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CNN International: Russian Navy Ships, Nuclear-Powered Sub Arrive in Cuba; G7 Set to Announce a $50 Billion Loan to Ukraine; European Union Hikes Tariffs on Electric Cars from China; Trump Eyes Possible Probation in Florida After Guilty Verdict; BTS' Jin Appears at Fan Event After Military Discharge. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 13, 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: The biggest show of force between Russia and Cuba in years, and it comes as tensions between the U.S. and Russia are already high over the war in Ukraine. More now from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A 21-gun salute hails the arrival of the Russian frigate Gorshkov in Havana Harbor, and an old Cold War alliance against America is rekindled. A group of Russian warships, including the Gorshkov and the nuclear-powered submarine the Kazan, have been deployed to Cuba.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: These are Russia's most modern naval weapons systems that they're deploying very close to the U.S. coast.

TODD (voice-over): A U.S. official tells CNN there are no nuclear weapons aboard, but Russia's military says the flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet is usually equipped with hypersonic Zircon missiles.

LEIGHTON: It's designed to fly at nine times the speed of sound. It has a range of 1,000 kilometers or 620 miles, and it can attack targets that are on shore. It can attack targets at sea. It can do major damage.

TODD (voice-over): On the way there, as they crossed the Atlantic, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, these vessels practiced using high-precision missiles on simulated targets, all covered by Russian media, an overall show of force from Vladimir Putin meant to send a message.

EVELYN FARKAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE MCCAIN INSTITUTE: Don't mess with me because I can do more. I have friends in your hemisphere. He's trying to obviously demonstrate that he has power to mess with the United States.

TODD (voice-over): The move comes soon after the U.S. allowed Ukraine to use advanced American missiles to strike on Russian soil if it's near the border. FARKAS: What's making Putin upset is that with this new permission to the Ukrainians, they can actually do some real damage. So he's mad.

TODD (voice-over) Putin's threat.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If the West supplies weapons to the war zone and calls for the use of these weapons against our territory, then why do we not have the right to do the same, to mirror these actions?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suddenly, the veil is torn from the Russian secrets.

TODD (voice-over): In 1962, Russia did just that, secretly building bases in Cuba and delivering nuclear-capable missiles, a high-stakes crisis that ended only after a tense American blockade of Russian ships on the high seas. The U.S. shadowing Russia's ships, downplaying the threat, but preparing for more Russian muscle flexing.

SABRINA SINGH, DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: It certainly wouldn't come as a surprise to us if we see more activity around the United States.

TODD (voice-over): One analyst warns about possible future tensions on America's doorstep.

FARKAS: If Vladimir Putin wins in Ukraine, he will be emboldened, and he will be in our hemisphere, and he will not just visit Cuba or other places where he has friendly governments. He will actually ask for a base there, and he will stay.

TODD: It's possible that Vladimir Putin may not even be finished with this particular mission. The analyst we spoke to said it's possible that these Russian warships will go from Cuba to Venezuela, another Russian ally causing headaches for the U.S. in the region.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, NATO defense ministers are gathering in Brussels for a two-day meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. This comes just after NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg announced the military bloc would take over the coordination of arms deliveries from the United States to Ukraine. He says he expects the defense ministers to approve that plan.

Stoltenberg also wrapped up a visit with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest. Mr. Orban is saying that his country would not block NATO decisions on giving support to Ukraine. In return, he says Stoltenberg promised that Hungary would not have to provide funding for assistance to Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukraine expected to get about $50 billion in a new loan from its G7 allies. Their leaders are meeting in Italy this morning, and the announcement could come within hours. Clare Sebastian joins me now with more.

Just explain where this money's coming from.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so this is something that has been in discussion for months, if not really almost all of this now, almost two-and-a-half-year-old war, is because as politicians have seen the level of funding needs of Ukraine go up, the level of fatigue among their politicians also go up. They've looked to these frozen Russian assets.

You'll remember that at the beginning of the war there was this major sanction, almost unprecedented, that came in where the West froze Russian central bank assets, some $300 billion of them, that are sitting mostly in Europe, a little bit in the United States.

So the question arose what to do with them. Can you take them and essentially send them to Ukraine? That turned out to be a red line. There's issues around custody of sovereign money that was seen, certainly by Belgium, where the bulk of these assets in Europe are located, to be crossing a Rubicon that would have implications for international law and all of that.

So the thinking now is that they're going to use the proceeds on these assets, they're generating interest, essentially, to secure a loan for Ukraine. This is sort of financial engineering that's been happening.

The U.S., according to a French source, would provide the bulk of that loan. Some of it would also come from Europe, and the idea is to get it to Ukraine as quickly as possible by the end, according to this French source, of 2024, in theory.

[04:35:05]

So it now seems to be moving pretty quickly towards a resolution of $50 billion, a pretty game-changing amount of money. But overall, of course, the bill for reconstruction has been estimated at almost half a trillion. So this just shows, I think, just how much and just how fast this money is needed.

FOSTER: Just to clarify, this isn't taking Russian assets out of accounts and handing it over to Ukraine?

SEBASTIAN: No, this is a loan that will be backed by the interest on those assets. So that is the sort of workaround that they found to avoid --

FOSTER: So Ukraine would have to repay it at some point?

SEBASTIAN: Well, I think that is semantic. You'll remember that a bit of the U.S. aid was also packaged as a loan, but it's unlikely given that, of course, if and when this war ends, Russia would be on the hook for reparations. So I think that's the sort of long-term thinking there.

FOSTER: But G7 this year, it's interesting, isn't it? Because Ukraine -- obviously, the Middle East is going to come into the debate, but in terms of decisions, it's going to be about Ukraine and Russia.

But you have got these leaders, key leaders, U.K., France, U.S., making big decisions when they're also in the middle of an election and might not be there to see them through. So how much of this is going to happen?

SEBASTIAN: Yes, I mean, I think you do get a sense that the rhetoric, certainly from the Western side, has really been stepping up. This is, of course, Biden coming back to Europe just three days after we last saw him here with those major sort of pledges of support for Ukraine that we saw at the D-Day celebrations. There is a sense, I think, that they're trying to future-proof Ukraine aid, certainly if we see a change of the guard in the U.S., we see with the sanctions that have come in with this loan backed by Russian assets, and the discussions around a long-term pledge by NATO that could be rubber-stamped at that meeting in July. So I think that will be part of the backdrop here.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you so much.

The European Union has imposed provisional new tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China. Just after an investigation found that Chinese state subsidies for EV makers keep their prices unnaturally low and hurt European carmakers. The EU tariff spike drew a sharp rebuke from China, which sees Europe as a vital and growing market for its auto industry.

Let's bring in CNN's Beijing bureau chief, Steven Jiang.

We saw a similar thing with the U.S., didn't we? So these are, you know, it's basically a lot of the West is no longer going to be the market it was for China.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: That's right. But Max, the difference is when President Biden announced the U.S. tariffs of 100 percent on Chinese EVs, you realize the Chinese EVs have almost no presence in the U.S. market, but they have a 20 percent market share in the EU. That's why this decision by Brussels may actually have some real impact.

Now, the European economies and many of the country's auto industry is actually a lot more entwined with the Chinese EV sector compared to their U.S. counterparts. Germany, for example, their auto suppliers, their carmakers have a huge presence here, not only just selling cars and parts, but also making EVs here cheaply and efficiently before selling them back to their home markets. So that's why people think there are a lot more real concerns and fears from Europe about potential Chinese retaliations.

Of course, that's something they have been promising for weeks and months and reiterated again after the EU decision was made yesterday.

Now, we have heard German Chancellor Schultz and the likes of Volkswagen already coming out publicly to oppose these new tariffs. That obviously plays well into the Chinese playbook of divide and conquer in dealing with the EU. But the bigger question here is whether or not these tariffs would even be effective. The biggest Chinese EV maker, BYD, for example, facing a new tariff, potentially 17 percent. But a lot of experts say it has to be something around 50 percent to actually affect BYD's ability to maintain a comfortable profit margin in the EU.

So that's why now allies are on Beijing to see what they would do after months of threats. They may want to, they may have to do something if this decision becomes final, but they may want to exercise some restraints given how complex and nuanced the picture is in the EU -- Max.

FOSTER: In terms of, you know, the clarity about these subsidies being paid to Chinese companies, I mean, just clarify that because it is seen as very unfair, the support that Chinese companies are given when you look at it from a U.S.-European perspective. But then, you know, Western car makers also receive some support, don't they?

JIANG: Yes, well, the Chinese government, of course, never acknowledged that. They say that everything they do is in compliance with trade regulations and their own laws. And they'd, of course, insist these new decisions by the EU and U.S. are not based on facts.

And if anything, they are calling them protectionist moves and not only hurting American, European consumers and industries, but also making a mockery of the West's pledge to transform their economy in a more green way.

[04:40:03]

So that is the line they're going to insist on. And that's why they have been saying the same thing. And again, vowing for all, taking all necessary measures to protect their industries and interests -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Steven Jiang in Beijing, thank you.

Still to come, after more than a year away from fans, Jin of K-pop's BTS marks the end of his military service by giving out, well, 1,000 hugs, let's be precise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Former U.S. President and now convicted felon, Donald Trump, will be sentenced four weeks from today, but if he ends up getting probation, he lives in one of the easiest states to serve it, as CNN's Tom Foreman explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump was convicted in New York, but he lives in Florida, so if he is sentenced to probation, as some legal analysts expect, he would likely serve it in the Sunshine State. And there, officials from the two Republican Senators on down have called his conviction a mockery, a sham, outrageous, a disgrace. DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What

the hell happened to him, by the way? Man, did he go down. Ron DeSanctimonious.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Trump and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis mocked each other while vying for the GOP nomination, but since dropping out, DeSantis has endorsed Trump, trials and all.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear.

MARK O'MARA, FLORIDA ATTORNEY: They're going to go hands off on him. There's no question about it.

FOREMAN (voice-over): For noted Florida attorney Mark O'Mara, it all adds up to a clear conclusion.

O'MARA: I think Florida is the friendliest state for Donald Trump to serve a period of probation in, without question.

[04:45:00]

FOREMAN (voice-over): O'Mara predicts Trump, the felon on probation, could be very much like Trump, the free man in Florida, traveling when and where he wants, not subject to surprise visits from his case officer and meeting with anyone he pleases, including others who have broken the law, because it would be up to state officials to decide how closely Trump is monitored.

O'MARA: Even drug tests are at the discretion. Most of it is at the discretion.

STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP ADVISOR: There's not a prison built or jail built that will ever shut me up.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Of course, like several of his former advisors, Donald Trump could be sentenced to time behind bars, maybe years. But this was Trump's first felony conviction, and it was for a nonviolent offense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, there's a system in place that that where you rely on precedent and somebody like President Trump should never, never face a jail sentence based on this conduct.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Trump could get house arrest or some other sentence altogether. But with probation, there is one big caveat. If Judge Juan Merchan in New York thinks Florida is going too easy.

O'MARA: It's his sentence. And if he actually caught wind that it is not being imposed, he can stick his nose in it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Tom Foreman reporting.

K-pop superstar Jin of BTS is celebrating the end of his military service by hugging a thousand fans. The oldest member of BTS was discharged on Wednesday, an event to mark the 11th anniversary of the group's debut is being held today.

Lucky fans who go by the name ARMY have the opportunity to meet Jin and even see him perform as well. Seeing as Mike Valerio joins us from Seoul, it's been a long time coming for them.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Max. And I would say that there is Jin jubilation, Jin elation that has spread through Seoul far and wide.

So we're in the heart of FESTA 2024. This is an event, Max, that happens every single year to mark the christening of BTS, the founding of it. So it's 11 years old today. And to sort of take you into our field of view, Max, there have been people who have been here for nearly 15 hours since 3 a.m. our time. So we have the iconic Seoul Olympic rings, the Olympic stadium just over my left hand shoulder. To the right, though, let's look at all these people who are still waiting to get in. Now, these are not the thousand fans who have won the golden ticket to be hugged by Jin for about two to three seconds.

These fans are still waiting to get in for a chance to get exclusive merch, for lack of a better way of putting it, and to meet all of their friends, some of whom they've never met in person, to see them all congregate here for the first time.

And in that vein, Max, you know, when you do come into contact with people who are fellow BTS ARMY members, you know, like this fan from super fan from India gave me this creation that she made her favorite headshots of Jin, as one does, as one makes. And a Thai super fan took it upon herself to bake these cute cookies in the shape of a cartoon character that Jin made a little while back to help promote his music.

So only a thousand fans having that golden Willy Wonka-esque ticket to have a few seconds with Jin. You know, we heard from Jin yesterday, Max, before this huge event. And we also had the chance to interview a super fan from Thailand and her boyfriend who are going into that event.

The super fan, the 21-year-old girl is actually going to have the chance to hug Jin. So let's listen to what both Jin and the super fan had to say earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIN, BTS (through translator): It was so fun for the last year and six months. It's such a relief. I met so many good people.

ONG TOULCHIT, BTS FANS FROM BANGKOK: If you wish to go tell Jin -- If you come to Thailand, can you hold a concert for seven days?

MIM CHEENCHANGA, BTS FANS FROM BANGKOK: 74, how many times. How many times we came.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VALERIO: So, Max, from a global cultural point of view, why this matters factor is because Jin has been out of the cultural, you know, musical equation for 18 months. The rest of the six members of BTS are still in compulsory military service. So fans here are telling us that Jin's return is going to mark a new chapter for K-pop and for BTS.

It is such an important part of cultural soft power that emanates from here in Korea. So fans eagerly awaiting this concert tonight and a new chapter for K-pop ahead -- Max.

FOSTER: Get ready. Mike Valerio in Seoul. Thank you so much.

Now, the legendary basketball player nicknamed the logo has died. Remembering Jerry West after the break.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Players and fans are mourning basketball legend Jerry West. He was honored before Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please join us in observing a moment of silence in honor of a true legend, Jerry West.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: West died on Wednesday, with his wife Karen by his side. NBA Commissioner Adam Silva says West was a basketball genius. West was drafted by the Lakers in 1960, shortly before the team relocated from Minneapolis to Los Angeles.

He became a 14-time NBA All-Star and helped lead his team to the finals nine times. A silhouette of West during a Lakers game was the inspiration for the NBA current logo. Jerry West was 86.

The Boston Celtics are just one win away from a record 18th NBA Championship. They won Game 3 against the Dallas Mavericks, 106 to 99. Jaylen Brown had this monster dunk on his way to a 30-point performance.

Dallas star Luka Doncic fouled out with four minutes left in the game, and that pretty much ended the Mavericks' comeback attempt. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in scoring with 31 points. Game 4 is set for Friday night in Dallas.

Now another honor for legendary quarterback Tom Brady. He's now an official member of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame.

[04:55:00]

Team owner Robert Kraft says Brady's number 12 jersey will also be retired, and a large statue of Brady will be unveiled during the upcoming NFL season. Brady won six Super Bowls over his 20 seasons with the Patriots.

Stories in the spotlight. Eight people are facing federal charges in Washington for trying to stage a climate protest on the field of the Congressional Charity Baseball Game.

The protesters were quickly arrested on Wednesday night as House and Senate lawmakers were taking the field for the annual event. Police say all eight are charged with interfering with law enforcement. The group Climate Defiance, which has disrupted other political events in protest of fossil fuels, claims responsibility.

And one of South Korea's biggest celebrities has made her first public appearance in China. Visitors were able to witness Fu Bao, the panda, munching on bamboo at a giant panda reserve on Wednesday. She's the first giant panda born in South Korea, and massive crowds turned out to bid a final farewell back in April when Fu Bao was moved to her new home in China's Sichuan province. The panda reserve is offering limited five-minute visits each day to see her.

And if you're looking for a bowl of spicy instant ramen in Denmark, you might have to try somewhere else, because Danish regulators recalled three different varieties of a Buldak instant ramen, specifically the three times spicy, two times spicy, and hot chicken stew packets. The level of spice found in the noodles was so high, it can poison customers, according to officials. They're urging customers to throw the noodles away or return them. Buldak says this is the first time in its product, in history, really, of its products being recalled for being too spicy.

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

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