Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: President Macron, King Charles Attend D-Day Ceremony; Putin Warns the West Over Ukraine's Strikes Inside Russia; First U.S. and South Korea Drop Live Munitions Drop with B-1B in 7 Years. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 06, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: And as someone in her 70s, it's a lot closer to her than it is to many other people. But she's about to come out.

She'll meet the Macrons. But the priority, as I understand it, is to spend time with the veterans. They are dwindling in number.

And as I was describing earlier, the only ones surviving today were either teenagers or in their early 20s, very early 20s. And it really shows, you know, the bravery of those young men, mainly, who took that commitment. And lots of questions about whether or not young people today would make the same commitment.

But we see there, the King and Queen of the United Kingdom at the new British War Memorial, going off to meet veterans and local dignitaries at the beginning of a day of events for them.

Still to come, Russia's president weighs in on Donald Trump's criminal conviction, and what it says about the U.S. legal system.

And later, a flyover and explosions as the U.S. and South Korea launch a new military drill. We're live near the DMZ.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Taking to Ver-sur-Mer in France, where French President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's King Charles are marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day at the British memorial there. Thousands of Allied service members lost their lives storming the beaches of Normandy in 1944. The invasion led to the liberation of France and the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Mr. Macron is set to join U.S. President Joe Biden later on as well for an event at Omaha Beach, which is known as the beach where the American forces came in, really leading that whole heroic effort.

Nic Robertson, what are your thoughts as you look at these veterans holding -- you know, they're not the ones holding the flags because they're in, you know, they're around 100 years old, aren't they? But they're only in their teens at the time.

[04:35:00] NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They were. I mean, you think of some of the young sailors, 16 years old, and they were opening the doors at the backs of the ramps of those landing craft that couldn't get close to -- as close to the beach as they wanted to because of the stormy seas.

And troops witnessed, these young 16 year olds were witnessing men, soldiers not many years older than themselves, packs laden, coming out of the back of the landing craft, being shot down, wanting to help them. We've heard accounts from some of those Marines who were aboard the landing craft saying they wanted to help, but they couldn't. They weren't allowed to.

Their job was to go back and fetch more troops from the big troop carriers about 10 miles offshore and then run that hour-long gauntlet to get back to the beaches again.

So, you know, when you look at these soldiers and we listen to them, it's very, very moving. I mean, one of the things that strikes you is just how understated what they have to say is. But they come back for their friends who were lost, to commemorate them, to think of the freedoms that they've enjoyed themselves because of the sacrifice of their friends. These were known to them. Their friends, when you listen to their accounts, they're naming them. They'll name the people who fell on the beach beside them.

So it's that sense of sacrifice, that understated sense of sacrifice, I think, when we hear from these very, very old now veterans.

FOSTER: One of them was telling me he can't believe world leaders are still going to war and aren't focused on other issues such as climate change, a sense that, you know, the world hasn't really learned from what happened there at D-Day. Do you think any of the world leaders will speak to current times and refer back in that sense?

ROBERTSON: You know, I think the world leaders are going to be there to commemorate, but they're also politicians and will want to draw the analogies of that unity that the -- I mean, this was an allied landing, you know, 156,000, 73,000 of them Americans, more than 60,000 British, more than 20,000 Canadians. This was an allied landing. And the legacy is that alliances in terms of defense work.

So yes, they will undoubtedly draw those analogies today. But I think, you know, the real, the spirit of the day where I think they will give up most of their emotion will be in recognition of the lives that were laid down. And we'll hear from President Biden later today when he speaks about freedom doesn't come for free.

And that's absolutely analogous to, for President Zelenskyy, who is there today as well, who is trying to recruit his own number of troops in his own country, who will have to make sacrifices similar to those sacrifices that were made on D-Day for the country. 4,414 troops were lost on D-Day alone. Perhaps his casualties were a bit lower than were anticipated. Some of the troops who were going into land were told that you may never come back from this. So, you know, I think, again, when you look back at the memories of

the veterans who were there, they were fighting for their country. They were fighting for their friends.

But they also, as you say, draw parallels with today. And I was listening to the comments of one of those veterans saying, if only the leaders in the Middle East would listen to our experiences here 80 years ago, there wouldn't be war. These men and women as well suffered, you know, a horrendous war.

World War II was absolutely horrendous in the scale and the number of people who were lost and the casualties that were inflicted on all sides. And for those that went through it, it's still today unfathomable why countries would want to inflict that on their populations. And again, I think we'll hear that reflected partly in what President Biden and other leaders will have to say.

But they are also -- and going back to President Zelenskyy. They also do have to stir the passions of their nations for the challenges to come. President Biden will talk about, you know, an inflection point between democracies and autocracies. These are very, very poignant thoughts and shared across the age spectrum.

FOSTER: Pretty amazing seeing this British war memorial, isn't it? Just tell us the story behind that because this was inspired by a veteran, as I understand it, 10 years ago, who pointed out that Britain didn't have its own memorial there.

[04:40:00]

ROBERTSON: Yes, this is close to the beach that was known as Gold. You had Utah, Omaha, which was perhaps the most deadly. There were 2,000 troops, American troops killed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. 200 killed on Utah Beach.

Gold Beach is closest to this memorial, where there were about, I think, 28,000 British troops came ashore. And although they were able to make it inland by about six miles on that day, which was actually, you know, for troops coming ashore that day, that was sort of one of the deepest movements into, at that time, Nazi-held territory in France. There was obviously this huge sacrifice, and the need to commemorate it is what led to that monument being erected there.

FOSTER: OK. Nic Robertson, thank you.

Russia says some of its oil facilities have been struck by Ukrainian drones in the last few hours. They apparently caused fires at a large refinery in the Rostov region and an oil depot in the Belgorod region. Officials say both fires have been put out, and there were no casualties.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian lawmaker says U.S.-supplied weapons are making impact on strikes inside Russia. The U.S. and other Western allies have begun showing a willingness to let Ukraine use their weapons for strikes on Russian territory. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned there could be consequences. For more, let's head to Berlin and CNN's Fred Pleitgen.

What sort of consequences are we talking about?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's really interesting. He talked at length about these possible consequences yesterday at the St. -- or ahead of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum when he was talking to the editors of international media organizations. And there were several things that Vladimir Putin said, which were actually quite remarkable and possibly troubling to some Western nations.

On the one hand, he said that he did not rule out Russia using nuclear weapons if Russia's territorial integrity were under threat. So he still sort of said that that was something which obviously is not at hand, but certainly something that is not out of the question either.

But one of the things that really caught our eye, Max, was Vladimir Putin obviously ripping into Western nations for allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons against Russian territory, of course, only in the vicinity of the border.

And he accused Western nations of still managing these weapons, even though it's Ukrainians firing them. He said Western nations were managing them, which on the one hand, he said, could put Western nations in direct conflict with Russia. But he also said that it could spark Russia possibly to give similar weapons to the adversaries of Western nations that could then threaten Western nations or their assets.

And of course, he didn't exactly go into details about what that could mean. But of course, the U.S. for a while now has been worried, for instance, about Russia possibly giving weapons to Iran that could then threaten U.S. military installations and other assets in the Middle East.

Vladimir Putin then also speaking about the upcoming U.S. election, saying he doesn't believe that it would make a difference in U.S.- Russian relations. And he also once again spoke about the trials and the legal issues of President Trump or former President Trump, saying that they were politically motivated. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is apparent to the rest of the world that the prosecution of Trump, especially in court, on the allegations that happened due to events that happened years ago without direct proof, well, this is purely using the court system for political purposes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: Vladimir Putin's there speaking yesterday in St. Petersburg. And one other thing that he was also mentioned -- well, he was also asked about, Max, was the fate of our colleague Evan Gershkovich from the Wall Street Journal. He said that the U.S. is trying to secure Evan Gershkovich's release. But Vladimir Putin also saying that any negotiations about that should not happen in public and have to happen behind closed doors -- Max.

FOSTER: If we could just talk briefly about Normandy, we're going to see President Zelenskyy there, which really does bring a lot of the issues, you could argue, from World War II into the current time or certainly be referenced by a lot of people.

PLEITGEN: I think absolutely. I think you're absolutely right. And I think that's certainly something that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine is also going to be building on as well.

Where on the one hand, he is obviously going to say that Ukraine needs more weapons from the United States and allied nations. But he certainly is also going to look back at the history and see how allied nations came together to then try to defeat Nazi Germany, which, of course, was threatening peace in Europe.

And one of the things that the Ukrainians have been saying for a long time, Max, is they say, look, for the first time since World War II, essentially, peace in Europe is really at risk.

[04:45:00]

There is the possibility or there's the threat of a full on war in Europe, of all of this spilling over towards other European nations as well.

One of the things that we do hear time and again from the Ukrainians is they say Ukraine is now, and they believe that Russia could attack other nations in Europe as well because of some of the rhetoric that we've been hearing, for instance, from the Russian President Vladimir Putin. So that is certainly something that's going to be in the -- on the minds of a lot of the leaders that are going to be there in Normandy today.

But I think one of the things, of course, that we also have to point out, and that is also clear, is that, of course, back then among the allied nations was also the Soviet Union and successor state Russia, of course, not invited to take part in the ceremonies there. It's leader Vladimir Putin because of some of the things that are happening in Europe right now because of the invasion of Ukraine. And so, therefore, I think that a lot of that history is certainly going to be very present, of course, today.

And a lot of things that are happening are going to be seen in the historic context of the disaster that was brought upon Europe in World War II, with, of course, the entire continent back then being under threat, so many people being killed.

And, of course, if we look at what's going on in Ukraine right now, and I think Nic Robertson, who was on before, he obviously put this into context very well, the casualty figures on that D-Day invasion in general in World War II, of course, very much on the Soviet side. And you look at the casualty figures now in the Ukraine war that are already so high and really rising exponentially all the time, then certainly that is something where you can see that right now there is a full-on conventional war going on in the heart of Europe right now that does bring with it the threat of spilling over into other parts of Europe as well.

So I do think that right now, this anniversary taking place for the D- Day anniversary is definitely coming at a key time and certainly at a time where the peace that was brought upon Europe after World War II is very much at risk. And I think that's something that the leaders of Western Europe, of the United States, and the others who are there as well, are very much aware of. And I think they say they are very much fighting to preserve -- Max.

FOSTER: Fred, thank you.

Let's take you to France, where the hosts, President Macron and Mrs. Macron, have arrived at the British War Memorial, which is new. They're meeting the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and representatives of the War Memorial, which has been set up on the beach that didn't have a memorial, which is Gold.

So this is a moment for world leaders to meet, to put many of the thoughts that Fred was outlining into context. But really it's about looking back and just acknowledging the sacrifice of the veterans who managed to stay alive, all teenagers at the time, but also the thousands of graves you'll see there littering Normandy, representing the lives that were lost as people gave their lives for their nations and to protect Europe against Nazi Germany. Many of the losses, of course, were American who led the charge.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Just into CNN, Hamas says the latest proposal it received to end the fighting in Gaza is not the same plan laid out by U.S. President Joe Biden last week. Most notably, Hamas claims there's no guarantee of a permanent ceasefire, only a temporary one, and that it would allow Israeli troops to remain in Gaza. Israel has said President Biden only presented a partial outline of the ceasefire deal it's offering to Hamas. CNN hasn't seen the proposal allegedly shared with Hamas.

Now, on Friday, President Biden proposed a full and complete ceasefire and Israel's full withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages.

Now to the latest action on the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. and South Korea have launched a new round of joint military exercises. A U.S. B-1B bomber and South Korea's F-15K Eagles together drop munitions weighing hundreds of kilograms in a rare maneuver. This comes amid growing tension over the many trash balloons North Korea has sent across the border into the South. And now South Korean activists are deploying balloons carrying K-pop and K-dramas on memory sticks to their northern neighbors, along with U.S. dollars and anti- North Korean material as well. CNN's Mike Valerio covering this live from the Korean demilitarized zone. It really does feel as though things are escalating, or the tension at least.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Max, I would say the tensions are certainly heightening. So what we've been able to discern from people we've been talking to all day is that they are feeling this deep impression, this deep feeling of being so uncomfortable with this latest situation. That's the best translation from Korean to English.

And where we're standing right now, Max, this is two and a half miles, four kilometers away from the DMZ. It's not every day that you see North Korea on live TV, but as we push in, that is it. It is a stunning feeling to sit with as you look at this idyllic landscape.

So throughout the day, you know, as we've been mentioning, we've been talking to farmers and, you know, one in particular has told us, Max, he's 60 years old, been farming what we see in front of us for 36 years. If tensions do increase, there would be the potential in terms of how life would upend. Up to half of his farm would be essentially sealed off, prohibited access by the South Korean military because it is so close to the DMZ. They would keep him from accessing half of his rice field because he's so close, because the situation could be that dangerous.

But, you know, he interestingly told us that he does not support things like the video that we're going to show you. Balloons launched from South Korea, replete with K-dramas, K-pop albums on these little flash drives, 200,000 leaflets condemning the Kim Jong-un regime in North Korea.

You know, the farmer we were speaking with says he doesn't want anything like that to happen anymore. The video that we're showing was captured earlier this morning, just before sunrise. A group of fighters for a free North Korea sending these undeterred balloons, Max, by the trash balloons that have been sent from North to South.

Listen to what the founder of that group told us earlier before the balloon launch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARK SANG-HAK, LEADER, FIGHTERS FOR A FREE NORTH KOREA (through translator): South Korea is not an American colony or a wasteland of humanity like I learned in North Korea. North Koreans are filled with anger and hatred and only sing military songs. But South Korea is a gentle country, like you can see.

We send money, medicine, facts, truth and love, but to send filth and trash in return, that's an inhumane and barbaric act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So, Max, very quickly, in terms of what's in the balloons, this is just a sample. It's an English translation, "The Ugly Duckling Became a Swan," "The Republic of Korea." Books like these, showing images from here in South Korea. It's beautiful marina, skyscrapers.

This is what's in the balloons, just a small piece of what is inside these balloons to show people in the North what reality is like outside of their enclosure. People here, though, are as optimistic as they can, uncertain territory, hoping that their lives are not upended -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Mike Valerio, live at the Korean DMZ. Thank you.

World leaders marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day when Allied soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy to liberate France during World War II. We'll have more live pictures after the break.

[04:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: You're looking at Live Pictures out of France, events marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Tens of thousands of troops from the U.S., the U.K. and Canada and others stormed the beaches of Normandy, eventually liberated France from Hitler's Nazi occupation. This is the new memorial for the British fallen there on Gold Beach.

You have the band playing to King Charles and President Emmanuel Macron, who were there to meet veterans and to thank them for their service and to remember those who obviously didn't get home.

Prince William and the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the French Prime Minister will attend a ceremony commemorating Canada's role in the landings back in 1944 at a separate event.

So you'll see a series of these events before you see the heads of state reconvene to really emphasize the Allied effort at a time when there were so many concerns about a new war in Europe and global tensions and one veteran saying he couldn't believe world leaders were going to war again.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN "THIS MORNING" up next after a break.

[05:00:00]