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CNN International: Kharkiv Region Faces Heavy Fighting and Russian Assault; Blinken Stresses U.S. Support for Ukraine; U.S. Begins Talks on New $1 Billion Arms Deal for Israel; Outrage Over Georgia Foreign Agents Bill; Defense Begins Cross-Examining Key Witness Michael Cohen. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 15, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I have come to Ukraine with a message. You are not alone. What Putin destroyed, Russia should and must pay to rebuild.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can do anything to make us go away. We are going to stay here and fight. We will resist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a country at a crossroads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's nice. It's different to what you'd see normally in like a royal portrait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like the face. I think they've done a really good job on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us around the world. I'm Max Foster. It's Wednesday, May the 15th, 9 a.m. here in London, 11 a.m. in Ukraine, where the country's military says heavy fighting is ongoing in the Kharkiv region amid Russian attacks.

Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces -- head of the General Staff -- says Moscow's troops are pushing forward with their ground and air offensive. In particular, Ukraine is fighting off constant attacks around the village of Vovchansk. Authorities in the city of Kharkiv say a Russian attack from so-called glide bombs wounded at least 24 people, including four children.

Ukraine's air defenses don't have the ability to intercept glide bombs, which are launched from Russian airspace and use wings to glide very long distances. And Ukraine cannot use American anti-aircraft weapons due to restrictions imposed by the White House. Nearly 8,000 people have been evacuated from Kharkiv in recent days amid these cross-border attacks as Russian forces seize towns and villages near the northern front lines.

Meanwhile, to the south, Russia's defense ministry claims it suppressed a large aerial attack on the Crimean peninsula by Ukrainian forces.

The U.S. Secretary of State is set to meet with Ukraine's foreign minister today. Antony Blinken is in the Ukrainian capital looking to reaffirm Washington's support after the U.S. took months to approve $60 billion in critical military aid.

He says the overwhelming bipartisan support behind that aid package shows that Ukraine can count on the U.S.. He also sat down with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday to discuss the war and the new aid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I have come to Ukraine with a message. You are not alone. The United States has been by your side from day one. We are with you today and we will stay by your side until Ukraine's security and sovereignty, its ability to chose its own path is guaranteed.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: The decision of the package was crucial for us. It's very important to get it as quick as possible. And the second one point is air defense, the biggest deficit for us.

I think that the biggest problem, yes, and we need, really we need today two Patriots for Kharkiv, for Kharkiv region because the people are under attack, civilians and wars, everybody there under Russian missiles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Our Nic Robertson joins us now to look at this situation in Kharkiv. Just explain to us about the problems the Ukrainians have got. First of all, you've got these glide bombs they can't defend themselves against, but also they don't have the defense systems in place.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, and you heard President Zelenskyy there asking for the Patriot system, the U.S. missile defense system, asking for two of those around Kharkiv. It's taken a huge amount of pressure. The glide bombs Russia has been using to increasingly deadly and destructive effect recently.

They're basically an older style bomb that with a few modifications will make it fly further. So the plane doesn't have to drop it from above and put itself in danger, but it drops it further from the battlefield. And there's also on some of them some rudimentary navigation, which will get them much closer to a specific target.

So they are, for Russia, they have a lot of them because they've basically smartened up some dumb bombs. And they have the ability of keeping Russian pilots more secure as they're deployed, and a very destructive effect on Ukrainians.

[04:05:03]

FOSTER: Are we in the situation now where, you know, the Russian positions are close enough to cause, you know, enough damage on Kharkiv to effectively take it over without going in? Is that the situation because they've got this proximity now?

ROBERTSON: You know, if you look at the disposition of Russian forces spread along that sort of 850 miles, more than 1,200 kilometers of front line between Ukrainian and Russian forces, actually the number of Russian forces that are just across the border inside Russia, attacking those areas close to Kharkiv are not massive compared to other areas. But yes, they can potentially move much closer because a lot of it is agricultural areas, small towns, villages, agricultural area closer to Kharkiv, which is an important resupply route to other parts of the front line.

But I think some analysts will say, look, what Russia's trying to do is put pressure on the very northern end of the front line while at the southern end towards the Zaporizhia area and put pressure on there so Ukraine has to use its, you know, forces up to defend those areas in ammunition, troops and ammunition of which it has in short supply.

And in the meantime, Russia will then use its plentiful supplies of ammunition and troops to push more heavily in the Donbas region in the center. So essentially this is part of, it's more complex than just focusing on Kharkiv. It's about stretching Ukrainian forces to try to weaken lines in other areas as well.

FOSTER: This is the country's second largest city. So if anyone watching considers their second largest city, it shows how significant, you know, a triumph there would be.

ROBERTSON: And the gains are being made. I mean, you listen to what Ukrainian commanders of forces said last night. They said in the Kharkiv area there were 11 intense engagements. Three of them are still going on. We've had to move some of our troops to save them, to save their equipment and relocate them to more strategic positions.

Now, strategic can be moving up a hill so you can shoot back to your own trenches or it can be moving back to the next safe hill. So in some language that is sounding like a withdrawal of troops from some areas. And that's what Russia is claiming on the ground. It's claiming that it's taken control of some of these villages.

FOSTER: Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

Despite threats from U.S. President Joe Biden to withhold offensive weapons from Israel, our sources tell CNN a new $1 billion arms deal for Israel is now in the works, which would include the sale of tank ammunition, tactical vehicles and mortar rounds. The talks are in very early stages and there's no timeline for when lawmakers would officially be notified.

The potential arms sale would also need congressional approval, which could take years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Everything that is in this package is weapons that weren't even produced yet by the industry in the U.S. And some of it will take months until it will be produced and transferred to Israel. And some of it will take as long as three years to be sent to Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: But the move comes as the Biden administration paused another arms transfer to Israel, citing concerns about weapons being used in Rafah. Meanwhile, the Israeli military says it's continuing operations across Gaza from Jabalia in the north to Rafah in the south. They say they struck more than 100 terror targets across the enclave on Monday and expanded an operation in Jabalia.

The IDF claims it also eliminated several armed terror cells on the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing.

The U.N. chief is expressing deep concern over the escalation of Israeli military activity in and around Rafah, calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Here's more from the spokesperson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FARHAN HAQ, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON FOR U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: The secretary general is appalled by the escalation of military activity in and around Rafah by the Israeli Defense Forces. These developments are further impeding humanitarian access and worsening an already dire situation. At the same time, Hamas goes on firing rockets indiscriminately.

Civilians must be respected and protected at all times in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza. For people in Gaza, nowhere is safe now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Joining me now soon is Scott McLean. He's in Istanbul, Turkey. Scott, just take us through this potential arms deal.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Max. Yes, so we know that the U.S. has already paused the shipment of bombs, 2,000-pound bombs, 500- pound bombs, several thousand of them, because they don't want them to be used in the very tightly packed area of Rafah, where there could still be one million people taking shelter there. They don't want certain offensive weapons that are American-made anywhere near that operation.

But they have also made abundantly clear, Max, that they will continue to supply Israel with what it needs to protect it anywhere near that operation. But they have also made abundantly clear, Max, that they will continue to supply Israel with what it needs to protect itself. But the line between what's offensive and what's defense here is obviously up for interpretation. And so, case in point, the U.S. State Department has given an informal notice, they say, to two congressional committees of its intention to go ahead with this deal, which would include $700 million worth of tank ammunition, $500 million worth of tactical vehicles, and $60 million worth of mortar rounds. So over $1 billion.

The weapons, obviously, they're going to be arriving in Israel over a very long period of time. This is not anything that's going to arrive tomorrow. But I think what is interesting here is the timing, though, because you have a situation where there could be obviously a congressional opposition to this, some level of congressional opposition. You also have Republicans who have been calling for the Biden administration not even to hold up the shipment that it's done already.

And this is also the time where the U.S. has said that Israel has now built up enough troops along the border or on the edge of the city of Rafah to go ahead with a full-scale incursion there in the coming days. They don't know whether they're going to actually do that. But the Israelis have made clear that they have enough weaponry to do that nonetheless.

And this is especially disappointing to the United States if it were to go ahead with the full-scale incursion, because they have said from the get-go, for months now we've been hearing it, Max, that the U.S. expects the Israelis to come up with a plan and to carry out a plan, if they're going to do it, to move people out of the way and to make sure that they have the aid that they need in order to survive elsewhere. And the U.S. has made very clear that they haven't seen that. That hasn't happened yet.

FOSTER: OK. And take us through these latest attacks in Gaza as well.

MCLEAN: Yes. So there were two separate strikes in central Gaza yesterday. One of them was actually on a U.N. school, an UNRWA facility that the Israelis say was being used as a war room to plan attacks against IDF troops. They say that 10 Hamas fighters were killed. CNN can't confirm Israel's account, either can UNRWA. They're calling for an investigation, and they're also calling for both sides not to use any U.N. installations for military activity.

The other strike came a little less than two hours early. The IDF said that this was on terrorist infrastructure just a few hundred meters away. That terrorist infrastructure, it turns out, though, from video on the ground and from witness accounts, had families sheltering inside of it.

The local hospital says that so far it's taken in 36 bodies from that bombing that left this area decimated. Half of those bodies were children, and there may yet still be more to come, Max, because witnesses there say that there were many more people sheltering inside that building. There were even tents set up outside of that building, people hoping, some of them, to take refuge there coming from Rafah.

And so the death toll here may yet still rise. And it could take a while for any bodies to be recovered, because if you look at the video, they are not using any kind of sophisticated equipment to get the cement slabs out of the way they are using, little more than their own hands. And so this is a process that could take quite some time. Some people may end up under the rubble for some time to come -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, thank you to Scott in Istanbul.

Protesters in Georgia are voicing their outrage after the ruling party passed a highly controversial foreign agents bill in Parliament on Tuesday. Thousands of demonstrators converged at a major intersection in the capital, Tbilisi, shutting down traffic. They say they don't want to see their country turning towards Moscow, which has similar laws that are used to crack down on dissent. The bill will require organizations receiving more than 20 percent of funding from abroad to register as foreign agents or face massive fines.

Scuffles broke out in Parliament while the bill was debated. Now it goes to the president, who says she'll veto it, but Parliament can override her objection with a simple majority.

CNN's Clare Sebastian explains what brought the former Soviet Republic to this pivotal moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Storming the barricades. Protesters in the Georgian capital refusing to accept their weeks-long battle could be lost.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can scare us. They can do anything to make us go away. We are going to stay here and fight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we are not Russian. We are not Belarus. We will not allow anyone to bring us as foreign agents. We will resist.

SEBASTIAN: Protesters faced down a wall of riot police pushing them back just hours after opposition in government faced off in Parliament.

[04:15:00]

ANA TSITLIDZE, GEORGIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, UNITED NATIONAL MOVEMENT (voice-over): You are the Russian regime. You are the illegitimate Russian regime.

EKA SEPHASHVILI, GEORGIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, GEORGIAN DREAM (through translator): It's double standards and the hypocrisy of the opposition.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Georgia's pro-European majority has tasted success. Scenes like this last year forced the government to scrap the same so-called foreign agent bill, seen here as a replica of a repressive Russian law and a sign of Moscow's growing influence in this small post-Soviet state.

Then in March, barely three months after gaining EU candidate status, the Georgian government revived the law. In a rare appearance in late April, the ruling party's honorary leader and most powerful driving force lashing out at the West.

BIDZINA IVANISHVILI, HONORARY CHAIRMAN, GEORGIAN DREAM (through translator): Despite the promises of the 2008 Bucharest summit, Georgia and Ukraine have not been accepted into NATO and have been left out to dry. All those decisions are made by the Global Party of War.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): As protesters grew more determined, the police response escalated. Violence widely condemned by the European Union. In this shocking attack on May 1st, opposition leader Levan Khabeishvili says he was deliberately targeted, his bruises still visible.

LEVAN KHABEISHVILI, GEORGIAN OPPOSITION LEADER, UNITED NATIONAL MOVEMENT (through translator): They did not get what they wanted from me. They were filming to upload the video afterwards and to show the opposition leader in a state that would discredit me.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And violence not the only means of intimidation. Transparency International says these posters of its local executive director appeared a few days ago outside its offices and those of other NGOs. The text reads, Traitor and Grant Guzzler.

EKA GIGAURI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL GEORGIA: You are under the attack all the time, so the governmental officials and even the prime minister would organize the press conference where they would single you out.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Still the drumbeat of opposition in Georgia grows louder. This is a country at a crossroads. The EU making it clear if this bill becomes law, future membership is at serious risk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, Clare is here. This isn't a local story, is it? Because it's all of, you know, the geopolitics around the world really playing into it. What's the reaction outside Georgia?

SEBASTIAN (on camera): Well, this is something that certainly the opposition and the protesters were really watching for. They think that the West can do more to help their cause, to put pressure on the Georgian government. And we did see really significant comments coming out, in particular from the United States on Tuesday.

Take a listen to the White House Press Secretary, first of all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We have been outspoken about our concerns with the legislation which runs counter to democratic values and would move Georgia further away from the values of the European Union and let's not forget also NATO.

We will see what the Parliament does, but if this legislation passes, it will compel us to fundamentally reassess our relationship with Georgia. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: And that was combined with comments from the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs who was actually in Georgia on Tuesday who said that this could translate into actual action. He said there's $390 million of planned spending from the U.S. and Georgia, half of which is military aid. That could be under review.

He said now that it seems the U.S. is seen as an adversary in Georgia rather than a partner, referring of course to the anti-Western rhetoric coming from the ruling party.

He also said, and this is something again that will be very closely watched by opposition parties who have been calling for this, it was a specific sanctions threat. He said, look, if we're going to see more violence against protesters, more rolling back of democracy, we could see what he called restrictions on individuals involved in that.

This is something that civil society representatives, opposition figures have told us could actually make a difference here. Right now, I think the onus is on that fractured opposition. They have to join together.

We're seeing that some factions have come together now boycotting Parliament. Take a look at what the United National Movement is saying about this. They say that Parliament has become a militarized anti- constitutional body where MPs are forced to adopt Russian-ordered laws while the halls are filled with armed special forces. They say they're not going to have any part in this.

So there's no lack of energy from the protesters. They are going to continue. But the clock is ticking. There's 10 days for a presidential veto. After that, Parliament has two weeks to override that.

There's a limited window now for them to try and change things. And the government, having already backed down once on this last year, looks very unlikely to do the same again. That would be politically risky.

FOSTER: I'm just wondering what the protesters think about, you know, that comment from the White House, also from the European Union, saying this is less likely for us to, you know, allow Georgia in. Because doesn't that make them feel abandoned? So you're going to pull away from Georgia because of what's happened.

And it's exactly what the Kremlin would like to see happen. So isn't the Western reaction almost counterproductive for those protesters?

[04:20:00]

SEBASTIAN: I think the protesters would like to see the condemnations, the warnings, followed up with actual action that they think would make a difference. Because, yes, on the one hand, it does fuel the anti-Western rhetoric. But they do really believe the people that we've been speaking to that individual sanctions like assets, freezes, and travel bans would impact the lifestyles of the ruling elite and could cause the pressure to ramp up there.

Plus, of course, there's the issue of that withdrawing of U.S. funding, which could concentrate the minds. So I think they do sort of welcome the Western rhetoric. But I think there's a sense, even though you see, obviously, from the ruling elite's comments about interference from the outside, this is something that the protesters on the streets actually want more of.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you so much.

The prosecution has called its final witness in the Donald Trump hush money trial, but the defense is just getting started with Michael Cohen and his spicy language as well. Plus, how President Biden's tariff hike on a range of Chinese goods could impact American consumers and workers, a live report from Beijing.

Canine contenders were strutting their stuff for the Westminster dog show. It is that time of year. Later this hour, we'll tell you which dog took top honors.

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FOSTER: Cheeto-dusted and a boorish cartoon misogynist. Two of the colorful phrases, key witness Michael Cohen used to describe Donald Trump. Trump's defense attorneys tried to use Cohen's words against him on day 17 of the hush money trial.

They got their first crack at Trump's former lawyer and fixer, portraying him as full of hate, obsessed with his former boss and hell-bent on revenge.

Before that, the prosecution walked Cohen through his decision to stop being loyal to Trump six years ago and, quote, tell the truth. More now from CNN's Paula Reid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Cohen back on the witness stand, facing tough questions from prosecutors and defense attorneys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you have to say to Trump, Cohen?

REID (voice-over): Trump attorney Todd Blanche came out swinging in his first question to Cohen.

You went on TikTok and called me a crying little expletive just before the trial began. Nodding in agreement, Cohen said, sounds like something I would say.

Trying to frame the witness as motivated by revenge, Blanche questioned Cohen about something he said on his podcast in October 2020.

I truly, expletive, hope Donald Trump ends up in prison.

Blanche pressed Cohen on how he continues to defy prosecutors' requests to stop talking about the case.

Is it fair to say prosecutors have repeatedly asked you to stop publicly commenting on this case?

Yes, Cohen replied.

Blanche noted that Cohen profits from his relentless attacks on Trump and on his podcast wore a shirt showing Trump behind bars.

And you were encouraging people to buy it, Blanche asked.

Yes, it's part of the merch store, said Cohen.

Blanche asked if on his podcast, Cohen called Trump a boorish cartoon misogynist and a Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain.

[04:25:02]

That also sounds like something I said, Cohen admitted.

He was then asked if he was obsessed with Trump.

I wouldn't say obsessed. I admired him, tremendously.

Before he faced off with Trump's attorneys, prosecutors walked Cohen through the documents at the heart of the criminal case. 11 checks, he says he received, totaling $420,000 after submitting 11 falsified invoices marked for legal services.

Were any of those checks in fact for work during the months described in those check stubs? The prosecutor asked.

No, ma'am, he responded.

All part of the alleged conspiracy to pay Cohen back the $130,000 in hush money he personally paid to Stormy Daniels. He also described how his relationship with Trump unraveled as he came under federal criminal investigation and ultimately decided to break with Trump and plead guilty to multiple charges in 2018. Cohen recalled how he felt after the FBI searched his home, office, and hotel room in 2018.

How to describe your life being turned upside down, concerned, despondent, angry.

Cohen described a conversation he had with Trump after the FBI search, the last time, he says, they ever spoke.

He said to me, don't worry. I'm the president of the United States. There's nothing here. Everything's going to be OK. Stay tough. You're going to be OK.

Cohen said, I was scared. I wanted some reassurance that Mr. Trump had my back, especially as this dealt with issues that related to him.

He credited a conversation with his family, which he says convinced him to finally turn on Trump and begin telling the truth. My wife, my daughter, my son all said to me, why are you holding on to

this loyalty?

What are you doing? We are supposed to be your first loyalty.

Cohen said, I made a decision based again on the conversation I had with my family that I would not lie for President Trump anymore.

REID: Cohen will be back on the stand Thursday, the last day of court this week. The next week, the defense is expected to put on a few witnesses, and their client's going to need to decide, does he want to take the stand? But at this point, it looks unlikely that the jury will get the case before Memorial Day.

Paula Reid, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Still to come, a brazen and deadly ambush at a busy toll booth in France. Gunmen freed an inmate from a prison convoy in broad daylight before making their escape.

Coming up, heavy rainfall in Indonesia, causing deadly floods and landslides. When we come back, one woman's story of getting swept away in the flood water.

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