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Ukraine's Zelenskyy: Putin Wants War; U.S. Embassy in Kyiv Closed Over Potential Attack; South Korea: 11,000 North Korean Troops in Russia's Kursk Region; More Cabinet and Department Nominations Announced; Starship's Dramatic Launch. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired November 20, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Putin wants war. Nuclear weapons strategy. 1000 days, I think it's enough to understand that Putin doesn't want any peace.

CROWD: 3, 2, 1

(CHEERING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are targeting a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Because of Starlink, we were able to get the views all the way down as well as the buoys seeing ship touchdown in daylight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lost my first match in the Davis Cup and I lost my last one. We closed the circle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

FOSTER: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster. It's Wednesday, November the 20th, 9 a.m. here in London, 11 a.m. in Kyiv in Ukraine, where the U.S. Embassy is closed for the day after receiving information about a potential air attack. The embassy has told employees to shelter in place and U.S. citizens elsewhere in the capital to be ready if an air alert is announced.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials say the Biden administration is sending anti-personnel mines to Kyiv to deploy for defensive purposes only in eastern Ukraine, though. That decision comes days after the White House approved the use of longer-range weapons by Ukraine to strike inside Russian territory.

Moscow says Kyiv fired U.S.-supplied ATACMS at a weapons arsenal in the Bryansk region on Tuesday. In apparent response, Vladimir Putin updated Russia's nuclear doctrine, saying Moscow now has the right to use nuclear weapons in response to attacks using conventional weapons. That brought a defiant response from the Ukrainian president. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: One thousand days, I think it's enough to understand that Putin doesn't want any peace. Even this day, they killed our civilians. Even especially this day, they presented nuclear weapons strategy.

Why? They didn't present peace strategy. Did you hear it? Did you read about it? No, of course, of course, nuclear weapons strategy. Putin wants war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims that North Korean troop deployment to Russia could grow beyond 100,000. Already, South Korean officials say Pyongyang has sent close to 11,000 troops to Russia, with some actually on the battlefield as well. We're covering this story from all angles.

Mike Valerio is in Seoul, South Korea, but we're going to begin with Nick Payton Walsh in Kyiv. What more do we know about the nature of this potential attack on U.S. embassy?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, I mean, we're not hearing specifically that the embassy is indeed a target. It is simply that the American embassy is taking the exceptional measures, not one we've seen since the start of the war, the invasion in February 2022. As far as we can recall of closing their facility entirely for, I mean, the day, it seems possibly longer now.

That is, they say, as a result of concerns about an air assault. Look, tell ordinary residents of the capital here about that. They had two and a half hour air raid siren this morning, another 45 minute one early in the early hours of morning, too. So very used to incoming attacks. It's a nightly thing here, but it is highly abnormal for essentially American diplomats to be told to shelter away and stay away from their place of work. The significance?

Well, of course, we are looking to see what escalation Russia might try and bring to this thousand day long war after U.S. missiles have been fired into Russia itself. That was in the last 24 hours. Since then, Ukraine has said it's hit more targets inside of Russia.

The severe battalion, Russian military battalions facilities inside Ukrainian defense intelligence said they hit overnight. So that onslaught is continuing. And I think the question is exactly what the nature of a Russian response would be.

The sort of saber rattling the Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of, it's hard to quite define exactly how strident the change in their nuclear doctrine really is.

[04:05:00]

But ultimately, it is the Kremlin head using the word nuclear again and trying to remind the West that this is a nuclear power that is struggling conventionally on the battlefield here and has done for a while, seeing an ascendance on the Eastern Front on multiple locations. But I think also struggling now to find a way to meaningfully respond to this extraordinary permission by the Biden administration to use these ATACMS longer range missiles inside of Russia.

It's aimed at obviously trying to give Ukraine a bit of an upper hand on the battlefield, a battlefield where they have been losing over the past months in multiple different directions and possibly complicate the life of President-elect Donald Trump when he comes to power in January.

But behind me here, it's quiet, but I think it's fair to say that the fact that the Americans are warning quite so specifically about the hours ahead and an air assault has leave many people I think, anxious.

Their information has been pretty good, frankly, for much of this entire war. And so I think there are worries here that it may be Western targets potentially, at the end of any renewed or intensified air assault here against the capital -- Max.

FOSTER: How would that be interpreted, Nick, from the American point of view? Would an American embassy abroad be seen as an attack on America?

WALSH: Yes, I mean, look, I think we don't want to get into the whole idea of how this might escalate into direct conflict between those two nuclear powers. But I think if we saw the U.S. embassy here specifically hit by Russian munitions, that would, of course, massively escalate matters. And that may not be precisely what the U.S. embassy here is directly concerned about.

But you know, there are multiple different targets across this city where Westerners, where those from the European and NATO allies backing Ukraine reside or known to frequent. So I think it's a broad capital city on edge here. But I should stress, I don't think at this point, regardless of the escalation we've seen over the last 48 hours that Moscow necessarily wants to take any stride and steps that force into a direct conflict with the United States.

Yes, much of the sales pitch to Putin's domestic audience is that they are already at war with NATO as a whole. That's their way of explaining how badly, frankly, the war has gone from over a thousand days is only supposed to last a matter of weeks. So many advocates of the Kremlin said when they began the invasion.

But I don't feel at this point necessarily that Russia has the desire, the capability to start something larger with the NATO alliance -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Nick, thank you so much for joining us from Kyiv.

Let's go for the latest then on those North Korean troops in Russia. Mike Valerio joins us from Seoul. And if the intelligence we're getting right from the South Koreans, well, if it is right, does suggest the North Korean role in this conflict could be much bigger than we thought.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Max. And it's new details in two buckets that are coming from the spy agency here in Seoul. First of all, what North Korean soldiers are doing. And second of all, what pieces of artillery Pyongyang in North Korea is sending to the front lines to the war in Ukraine.

So when we talk about the pieces of artillery, we have a 240 millimeter multiple rocket launch system vehicle or vehicles, I should say plural, that are being sent from North Korea to Russia, according to South Korea's spy agency. Think of those as vehicles, big old trucks with a lot of rocket launchers on the back. You see them all the time in propaganda parades that go through the heart of North Korea's capital.

Also, the second piece of artillery that's being sent, the second group, we're talking about 170 millimeter self-propelled guns. Think of those similar to tanks. Tanks are meant for short range warfare. Self propelled guns are meant for longer range warfare.

So we have those new details, but also what is happening with these North Korean troops. Everybody in the West and here in South Korea seems to be in agreement that the numbers now are around 11,000 at the moment. And Seoul is saying that Russia is training North Korean troops in terms of tactics and also drone response.

And why those two things are important, Max, is because we have a fighting force of around 1.3 million people from North Korea, but they're in this self-contained hermit nation. Not a lot of combat experience outside of the North Korea in either of our lifetimes. So this is critical training that Russia is giving to North Korean service members in order to tell them how to fight against drones. Do they have that experience in North Korea? Not so much.

So again, to what President Zelenskyy was saying earlier in the show, the potential for up to 100,000 North Korean troops to make their way, or at least to be ready for deployment to the war in Ukraine. We just want to put that in perspective before we go, Max.

[04:10:00]

When we're talking about a fighting force that is just north of 1 million people, having a tenth of that fighting force being ready to be deployed to fight in Ukraine, that is an astounding statement. That is certainly astounding to think about.

It hasn't been publicized at all in North Korea. When we news gather here in the bureau in Seoul, we always watch North Korean state TV. Nary a peep, nothing has been said on state TV about these thousands of North Korean troops being sent to Russia's war in Ukraine.

So if you have this huge section of troops, who knows what that could pretend for the regime that relies on the army, the and its future. So a lot to watch here, but bottom line, a lot of new details that came from the spy agency here in Seoul as to what exactly is happening with the North Korean troops who have headed to the front lines in Ukraine and Russia -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, thanks so much for that, Mike in Seoul.

Now on Tuesday, Donald Trump announced several more cabinet picks and other positions as he prepares for a second White House term. He's chosen Dr. Mehmet Oz, a surgeon and TV personality to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Trump also named Linda McMahon to be the next Secretary of Education. She's been the co-chair of his transition team and formerly led the Small Business Administration in Trump's first term. McMahon also is a former TV personality from her time with World Wrestling Entertainment.

And Howard Lutnick is Trump's pick for Secretary of Commerce. He's the other co-chair of Trump's transition team and is CEO of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald.

Well, Trump is also set to announce his pick for Treasury Secretary. It's a big one. CNN's Kristen Holmes looks at who's in the running.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's transition team could announce a nominee for Treasury Secretary as early as Wednesday. I'm told by two sources who say they are meeting tomorrow on Wednesday to discuss the slate of candidates.

This has been held up. This is probably the biggest position that is left to announce. It's been held up because co-chair of the transition, Howard Lutnick, had essentially inserted himself into the race against hedge fund manager Scott Besant, which really upended the entire thing. Now, on Tuesday, Howard Lutnick was named Secretary of Commerce, taking him effectively out of the running.

However, there are still several candidates, as Donald Trump had expanded the field in recent days. All of them have met with Donald Trump and the transition team. And I am told no decisions have been made.

However, again, they are hoping to get this out as quickly as possible, specifically given that so many of Donald Trump's policies on day one that he has said are related to the economy. So we'll see if they're able to make that goal of Wednesday night. They are obviously trying to tick through a number of these cabinet positions as we inch through this transition process.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Out of all Trump's cabinet nominations so far, Matt Gaetz remains the most controversial. The former congressman picked by Trump to head the Justice Department was the subject of a House ethics investigation into multiple allegations, including having sex with a minor. He's denied the accusations, but things may get worse in the coming days.

Confidential files from a civil case, including an accuser's deposition, were breached and could become public. When Trump was asked on Tuesday if he would reconsider choosing Gaetz, he had a simple answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, are you reconsidering the nomination of Matt Gaetz?

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECT: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How far are you willing to go to get him confirmed?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Trump isn't the only person moving full steam ahead in supporting Gaetz. Senate Republican Lindsey Graham has dismissed the allegations against the former congressman. Here's what he told reporters on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Nobody should be disqualified because of a media report.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What if it's an investigation by the department -- a bipartisan effort?

GRAHAM: And they didn't proceed forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: But there are some Republicans who still believe the House ethics report should be released. Senator Mike Rounds spoke with CNN's Manu Raju, telling him a report could actually speed up the approval process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): I think if there is an ethics report out there that is being or that has been completed, then I think the Senate is going to want to see it. It may very well speed up the vetting process. On the other hand, if it's not available and we have to recreate it ourselves, that would delay our ability to make a decision on a very critical nominee.

RAJU: If we were to recess appoint any of these nominees who were rejected by the Senate.

ROUNDS: I think a recess appointment is going to be very challenging.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FOSTER: Well, prosecutors in New York have agreed to postpone, meanwhile, sentencing in Donald Trump's hush money trial. That gives the parties time to litigate Trump's expected motion to dismiss that case.

[04:15:00]

In a letter, however, the district attorney's office wrote that the judge should not dismiss Trump's conviction. It also notes there likely would be a four-year pause in sentencing until after Trump's term in office is complete.

Well, jurors found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Eight people were injured when a gondola lift crashed at Europe's highest ski resort in the French Alps. Authorities say construction workers were riding on a ski lift on Tuesday when it collided with the arrival station. In poor weather, two of the injuries are considered serious and the cause of the crash is under investigation. The resort is due to reopen on -- or open rather on Saturday.

Much of Europe is in the midst of a series of storms with heavy rains, snow and gusty winds in the forecast. Part of the U.K. will see colder weather -- certainly felt it this morning -- with as much as 10 centimeters of snow expected in higher elevations and central Europe could see as much as 60 millimeters of rain.

A second storm will move through the area later in the week with a third system forecast to create more hazardous conditions across much of the region over the weekend.

Now, at least one person is dead and hundreds of thousands without power in Washington state and parts of Canada. As a powerful once in a life decade, once in a decade rather, a bomb cyclone sweeps through that area.

The extreme storm system is set to bring hurricane force wind gusts as well as a month's worth of rain and mountain snow. CNN's Chad Myers has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, big weather maker for the west coast of the U.S., northern California, Oregon, Washington, even a little bit up into British Columbia, but this is an atmospheric river and a bomb cyclone all at the same time coming together.

Now the word bombogenesis has nothing to do with social media. This is not made up. We've been using the term in literature since 1980 and likely just in talk since World War II. It is a storm that rapidly intensifies. We talk about rapid intensification in hurricanes as well.

This is not a hurricane. It is equivalent, the pressure equivalent to a category three major hurricane in the Atlantic. But the good news is the low itself is not going to come on shore. What will come on shore is wind gusts, probably around hurricane gusts. Other than that, an awful lot of rainfall. In fact, an atmospheric river event that's level four out of five.

So an awful lot of rain. Some of the forecasters going for 10 to 15. I've even heard numbers up to 20 inches of rainfall because this is a long-term event. It's still going to be raining tomorrow and even some showers still on Friday. So yes, we are going to see significant numbers here when it comes to rainfall accumulations.

But the good news is at least this part of northern California has not been wet. So a lot of this can soak in. It may rain too hard for all that to happen everywhere, but there will be some soaking rainfall here coming in. And even with the high risk here of some flooding, that's a possibility for your Thursday from Eureka all the way down to Ukiah.

That's the thought process for where the floods are possibly going to be the worst. There will be floods. How bad will they be? We don't know yet. The good news is the land is not completely saturated. So right now just flood watches in effect.

Of course, we still have those snowstorm events here coming in with blizzard warnings just to the east of Seattle in the higher elevations. But you get the idea. In fact, some spots here with the wind could still pick up 60 inches of snow and that snow getting blown around, especially on the top of those peaks.

I guess that's some good news for skiing. Skiers will take that. You just don't want to be on the mountain when that happens.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Good point. Still to come, media tycoon Jimmy Lai testifies at his own national security trial. We're live in Hong Kong with the latest.

Plus, Donald Trump joins his buddy Elon Musk to watch the latest SpaceX launch. What their friendship could mean for the aerospace industry.

And Prince Harry brings the comedy and some cursing to an announcement for his Invictus Games. More on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ONE DIRECTION, THE STORY OF MY LIFE: The story of my life I give her hope I spend her love Until she's broke Inside The story of my life

(END VIDEO CLIP) FOSTER: A Story of My Life By One Direction, the boy band that launched the career of Liam Payne. According to British media reports, he'll be laid to rest today in his native England, more than a month after a fatal fall from the balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel. His former bandmates are all expected to attend the private ceremony.

Several people have been charged in connection with Payne's death and drugs were found in his system. He was 31 years old.

The close relationship between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was once again on full display on Tuesday as the president-elect travelled to Texas for latest test flight by SpaceX, which Musk owns.

But the coziness between the two is already raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest when it comes to Musk's businesses. CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3, 2, 1

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president-elect watched the world's most powerful rocket launch. It's the sixth test flight for Elon Musk's Starship. Trump and Musk have been inseparable in recent months.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECT: Elon Musk is incredible, what he's done.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): It's also a relationship intertwined with political interest.

ELON MUSK, CEO, SPACEX AND TELSA: I'm not just MAGA, I'm dark, gothic MAGA.

TRUMP: A star is born, Elon.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): And both share a fascination with space travel.

MUSK: We must become a multi-planet species.

TRUMP: We'll get Elon, get those rockets going.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The U.S. government has increasingly turned to Musk's SpaceX rockets for many commercial launches. SpaceX has some $4 billion in federal government contracts supporting NASA's Artemis program, which plans to put astronauts on the moon in 2026. And Starship's ultimate mission is to land on Mars.

Donald Trump's return to the White House has emboldened Musk as the world's richest man engages in regulatory fights with the federal government agencies overseeing the SpaceX rocket launches. Musk has called for the head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign. The FAA is the agency which grants SpaceX approvals to launch its rockets. And Musk stands to gain even more influence from his rosy relationship

with the president-elect.

TRUMP: Who else could do this kind of stuff?

LAVANDERA (voice-over): But Musk's SpaceX has come under fire for environmental damage at the $3 billion launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. A Texas environmental commission fined SpaceX for spilling wastewater that seeped into wetlands near the company's launch pad. Musk responded on X to critics saying the launch destroyed nine birds' nests and their eggs.

Posting: To make up for this heinous crime, I will refrain from having an omelet for a week.

The environmental and regulatory concerns come as SpaceX plans to dramatically ramp up launches.

GWYNNE SHOTWELL, COO, SPACEX: I would not be surprised if we fly 400 Starship launches in the next four years.

JIM CHAPMAN, SAVE RGV: For Boca Chica, that would be a worst case scenario.

LAVANDERA: Jim Chapman is an activist working with a local environmental group to raise concerns about the impact of SpaceX in South Texas. He fears the incoming Trump administration will allow Musk and SpaceX to steamroll through regulations.

CHAPMAN: SpaceX is always in a big hurry and complains bitterly if they can't do things on their own schedule. He may now not just complain about it, but to weaken that oversight.

[04:25:00]

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Musk's role in the future Trump administration could have lasting effects on the space industry, his personal fortunes --

TRUMP: Take over Elon, just take over.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): -- and on the environment for decades to come.

LAVANDERA: Even though this latest test launch did not go exactly as SpaceX engineers had hoped, it's not considered a failure.

This test launch was designed to test the very limits of the heavy booster system, as well as the Starship spacecraft and how it would land in the Indian Ocean. So all of this was pushing the limits to just see how much this equipment could withstand. And engineers and SpaceX officials believe that there is a lot to learn and a lot of information that they can glean from today's test launch.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, South Padre Island, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE) FOSTER: Now here's something SpaceX isn't serving on board just yet. That's a Shake Shack.

Delta Airlines has announced that it'll offer Shake Shack cheeseburgers on some long-distance domestic flights starting next month. The burger won't come with fries, but passengers will get chips, salad, and a brownie, shake sauce. Or shack sauce will be served on the side.

Delta is not the first airline to partner with a burger chain, you might like to know. In the 1990s, United Airlines once served McDonald's Happy Meals.

Now the U.S. is providing some insights into what may have caused damage to underwater cables as officials in Europe investigate whether it was sabotage. The latest in a live report just ahead.

Anyone who frees a hostage from Gaza could become extremely wealthy. Ahead, the Israeli prime minister's lucrative offer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Now, welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, here are some of today's top stories.

The U.S. embassy in Kyiv is closed for the day after receiving specific information about a potential significant air attack. The embassy has told its employees to shelter in place.

Joe Biden wrapped up his likely final summit as U.S. president with remarks on climate change. At the G20, the U.S. announced a new $325 million investment in World Bank clean energy projects. The U.S. officials say that money will be deposited before Donald Trump takes office in January.

And Doctors Without Borders is suspending operations in Haiti's capital following a series of threats by local police. The organization has accused police of threatening its staff with extreme violence. The suspension of medical care could impact thousands of people in Port-au-Prince.

Jail media tycoon Jimmy Lai is testifying at his own national security trial in Hong Kong. It's a high-stakes court battle that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars. The pro-democracy activist was arrested nearly four years ago amid Beijing's deepening crackdown on dissent. In his defense, Lai told the ...

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