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S.C. GOP Primary Launches In Hours; Wounded Ukrainian Troops Remain Determined To Fight; Role Of Ukraine's Partners In Investigating War Crimes; Israel-Hamas Hostage Deal Negotiations Could Go Through This Weekend; Families Of Killed Palestinian Americans Demand Answers; U.S. Announces 500+ New Sanctions On Russia; Teaching Black History Amid Restrictive Laws; CONCACAF Women's World Cup. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired February 24, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And welcome to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

We're hours away from the polls opening in South Carolina as they prepare for the crucial Republican primary contest in the presidential race. CNN has a team of reporters on the campaign trail.

Plus two Palestinian American teens, shot and killed in the occupied West Bank. Both the families are blaming Israeli forces and calling on the U.S. for response.

And today marks two years since Russia began its brutal full-scale invasion into Ukraine. I'll speak with the head of Ukraine's Nobel Peace Prize-winning Center for Civil Liberties about her work documenting war crimes.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: In a little less than two hours, polls open for crucial contests in the race for the White House. South Carolina's Republican primary Donald Trump has maintained a comfortable and commanding lead in recent polls.

But rival Nikki Haley says, she's not bowing out anytime soon. And she's ramped up her attacks on Trump in recent days, slamming him for the chaos of as many trials and for not condemning Russia's present after the death of dissident Alexei Navalny.

Haley also suggested Trump can't win in November, here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NIKKI HALEY (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't complain about what happens in a general election if you don't vote in this primary. It matters. And then I know you are all here because you want to see a change in America.

But what I want to remind you is, we can want all the things to get fixed that we want. But if we can't win a general election, we get nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: But recent polls show Haley behind Trump in South Carolina by around 30 percentage points. Nevertheless, Haley has vowed to stay in the race through Super Tuesday on March 5th, when 15 states and one territory will hold nominating contests.

All right, CNN has a team of reporters covering the primary. CNN's Kylie Atwood is covering the Nikki Haley campaign from Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

But we begin with CNN's Kristen Holmes, covering the Trump campaign from Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he weighed in on the controversy over the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling on in vitro fertilization

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former president Donald Trump weighing in for the first time on the controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos, frozen embryos are people, saying that he definitively stands behind IVF during a rally in South Carolina. Take a lesson.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder. You know that. That includes -- and you saw this -- it was a big deal over the last few days, that includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every state in America.

You've been seeing -- you've been seeing Alabama. It's been a big story, like the overwhelming majority of Americans, including the vast majority of Republican conservatives, Christians and pro-life Americans. I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious little, beautiful baby.

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HOLMES: Now Trump's response came after President Biden and Democrats tried to link Republicans and former president Trump to the IVF ruling, saying that it was linked directly to Roe v. Wade and Trump's role in overturning Roe v. Wade.

Now Donald Trump, while he might have been definitive about IVF, has been much more squishy on the campaign trail when it comes to abortion. He has tried to walk a fine line between being the architect of the overturning of Roe v. Wade by his appointment of three Supreme Court justices to the Supreme Court bench.

However, he has also decided he doesn't want to talk about abortion because he believes that it is a political loser. And as we get closer to a general election, as it does appear that it's going to be a rematch between former president Trump and President Biden, you can expect Democrats to really double down on this issue of abortion.

But Donald Trump will likely have to come up with a new message -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, Rock Hill, South Carolina.

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KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Ahead of the South Carolina primary on Saturday, Nikki Haley reminding voters that she believes that they deserve better than two 80-year olds potentially running for president, reminding them that she believes that they need a leader who has moral clarity.

Making a pitch that we have heard from her time and time again over the course of the last month here in South Carolina.

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Where she has been busy campaigning with more than 30 events across the state, spending a tremendous amount on advertising in the state.

Outspending Trump and his allies by $15 million. And Nikki Haley also telling them that it's important for them to show up at the polls tomorrow, even if the voters aren't typically ones who vote in primaries. They just vote in generals, she's urging them to show up because the stakes couldn't be higher.

Now Nikki Haley has said earlier in the week that she will go on, she'll keep her campaign alive on Sunday the day after the South Carolina primary, effectively, no matter what happens here in the state.

But the stakes are incredibly high for her because it is her home state, because she hasn't won any of the first three contests in the Republican primary contests. And next week is going to be a tremendous week for her as she tries to look ahead to Super Tuesday.

But we will have to see what happens here in South Carolina -- Kylie Atwood, CNN, Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

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BRUNHUBER: Earlier, CNN spoke with Natasha Lindstaedt, a professor of government at the U.K.'s University of Essex and she talked about the reasons Haley's staying in the race and what could be next for Trump's Republican rival.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Someone who is about saving face that she's made the claim that she's going to stay in this race for as long as it takes and that she was someone who came from way behind in the polls, only 2 percent polling in the beginning of her campaign.

And she has emerged as the number two in this contest. I do see her staying in it, although I'm not sure what that's going to do. I think what we have to look for is how big this lead is going to be. It could be just a monstrous defeat by Donald Trump. He's ahead in the polls over 30 points.

But she might do better than expected. There would be have to be some sort of massive polling error if that was true. But if she does better than expected, she's going to use that to justify the reason why she's she should stay in the race.

And she's going to keep hammering this idea that if she were to go head-to-head with Joe Biden, she would probably have a better chance of defeating Joe Biden than Trump would.

And that's something that she'll have to connect with with voters. But the problem is in the primaries, of course. The voters are more extreme and more rabid and more committed to Donald Trump.

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BRUNHUBER: And we'll have special live coverage of South Carolina's primary right here on CNN. That starts at 04:00 pm Eastern with Erin Burnett and Wolf Blitzer.

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BRUNHUBER: Russia is on the offensive, U.S. aid is in limbo and encouraging news is hard to come by, as the war in Ukraine enters its third year.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Those air raid sirens rang out in Kyiv as Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24th, 2022, unleashing the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.

This is what the city looks like now, with a makeshift memorial to fallen Ukrainians standing downtown.

A number of world leaders are in Kyiv to mark the occasion, including Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission chief Ursula van der Leyen. Ukraine is short of ammunition but fighting on, saying it shot down a Russian spyplane that helped guide missile attacks.

Now that's happening as Russia keeps its drone strikes going, hitting a residential building in Odessa Friday night. Ukraine says one person was killed and three others wounded. And Russia now claims it's captured about 200 Ukrainian troops in Avdiivka, which fell to the invaders last week.

Russian forces say they expect to capture about 100 more Ukrainian forces in the coming days.

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BRUNHUBER: We want to show you now what Ukrainian troops have endured over the past two years through the life of one soldier, who fought from day one. Nick Paton Walsh has his story.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice- over): If one man's story spanned, all two years of Ukraine's war, you might expect it had ended abruptly by now.

But Oleksandre is alive. A glass eye from the siege of Azovstal, gratitude from surviving Russian prisons, courage from battling in the summer counter offensive and now exhaustion from fighting in Kherson in a daring advance across the river. The Russia claimed it ended this week.

Two years ago, you remember shock but Russia's brutal attack but also Ukraine's bold defense.

OLEKSANDRE, 36TH MARINE BRIGADE (through translator): I personally didn't believe it but I imagined something could happen. But we underestimated our strength as if someone was deliberately putting a stick in our wheels. But our guys were ready. Those were some of the strongest men I know and have known.

WALSH (voice-over): Serving already four years around Mariupol, had a friend move his family to Denmark. And slowly his unit fell back to the Azovstal plant.

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Unaware of the iconic battle it would become.

WALSH: What was the worst part of Azovstal?

OLEKSANDRE (through translator): When you look at your friends, your boys who are wounded, you want to help them but you can't. This is the worst. We had no medicine. The boys were just rotting.

WALSH: Is there a flashback that is most vivid to you?

OLEKSANDRE (through translator): There are many flashbacks but mostly, I think, only about my guys. Those that I lost and those that are alive but now in captivity.

WALSH (voice-over): Four hundred colleagues died, 45 taken prisoner, he said, surrender the worst feeling.

OLEKSANDRE (through translator): Panic. I mean it wasn't really panic. It was a bad feeling, a feeling of powerlessness especially when they take away your weapon. It's like you're standing naked. It was like Russian roulette. No one there was sure of anything.

WALSH (voice-over): Six months in prison, the Russian anthem daily porridge boiled cabbage, friends dying and threats of being hung or shot. They ended abruptly.

OLEKSANDRE (through translator): We didn't know that we were being released. They put us on buses and took us somewhere else. Our eyes were duct taped. No one saw anything. They just took us out and that's it, you are in Ukraine.

WALSH (voice-over): He rested and returned to fight in the bitter and bloody southern counter offensive near (inaudible). He said he was grateful to feel fear again.

WALSH: Have your experience has left you feeling more courageous or more fearful on the front line?

OLEKSANDRE (through translator): I'm not an iron man, I get scared too. It's good to have fear in you. You just need to master your fear. If you don't control it, it will swallow you up. You won't be human anymore. I don't pity the recruits, pity is a bad quality. You just have to do your job.

WALSH (voice-over): We talk in Kherson and his break from assaulting Russian positions across the river, a risky advance Ukraine hoped would edge toward occupied Crimea. It hasn't. Many lives have been lost and the city of Kherson liberated now for 15 months is also an exhausted ghost. And while Western support has slowed, Russia is not.

OLEKSANDRE (through translator): This is a difficult freedom. I don't argue. But I don't want to lost it. They were well zombified, the Russians. They simply win in numbers. It will be difficult but we will try.

WALSH (voice-over): No end is in sight. He says he does, of course, not want his son to fight in this war. He is 7 -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kherson.

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BRUNHUBER: And for more, we're joined now by Oleksandra Matviichuk, the head of Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties, which won a Nobel Peace Prize two years ago. And she's speaking to us from Kyiv.

Thank you so much for being here with us. So just to start, I want to get your thoughts on this sad anniversary.

What comes to mind now as we turn the corner into a third year of the war?

OLEKSANDRA MATVIICHUK, KYIV-BASED HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER: We approach into the second anniversary of large-scale invasion in a very difficult situation, when Putin is preparing for a long, protracted war and only officially 40 percent of budget will be spent for military expenses.

While military support to Ukraine from United States is frozen and we have been holding back multi-million population nuclear state for 10 years already. And we have no other choice. We have continued this fight because, if it stop fighting, there will be no more us.

BRUNHUBER: The organization you had, it's been documenting war crimes, more than 64,000 now, I understand, and counting. And Ukraine's prosecutor general said there are roughly twice as many, 122,000. Give us a sense of what have you found so far throughout these two years.

MATVIICHUK: We have been documenting how Russian troops deliberately shelling residential buildings, schools, churches, hospitals and museums. They are taking evacuation corridors. They're torturing people in filtration camps. They are forcibly deported Ukrainian children to Russia.

They are abducting, robbing, raping and killing civilians in the occupied territories. Even Ukrainian language and culture in this territories and the entire U.N. system of peace and security can't stop it.

BRUNHUBER: In terms of trying to stop it, I mean, where is the country in terms of actually prosecuting all of those crimes that you mentioned?

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Ukraine, as I understand, it, has only convicted 80 and most of those in absentia.

So how hard has it been to actually move forward with prosecutions?

MATVIICHUK: It's hard because we faced with enormous amount of crimes. Russia uses war crimes at a methods for fear. It's the way how Russia tried to win this war, with inflicting the immense pain on civilian population.

But there is another problem exist. We have no international court who can prosecute Putin and his surrounding for the crime of aggression. But all these atrocities, which we are now documenting, it's results of their leadership decision to start this war. We need a special tribunal.

BRUNHUBER: Explain what you mean because you've called for the special tribunal that would, on aggression specifically, to hold Russia accountable.

But do you get any sense that there's any international will to do that?

And would you think Putin or anybody who's responsible for these crimes actually be held responsible?

Or is that -- is it just more of the message that it sends that's important here? MATVIICHUK: We need bravery and historical responsibility of political

leaders from the world because, if we want to prevent wars in future, we have to bind your states and their leaders who start such wars in present.

It's a common logic, especially in situation when the U.N. system is collapsing before our eyes and can't protect people against authoritarianism and the wars.

BRUNHUBER: And we're showing just some of the after effects of the war. I mean, there's so many cases, so much evidence. And then with social media, crowdsourcing, a lot of evidence as well. I mean, the sheer amount of information must be overwhelming.

How do you how do you cope processing all of that?

MATVIICHUK: It's very difficult. I still lack a proper word to describe, what does it mean to live during the large-scale war?

What does it mean to live in constant fear for your beloved ones?

What does it mean to lose everything which you call normal life?

But these dramatic times provide us an opportunity to express the best in us, to be courageous, to fight for freedom and to help each other.

BRUNHUBER: You obviously need help in doing this. There has been -- I think the U.S. has charged four Russian affiliated soldiers with war crimes, for allegedly beating and torturing a U.S. citizen. Germany and Poland have also helped collect evidence.

What role do Ukraine's international partners play in helping to shoulder the load here?

MATVIICHUK: When large-scale invasion started, the international partners told, let's help Ukraine not to fail. And Ukraine obtained the first weapons to be able to defend ourselves. And we are extremely grateful.

But this is also an explanation why Ukraine was waiting for its whole year for the first modern tank, why we still have no modern plane and can't secure our sky because there is a huge difference between, let's help Ukraine not to fail and let's help Ukraine to win fast.

And we can practically measure this difference in types of weapons, in speed of decisions. And the problem is that we have no time. We are dying. The time for us is converted in numerous deaths in battlefield, in numerous deaths in deep fear, in numerous deaths in occupied territories.

BRUNHUBER: I can, when I'm talking to you, I can hear the emotion in your voice. You know, anger, sadness, so many emotions and one can understand why. I mean just having to go through this for years and the people that you've had to speak with, who have gone through much worse.

I mean, just how do you cope with all of this for two years now?

MATVIICHUK: The examples of millions of people in Ukraine, ordinary people, who start to do extraordinary things, help us to move on because, when large-scale invasion started, international organizations evacuated their personnel.

But ordinary people remained and ordinary people started to do extraordinary things. It were ordinary people who took people out from the ruined cities, who broke through the encirclement to provide the humanitarian aid, who helped to survive under artilleries' fires.

And I don't know how historians of the future will call this turbulent times because it's not just a war between two states. This is a war between two systems, also retiring a democracy. But I know for sure that people in Ukraine will be marked in this world history with dignity.

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BRUNHUBER: All right. That's a good message to end on. We will leave it there but good luck in your mission, Oleksandra Matviichuk. Thank you so much for speaking with us.

MATVIICHUK: Thanks.

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BRUNHUBER: CNN has gathered a list of vetted organizations that are on the ground responding in Ukraine. So for more information about how you can help humanitarian efforts, go to cnn.com/impact.

All right, much more here to come on CNN NEWSROOM, including a look at the massive round of sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Russia after the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Plus two U.S. citizens killed weeks apart in the West Bank. Their families are still waiting for answers from the U.S. and Israel and they speak with CNN next, stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared his plan for post-war Gaza. On the same day, Israel sent a delegation to Paris for the next round of negotiations.

They are expected to meet with senior officials from the U.S., Egypt and Qatar on a potential cease-fire and hostage deal. It's not clear how long the talks will last, with one official noting it could go through the weekend if it doesn't fall apart.

Meanwhile, families of hostages protested in Israel on Friday, demanding the return of everyone still held in Gaza. [05:25:05]

The families and their supporters blocked a highway in Tel Aviv by setting up an empty Shabbat dinner table, with empty chairs representing hostages who remain in Gaza; 134 people are still being kept in the enclave nearly five months after the October 7 attacks in Israel.

Two separate killings in the West Bank have families demanding answers from the U.S. and Israel. The families say two Palestinian American teenage boys were shot and killed by Israeli gunfire in recent weeks.

And they are growing frustrated about the lack of response from either government. CNN's Alex Marquardt has more -- and we want to warn you, his report contains graphic content.

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ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): These are the final moments of Mohammad Khdour's life, picnicking with his cousin, driving through the bumpy hills of the occupied West Bank.

Then cries, as people rushed to the car, Mohammad shot in the head, his body limp, his hair covered in blood as he's carried away.

The 17-year-old U.S. citizen mortally wounded. He died in the hospital. The second American teen in just weeks believed to have been killed by Israeli bullets.

RANAA FARRAJ, AUNT OF PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN TEEN KILLED IN WEST BANK: He was such a beautiful child, like inside and out.

MARQUARDT: Mohammad's aunt and uncle live in Cleveland. They promised Mohammad, who was born in Miami, that they would bring him back to the U.S. after graduating from high school.

ADNAN KHDOUR, UNCLE OF PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN TEEN KILLED IN WEST BANK: Why you killed him?

For what?

What's he doing for you?

Nothing. Nothing. Just you see him. He's happy in his life with his cousin, that's it. He killed -- killed a man in cold blood, man.

MARQUARDT: Who do you think is responsible?

FARRAJ: The government.

KHDOUR: The government men.

MARQUARDT: Israeli government?

KHDOUR: Yes. FARRAJ: He's innocent. Kids not doing nothing, just being shot and killed to cold blood for no good reason. All from the Israeli government not doing nothing much to prevent these type of things.

MARQUARDT: Another 17-year-old American citizen, Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, who grew up in Louisiana, was killed in January. He had just moved to the West Bank last year and in an almost identical incident, he was out for an afternoon with friends when his family said he was shot multiple times.

AMIR ABDEL JABBAR, BROTHER OF PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN TEEN KILLED IN WEST BANK: He was driving, going to our own property that we have on that mountain, to do a simple cookout with him and his friends.

MARQUARDT: Tell me what Tawfic was like as a brother.

ABDEL JABBAR: He was my right-hand man. A brother I can go to for anything. He was very kind, unselfish, outgoing in the amount of friends I seen that he made in this small period of time was outrageous.

MARQUARDT: The families of both boys say that Israeli gunmen were responsible. It's not clear exactly who. A U.S. official told CNN their deaths are being investigated. In Tawfic's case, the IDF told CNN they're looking into the possible involvement of an Israeli soldier.

During almost five months of war in Gaza, violence by Israelis against Palestinians and the West Bank has soared. More than 400 Palestinians have been killed about a quarter of them were under 18.

The Biden administration has since imposed unprecedented sanctions against Israeli settler extremist.

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: We insist that people be treated fairly, that they be treated with due process and that they be treated humanely.

MARQUARDT: Last week, I asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the string of American deaths and detentions at the hands of Israelis.

When it comes to the investigations into the teenagers' deaths, where do those stand?

BLINKEN: We've made clear that with regard to the incidents you've alluded to, there needs to be an investigation, we need to get the facts. And if appropriate, there needs to be accountability.

MARQUARDT: He says the safety and security of American citizens around the world is their biggest priority. Do believe that?

FARRAJ: No.

KHDOUR: No.

MARQUARDT: What do you want the U.S. government to do? KHDOUR: To move. Not just talking. We don't need talking, man. We need something. We want to see something.

MARQUARDT: Are you confident that there will be some kind of justice in the end?

FARRAJ: I'm hopeful, yes but wouldn't be out of the ordinary if we don't get to justice that we're hoping for.

MARQUARDT: The controversial U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza now, even further complicated by American citizens getting caught up in the violence.

What power do you think the U.S. government has that they're not using right now to figure out what happened?

ABDEL JABBAR: I believe that they have every power in the world to resolve my brother's death, to know who killed him. I feel like they don't want to. They're waiting for this story to be quiet, just to vanish away. But that's not going to happen.

MARQUARDT: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, in the past, condemned extremist settler violence against Palestinians. He has not commented on the deaths of these two American teenagers, which a U.S. official tells me Israel is investigating.

And the Biden administration is watching closely.

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That official saying that if they feel those investigations are not conducted properly, these cases will get escalated to more senior members of the Israeli government -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine marks a somber anniversary, two years since Russia began its full-scale invasion. Still ahead, we'll go live to Berlin for the latest as Western leaders try to muster the support Kyiv needs at a critical time.

Plus we'll hear what the mayor of Kyiv had to say about this somber day. I spoke with him just an hour ago.

And the struggle to teach Black history in the U.S. We will take a closer look at efforts to block what children are learning about the past. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

U.S. President Joe Biden marked the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny by announcing a huge round of fresh sanctions and trade restrictions. Here he is.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can't walk away now. And this was Putin's bidding. That's why I'm announcing more than 500 new sanctions, in response to Putin's brutal war of conquest and response to Alexei Navalny's death.

We, in the United States are going to continue to ensure that Putin pays a price for his aggression abroad and repression at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The measures represent the largest single-day set of sanctions since the simmering Russia-Ukraine conflict between the two escalated two years ago. The U.S. says its goal is to limit Moscow's revenue and make it harder for Russia to use its supply chain to build weapons.

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Sanction targets include organizations involved in Moscow's military industrial complex and third country entities that have helped Russia evade previous sanctions. Russia's Mir payment system, part of its financial infrastructure, is also on the list.

Now this all comes on the heels of Ukraine marking a sobering milestone today.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Two years ago, Russian troops marched across the border into Ukraine, beginning a full-scale invasion. February 24th, 2022, was a day that shook the West to its core, ripping up decades of relative peace in Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: As Ukraine heads into year three of the war, they're still urgently waiting for aid from the U.S. They're fighting on but they face critical shortages of ammunition and troops. For more, we're joined by CNN's Sebastian Shukla in Berlin.

So some Western allies have arrived in Ukraine. We're just looking at some live pictures from Ukraine, where they're marking the occasion. You see President Volodymyr Zelenskyy there. Take us through the message that these Western allies are sending.

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kim, it's incredible to think that two years ago I was in Mariupol the day that Russia invaded. And to see the shock and fear that were on people's faces as they made a run on the banks and queues, miles long, looking for petrol.

And the rush there was to get out of the city. But through that underlying time, the message was from the West, we are behind you and we are supporting you all the way. And as you were just seeing those pictures, live from Kyiv there, that message is still the same from allies, from the -- from Europe and also from the United States.

As Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, arrived today in the Ukrainian capital, she tweeted, "More than ever, we stand firmly by Ukraine, financially, economically, militarily, morally, until the country is finally free."

But Ukraine's freedom will not come without continued support, which it desperately needs at the moment on the front lines. The U.K. has pledged today a new $300 million munitions package. But the crucial one is still with the United States, almost $60 billion worth of aid, which is needed because, at the moment, we are seeing a small advance by the Russians on the front lines, particularly in Donetsk region.

We saw this week that Avdiivka, a small but important town, was taken by the Russians that had lived long in the crosshairs from the previously occupied separatist territory. And we've seen the Russians making a big deal about this, handing out medals and President Putin saying that it's a great victory.

But going into this year, we are going to be looking at what Ukraine will be able to do on the battlefield. And it has a new general now, taking over from Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Oleksandr Syrskyi is his name. We will wait to see what his doctrine and how that plays out on the Ukrainian battlefields -- Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much. Sebastian Shukla in Berlin. Appreciate that

So in our last hour, I spoke with the mayor of Kyiv about the somber anniversary. Vitali Klitschko says, it's all about defending Ukraine's values.

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VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV MAYOR: I want to say it's very important, the question of values (ph). If use, today's world black and white. You are for the war, you are against the war.

You for democracy or the datasheet (ph). And that why we fighting right now in defending not just our homeland, we're defending right now and the values (ph). If we have the same values (ph), we need U.S. support because without support of United States, is very difficult to survive.

The question right now about the future, not just future of Ukraine, future of democracy in the world. And that's why we counted of support of our friends. It's very important, very important, live important for us to still support Ukraine because we fighting for future, for our democratic future of our homeland, which can never accept (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: A global outpouring of support as Ukraine marks the second anniversary of the Russian invasion. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower lit up Friday night in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. French president Emmanuel Macron pledged France's unwavering support for Kyiv.

In Berlin, a candlelight vigil in front of the German parliament, followed by a march to the Russian embassy.

In Ottawa, the Peace Tower at Canada's parliament buildings lit in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

We'll be right back.

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BRUNHUBER: Here in the U.S., there is one more week left of Black History Month and many schools, universities and educators across the nation are still grappling with increasing the limits on what they can and can't teach about racism and Black history.

In recent years, that history has come under attack by Republican lawmakers across the country. Since January 2021, 44 states have introduced bills and at least 18 have passed laws restricting or banning the teaching of critical race theory.

According to Education Week, only a dozen states require Black history in K through 12 public schools. In the last two years, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine and Rhode Island have legislated that Black history courses or electives be required.

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BRUNHUBER: For more on this, I'm joined by Gevin Reynolds, a former speech writer to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. And he's also a contributor to the Black news and views site, "The Root."

Thank you so much for being here with us. So the fact that Black history is in the crosshairs, in the culture wars, all these efforts to basically ban Black history, what's behind it?

GEVIN REYNOLDS, FORMER SPEECH WRITER TO U.S. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Yes, Kim, thanks so much. And happy Black History Month to you. For me, Black history month obviously came at a time to celebrate the incredible accomplishments and achievements of Black Americans.

And as you pointed out at this moment in time, Black history is under attack.

And where I start when I think about this, is that Black history is American history, right?

You can't teach or understand American history without teaching and understanding Black history. But yet and still -- and you allude to this in your question -- we've seen unprecedented efforts to restrict the teaching of Black history.

We've seen 14 states, by some counts, enact new restrictions on how teachers can teach Black history. In the past year alone, 30 states have attempted to do that.

And what that means is that these extremist lawmakers -- in many cases, the Republican Party almost exclusively -- are seeking to restrict the freedom of teachers in teaching our nation's full history and restrict then the freedom of students to learn our nation's full history.

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And the consequences of this is that we're seeing teachers in all of these states very unsure as to what they can and cannot say with respect to Black history, with respect to race. And I think what --

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BRUNHUBER: -- I just want to stop you there because I'm wondering what's behind this?

What are they trying to achieve here?

What's the aim?

REYNOLDS: Yes. So I think what they're trying to achieve, I think what we have to do when you look at this issue is, you have to realize that these attacks on Black history are not happening in a vacuum, right?

We see, in addition to these attacks on Black history, attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion. And it's so funny because many of these same lawmakers belong to the Republican Party, the party that claims to be all about patriotism, right?

I don't think you can be a patriot if you can't fully love and fully see your country for its beauties and its flaws. I think a lot of people will see that hypocrisy. And I believe that many of these lawmakers have a very narrow conception of what it means to be an American.

BRUNHUBER: So as a response, we've seen some educators, you know, sort of bypassing schools, using libraries, community halls, cultural centers. Talk to me about the resistance and whether this could maybe lead to a resurgence, maybe more interest in Black history.

REYNOLDS: Yes, that is certainly my hope. And you know, for me, I think the reason why I have sought to ride on a lot of these issues is because I do want to draw attention to them and I want to tip my hat to the incredible educators who -- I mean, think about it, Kim. To be an educator, to be a teacher, right now in this environment, in

which teachers, the ability and freedom of teachers to teach their students, whether it's on race, whether it's on gender identity.

In fact, a teacher in my home county in Cobb County, Georgia, recently was fired and had her firing upheld simply for teaching, for reading a book to their students that didn't pass some -- that failed some litmus test because of what it said about gender identity.

So teachers are resisting in this moment. Teachers are not going to -- teachers have shown that they will not sit by and let politicians, let politics inform how they can educate their students.

And I think we're seeing so much bravery from our teachers, which we've seen throughout history in terms of resisting these modern efforts.

And I do believe, like you said, Kim, that all of this, all of these repressive efforts by these extremist lawmakers, are actually having the consequence of shining a light on this issue, of leading teachers to stand up and resist, leading those like me who comment on these issues to do that.

And so I take a lot of hope from the fact that, even though we're seeing these attacks, that the resistance will be even stronger.

BRUNHUBER: We will have to leave it. There we really appreciate having you on this very important topic, Gevin Reynolds, thanks so much.

REYNOLDS: Thanks, Kim.

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BRUNHUBER: All right. Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, things got nasty in the NBA Friday night. The Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans played basketbrawl instead of ball. "CNN SPORT's" Andy Scholes joins me live to look at who got bounced from the game. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Tempers flared Friday night in the NBA. Four players were ejected after a scuffle between the Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans, "CNN SPORT's" Andy Scholes joins me now.

So, Andy, two of the league's biggest stars were at the center of it.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jimmy Butler and Zion Williamson and then you have Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. He jokingly said, yes, this one did not have the intensity of an All-Star game. This was certainly a competitive game. Show you what happened. Fourth quarter, as Williamson gets this steal

and Kevin logged just grabs him. Xian goes down. The Pelicans were not happy about that. Words were exchanged as well as lots of pushing and shoving.

Now Butler and Thomas Bryant were rejected for the Heat. Marshall and Jose Alvarado ejected for the Pelicans. Heat, they would go on to win the game, 106 to 95. And here were Butler and Zion afterwards on what caused the scuffle.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I mean, you know, I put my hand around his neck. He put his hand around my neck. And then it just took off the way it did.

ZION WILLIAMSON, NEW ORLEANS PELICANS FORWARD: I just kind of just got up and was walking away and I think, all of a sudden, I see Butler kind of lunging toward Naji. So I'm trying to get there. Like, whoa, relax. Like what's going on?

It's just competitive. It's people competing, people riding for they teammates. So that's all that is.

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SCHOLES: Elsewhere, Victor Wembanyama just continues to do things that we've never seen from a rookie. The 20 year-old French phenom had 27 points and 10 rebounds last night for the Lakers. But he also had the rare five by five.

That's at least five points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. Wemby is the youngest to ever accomplish that. And just the 15th player ever to achieve the feat.

LeBron saying afterwards, Wemby doesn't have a ceiling. And LeBron, he returned from a two-game absence and this one is scored 30, leading L.A. to a 123-118 win.

The Warriors, meanwhile, making Steve Kerr the highest paid coach in NBA history, signing him to a two-year $35 million contract extension on Friday. Kerr was likely applauding his team's defensive effort last night as well over the Hornets.

They scored just 29 points in the first half. The Warriors would end up winning this one by an old school score, 97-84. Golden state now won (INAUDIBLE) there last night.

All right. Elsewhere, the U.S. women's national team, back on the pitch against Argentina for their second match at the inaugural CONCACAF women's gold cup.

Jane Shaw scoring two goals in the first 18 minutes of this game, a 19 year-old from Frisco, Texas, becoming the youngest player to score three goals in her first six national team appearances. And Alex Morgan, who was added to the team with an injury replacement,

she added a goal in the 19th minute. The U.S. would roll in this one, winning 4-0. They're going to play Mexico Monday in their final group stage game, Kim.

It's kind of, we're kind of transitioning periods with the women's national team. Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz retiring. Alex Morgan wasn't supposed to be there but now she is. But it's really cool to see now the new young stars coming up for the team.

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And excited to see what they do with the rest of this gold cup and the Paris Olympics.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, a little. They have a high bar, a lot to live up to her there if they're going to match their predecessors, Andy Scholes, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Well, bad weather couldn't stop Swifties down under from attending one of Taylor Swift's Eras tours in Sydney.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Thunderstorms and dangerous weather conditions led to unexpected obstacles for Friday's show, including evacuating parts of the stadium and canceling the opening act.

But that didn't dampen the mood for the more than 80,000 fearless fans, who braved the inclement weather. Taylor Swift will perform at four solo shows in the Australian city.

While we're, on the subject of Taylor Swift, if you're a super fan, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a job for you. Its posted a job for a Taylor Swift superfan to advise its expert curators and explain her importance to the history of art and design.

Now the museum won't pay the Taylor Swift superfan in cash but will give access to its collection of almost 3 million objects. That fan will potentially help influence the museum's future programming.

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BRUNHUBER: For the first time ever, scientists are unveiling a 240 million-year-old "dragon," in quotes, in its entirety. The National Museums Scotland announced on Friday, the five-meter-long reptile from the Triassic period was first identified in China in 2003.

But newly discovered fossils allowed the international team of researchers to depict the entire creature that you see there.

All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."