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U.S. Unveils $325M In New Military Aid To Ukraine; Russia Takes Aim At Ukraine's Energy Facilities; McCarthy Demands Accountability On Ukraine Aid; Rupert Murdoch Steps Down As Fox And News Corp. Chairman; Lachlan Murdoch To Take Over Fox And News Corp.; India Suspends Visa Services For Canadian Citizens; Abbas Urges Full National Rights For Palestinians As Israel & Saudi Arabia Negotiate Normalization; Satellite Images Show Nuclear Test Site Expansions; Supreme Court Rejects Time Limit On Indigenous Land Claims; Indian Parliament Passes Law Reserving For Women One-Third Of Seats In Lower House & State Assemblies; King Charles Makes Historic Speech At French Senate. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired September 22, 2023 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. Mr. Zelenskyy goes to Washington, making his case for ongoing military support as Russian airstrikes ramp up and Republican lawmakers waver in their support.
92-year-old Rupert Murdoch stepping down as chairman of Fox and News Corp. The man known as the Prince of Darkness handing control to his eldest son.
Satellite image reveal that Russia, China, and the U.S. may be planning to resume nuclear testing for the first time in almost three decades.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: Wherever you are around the world, thanks for joining us. And we begin with the Ukrainian president's meetings with U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill. But unlike his last visit just nine months ago, this time, there was no address to a joint meeting of Congress. House Speaker Republican Kevin McCarthy said lawmakers were too busy.
And six Republican senators and 22 House Republicans sent a letter to the White House opposing President Biden's request for an additional $24 billion in aid for Ukraine.
President Biden did announce another $325 million in military assistance for Ukraine while meeting with President Zelenskyy in the White House Cabinet room. And Mr. Biden also recommitted his support for Ukraine for as long as it takes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's what this is all about. The future, the future of freedom. America can never, will never walk away from that. That's why 575 days later, we stand with Ukraine and will continue to stand with you, Mr. President.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I thank United States of America and Mr. President for the new defense package for Ukraine, a very powerful package. Thank you so much. And it has exactly what our soldiers need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Zelenskyy met with Democratic and Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate who are united in their support for Kyiv. Not so, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who is demanding greater accountability in how U.S. assistance is being spent.
Access for photographers during his personal meeting with the Ukrainian president was denied. This photo was obtained by -- from sources by CNN.
Zelenskyy will no doubt be hoping for a much warmer reception during his visit to Canada, where he's scheduled to address Parliament in about 12 hours from now. And just before those meetings at the U.S. Capitol, Russian airstrikes targeted Ukraine's energy grid for the first time in months.
As CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports, Ukrainians believe this is just the beginning of a renewed assault on civilian infrastructure, intended to disrupt power supplies during the coming winter months.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL (voice-over): Vladimir Putin unleashing massive aerial attacks across Ukraine, just as Ukraine's president visits Capitol Hill and the White House. Firefighters rushing the wounded out of the burning ruins of this hotel in the town Cherkasy.
The sound I heard was boom. And I saw all the windows were gone in the kitchen and in the bedroom, this woman says. And she adds, at around 6:00 in the morning, there was an explosion, a strong one. We came here, saw the windows that shattered in the shop.
Kyiv says the Russians launched 43 cruise missiles in the early morning hours. And while Ukraine's air defenses were able to shoot down most of them, some did come through.
Also hitting energy infrastructure. Kyiv saying the power grid here hasn't been attacked on this scale in half a year. The Ukrainians certain more strikes will follow as temperatures begin to fall.
We can make certain assumptions that the fuel and energy sector facilities will be further targeted by the enemy, the Air Force spokesman says. Zelenskyy urging the U.S. and its allies to provide more modern air defense systems, but Ukraine also fighting back. The satellite company Planet Labs releasing these images after the Ukrainians say they struck Russian targets in occupied Crimea, including a military airfield.
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On the front lines, the Ukrainians say they're making gains. Cover me, I'll get closer to them, the soldier says. This video released by a unit operating on the eastern front. While in the south, Kyiv says its counteroffensive there is also gaining steam, even though the going remains tough.
Despite mining and engineering equipment, as well as strong resistance from the occupiers, our units had a partial success, advanced into the depths of the enemy's defense and along the front, he says.
But the Russians may already be gearing up for yet another large scale aerial campaign against Ukraine's critical infrastructure.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Peter Layton is a visiting fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. He's worked as an adviser to the Pentagon and as an expert on defense policy as well as foreign affairs.
Thanks for being with us, Peter.
PETER LAYTON, VISITING FELLOW, GRIFFIN ASIA INSTITUTE: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: OK, so this was a very different visit to Washington for Zelenskyy compared to last December when he snuck into Washington. Back then, he received a two-minute standing ovation from both sides of the aisle. That was during a joint meeting of Congress. This time, though, there was no joint address.
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy didn't even want his photo with Zelenskyy made public. And McCarthy's tone on Thursday compared to last December was notably frosty. Listen to this.
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KEVIN MCCARTHY, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: I have questions for him. Where's the accountability and the money we already split? What is the plan for victory? I think that's what the American public wants to know.
Look, what Russia has done invade is wrong. It's an atrocity. We want to make sure that ends. I also have always said from the beginning, no matter what the issue is, I want accountability for whatever the hard working taxpayers spend their money on
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And that's where a growing number of Republicans are right now, especially in Congress. And is that an actual unreasonable request considering the U.S. has spent more than $100 billion to Ukraine? They want some accountability.
But is there more going on here? Should Zelenskyy actually be concerned that this could be just the start of the U.S. withdrawing support in a major way?
LAYTON: Certainly, I would think that Zelenskyy would be very concerned. It's not an unreasonable ask. However, I suppose that Zelenskyy will be concerned this is a slippery slope. Zelenskyy's visit to Washington at this time is doubtlessly to reassure people.
And I noted the words there that, that they wanted the advice for the American public to understand the Ukrainians had a war winning strategy. And I think that's what Zelenskyy has been selling.
It is interesting, though, that the request was that that be made public. And yet McCarthy held his meeting behind closed doors.
VAUSE: Yes --
LAYTON: There's no doubt that we've come to an inflection point in the war, though.
VAUSE: Ye, that's a good point because over just past 24 hours, here's a couple of headlines. From the Boston Globe, "U.S. support for Ukraine is waning". From the Washington Post," Ukraine aid is hanging by a thread".
And one of the most compelling reasons, though, for supporting Ukraine, at least financially, came from the minority leader in the U.S. Senate. Here's Republican Mitch McConnell speaking on Thursday. Here -- listen to this.
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MITCH MCCONNELL, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER: American support for Ukraine is not charity. It's an investment in our own direct interests. Not least because degrading Russia's military power helps to deter our primary strategic adversary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, a simple cost benefit analysis. The U.S. is doing really well out of the war in Ukraine in terms of degrading, you know, Russia's military. Is the problem here simply a failure by the Biden administration to sell that message to the American public?
LAYTON: I think that is certainly part of it. Europe's certainly spending, i.e., a lot more money now than the U.S. It -- to a certain extent, this is sort of something like, say, late 1940, early 1941, before the Japanese attacked America and brought America into the war. At that particular time back then, the rest of the West had been fighting the Germans since 1939, but America was simply providing arms and some limited financial support. At the same time, there are a lot of people in the U.S. who wanted America to stay out of it, had America stayed, of course, the world would be very, very different now and the Nazis would still be ruling Europe.
VAUSE: Yes. And, you know, with that in mind, President Biden continues to offer his support to the Ukrainians saying they'll be with him to the very end. Here's some more details on the military assistance, which he announced on Thursday. Here's President Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Today, I approved the next tranche of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, including more artillery, more ammunition, more anti-tank weapons, and next week, the first U.S. Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine. We also focused on strengthening Ukraine's air defense capabilities.
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VAUSE: Unlike Britain and other allies, though, the U.S. is not sending long range missiles, in particular, the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, which are GPS precision guided with a range of about 300 kilometers.
You know, as the Israeli ambassador Ava even once said, the U.S. will always do the right thing once every other option is well and truly exhausted. And so it's been on battle tanks to the patriot air defense system and a whole lot of other examples there.
But given this falling support for Ukraine in the U.S., is there no real -- is there no longer that luxury of time here? The U.S. needs to step up to bring this war to a close as fast as possible.
LAYTON: There's a small window for about the next sort of 12 months, I would say. But there certainly needs a new strategy about the Biden administration selling the idea of the war lasting at least the next 18 months. And just to drag on, if you like.
Putin has certainly been a success as far as keeping the Russian people fighting it in this war, even though they've had dreadful casualties and horrible losses. But Putin obviously thinks that he can wear the West and in particular America down and we have yet to see whether that will that will work out that way.
VAUSE: It does seem like there is inching closer, as you say, it is a pivotal point.
Peter, great to have you with us. We appreciate your time. Peter Layton there in Brisbane. Thank you, sir.
LAYTON: Thanks, John. Cheers. VAUSE: Media Baron Rupert Murdoch has often been described as being like a shark, a predator that can't stop chasing prey because that's what predators do. Like many sharks, constantly on the move, unable to stop in order to stay alive.
But now, the 92-year-old chairman of Fox Corp and News Corp is transitioning away from that leadership role, handing control to his eldest son Lachlan. Rupert will take the new role of Chairman Emeritus with the company stressing he intends to remain fully involved, but what that involvement will be remains unclear.
Here's part of a memo written to his employees. "For my entire professional life, I have engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change. But the time is right for me to take on different roles, knowing that we have truly talented teams."
Murdoch built a vast newspaper and magazine empire across the globe, which includes the Wall Street Journal as well as Britain's The Times and the Australian newspaper. He founded Sky News in the U.K.
The 1990s saw the emergence of the Fox television network in the United States as a major competitor, but he will always be infamous for Fox News with a noxious mix of right-wing propaganda, conspiracy theories, bigotry and outright lies. It became a ratings powerhouse, making billions of dollars.
CNN's Anna Stewart reports on Rupert Murdoch's seven decades shaping the media landscape.
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ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): A media legend and self-made billionaire. Rupert Murdoch's career began more than 60 years ago when his father died leaving him control of a local Australian newspaper company. From that, he built a media empire and reshaped the TV business, especially with the launch of the Fox Broadcast Network and later, the Fox News Channel.
RUPERT MURDOCH, NEWS CORP. CHAIRMAN: How delighted I am that we've now reached this moment when we can firmly announce the starting of a Fox News Channel and a much greater effort and the buildup of Fox News in every area.
STEWART (voice-over): In the U.K., his son tabloid urged support for Brexit. Years earlier, British politicians admitted to openly courting his support.
DAVID CAMERON, THEN-BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: And I think on all sides of the House, there's a bit of a need for a hand on heart. We all did too much cozying up to Rupert Murdoch.
STEWART (voice-over): In the United States, properties like Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post made him a conservative kingmaker. Initially opposed to Donald Trump's campaign, Murdoch's relationship with a former president warmed up and eventually grew quite close. MURDOCH: The Commander in Chief and the President of the United States, my friend Donald J. Trump.
STEWART (voice-over): The two men reportedly talked on the phone frequently, giving Murdoch a direct line to the Oval Office. But Murdoch's rise to the top wasn't without stumbles. In 2011, a phone hacking scandal led him to close the British tabloid News of the World. The powerful businessman was called before parliament.
MURDOCH: This is the most humble day of my life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything I've done in my life, I've done for my children.
STEWART (voice-over): Much like the TV show "Succession" he inspired, he very publicly prepared his sons Lachlan and James to helm his multibillion dollar companies. In 2017, he made an industry shaking deal, selling most of 21st Century Fox to Disney for $71 billion, a deal Trump praised.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, THEN-WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I know that the president spoke with Rupert Murdoch earlier today, congratulated him.
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STEWART (voice-over): That close relationship was not without costs though. Fox News paying more than $787 million to settle legal claims from Dominion Voting Systems over 2020 U.S. election lies.
JUSTIN NELSON, COUNSEL FOR DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS: The truth matters. Lies have consequences.
STEWART (voice-over): With his son Lachlan now running Fox, Murdoch leaves behind a leaner, more focused empire. And he's not fully stepping back, he's transitioning to a role of Chairman Emeritus. He remains in robust health and expects to be engaged daily with the news and ideas.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
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VAUSE: Joining me now from Los Angeles is Michael Hiltzik, Business Columnist with the LA Times. It's good to see you.
MICHAEL HILTZIK, BUSINESS COLUMNIST, LA TIMES: Good to be with you.
VAUSE: OK, so in that memo that Murdoch sent to staff, he wrote this. "My father firmly believed in freedom, and Lachlan is absolutely committed to the cause." If freedom is a euphemism for the far-right wing conservative politics, then by all accounts, Lachlan is a true believer, much more so than Rupert, it seems.
HILTZIK: Yes, I think that the notion that there's going to be any major change, at least in the partisan slant of Fox News is premature at best. Rupert Murdoch in this announcement and this memo to the employees made it, I thought, pretty clear that he is still going to be the guy calling the shots.
It's very unlikely that Lachlan, even though he's the heir apparent or the heir designate, it's going to do anything that his father doesn't agree with. He's not going to make a deal his father doesn't like. He's not going to take a political stance his father doesn't like. So there's not going to be much change.
VAUSE: Well, emails submitted with court filings as part of the Dominion Voting lawsuit which saw Fox paying out almost $800 million in damages. They revealed that Lachlan at one point ordered Fox Journalist Leland Vittert to be reprimanded for his anti-Trump views, which he described as smug and obnoxious.
These emails also revealed that he advised Fox News Chief Suzanne Scott how to cover a November 14, 2020 Trump rally, quote, "News guys have to be careful how they cover this rally. So far, some of the side comments, so far rather, some of the side comments are slightly anti, and they shouldn't be. The narrative should be this is a huge celebration".
You know, so he's already kind of hands on here. That seems to be even more to the right than Rupert. But here's the question, is he able to take the network in that direction, given the political views of the other three airs here? Because, you know, the Financial Times has reported the Murdoch family scions and how they could battle for control of the Murdoch Empire.
It's all about the trust fund, which is quite complicated. But James, Elisabeth, and Prudence are known to be much more liberal compared to Lachlan and Rupert. So could they play a role in how this all ends up working out?
HILTZIK: Well, that's especially true of James, who's been fairly vocal in disagreeing with what -- with the views that Fox News articulates. But I think that nothing is really going to happen until Rupert Murdoch actually -- really does either step down or passes away.
As long as he's there and as long as he's capable of making his views known and exercising his considerable power within these companies, there's going to be no change. Now, once he leaves, you know, we could see a break up or breaking apart of this family through the trans that would make the Breakup of Yugoslavia after the death of Tito look like a party.
So but that's -- we don't know when it's going to happen. It's probably at least a few years away, maybe 10 years away for all we know. This is a very long line family, if we look at the family history. So I think it's clear from this memo that Rupert Murdoch is still the governing factor in Fox and News Corp.
VAUSE: What's interesting though is that over the years, you know, Murdoch built this global empire and with that comes great influence, which he was never afraid to use, be it to intimidate presidents or prime ministers.
And in so many ways, Murdoch is sort of the last of those big media moguls. So will -- when the time comes, whoever takes over the empire, be it Lachlan or, you know, the kids or whatever, will they have that same kind of influence? Will world leaders still come to whoever takes over Fox and seek that chairman out and grovel at their feet for their blessing?
HILTZIK: No, I think there's going to be a transition. I think if Lachlan, for all that he seems to be on the same page politically and ideologically with his father, doesn't -- there's no evidence that he's got the deal making ability, the cunning that his father had, that's going to make a real difference if things come to a head about anything.
And let's not forget that there's still a $2.7 billion shadow over this company, and that's the lawsuit from the second voting machine company that says it was defamed by Fox.
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So there's a lot that Lachlan is going to have to deal with and a lot of reason to think that he's going to have a harder time dealing with this than his father did, even with his father still on the behind the screen, behind the curtain.
VAUSE: The Breakup of Yugoslavia, I'm going to remember that. It was a very good line. Michael, thanks so much
Michael Hiltzik there with some good analysis for us. Appreciate your time, Michael. Good to see you.
We'll take a short break here on CNN. When we come back, accusations continue to fly between India and Canada, sending diplomatic relations into a tailspin. We'll tell you about the latest maneuver, what India has done, when we come back.
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VAUSE: The diplomatic dispute between India and Canada continues to escalate with India now suspending visa services for Canadian citizens and the Indian Foreign Ministry has accused Canada of harboring terrorists. That's after the Canadian Prime Minister suggested the Indian government may have played a role in the assassination of a Sikh activist on Canadian soil.
CNN's Paula Newton has the latest details.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Canada's accusation that Indian government agents may have been involved in the murder of a Canadian Sikh leader has outraged Indian government officials so much. They've now suspended the approval of visas for all Canadians and fired back with this. ARINDAM BAGCHI, INDIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: If there's one, any country that needs to look at this, I think it is Canada and its growing reputation as a place, as a safe haven for terrorists, for extremists, and for organized crime.
NEWTON (voice-over): Hours later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeated his calls to let the justice system work.
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil.
NEWTON (voice-over): He was measured and deliberate, saying Canada was looking for cooperation with India not escalation.
TRUDEAU: We call upon the government of India to work with us, to take seriously these allegations and to allow justice to follow its course.
UJJAL DOSANJH, FORMER PREMIER OF BRITISH COLUMBIA: I mean, my question is this. If you know India made it happen, then you must know who pulled the trigger. If you know who pulled the trigger, who are they? Why are they not arrested?
NEWTON (voice-over): Ujjal Dosanjh is a former premier of British Columbia and former federal Cabinet minister. He says Canada needs to disclose more evidence because without it, he says, this incident could set relations back decades.
DOSANJH: Government of India rightly distrusts Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Trudeau, obviously, you know, talks about freedom of expression, but I think separatists in this country have gone beyond exercising the freedom of expression.
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NEWTON (voice-over): Jagmeet Singh is the leader of the New Democrat Party and a member of the Sikh community. And he has received an intelligence briefing on that evidence.
JAGMEET SINGH, CANADIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: These are very, very serious intelligence reports that have come forward and now requires a serious response.
NEWTON (voice-over): Despite this, Canada's allies seem to be standing firmly on the sidelines of the conflict. The Biden administration says India should fully cooperate with the investigation, but adds India is a vitally important ally.
The diplomatic breakdown started on Father's Day last June, when Hardeep Singh Nijjar left the temple he led, got into his truck and called home to say he'd be there soon for dinner. But within minutes, Canadian police say Nijjar was shot several times.
This week, Canada claimed it had evidence that the killing carried out on the streets of Surrey, British Columbia, in the heart of the Sikh community may have been ordered by the Indian government, a claim India strongly denies. Police say at least two masked men, described as heavier set, fled on foot and then into a silver Toyota. They were last spotted blocks away from the temple. The crime remains unsolved and relations between the two countries unhinged.
Paul Newton, CNN, Ottawa.
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VAUSE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly in the day ahead. His appearance follows the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who warned there could be no peace until his people enjoy their full, legitimate national rights.
More details now from CNN's Hadas Gold.
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas didn't mention the word Saudi Arabia in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, but it was clear that a possible normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel was on his mind from the very first line of his speech.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT (through translator): Those who think that peace can prevail in the Middle East without the Palestinian people enjoying their full legitimate and national rights would be mistaken.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLD: It's interesting to note that that line was actually not in the official transcript that was sent out to reporters, so it may have been added at some point. It seemed to be a direct response to much of the news over the last day or so, which is the interview that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia had with Fox News, where he talked about the talks, negotiations towards normalization with Israel.
And a big question in this normalization would be, what will the Palestinians get or what will happen to the Palestinians? And what we hear from the Palestinian Authority president is essentially you cannot have this piece that you seek in the Middle East without a full recognition of a Palestinian state.
It's interesting to hear from the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in that interview, not even mention the word necessarily a state for Palestinians, but instead talking about ways that they could ease the lives of Palestinians in this normalization deal.
We do know that the Palestinians have set out certain things that they would like to receive as a result of this normalization deal. This is according to media reports as well as statements we've heard from Palestinian officials.
This is things like U.S. backing for recognition of Palestinian statehood at the United Nations, which is something that Mahmoud Abbas mentioned in his speech. The U.S. reopening its consulate in Jerusalem that was closed by former President Donald Trump and as well as Israeli transfer of certain parts of the West Bank territory into Palestinian control.
Now, it is going to be hard for much of these things to get through. This current Israeli government, the most right-wing extremist in Israeli history, something that Mahmoud Abbas addressed, calling it a right-wing racist government.
Otherwise, for the rest of his speech, much of it is things that we have heard before from the Palestinian leader, things like demanding an end to the occupation, asking for full recognition of the state of Palestine, talking about what he called a double standard saying why is Israel recognized but the state of Palestine is not recognized.
He also is calling for Israel, he said, to be held responsible for its actions, saying that there have been so many U.N. resolutions in that very body that he says have not been upheld. But definitely, the biggest takeaway from his speech was that first line, his sort of direct response to all the discussion about the normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
But next up will actually be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is going to give his speech to the United Nations on Friday morning.
Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.
VAUSE: Straight ahead on CNN, going nuclear. New satellite images obtained by CNN show a dramatic expansion of long dormant nuclear test sites in Russia, China, and the U.S.
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VAUSE: Welcome back everyone, I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
It's been almost three decades since Russia, China, or the United States have carried out a nuclear test. But concerns are growing those tests may resume. Not just because of aging nuclear stockpiles and an end to a number of nuclear treaties, but new satellite images obtained by CNN reveal new construction and fresh tunnels at nuclear test sites in all three countries.
CNN's Ivan Watson joins us now live from Hong Kong with details what this all could mean. Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, it's no secret that there are growing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Russia and China. And that all three militaries conduct these exercises kind of showing their strength, demonstrating their strength to each other, direct competition.
And it stands to reason that that would eventually bleed into something that people haven't really thought about so much since the end of the Cold War, and that is the nuclear arsenals of these three countries. And CNN has gotten an exclusive look at substantial investment that all three governments are making in their nuclear testing facilities.
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WATSON (voice-over): The world's three most powerful militaries, the U.S., Russia and China have all been expanding their nuclear testing sites in recent years. The evidence revealed in these commercial satellite images obtained exclusively by CNN.
(on-camera): These are the Russian, Chinese, and American nuclear testing sites. Novaya Zemlya, a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Lop Nur, a dried up salt lake in China's Xinjiang region. And the Nevada National Security Site in a desert northwest of Las Vegas.
Images from each location show new tunnels, roads, and storage facilities constructed within the last five years.
(voice-over): Nuclear nonproliferation expert Jeffrey Lewis first collected and analyzed these images.
JEFFREY LEWIS, JAMES MARTIN CENTER FOR NONPROLIFERATION STUDIES: One big factor for both the United States, but also Russia and China is a desire to make sure the nuclear weapons that they designed and tested in the 1980s and 1990s still work.
CEDRIC LEIGHTON, RETIRED U.S. AIR FORCE COL.: All three countries, Russia, China and the United States have invested a great deal of time, effort and money in not only modernizing their nuclear arsenals, but also in preparing the types of activities that would be required for a test.
WATSON (voice-over): While there's no evidence of an imminent test, Russia's Novaya Zemlya site did see a burst of new construction over the last two years.
[00:35:04]
On the one year anniversary of his full scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Russia's readiness to conduct nuclear tests.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Some figures in Washington, we know this for a fact, are already thinking about the possibility of a natural test on their nuclear weapons.
If the U.S. conducts tests, we will do so too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to U1a located --
WATSON (voice-over): This time lapse reveals five years of above ground expansion of the U1a complex and underground facility at the testing site in Nevada. A spokesperson from the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration confirmed to CNN that it is, quote, "Recapitalizing infrastructure and scientific capabilities at the U1a complex". Adding, "The United States has not conducted a nuclear explosive test since 1992, and has no plans to do so".
Since the end of above ground testing, governments have used deep tunnels for their nuclear tests. Satellite images reveal a new fifth tunnel carved out at China's Lop Nur testing site. Along with a growing pile of excavated debris.
Washington accuses China of dramatically expanding its nuclear arsenal.
MICHAEL CHASE, U.S. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR CHINA: We project out to 2035 when we expect that they'll want to have about 1,500 nuclear weapons.
WATSON (voice-over): In a statement to CNN, China's foreign ministry also denied plans to test, saying, quote, "This kind of report only speaks on hearsay evidence and hypes up China's nuclear threat for no reason".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire.
WATSON (voice-over): The specter of a new nuclear test would shatter restraint exhibited by the U.S., China, and Russia ever since the 1990s.
LEWIS: If you are a farmer in Ohio or a shopkeeper in Shanghai, the threat of nuclear testing isn't the tests themselves. It's the fact that you are essentially agreeing to pay vast sums of money in an arms race that no one can win, but we can all lose.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: Now, as far as we know, not one of these three countries has conducted a full scale nuclear weapons test since the 1990s. The most recent being China in 1996 with an underground test. The U.S. has been conducting for years tests that it calls subcritical tests, and they're meant to ensure the reliability of its existing nuclear weapons, some of which have been around for 30 years or more longer than many people might keep a car. So you do need to modernize these types of weapons.
It is possible that some of these governments are modernizing their testing facilities in the event that another government might carry out a test first. But that starts to get you into this nuclear brinksmanship and possible paranoia, the likes of which we haven't really seen between the world's largest military powers really since the days of the cold war. John?
VAUSE: Ivan, thank you. Ivan Watson, Senior International Correspondent live for us there in Hong Kong. Thanks for the report.
Well, Britain's King Charles makes history speaking in the French Senate. His pledge to France, details ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
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VAUSE: A big legal win for Brazil's indigenous population in a Supreme Court decision and land dispute against a powerful farm lobby group.
They were celebrating the High Court's overwhelming ruling against using a cutoff date that would have limited Indigenous people from claiming ancestral lands unless they lived on the land in 1988 when Brazil passed its constitution. Indigenous activists say it was an attempt to legalize the theft of millions of hectares of land.
The group representing farmers say it will now push Congress to pass a bill to limit new claims by native communities.
In India, a landmark bill is now on the books which will ensure more women are in government. The measure sets aside a third of the seats in India's lower house and state assemblies for women.
215 lawmakers in the country's upper house voted in favor of the bill on Thursday. Women make up nearly half of India's 950 million registered voters, but only 15 percent of lawmakers in parliament and 10 percent in state assemblies. India's Prime Minister called the bill, quote, "an historic moment in the country's democratic journey".
Britain's King Charles III made history Thursday, becoming the first British monarch to make a speech from a French Senate chamber.
The 74-year-old sovereign was given a very warm welcome 231 years to the day since France abolished its own monarchy and established the Republic. King Charles alternated between French and English during his speech and praised the bonds between the United Kingdom and France.
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KING CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM (through translator): I pledge to do everything in my power to strengthen the vital relationship between the United Kingdom and France. And today, I invite you to join me in that effort. Together, our potential is limitless.
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VAUSE: Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, will wrap up their three- day state visit to France in the coming hours.
I'm John Vause. Please stay with us at the top of the hour for more CNN NEWSROOM with my friend and colleague, Michael Holmes. But first, World Sports starts after a very short break. Hope to see you right back here next week. Have a great weekend.
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