweeping election subversion case in Georgia. All in front of cameras allowed in the courtroom.
McAfee ruling Wednesday that defendants Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell who both filed for a speedy trial cannot be separated and will stand trial together in a matter of weeks.
SCOTT GRUBMAN, ATTORNEY FOR KENNETH CHESEBRO: Obviously we're a little disappointed. We filed the motion and it was denied. However, we respect the court's ruling.
REID: Now, the issue before the court would be whether it's realistic that all 19 defendants including former president Donald Trump be tried together.
GRUBMAN: To say that all 19 defendants should be tried together including ones that don't want to avail themselves of a speedy trial demand, is really just nonsensical.
REID: Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis has said from the beginning she wants to do just that.
FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Do I intent to try the 19 defendants in this indictment together? Yes.
REID: But the judge expressing skepticism in court Wednesday about that plan and whether we can put on a massive trial for all the defendants as soon as October 23rd. The date now on the calendar for Chesebro and Powell.
MCAFEE: It just seems a bit unrealistic to think that we can handle all 19 in 40-something days.
Are we even delaying the inevitable. If we say there's no severance, are going to have 17 defense attorneys get up here and file motions for continuance and saying they're not ready.
REID: This as some defendants like Trump's former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows are trying to get their cases moved to federal court.
MCAFEE: I think we've already had some counsel indicating they're on trial in other cases in federal court.
REID: Late Wednesday, the district attorney Fani Willis asked the court to issue protection for any potential jurors who work on this case.
This request comes after members of the grand jury, their identities were published in that indictment that went out to the from the entire world. Many of theme were identified online and then faced threats.
[01:34:56] REID: So the fact that the district attorney is taking the step ahead of a potential trial, incredibly significant.
Paula Reid, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And Trump's legal team may soon be facing another headache with a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the state of Colorado, to remove Trump from the Republican primary ballot under the 14th Amendment, which bans insurrectionists from holding public office.
Section three of the Amendment says no American official who takes an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution quote, "shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion or given aid and comfort to the enemies thereof".
The lawsuit says this should apply to Trump because of the efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
A growing number of legal scholars have supported this strategy in the wake of Trump's indictments in Fulton County, Georgia and the January 6th case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURENCE TRIBE, LAW PROFESSOR, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL: We've never before had a president who took an oath to uphold the constitution and then, when he lost the election, schemed and plotted to hold on to power. That is the very definition of an insurrection.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: What is not clear, the Constitution does not spell out how to enforce this ban.
Trump's campaign spokesperson says the 14th Amendment claims are stretching the law beyond recognition. Many expect the Supreme Court will now ultimately decide.
In Ukraine, a missile struck a market in the town of Kostyantynivka claiming the lives of at least 17 people.
That was the moment of impact Wednesday. In the region of Donetsk. Dozens of shoppers, workers were among the casualties, just people trying to go about their daily lives.
The U.N. humanitarian coordinator called the carnage tragic and (INAUDIBLE). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says whenever Ukrainian troops make a positive step on the battlefield Russia responds by targeting civilian and civilian infrastructure.
A survivor of the attack described terrifying moments inside a nearby pharmacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DIANA KHODAK, PHARMACY EMPLOYEE: I only saw a flash, and then shouted to my colleagues lie on the floor. All the customers laid down on the floor. All the pharmacy employees lay down on the floor. Everything's falling over, then everything was covered in smoke and the fire started.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The attack came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv, offering a critical round of new support. The U.S. is offering another $1 billion in military and humanitarian assistance.
That's just one of the many gifts the Biden administration is hoping (ph) to give in the coming months.
CNN's Kylie Atwood has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Secretary Antony Blinken really doubled down on continue U.S. support for Ukraine, making the case that that support will continue and also calling the recent gains that the Ukrainians have made in the counteroffensive very, very encouraging.
Now this was his third trip to the capital city since the Ukraine war broke out and he compared what is happening now on the ground with what he saw when he visited the country about a year ago this time.
Listen to what he had to say.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: In the year since I was last here, Ukraine has taken back more than 50 percent of the territory that Russia seized from it since February of 2022.
In the current counteroffensive, we are seeing real progress over the last few weeks. As it happens President Zelenskyy just returned from the frontline so I was able to hear directly from him his assessment of the counteroffensive.
And I think it very matches our own which is, as I said, real progress in recent weeks.
ATWOOD: He also announced $1 billion dollars in additional U.S. support for Ukraine. New support when it comes to humanitarian support, economic support, and military support for the country which Blinken said he hopes will be able to sustain the progress and build further momentum for the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Now this all comes as President Biden has put forth an additional proposal to Congress for $24 billion in continued support, new support to Ukraine.
And we'll have to see how this plays out in Congress. We heard from President Zelenskyy when he met with the Secretary of State, saying that he has seen great unity in a bipartisan fashion from Congress when it comes to support for Ukraine.
We know that there are a minority of Republican voices who are opposed to additional funding so that will create some road bumps as the secretary heads back to Washington and works with Congress to get that supplemental funding across the finish line.
Kylie Atwood, CNN -- the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Joining us now is Retired Major General Mick Ryan, former commander of Australia's Defense College and author of "War Transformed: The Future of 21st Century Great Power, Competition and Conflict".
General Ryan, it's good to see you, thanks for being with us, sir.
[01:40:00]
GEN. MICK RYAN, FORMER COMMANDER, AUSTRALIA'S DEFENSE COLLEGE: Thanks, John. Good to be with you.
VAUSE: So just for some context here. Kostyantynivka sits close to the Eastern front lines. It is about maybe 15 miles south of Bakhmut, its' been a regular target but in the past mostly rocket and artillery fire.
Ukraine's defense ministry though says this time the city was hit by a Russian S300 ballistic missile, that's a long-range defense missile initially capable of hitting aircraft and cruise missiles but it appears to have been repurposed now to hit ground targets.
So explain how an S300 works in terms of targeting, accuracy. Who would give the order to fire these missiles?
RYAN: Well, the S300 was always an air defense missile. But was designed from the start as a second reroll ground attack missile. So this is not some local modification. It was a deliberate design for the missile to be able to use in a roll.
I think what Ukrainians has found in previous strikes of this manner is that the targeting has been done by Russians who are infiltrating or synthesizes (ph) on the ground.
It's very hard to make this kind of (INAUDIBLE) particularly when it occurs at a busy time of day for these markets.
VAUSE: Yes. So with that in mind, let's just take a look at this marketplace, you know, from a simple sort of above satellite look by Google if you. It's not the most advanced technology but you get the idea of what it actually looks like form above.
You know, as you say, this attack came, you know, during the day. It was early afternoon, it was busy.
So is there any other explanation other than a Russian S300 unit was ordered to target the marketplace for the sole purpose to carry mass murder of non combatants and if so why? What is the purpose?
RYAN: Well, if this was a one off you might give the Russians the benefit of the doubt, but they have done this literally hundreds of times during this war and there have been dozens of incidents just like this where they have deliberately caused mass civilian casualty.
I don't think we can give them the benefit of the doubt this would have been an order probably from fairly senior officers.
This is about terrorizing the Ukrainian people, which is a pretty awful thing to do but kind of ironic given the Russians want to rule these people. It just gives you an indication of how they would treat them if they occupied all of Ukraine.
VAUSE: And also this is some way of putting pressure on President Zelenskyy, what, to go into peace negotiations to try and end this war or at least put it on pause for a while.
If that's the case it seems to be having the opposite effect.
RYAN: Yes. I don't think the Russians understand Ukrainians very well. They think that if they target Ukrainians they'll put more pressure on President Zelenskyy. It has the opposite effect.
(INAUDIBLE) visit Ukraine and talk to Ukrainian people every time the Russians do this. It just hardens their resolve.
So it's having the opposite effect of what the Russians intended.
VAUSE: And the U.S. Secretary of State arrived in the Ukraine capital Wednesday. You know, a few hours after the capital actually came under attack by Russian cruise missiles.
Antony Blinken when he was there, he announced another billion dollars in U.S. assistance. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLINKEN: We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed on a counter offensive but has what it needs for the long term.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That brings the total since the war began in February last year to more than $40 billion from the U.S. But here's the thing, Ukrainians don't have everything they need for the counteroffensive. They need better air defenses. They need F-16s and these long range missiles.
And by holding back those weapons, is the U.S. dragging out the conflict at the cost of more lives being lost? At the cost of, you know, billions of dollars more in financial assistance being needed?
RYAN: I don't think the U.S. government is deliberately dragging out the conflict but slow decision-making is having that unintended impact.
There are those shortfalls in weapons, certainly before the counteroffensive was launched as well as equipment and people who clear these minefields.
So at the end of the day, the west, NATO and the U.S. need to decide if it's going to help Ukraine defend itself or is it going to help it beat Russia and that is really the objective here. And that will require more assistance.
VAUSE: General Ryan, thank you sir. Good to have you with us. Thank you.
RYAN: Thank you.
VAUSE: We will take a short break. And coming up, what is behind a wave of military coups in Africa and why some experts believe there could still be more to come.
[01:44:19]
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VAUSE: African leaders have called for urgent action to cut carbon emissions at the end of their three-day climate summit. They say many countries on the continent face disproportionate burdens and risks from climate change. And they are urging major polluters to contribute more to help fund climate change action in the region.
As part of their closing Nairobi Declaration, they say that although Africa is not historically responsible for global warming, it bears the brunt of its effect, impacting livelihoods end economies.
Gabon's new military rulers say the ousted president is no longer under house arrest. And in a statement on Wednesday, said Ali Bongo can travel abroad for medical treatment if he so wishes.
State television broadcast images Wednesday of a meeting between the former president and the head of the U.N. regional office at Bongo's residence in Libreville.
Gabon is the latest African country to catch what some call a coup contagion. Nine former French colonies in Africa has seen military coups in the past three years.
As CNN's David McKenzie reports some experts believe there will be more military takeovers to come.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI BONGO, OUSTED PRESIDENT OF GABON: I'm Ali Bongo president of Gabon.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An extraordinary plea for international help. The ousted president of Gabon, Ali Bongo under house arrest. GABON: Tell them to make noise, to make noise for the people here have
arrested me.
MCKENZIE: The noise was not enough. On Monday, the new military leader sworn in.
"I solemnly undertake on my honor to do my utmost to achieve national unity," says Gabon's junta leader.
Is there a fear that there is contagion happening here?
CAMERON HUDSON, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, CSIS: Well I don't think it's a fear of contagions. There is contagion.
MCKENZIE: It's just the latest domino to fall. In just three years, a cascade of military takeovers, spreading across west and now central Africa.
Most of them, former French colonies but each with a specific cocktail of grievances over security, corruption, and a lack of opportunity.
HUDSON: This is a wave whose time has not yet crested. I think we're going see several more of these in the coming months and years before we see a kind of return to what we thought was a normal state in the kind of post-Cold War era.
MCKENZIE: The condemnations have been universal. The impact, minimal.
African and western powers face a dilemma. In Niger there is apparent popular support for the coup and deep anger towards France.
Plans for a regional military intervention have stalled. French counterterror forces have withdrawn from two of the countries.
The position in Niger is tenuous at best. At stake in Niger for the U.S., multi-million dollar drone bases, critical in fighting extremist groups. The State Department is treading carefully.
VEDANT PATEL, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: We continue to advocate for a diplomatic solution that respects the constitutional order in Niger.
MCKENZIE: In Gabon, state media showed off bags of cash. They say they were found at the son of the president's home and at the home of another official. CNN couldn't independently verify these images.
For more than 50 years, Omar Bongo and his son, Ali Bongo ran this oil rich nation. Much of their wealth was kept in France.
Most Gabonese young and old, had only known the rule of the Bongo family and its cronies.
[01:49:55]
CHRIS FOMUNYOH, NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: So for them, the military coup in the short term looks much better than anything that they've been living through. And we want them to understand that boost of immediate support.
And what the military and various mercenary groups bring to the continent is less opportunities for freedom, for democracy than most.
MCKENZIE: David McKenzie, CNN -- Johannesburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: In just a moment, Japan's moonshot finally lifts off aiming for a precise soft lunar landing and a whole lot more.
Back in a moment.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All systems are go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: To the universe and beyond. Well, to the moon at least in just hours, the successful lift off of the H2A rocket, carrying Japan's so called Lunar Sniper, lunar lander and a new x-ray satellite.
The satellite telescope called XRISM is already in earth's orbit and will study galaxy clusters, black holes, and the chemical makeup of the universe.
Some light reading there.
Japan smart lander (INAUDIBLE) investigating the moon or SLIM will arrive in lunar orbit in a few months and attempt a soft landing using high-precision vision based navigating land technology hence the nickname, Lunar Sniper.
Joining us now from Houston, Texas is retired NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao. Good to have you with us.
LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Good to be here.
VAUSE: Ok. Sol his truly was a moment of truth for the Japanese space program. three delays for this mission, a year of setbacks and failures, to say nothing of India's success last month with their lunar lander.
So the pressure was really on here, and I guess they pulled it off. So how successful is this, what does this mean for the Japanese space program and also for space travel in general?
CHIAO: Sure. Well, this is a big deal for them. It's their first lunar probe they're trying to launch. They successfully launched it but they're not out of the woods. They still got to get it to a soft landing on the moon.
So the main purpose of this mission primarily is to actually soft land successfully on the moon. They do have some scientific instruments.
But the main goal was to establish Japan as a lunar power if you will.
VAUSE: Ok. And this is a two-fer here, this mission. There's a new X- Ray telescope. There is also that light weight, high-precision moon lander, which one do you want to talk about first?
CHIAO: Which one, I'm sorry, which one what?
VAUSE: Which one do you want to talk about first, the lander or the telescope?
CHIAO: Well, either one.
VAUSE: Ok. Let's talk about the lander. Space.com says it will take a long looping and fuel efficient route to the moon, finally reaching lunar orbit 3 to 4 months from now. It'll be another month or so before attempting a touch down.
And that is a big shift towards being able to land where we want and not just where it is easy to land as has been the case before.
So again, why is this so important when it comes to not just exploring the moon but future exploration of other planets and just how difficult is it, what they're trying to do here?
CHIAO: Well, trying to land on the moon is not a simple task. Only four countries have done so far and there have been the multiple failures by others.
And so anyway, this is a big deal for Japan to establish that they have the technology to do this. The fact that they are taking a couple of months to get there shows that they're conserving their fuel.
[01:54:48]
CHIAO: But you know, as you mentioned the image-based, you know, the data source being image based is a big deal because if you remember on Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong was coming down under the autopilot. And the auto pilot was taking them to a big boulder and he had to take manual control and fly away from it.
And so that's kind of what this vision landing system is going to do. It's going to look for the obstructions that weren't anticipated and hopefully be able to make adjustments and avoid any kind of problem.
VAUSE: Ok. Well, the main payload was the X-Ray telescope, which according to NASA a new generation of high resolution X-Ray imaging that will help scientists and astronomers better study stars and galaxies, including particles launched at near light speed by super massive blackholes at the centers of galaxies. Can you translate what that means?
CHIAO: Yes. So this is an important observatory. Like all the other observatories, they complement each other on the kinds of data that they bring back, help the astronomers, the astrophysicist put together an accurate picture or as good as possible a picture of the observable universe.
So obviously, the X-Ray spectrometer it operates in that band in and the X-Ray band and so it complements the (INAUDIBLE) telescopes, the visual, the obstacle ones that actually see the same things that we see as humans, you know, visible light also you know, radar astronomy, there is infrared astronomy which the Webb telescopes is really famous for, and ultraviolet.
So I mean there are a number of different kinds of observatories and this is an important addition to that constellation.
VAUSE: Just very quickly, if you listen -- you got history, you know, President Reagan, President George W. Bush, President Trump they've all talked about returning to the moon, but not just going up there for a day or two but, you know, recently to build a colony there. A lot of others countries now interested in sending out some kind of permanent base on the moon.
How close are we to that becoming a reality?
CHIAO: We are still ways off. I mean we haven't sent humans back to the moon since 1972. We are now starting to land new next generation spacecraft on the moon. Some of them successfully, some not.
And so, it's a little bit of a re-learning process. And so I would look to the future NASA, of course, SpaceX, maybe in collaboration. This is going to be a big deal. The moon is kind of a stepping stone towards Mars.
So if we're serious about pushing farther out, the moon is important part of that.
VAUSE: Leroy, great to have you with us. Thanks so much. Leroy Chiao there from Houston.
CHIAO: My pleasure, thank you.
VAUSE: And you for watching. I'm John Vause.
Please stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend and colleague Paula Newton, after a very short break.
Hope to see you right back here tomorrow.
[01:57:38]
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