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CNN International: Russian Defense Ministry Says Ukraine Fires U.S.-made Longer-range Weapons Into Russia, Days After U.S. Approval; Zelenskyy Marks 1,000 Days of War, Addresses European Parliament; Trump to Attend SpaceX Launch With Musk Today; Trump Lobbying Senate Republicans Over Gaetz Nomination; U.S. Envoy Says Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Within Our Grasp; Biden Wraps Up Final International Summit of His Presidency; Trump Attends UFC Fight at NYC's Madison Square Garden; Hong Kong Sentences 45 Democracy Leaders to Prison; Rafael Nadal Prepares for Final Tournament of His Career. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired November 19, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:10]

AMARA WALKER, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM: Hi, everyone. Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom'. Just ahead, reports that Ukraine has fired long-range U.S. missiles into Russian territory. This after the U.S. announced it would allow Ukraine to do so as the war reaches 1,000 days. U.S. President Joe Biden will soon speak in Brazil as he meets with G20 leaders for the last time, preparing them for a Trump presidency. And best friends forever, it seems Donald Trump and Elon Musk can't be separated. Today, the pair heads to Texas for a SpaceX launch.

And we begin with what could be a very significant development and perhaps a major escalation in Russia's war on Ukraine. We are just hearing that Kyiv has fired U.S.-made longer-range missiles into Russia for the first time. The weapons similar to the ones that you are seeing here were fired into Russia's Bryansk region, and that is according to the country's defense ministry.

Now, only days ago, the Biden Administration gave Kyiv the green light to use the longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia. Also, today marks 1,000 days since Russia's full-scale invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been marking the grim milestone by addressing a special session of European Parliament from Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Thank you for ensuring that not a single one of the 1,000 days of this terrible war became a day of betrayal of our sheer European values. We've proven that these values are not just words, not something abstract. European values and the European way of life when transported into action, protect the lives of real people. Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Let's bring in CNN's Nick Paton Walsh. Tell us more about what we know regarding Ukraine using the U.S.-made ATACMS missiles and what the potential targets were.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we know only what the Russian Ministry of Defense is telling us, which is about 3:30 -- 3:25 a.m. local time, six missiles they say were fired at a military facility in Bryansk. That's another region on the border area, not far away from Kursk, which currently has a significant Ukrainian military presence inside of it. Now, the Russians claim that they took out five of those six.

We've heard that in the past that they have claims to significantly prevented Ukrainian air assaults. But the significance here, of course, is that nobody appears to be wasting any time in getting this permission from the Biden Administration into the battlefield, possibly because it is possible that when President Donald Trump takes office in January the 20th, he may reverse the, frankly, unexpected but long, in the mind of Ukraine, overdue decision by President Joe Biden at the weekend.

It is extraordinary because the pace here, not sure it's necessarily unexpected to some degree because we have known that Ukraine have been in possession of ATACMS missiles like this to hit targets inside of occupied areas of Ukraine. And so in theory, I suppose the target list would've already been in their possession and this simply being a matter of Kyiv deciding that they wanted to use this new U.S. permission.

But it comes on the thousandth day of a war so full of unexpected moments here. And I think we are now going to have to see whether Ukraine steps forward and officially acknowledges that this indeed was an ATACMS missile launched in this particular strike. Just in the last 48 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sort of hedged that generally saying, look, we're not going to necessarily announce this. Missiles will speak for themselves. Well, certainly that news has indeed emerged.

What could Russia's response be? They have been unclear at this particular point. Previously warning, that if these missiles were fired by Ukraine supplied as they are by the United States, that that would essentially be NATO, the U.S. and Europe joining the war, becoming a party to the conflict. Putin has not reiterated that himself since this, but indeed its foreign ministry made similar noises. So it's a key moment here, certainly, and it's one important (inaudible) here, Amara.

We are seeing the Trump presidency loom, the likelihood of negotiations there. European allies maneuvering, showing the fact they're not on the same page, frankly, as Olaf Scholz, the lame duck chancellor of Germany made a call to the Kremlin head on Friday. That notion of diplomacy is clear and coming down the track. And so, I think we're seeing the Biden Administration giving this permission to use the ATACMS to potentially complicate the war that President Trump -- president-elect Trump inherits, and I think also gives Ukraine a chance on the battlefield to get the upper hand.

[08:05:00] Remember, they're very worried, the Americans about North Korean troops and a Russian offensive into that Kursk area where Ukrainian troops are currently occupying part of it. Amara?

WALKER: Yeah. It's been, Nick, a remarkable series of events starting with President Biden, with this major change in policy, allowing Ukraine to use these longer-range missiles inside Russia. And then what we saw was Putin signing this declaration, revising the nuclear doctrine that you mentioned, that would basically declare that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation supported by a nuclear power would be considered a joint attack. And then we see Ukraine using these long-range missiles. It's yet to be seen what Russia's response will be, but this would obviously be seen as quite an escalation by Moscow.

PATON WALSH: Yeah, look, I mean, they saw the American decision as an escalation. The Americans saw the decision by Russia to station North Korean troops on the frontlines as an escalation by Russia. And so, we have that ladder people continually climbing. I'm not sure really what Vladimir Putin's statement today in his amendment of the nuclear doctrine outside of the scariness of the words "Amendment of the Nuclear Doctrine" actually necessarily does.

It essentially says, that conventional attacks by multiple parties against Russia could potentially lead to responses by Russia towards those parties. It's nuanced, highly nuanced, but it's part of a pattern we've seen where Moscow feels potentially under threat or, look, feels it has to make a sort of bombastic statement that it reaches for the phrase to remind people that it is indeed a nuclear power.

Do I necessarily think this means that Vladimir Putin is getting ready to launch nuclear weapons? No, certainly not. He appears to have shied away from that significantly over a thousand days of war where Russia has experienced multiple conventional military defeats. Indeed, it's been invaded by a much smaller army, Ukraine, in just the last four months. But I do think it's a bid by them to try and please a domestic audience who might be wondering exactly what juice Russia has left at this particular moment. And I think it is his way of suggesting that this is perhaps Moscow's response.

Do they necessarily have the military might to take on NATO in full? Well, almost certainly not. They're struggling to defeat Ukraine. Do they necessarily have the desire geopolitically to inflame this conflict? Remember, China is a key ally in here and probably doesn't want to see that happen ahead of a Trump presidency. So, I think if we do see outside of this statement by the Kremlin head, Vladimir Putin, any further responses from Russia, we might end up looking at sabotage. There'd been many accusations that Russia has been behind exploding packages and courier depots.

Indeed, we have reports from Lithuania and Germany their undersea internet cables towards Scandinavia have been damaged in the last 48 to 72 hours. That's I think where we'll potentially see this exacerbate. But be in no doubt here at all, we're into a very different part of the war here. American-made and supplied weapons are being fired into Russian territory. That's a place that we frankly never imagined we'd get to a thousand days ago. Amara?

WALKER: And you were mentioning, it's a thousand days now into this war. We just heard from President Zelenskyy speaking to EU leaders. Tell us more about his message.

PATON WALSH: Look, it's a message essentially saying, without your support, we wouldn't be here. None of this is being wasted. Obviously remember too, it's Ukraine that have made the sacrifice here. They've lost tens of thousands of what they call their best people on the frontlines here. So he's, I think, trying to say, look, this Talismanic moment of a thousand days of war, I think nobody imagined the war would go on that long when it necessarily began, but he's speaking to a fractured audience. This is not -- the unity which this -- the West began the war with was entirely unexpected in itself, frankly.

I think Putin had counted on a fractured European alliance that would support Ukraine. Instead, they've been very cohesive, but we've seen since Friday, with Olaf Scholz reaching out to Vladimir Putin, ending nearly two years in which Putin hadn't spoken directly to major Western leaders. We saw the German chancellor there trying to curry favor, many analysts say, with a sort of pro-Russian part of his East German electorate. He's got elections coming down the line, but it altered the diplomatic landscape because, essentially, he justified that call by saying, look, if Trump's going to be speaking to the Kremlin regularly, the Europeans need to be talking to them as well.

There was certain consternation; I think it's fair to say, amongst the French, the Polish, the British, that this unilateral move had been made for German domestic political reasons. But it has happened, and I think it's a reflection now that while peace talks was something that the West tried to suggest, Ukraine didn't want, that Russia shouldn't be allowed to get into, that weren't useful, and Putin should simply stop the war. There now a real possibility, it's something Trump, I think wants given by the few public statements he's made about this war.

[08:10:00]

And look, if you look at the frontline too, where Ukraine is losing daily, slowly but daily. A freeze in the conflict might also potentially be in their interest militarily at this moment. But, we've had an extraordinary four days in this conflict, developing at a rapid pace, Amara.

WALKER: It sure has been developing rapidly, a significant moment indeed. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much. Live force there with the latest from London.

Turning now to U.S. politics, and Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been virtually inseparable since the presidential election. And now, there are reports that Trump will join Musk today for the latest test launch of the SpaceX Starship, the largest rocket ever built. Musk has reportedly been intimately involved in Trump's decision making on his cabinet picks. Trump's latest selection is former Congressman Sean Duffy to head the Department of Transportation. Now, Trump has yet to name his choice for key economic spots like treasury, labor, and commerce secretaries.

Let's go now to CNN's Alayna Treene with a closer look. And Alayna, back to this, what's been made a lot about this bromance between Musk and Trump. It wasn't the two names on the Republican ticket, but it seems they can't be separated at the moment.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: That's right. I think, Musk's influence right now with Donald Trump is pretty unmatched. He has spent so much time at Mar-a-Lago. He has been talking to Donald Trump daily about these different transition appointments, and they've been going to a lot of events together, and that continues today when -- and we have this according to sources familiar with the plans, that Donald Trump and Elon Musk together are going to be attending that SpaceX launch this evening in Texas.

Now, one thing I also think that is notable again, is how Musk is not only making it clear to Donald Trump and his allies and those on the transition team, who he thinks would be right for some of these roles. He's also making it known publicly and also trying to publicly put pressure on Republicans in Congress to help them with Donald Trump's pick. I want to read for you what he posted really early this morning about Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump's pick for Attorney General.

He had said that Gaetz has three critical assets that are needed for the attorney general role. He said, a big brain, a spine of steel, and an axe to grind. The post went on to say that as for the accusations against Matt Gaetz, "I consider them worth less than nothing under our laws. A man is considered innocent until proven guilty." Clearly, he is discussing the House Ethics Report which there is a lot of talk right now in Congress over whether or not to release that, including some allegations from a series of women who said that they were paid to have sex with him.

Now, look, that comes, this post, as Donald Trump we know has been calling up Republican Senators and privately pressuring them to move forward with his pick in Gaetz. That really -- they -- he wants them to move forward, even though there is this widespread uneasiness on Capitol Hill and among Republicans in the Senate, who will be the ones who need to confirm him eventually, once that nominating process begins. Trump is making very clear that he is standing by him.

And clearly, I think where you're seeing Musk weigh in here, just knowing how close they are and how much time they're spending together, how much they're talking about these opinions, it's very clear where Donald Trump stands when you see Musk post something like that.

WALKER: And talk us through the cabinet appointments that we are still waiting for from Trump, and how much weight Elon Musk is having on these picks.

TREENE: There's still a number to go. I mean, it's actually been pretty remarkable, though, I will say. I mean, the pace at which Donald Trump has been announcing these top cabinet officials is very fast, particularly when you compare it to Joe Biden and Barack Obama when they were first elected. Now, we did actually learn just late last night, Donald Trump announced his new pick for the Secretary of Transportation. He selected Sean Duffy, a former Republican Congressman from Wisconsin, but even more notably, someone who had appeared repeatedly on Fox News in recent years, as well as, was the host of a Fox Business show.

And the reason I say that is so notable is because we know that this is something that Donald Trump very much values. We saw another one of his picks for a cabinet position, Pete Hegseth. He is nominated for -- or excuse me, appointed to become the Secretary of Defense. He was a former Fox News host. But really when I talk to Donald Trump's team, they say that Trump has been watching clips behind the scenes of these different people on television. And he really wants people in these top roles to be able to go on television, to defend them -- to defend him, and talk about what they are doing. It kind of reminds me of actually what he did during the selection for his vice presidential pick. He was watching all of those different picks on television, and in the end did select J.D. Vance because in part, he defended him so much on TV.

[08:15:00]

Now, there's still a couple of other top roles that we are looking for in Donald Trump's cabinet that he is yet to decide on. I think one of the most interesting that we're watching is who he will appoint to lead the Treasury Department. One, because the Treasury Secretary during Donald Trump's first administration, Steve Mnuchin, he was one of the most stable picks that Donald Trump had. He was one of few people who actually stayed throughout his entire four years. But also, we know and we're learning behind the scenes that this has really become a very contentious fight.

Donald Trump had thought that he had two front runners in Howard Lutnick, who was leading his transition process, but also Steve Bessent, someone who is a big name in the business world. Really what we're learning with when it comes to this treasury pick is that Donald Trump wants someone who is compatible with him, who he finds will be loyal to him, but also has a big enough name and the credentials to kind of represent him and such a big role at the Treasury Department. So we know that he has more interviews lined up this week with other different candidates, but this has really become one of the most contentious fights behind the scenes as it relates to some of Donald Trump's top-10 transition picks. Amara?

WALKER: All right, Alayna Treene, great to have you. Thanks as always.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein says a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah and Lebanon is "within our grasp." Hochstein arrived in Beirut today for talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMOS HOCHSTEIN, U.S. ENVOY: We've had very good discussions to narrow the gaps over the last several days and weeks, and that trend continued today in the meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WALKER: This as Israel pounds targets in Lebanon. At least five people were killed by an Israeli strike in the heart of Beirut Monday, a densely populated neighborhood was hit just hundreds of meters from the Prime Minister's office in Parliament. Meanwhile, in Gaza, officials say at least 50 people have been killed in the latest airstrikes. That includes 17 members of the same family in Northern Gaza.

CNN's Nic Robertson joining us now from Jerusalem. Nic, what are the actual chances of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, they seem to be better than they were a couple of weeks ago, at least there seems to be some momentum. The fact that Amos Hochstein is back in Beirut, as he said, the discussions there have been constructed. They're narrowing the gaps. He did say, of course, that it's up to the parties to make this work. It's up to them to come to the decisions, but he is certainly creating an atmosphere in how he is talking about how the discussions are going, as a positive atmosphere.

He's met with the Prime Minister in Lebanon today, Najib Mikati. He is meeting later with the Parliamentary Speaker, Nabih Berri, from the Amal Party. He is -- Nabih Berri is the main interlocutor with Hezbollah. His party is affiliated with Hezbollah. They certainly have a lot of this -- a lot of similar views. So, there's a sense that the gaps are narrowing. But we don't know the detail on what those gaps are.

We know the broad terms that it would go back to the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006, and Hezbollah would pull back about 30 miles from the border. And the Lebanese army would have a responsibility for being the military force, the only military force other than the -- other than the U.N. UNIFIL Force there along the border, monitoring the situation.

However, what we understand from Israeli officials yesterday that they want to have in any ceasefire deal, this sort of right to reply if the ceasefire is broken in any way, full operational freedom is how they describe it, direct action. And this is very important to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet at the moment. And it's not clear precisely what the language is.

It's not clear if the language around that is written down or this is going to be an understanding. Because from the Lebanese side, over the weekend, we understood that they hadn't seen neither the Prime Minister nor Nabih Berri, the Parliamentary Speaker, had seen written language about this right of response. But that's where we seem to be, the gap is narrowing. That seems to be positive. But I have to say, we've sort of been here before.

WALKER: And judging from what's happening on the ground, Israel strikes into Lebanon. I guess the people there wouldn't really see the evidence that the gaps are narrowing.

ROBERTSON: I think what they would see is that there's a mounting pressure. The fact that since 2006, going back all those years, almost 20 years, there have only been six strikes in Central Beirut since 2006. Three of those came at the weekend. One of those strikes killing a very senior Hezbollah figure, political figure, not a military figure. They would see the pressure mounting as the talks perhaps get closer.

[08:20:00]

And the IDF also claiming that yesterday, they killed a Hezbollah commander of medium-range rockets. And they say since September, he is been in charge of a unit firing rockets into Israel, 300 rockets. In fact, they say that they successfully targeted and killed him. Of course, Hezbollah has likely a lot more commanders like him to fill his shoes.

But for the Lebanese, it will feel that the pressure is being ramped up because of the strikes in the Central Beirut.

WALKER: Nic Robertson, appreciate your reporting from Jerusalem. Thanks so much, Nic.

And still to come this hour, Joe Biden said to address foreign leaders at his final G20 Summit. We're going to bring that to you live when it gets underway. Also, CNN takes you to an UFC fight in New York for a look at how Donald Trump won over the young male vote.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: This hour, U.S. President Joe Biden is set to make a key speech in Rio de Janeiro. The president has spent his final G20 Summit urging fellow members to continue making progress on a range of issues, that including the wars in Ukraine and of course Gaza, even after he exits the world's stage in January. After the speech, he will meet with Brazil President Lula da Silva before heading back to Washington, D.C.

CNN's Kayla Tausche is traveling with the president. Joining me now live from Rio. Kayla, what are we expecting to hear from the president this hour?

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the theme this morning of today's G20 events programming is climate. Yesterday was hunger and poverty. Today, leaders are going to be talking about what they are doing to meet their climate goals. President Biden specifically is going to be unveiling a $325 million investment to the World Bank's Clean Technology Fund, essentially capital that has already been delivered to the World Bank to help developing nations fund their own clean energy transition, much like the United States did with President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.

He's going to be talking about that law, as well as other accomplishments from his time in office. But of course, the harsh reality for many of the leaders here is that they're worried that much of that legacy for President Biden is liable to be reversed or forgotten after four years of negotiating on some of these many points. Certainly, leaders are -- appear united in their desire to keep many of these conflicts that you just mentioned, the war in Ukraine, as well as the simmering tensions in the Middle East, from continuing to worsen and spill over.

But they disagree on exactly how to move forward there. This is -- we're learning that Ukraine for the first time has fired those ATACMS, those long-range missiles that President Biden is now allowing them to fire deeper into Russian territory. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is here in Rio at the G20 Summit.

[08:25:00]

President Vladimir Putin did not attend, but U.S. officials have said that there has been no engagement with him throughout the course of this Summit, and there is not expected to be before the end of it. This is -- it's been a relatively quiet event for President Biden as he prepares to rotate out of office in just about two month's time. He's not delivering a press conference for the first time at one of these major summits, and he had just two brief pull-aside meetings with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, of course, the United States' two neighbors yesterday.

And while White House officials say that there could be more opportunities today to hear from the president, it's unclear exactly when those would be. President Biden said to take off in just a few hours to head back to Washington, D.C. for the remainder of his term.

WALKER: And Kayla, just curious, what the mood has been like, when it comes to Biden and his aides during this Summit, given that it is his last summit. And what closing message are they looking to leave allies with as Trump is now going to take office?

TAUSCHE: Well, the mood's been described as diplomatic and as cordial, but I think it's safe to say that just based on the reception of President Biden and the U.S. delegation, it has hardly been the valedictory mic drop that perhaps President Biden would've expected just a few weeks ago if Democrats had won the election and there was essentially continuity that they could applaud here in Rio and previously in Lima at the APEC Summit.

Certainly, there is now a scramble among other world leaders to figure out exactly what this means for the world order come January, and to figure out what it means for their own countries dealing once again with the second Trump Administration that has shown a willingness to be transactional and also vengeful depending on who they're dealing with.

WALKER: All right. Kayla Tausche in Rio de Janeiro. Thank you, Kayla. And we mentioned earlier that Trump is expected to join Elon Musk at a Space X rocket launch today. The two men have been hanging out together quite a bit lately. They attended a UFC fight in New York over the weekend, an event that is popular with Trump's young male supporters. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan was there.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you guys excited for tonight?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bro, Chandler knocking out Oliveira in the second round. Brock Bowers (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pow, pow, pow, pow pow.

O'SULLIVAN: Pow, pow. We are here at Madison Square Garden for the UFC with special guest President-elect Donald J. Trump. And we are speaking to some of the young men who helped get Trump elected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saving our country. I don't got no taxes on my tips now, so thank you, Donald Trump. Love you, Pookie.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You guys both vote for trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been working at the same restaurant for four years. I've been a waiter. I've been a busser. I've been a barback. You know, I just don't -- all the taxes that can occur (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, curse

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).

O'SULLIVAN: Well, I mean, where'd you get most of your news and information?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of it through --

O'SULLIVAN: I know it's not CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

O'SULLIVAN: That's why I'm here. I want (ph) to hear like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, most of the information I got was from Joe Rogan.

O'SULLIVAN: Joe Rogan?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Rogan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The legend man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But mostly like social media, if you want me filling (ph) out, it's social media.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, that's --

O'SULLIVAN: TikTok?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, usually that's what everything spreads around, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: TikTok is everywhere, bro.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't watch a lot of mainstream stuff.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah. Where'd you get your news?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like Reddit.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of podcasting.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah. Like who?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Rogan.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Joe Rogan experience.

O'SULLIVAN: Do you think it was a mistake for Harris not to go on Joe Rogan? Or do you think it --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably. Honestly, I think, like a long -- a long conversational talk is better than a debate.

O'SULLIVAN: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Honestly, you can see how a person actually interacts.

O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Trump's good at interacting on -- he doesn't need a script.

O'SULLIVAN: You're a New Yorker?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Born and raised.

O'SULLIVAN: Nice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brooklyn, New York.

O'SULLIVAN: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the hood.

O'SULLIVAN: Did you ever consider voting for Harris?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually voted for Obama.

O'SULLIVAN: You did?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. That was the last time I ever voted for somebody that's not Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

O'SULLIVAN: So, so what changed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My level of thinking. Me not thinking that the police are above me and white men are above me. And I'm all good about like, yo, we can learn about history and all that stuff, but don't tell me, or don't -- don't try to put it in a way that it's like our country is racist.

Our kids are important guys, and if we're not teaching them well, if we're not teaching them about credit, if we're not teaching them about how to get a home eventually, and we're -- all we're talking about is racism and trans and gays, which like I said, I'm all good. Like you do what you do. Just don't force it on people. And that's where we're about like, as long as you're not forcing it, we're good.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): The power of the alliance between Trump and the UFC was on full display here in Madison Square Garden.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sound in this room is so loud to hear. It's so loud.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Trump was flanked by Elon Musk, Kid Rock, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and some of his new cabinet picks, including RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard. As he made his way into the arena, Trump embraced UFC commentator and the world's most famous podcaster, Joe Rogan, who endorsed him after Trump appeared on his podcast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:30:00]

WALKER: That was CNN's Donie O'Sullivan reporting, yet again, another eye-opening report. Thank you, Donie.

Still to come, Russian reports say Ukraine is now attacking with American-made long-range missiles. How Moscow is responding? Plus, countries around the world are condemning the sentence handed down to dozens of pro-democracy leaders, their stories are after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: More now on our top story. Ukraine has fired U.S.-made long- range missiles into Russia. That is according to the Russian Defense Ministry. It is the first time Kyiv has used those weapons since President Biden gave the green light just two days ago. This says, Russian President Vladimir Putin has updated his country's Nuclear Doctrine. The new policy would lower the bar for Russia to first use nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, one thousand days since the start of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Putin is focused on winning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: Now, Putin has brought 11,000 North Korean troops to Ukraine's borders. This contingent may grow to 100,000. While some European leaders think about some elections or something like this at Ukraine's expense, Putin is focused on winning this war. He will not stop on his own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Alina Frolova is the Deputy Chair at the Centre for Defence Strategies and is also Ukraine's former Deputy Minister of Defence. She's joining me now from Kyiv.

Alina, thank you so much for your time. First off, I just want to get your reaction to this, this rapid developments that we've been seeing. First, starting with President Biden giving the green light for Ukraine to use the attack on ballistic missiles deep inside Russia. Then you had Putin who updated his Nuclear Doctrine to lower the threshold for a nuclear attack.

And of course, just moments ago, we are reporting that Ukraine has used these long-range -- U.S.-made long-range missiles in Bryansk, how much -- what are you concerned about? Are you concerned about an escalation here?

ALINA FROLOVA, DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON CENTRE FOR DEFENCE STRATEGIES: Good afternoon. No, we are not concerned about escalation here because we're living in that escalation already for a long time ago, starting from the 2015 and then 2022. So, and we actually believe that the more power we have, the less escalation we'll face. We've been expecting the possibility that Biden will give this permission.

[08:35:00]

Unfortunately, however, wouldn't know all the details, how much we can use them for, what kind of range, for what type of targets. So we'll see how the situation will develop on the ground.

WALKER: Do you expect the use of the ATACMS ballistic missiles, the long-range missiles, could change the trajectory of this war or at least, I guess, blunt the counteroffensive that Russia is preparing for in Kursk?

FROLOVA: Well, as I said, we don't know yet the details. We have like a few versions that they are allowed to use only for 300 kilometers and with some limitation of area, or we have unlimited access to usage of them. And the second factor, which influence a lot, how many of these type of missiles we do have now, and we can use, because potentially, yes, it can change the course because if we have a possibility to target the deep -- to target the deep strikes in the main air fields and production factories of Russians in some kind of substantial number, it can influence.

If we have some very limited number and limited area where we can use it, then it would be another factor which will allow to make better operations, but won't influence strategically.

WALKER: It's a thousand days since the Ukraine war began, after Russia invaded. Can you give us a situation report on the ground? We're hearing a lot about how Russia has been making gains across the frontlines. They are amassing troops in Kursk, especially North Korean troops getting ready for this counteroffensive. We've seen in recent days as well, that Russia has launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine, targeting Ukraine's energy grid as winter is here. Who has the upper hand right now?

FROLOVA: We can say that the Russia is prevailing at some frontline spots. We cannot say that they are keeping like a strategic prevalence. We have very dynamic frontline changes politically and on the ground also. But obviously, what Russia is trying to make, they try to compensate their like losses with equipment and techniques. They try to compensate it with manpower, which they have more than enough till now. And they try to push as much as possible with this like manpower on -- in Donetsk region to gain more and more land, to be ready for negotiations, potential negotiations with United States and Trump to have this like in their pockets.

However, we cannot say that yet, we have some kind of strategic prevalence of them and it makes a little bit of -- more difficult for us at political negotiations. But Ukraine is still has a lot of abilities and we are developing our own industry and we have like this intention to continue to fight.

WALKER: And with that intention to fight, I wonder what morale is right now, as the world is seeing President-elect Trump ready to take over the Oval Office. We are awaiting President Biden to deliver remarks on his final day at the G20 Summit in Brazil. But in terms of this crucial transition that will be taking place in about 60-some days from now, do you expect that European leaders will take the torch from President Biden when it comes to Ukraine and remain steadfastly supportive of the fight? FROLOVA: Well, it's actually already happening that the Europe became more proactive because they also felt that responsibility and some kind of threat from like, disappearing United States from European security. And in long perspective, I think it's very positive moves. However, from now on, Europe still doesn't have so big capabilities in production, which we want and we need for keeping the fight and prevailing on the battlefield.

At the same time, as I said, Ukrainian industry made the very rapid jump this year and we do compensate with some gaps which we can cover by ourself. The moods are of course, people are tired. And this is obvious because this is already like 10 years of war and (inaudible) days of full-scale invasion. But it doesn't mean that we want to give up or we are ready to give up.

And it just means that we are like, maybe more conscious about the everything, what's going on. We do understand how many resources we need to put.

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We have more calm readiness to do that because we do understand that we are fighting actually for our existence, but not for the territory.

WALKER: Alina Frolova, really appreciate you joining us this morning, the former Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister joining us there from Kyiv. All the best to you. Thank you.

A Hong Kong court has sentenced 45 pro-democracy figures to prison, terms of up to 10 years on subversion charges. Now, this comes after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security crackdown four years ago. The U.S., Australia, and Amnesty International are all among those who have condemned these sentences.

Beijing has hit back at the international criticism, accusing some Western countries of interfering in China's internal affairs. CNN's Ivan Watson is in Hong Kong. He's joining me live now. Ivan, let's remember that these were peaceful democracy protests that we watched unfold years ago. Remind us what these activists have been accused of and what the response has been.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. They weren't just accused, they were convicted in this national security law court of conspiracy to commit subversion. And among the 45 defendants who were sentenced today, the vast majority of them actually pleaded guilty, hoping to get a reduction in their sentence. The three-panel judge, the panel of three judges, they imposed sentences amounting in total prison sentences of more than two centuries behind bars, Amara. Actually more than 245 years collectively on this group of 45 defendants there, getting sentences ranging from four years to 10 years in prison.

What was it that they did that was so nefarious? Well, back in 2020, they organized an unofficial primary election to try to get the strongest candidates, they said, to contest in elections for the city legislature. And that the prosecutors and the judges decided could have amounted ultimately in a scheme that they contest could have brought down the Hong Kong government. And so, we see this collection of people that included former lawmakers in the city legislature, student protestors like Joshua Wong, who was kind of a poster child for Hong Kong's protest movement, all getting jail sentences --

WALKER: Ivan Watson, sorry, we have to cut you off there because President Biden is speaking now on the final day of the G20 Summit.

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That won't be enough. We must protect our forests. That's why the past four years, I protected the area of the United States, as I said, land and waters, that each will be, and I mean all our waters we control. (Inaudible) in the past four years, (inaudible) larger than the size of the country of Uruguay.

That's why the United States is mobilizing billions of dollars in partnership with national and local governments, indigenous people and businesses to protect and reforest the Amazon and other forests. That's why as a U.S. Senator back in the '80s, I first proposed to offer debt relief for countries willing to conserve their forest and other natural resources. As President, I've led the scaling up of the debt for nature swaps, investing $2.5 billion these past four years, 10 times -- 10 times the total of what had come before.

Let me close with this. When it comes to the adoption of clean energy, we've made remarkable progress together, but we all know we have so much more to do. We all know -- we all know what it takes. History is watching us. History is watching. I urge us to keep faith and keep going. This is the single greatest existential threat to humanity. If we do not deal with climate change, our children, our great grandchildren, our great-great-grandchildren, their future is going to be determined by what we do in the next four to six years.

So I urge you -- I urge you all to reach out further and I'm not going to say anymore. I have much more to say, but I'm not going to now. But thank you for focusing on this issue. I really think it's the existential issue humanity faces. Thank you all.

(APPLAUSE)

WALKER: You just heard there, President Biden there giving his remarks on the final day of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Of course, looming over this Summit is the fact that 60 days from now, President- elect Trump will be moving into the Oval Office and a lot of questions about what the global policies will be as President Trump takes office.

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And of course, whether or not he will continue Biden's commitment to global institutions and partnerships. Obviously, a lot of suspicion that he will do so.

Still to come, President-elect Donald Trump doubling down on one of his most controversial cabinet picks, personally calling Senators to get them to confirm Matt Gaetz as his Attorney General.

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WALKER: President-elect Donald Trump is testing his power over Republicans in Congress as he doubles down on his controversial pick for Attorney General. Sources tell CNN Trump is personally calling Senators to lobby for former Congressman Matt Gaetz. Meanwhile, House lawmakers are considering whether to release an Ethics Report on allegations against Gaetz including sexual misconduct.

An attorney for two women who testified to the House Ethics Panel spoke to CNN. He said one of the women claims she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL LEPPARD, ATTORNEY FOR TWO WOMEN WHO TESTIFIED TO THE HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE: She was invited to a party in July of 2017. She testified to the House that as she was walking out to the pool area, she turned to a right and she witnessed her client, I'm sorry, her friend having sex with Representative Gaetz and her friend at that time was 17.

She testified to the House that that Representative Gaetz did not know her friend's age at the time they had sexual intercourse. And when he found out about her age, that Representative Gaetz stopped having sexual intercourse with her and he only started the sexual intercourse interactions later on once she turned 18. The testimony before the House was yes, that Representative Gaetz paid my client -- both of my clients for sexual favors throughout the summer of 2017, all the way to the beginning of 2019.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: We should note Gaetz has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. CNN's Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox is live in Washington. Lauren, I mean Gaetz is proving to be one of Trump's most controversial picks, yet Trump is doubling down.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and this is going to take months to play out, Amara. But on Capitol Hill, we are watching to see if the House Ethics Committee goes ahead and meets tomorrow. They are currently scheduled to do so. We could expect that they could potentially have a discussion or even vote on releasing that Ethics Report. But last week, a planned meeting was scuttled at the last minute, so we are still waiting to see whether that goes forward.

Meanwhile, you have the top Democrat on that committee, Susan Wild saying that she does think the report needs to be out.

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REP. SUSAN WILD, (D-PA) RANKING MEMBER, HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE: We have a scheduled meeting on Wednesday and it remains to be seen what the chairman's agenda is for that, but I believe we should vote on whether we're to disclose it or not. And we'll see what happens after that.

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Everybody on the committee now has the report, so they've got the opportunity to be reviewing it. I believe there will be a unanimous Democratic consensus that it should be released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And they of course would need at least one Republican to vote with them to get that report out in public. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson making clear that he thinks it would be an inappropriate step to move forward with releasing the report. You have other Senators, however, including Republicans saying that they need to take a look at it in order to make a decision about whether or not Gaetz is qualified to be the top law enforcement agent in the country, as the Attorney General. Here's Kevin Cramer.

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SEN. KEVIN CRAMER, (R-ND): I just think it'd be unwise to do that if he can't get the votes of the majority party, which is his party. I just think it sets -- it would set the attorney general up to not have all of the confidence and the strength that that person needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And Amara, the first step, of course, to getting Gaetz confirmed would be a hearing and a full vetting of the Senate Judiciary Committee. That committee which is currently controlled by Democrats, but will be controlled by Republicans in January. They have requested this Ethics Report. Now, whether or not Chuck Grassley, the incoming chairman, moves ahead and tries to push for that Ethics Report on his own, that remains to be seen. Amara?

WALKER: All right, we'll be watching this with you. Lauren Fox, thank you.

The end of an era is almost upon us. Raphael Nadal heads into the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, the final tournament of his career. We're going to hear from his longtime friend and rival Roger Federer.

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WALKER: A legend of the world of tennis is preparing to play in the final tournament of his career. Raphael Nadal is trying to help Spain win the Davis Cup in Malaga. They open up their campaign in just a few hours. The 22-time Grand Slam champion says the emotion of retiring will come at the end of the competition as he is focused on winning first. Longtime rival and good friend, Roger Federer, paid tribute to Nadal.

He said this. Let's start with the obvious, you beat me, a lot, more than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could. I want you to know that your old friend is always cheering for you and will be cheering just as loud for everything you do next.

Wow, how heartfelt. Let's bring in CNN's Amanda Davies live in Malaga, Spain. Really an emotional ending for so many fans as well to such a remarkable career.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, Amara, he may be trying to shelve the emotions for the next couple of days, but it's fair to say, there's not many people here who are managing it. I've been speaking to fans who are flocking here, who all say they are very much expecting their tears to flow.

This is actually (inaudible) the Davis Cup as the World Cup of tennis, but without doubt, there is one man very much at the center of that world this week, and that is Nadal, bringing to a close what has been an incredible 23-year career. And it's no coincidence he's fought back from all the injury concerns to be doing it here on home soil, in Spain, at a competition he has helped his country win four times previously.

It's the first time he's representing his country at the Davis Cup finals since they last won it. He helped them win it in 2019.

[08:55:00]

But the big question today, their opening match is the quarterfinals against the Netherlands. They hope there will be a semifinals and a final to come before Sunday. But given what we know about his health, his fitness, will Nadal be lining up? Will they save him potentially for later in the competition? He's been practicing well and I've tried to get a little bit of intel from his former teammate, the Tournament Director, Feliciano Lopez, when I caught up with him a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FELICIANO LOPEZ, TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR, DAVIS CUP: Honestly, I don't know. They wanted to keep it very quiet. As you can imagine because, I think until yesterday after the last practice session, they haven't decided yet. So I think they know already, of course, but I personally don't know. I think that Rafael will play, but I don't know. They didn't share this information with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: It is the Team Captain, David Ferrer, who ultimately makes the selection. Nadal has urged him not to let emotion rule the practicality. Nadal wants Spain to win this Davis Cup, to get another trophy to his name. I have to tell you, Amara, as we edge ever closer, the indication is that he might well be taking to the court for Spain, not only in the doubles, actually the singles a little bit later on.

But let's not kid ourselves. The Dutch are here to spoil this party. There's about a thousand Dutch fans. We've seen them, as they always do, coming with their faces painted and the colors and their Team Captain, Paul Haarhuis, has said he hopes to say "Adios Nadal," but there's not many other people wanting that to be the case.

WALKER: Yeah. I don't think a lot of people feel that way. A bittersweet moment indeed. Amanda Davies in Malaga, Spain. Thank you.

And thank you for being with me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is next.

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