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Ukraine: Russia Launched ICBM on Dnipro in Morning Attack; Medical Official: Deadly Strikes Hit Northern Gaza; Ethics Committee Republicans Block Gaetz Report Release; Trump Tariffs Could Impact Elon Musk's Businesses in China; Protesters Threatening to Occupy Parliament in Kenya. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired November 21, 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]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us around the world. I'm Christina Macfarlane. It's Thursday, November 21st, 9 a.m. here in London, 11 a.m. in Dnipro, Ukraine. That city, according to Ukraine's air force, hit today by a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile.

Let's go straight out live to Kyiv and CNN's Nick Paton Walsh who's standing by. Nick, I know there is very limited information coming out about this attack in the last few hours, but what more are you hearing about this ICBM and any damage it's caused?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's important to remember that the uncertainty here and the lack of information is potentially part of Moscow's strategy here to inject into the battlefield after 1,002 days of this war now something not seen before and cause people to furiously scratch their heads and wonder if indeed we're into a whole new phase of the conflict.

What we do know is that the Ukrainian air force has said that an ICBM, an intercontinental ballistic missile, was fired at Ukraine. We think at about 5:18 this morning roughly they're saying and as a result sirens were put on here in the capital and then subsequently followed explosions in Dnipro, one of the largest cities here in Ukraine, where there's an awful lot of industrial key infrastructure.

There have been reports of significant explosions around some of that industrial infrastructure in Dnipro, no immediate reports of casualties, but if something military was hit we wouldn't know about the exact nature of what was hit often, ever, or for quite some time.

At the same time, accompanying this missile, whatever it was, and you know, be absolutely clear here the Ukrainians have not specified what device was used here, whether it was a different part of the Russian arsenal that you might normally associate with non-conventional weaponry or whether it was on the further reach of their ballistic missiles to simply have a better or longer range. At the same time, six or seven other missiles were launched with it, one Kinzhal hypersonic missile and then six others.

Potentially, you might argue, to confuse any air defenses or over-tax them and allow that different intercontinental ballistic missile, which Ukrainians have used that terminology, to hit its target.

So that's the limit of what we know at this point. Why is this causing people to have a sharper intake of breath? Well, because if indeed this was an ICBM, and you know we have to wait for Ukrainian experts who will certainly be at the scene of whatever was hit, to look at the wreckage to try and determine what flew through their skies, you might associate a device like that, a missile like that, as I say, with non- conventional, even nuclear weaponry.

That's not happened, as far as we know at this point. What people are trying to work out is whether this is a Russian weaponry escalation, whether it's their response to the extraordinary past four days we've seen here.

Let's just recap on why this is important. We've been in a spiral, frankly, of escalation. A stark change as far back as Friday, Christina, when the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rang Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin head, the first call from a major Western leader since December 2022, essentially firing the starting gun for any diplomacy that might be ahead of the Trump administration.

Then the Biden administration, perhaps unconnectedly, citing the threat from North Korean troops fighting with Russia in the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched its own invasion back in August, said that they would allow ATACMS longer-range missiles to be fired. They were fired within 24 hours and hit targets inside of Russia. Ukraine clearly having a target list it wanted to fulfill, it just needed permission from Biden.

Then we heard yesterday that potentially British Storm Shadow missiles were also fired at targets in the Bryansk region as well. Some local video potentially adding evidence to that suggestion as well. And now overnight, potentially the use of a new type of weapon or a weapon we haven't seen on the conflict so far by the Russians.

So this is a spiral, frankly. Whatever the outcome of the forensics about what this device was reveals as to what it was. And the void of speculation here is also working in Russia's favor to some degree.

[04:05:00]

People tend to deviate towards the most worrying alternative. We're seeing a spiral here of an American move and a Russian move. And the fear, I think, is that we could potentially, as this conflict enters into a two-month period ahead of the Trump presidency inaugurated on January the 20th, see all sides reach for different parts of their toolkit and the scope for miscalculation or loss of human life, frankly, is worrying in that regard, Christina.

MACFARLANE: All right. Our Nick Paton Walsh there reporting on this live from Kyiv this morning. Thank you, Nick. Let's turn to retired U.S. Army General Mark MacCarley, who is live this hour also from Kyiv. General McCarley, thank you so much for joining us. I'm sure you were listening to what Nick had to say there, knowing, of course, that we have limited information at this moment.

What we can say at this juncture is that this is a new type of weapon that is being used in this war from Russia, that it is a much more powerful weapon than Russia has used previously. And by all accounts, though, as we know, it did not carry a nuclear payload. What is your reading of the significance of this moment, the message Russia may be sending?

MAJ. GEN. MARK MACCARLEY (RET.), U.S. ARMY: I think your last three words, it is a message sent by Russia in response to Ukraine's utilization of our ATACMS and as well as Storm Shadow. But it's really important just to get into some of the technical aspects, if you would allow me, regarding what has now been labeled intercontinental ballistic missile versus the previous tactical missile systems. These ATACMS that we've discussed over the last couple of days on this station, and as well HIMARS, which were also used and are used by Ukraine, are essentially short range weapons.

When you reach the classification of intercontinental ballistic missile, you're talking about a weapon system, a rocket, which has a range, most often in excess of 3,000 miles, it's most often much larger, it carries a significantly greater payload. And the very term the acronym ICBM is incredibly intimidating because it suggests since those countries who are nuclear armed, use ICBMs for the most part for delivery of nuclear weapons, that somehow this is a statement from Russia, that Russia could move to that next ultimate step of the use of the existential nuclear weapon.

But right now, we don't have, as was indicated by Nick, we don't have sufficient information. I'm not privy to intel, data sources, we don't have any satellite imagery at this point, with respect to battle damage that was done in Dnipro. All we know is a much bigger rocket that has not been used before has been deployed by the Russians and has caused fear.

MACFARLANE: And I wondered about, given you're saying, you know, the flight path that these ICBMs have, the fact that they use for long range, not short range. I mean, there seems to be a peculiar focus of it, the target here being Dnipro itself. I mean, Nick mentioned just now, that there were potential sort of industrial infrastructure damage in that city.

Do you have any insight as to why Dnipro would have been the target here?

MACCARLEY: I think you've answered, it's one of the principal cities within Ukraine. It is sort of an intermediate statement, if in fact, we're kind of speculating on the reasons that the Russians chose to shoot at Dnipro. One, it is significant from a mercantile business perspective, both agriculture and industrial activity.

And if you begin to do this, what's called escalatory analysis, you could say that Russia shot first at Dnipro, as a statement suggesting that if Ukraine does not back away from the use of, let's say, the newly provided ATACMS from the U.S. and the Storm Shadows from Britain, that Russia will use the same longer ranged intercontinental ballistic missile and hit Kyiv.

And I can tell you personally that we heard the sirens early this morning, which corresponded to the launch. The sirens ultimately ended. But there was still a rush to the basements and to the concrete parking lots, because it just creates a tremendous amount of fear. And that's what the Russians wanted, fear amongst those who are living and surviving.

MACFARLANE: And as we've mentioned, as you've mentioned already, this comes in a week where the U.S. has reversed policy on long range missiles, where Russia have updated their nuclear doctrine. How will the Pentagon be reading this? Does this change the calculus at all, do you think among the U.S. and its NATO allies?

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MACCARLEY: Once again, we're trying to analyze what is the effect, what's the benefit when this whole thing started, if you can say that there was an initiation, that initiation, both from British and especially from our President Biden, who came forth and said, now I release and give authority to the Ukrainians to use the ATACMS, we get another 190 mile range, which in and of itself is insignificant, although it allows Ukraine to penetrate Russia and to attack supply depots and troop formations.

And I think this is consistent when Russia launches, it is a counterpoint. Again, it's a statement in response to. There's just one statement that I want to make, and that is that perhaps from a strategic perspective, when President Biden came forth and announced the utilization of ATACMS and the fact that he has now allowed President Zelenskyy and his Minister of Defense to use the ATACMS, you know, from a military strategy and tactical perspective, making that announcement before you take action, probably precipitated a lot of this. I'm not suggesting that any of us have a superior tactical ability.

But if it just took place, and one day, three days ago, the Ukrainians launched the ATACMS and entered Russian airspace, it would have been a protest. But to embellish that attack with a statement about the enhanced capabilities of the ATACMS just sort of precipitated this escalation. And frankly, I don't know where it's going to stop.

Is Ukraine going to suddenly stand up and President Zelenskyy say, I'm not going to use these anymore, we're too frightened? Or will Russia come to some sense of rationality and suggest we don't want to move there either, it's too dangerous? We just don't know.

MACFARLANE: All right, Major General Mark MacCarley, we appreciate your thoughts this morning from Kyiv. Thanks. Stay safe, General, thank you.

Now we are following developments out of northern Gaza, where one medical official says Israel launched deadly strikes overnight on the city of Beit Lahiya. A director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital says 65 bodies have been pulled from the rubble.

He says doctors and medical staff are digging with their bare hands because there are no rescue teams and no ambulances to provide assistance. And he expects the death toll to rise. He's making a desperate request to international organizations to bring in much needed medical supplies.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will those in favor of the draft resolution contained in document S/2024 835, please raise their hand.

Those against?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, only the U.S. veto voted against the resolution on Wednesday. Ambassador Robert Wood said the U.S. has made clear it could not support a ceasefire that failed to secure the release of hostages still being held by Hamas. Palestinian officials condemn the veto saying the move only emboldens Israel to continue its crimes against innocent civilians.

CNN's Paula Hancock's following live developments for us from Abu Dhabi. And I guess underscoring the need for this ceasefire, Paula, if we can just go back, is what happened overnight in northern Gaza by all accounts an incredibly deadly and bloody night for Palestinians.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christina, this latest strike, which has claimed many lives happened in Beit Lahiya. This is in the northern part of Gaza. It's an area which has been for those who have been living there say it has been under siege for about six weeks now, since the Israeli military decided that they needed to carry out further military operations there because they believe that Hamas was regrouping in the area.

So we have seen some very deadly strikes. We have seen some desperate messages from Kamal Adwan Hospital, for example, saying that they don't have what they need to be able to save lives. And this is what we're hearing again.

After an airstrike hit a building near that hospital, the director of the hospital says some 200 people were sheltering there, he believes, or has been told at the time of the airstrike, and at least 65 people have been killed at this point. Now, he says that those are bodies that are brought into the hospital, they are also receiving injured. But he says that that death toll is more than likely to rise.

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They have heavy equipment in this area that Gaza civil defense is unable to operate in this area. And he says that doctors and medical staff are using their bare hands to try and find further casualties within the rubble itself.

Now, we have asked the IDF about this strike, specifically, but what they have said about previous strikes in this area is that this is where Hamas is operating. And they have been calling for civilians to evacuate the area. We heard from the IDF, they believe last week, they believed that in the previous weeks, they had killed some 1,000 Hamas militants and detained 1,000 more.

For those on the ground, though, it is a desperate situation. The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital telling us that there isn't a single ambulance in northern Gaza. And that at this point, all they can do and all they have been able to do is offer first aid, they don't have the surgeons, the medical supplies to be able to offer any more. And certainly those injuries, he says that are coming in need far more than first aid -- Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yes, it is truly a desperate situation. Paula Hancock's there live from Abu Dhabi. Thank you.

A Syrian state media is now reporting that at least 36 people are dead after Israeli airstrikes targeted several locations in the central city of Palmyra. Video shows social media -- from social media shows large smoke plumes rising on Wednesday after the strikes. State media also says more than 50 people were injured and there was significant damage to buildings in the area.

The strike would rank among the deadliest Israeli attacks in Syria in recent years. The IDF said it didn't comment or is not commenting on foreign reports.

And in the coming hours, U.S. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance will be back on Capitol Hill, this time with Donald Trump's pick for the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. Sources tell CNN they'll be meeting with key Republican senators hoping to drum up support for Hegseth, one of several cabinet nominees facing a rocky reception from lawmakers. Vance was in similar meetings on Wednesday with Matt Gaetz, Trump's controversial pick for attorney general. His nomination is in limbo over sexual misconduct allegations and a looming House ethics report, one in which House Republicans have so far blocked from being released. Gaetz appeared unbothered by it all.

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MATT GAETZ, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: I'll be honest with you, I've been focused on what we've got to do to reform the Department of Justice. I've been meeting with senators, I haven't been paying much attention to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, Democrats are not backing down, however, trying to ensure the report is made public. For more now, here's CNN's Manu Raju.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House Republicans on the Ethics Committee voted to block the release of this ethics report. The chairman of that committee, Michael Guest, told me ahead of that meeting that he has some reservations about releasing it because he contended it was not completely done yet.

Democrats said this is all an effort to bury damaging allegations against Matt Gaetz. Potentially undercutting his ability to become the Attorney General of the United States and they argue that it should be released.

Now, this is not over yet, because Democrats say that they plan to force a vote on the House floor, and that vote will have to occur under the rules of the House. It would have to happen within two legislative days, meaning that this could happen since we're running up to the Thanksgiving recess. It could be punted until after Thanksgiving, but the vote would have to happen in some form at least by that point when they return after the Thanksgiving holiday.

The question will be if Democrats have the majority of the House to force a vote, to actually force this report to be released. That means they would have to ensure that at least three Republicans break ranks, join with them to move ahead on this issue.

One Republican earlier this evening indicated he would, in fact, vote with Democrats on this issue, believing that the public and Republicans and Democrats need to see this information.

RAJU: There might be a vote in the House to release that report. Would you vote to release that report?

REP. DERRICK VAN ORDEN (R-WI): I think it's very important that everybody has as much knowledge as possible so that they can make an informed decision.

RAJU: That sounds like a yes.

VAN ORDEN: That's a yes. So if the rumors are true about Mr. Gaetz's conduct, then there should be referrals to other agencies. And if they're not true, then there's a whole lot of people that owe him an apology.

RAJU: Now, that Republican, Derrick Van Orden, has had a fraught relationship with Matt Gaetz over the years, and also underscores how Matt Gaetz, after years of battling with his colleagues, could potentially lose this vote on the House floor.

We'll see if it ultimately comes to that, or if Senate Republicans will get access to this information, because a lot of GOP senators, particularly on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who's considering this nomination, want to see all this information so they can understand the gravity of these allegations as they assess this critical decision about whether to move ahead with this nomination -- vote to confirm him.

[04:20:03]

One person who's not concerned with the blocking of this report, though, is Senator John Thune, the incoming majority leader, who told me earlier in the evening that it was, quote, their call, the House Ethics Committee's call not to release the report, did not object to that decision at all.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Now, Elon Musk went all in to help Donald Trump win the recent election, but Trump's plan for steep tariffs on Chinese imports could have a big impact on Musk's businesses. That's just ahead.

Plus, protesters call for more rallies in Kenya, which could lead to repeats of the violent scenes that rattled the country this summer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: The FBI says it has arrested a man who planned to bomb the New York Stock Exchange this week. Investigators say the 30-year-old from Florida, who was charged on Wednesday, told undercover agents about his plan. They said bomb-making sketches were found in his storage unit, along with electronics that can be used for detonating explosives. He'll remain behind bars while he awaits trial.

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani was indicted in New York on Wednesday for his alleged role in the multi-billion dollar Ford scheme. He was charged along with seven other business executives accused of offering more than $250 million in bribes for solar energy contracts within India's government. They were expected to generate more than $2 billion in profits over 20 years.

Adani is worth more than $85 billion and is Asia's second richest person according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. The Adani group says the allegations from U.S. authorities are, quote, baseless and denied.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to impose tariffs of 60 percent or more on products imported from China. But China is a major market for Elon Musk, who invested significant resources in Trump's reelection. CNN's Will Ripley has more on how Trump's approach to U.S.-China relations could create friction with his billionaire backer.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elon Musk was making moves in China years before stepping into U.S. politics. China is Tesla's second biggest market.

ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: We are looking for the greatest talent in China.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory churns out nearly a million cars a year, the company's most productive plant. Musk built strong ties with Chinese leaders, making Tesla the first foreign automaker with full factory ownership in China. Musk even got the government to officially use Tesla vehicles.

MUSK: We intend to make them -- continue making a significant investment and increasing the investment in China.

RIPLEY (voice-over): And he's not done yet. A $200 million mega battery factory is coming soon to Shanghai.

MUSK: Fight, fight, fight. Vote, vote, vote. Thank you.

[04:25:00]

RIPLEY (voice-over): But in the Trump 2.0 era, Musk may find himself navigating tricky terrain. President-elect Donald Trump is promising a 60 percent tariff or more on Chinese imports. A move that could create friction for Tesla's China operations.

LEV NACHMAN, POLITICAL ANALYST: And this is the classic conflict of interest with having someone like Elon Musk in politics. He's not a politician.

RIPLEY (voice-over): And he's definitely not a China hawk. That could put him at odds with Trump's incoming cabinet, widely seen as the toughest on Beijing in U.S. history.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE NOMINEE: They allow the Chinese Communist Party to gain access to all of the private data.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Take Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, a staunch critic of China, sanctioned twice by Beijing.

Rubio has championed human rights in Hong Kong and democracy in Taiwan, positions that clash with Musk. Criticized for these comments last year, seen as siding with authoritarian Beijing over the self- governing island.

MUSK: Their policy has been to reunite Taiwan with China. From this standpoint, you know, it may be analogous to like Hawaii.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Two power players, two very different views on China, both potentially shaping policy in the second Trump administration.

NACHMAN: The potential for fallout is very real.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Some say Musk may serve as a bridge between Beijing and Washington. Others warned his business interests could outweigh U.S. national priorities, creating more problems than solutions.

RIPLEY: The real wild card here is President-elect Donald Trump. He'll likely be getting completely opposite advice on China from Musk and Rubio. So nobody really has a clue as to which way he's going to go. And that unpredictability, that uncertainty is really being felt right now on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Protesters in Kenya are threatening to occupy the parliament where President William Ruto is set to speak in about two hours. There's concern the protests could lead to these images again, which fed out on the streets of Nairobi over the summer. That's when demonstrators held rallies for weeks, forcing the president to drop his unpopular tax hikes.

Despite that, many Kenyans remain disillusioned with him as he prepares to deliver a state of nation address. Social media posts are encouraging people to block roads to the parliament. They're also calling for, quote, the final revolution.

CNN's Larry Madowo is mentoring -- monitoring developments, joining us. Larry, tell us what the mood is like there as we wait for that address to happen in the next few hours.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christina, police have blocked some roads leading directly into Kenya's parliament. This is one of the ones that's directly in front of the parliament. And you see this security presence here.

This is the same street where five months ago protesters breached it and got inside Kenya's parliament. We're going to try and walk you back here because five months ago, we were here on the deadliest day of protests in the country. And walking back through this street is a little traumatic because we saw protesters who were shot dead on this very street.

When I walk through this, I can point out exactly where I saw bodies. I know the names of those people. I know their families. We've talked to them over the past five months and the trauma lives on.

That wall that leads into Kenya's parliament was broken down five months ago when protesters occupied parliament as they had promised. And so this time, there's a heavy security presence from different agencies of the Kenyan security services.

Back there, we see police preparing to mount a parade for President William Ruto, who's expected here in just over an hour, to address a joint sitting of Kenya's national assembly and Kenya's senate, which he does every year. But protesters are promising to come back and try and occupy parliament. They're wanting to resign.

In the past five months, many of them have been saying again and again that Ruto must go. Even though he was forced to drop unpopular tax proposals that were contained in that finance bill, which triggered the protests, there's widespread disillusionment beyond just that tax proposal. He was forced to fire his entire cabinet.

But then when he reconstituted it, half of the cabinet came back, but he also added opposition members into his cabinet. So for a lot of young people, the Gen Z who were out in the streets for weeks that time, they feel that the political class betrayed them. And that's what they're going to try and come back here, Christina.

If that's going to be possible, it's unlikely. With the president coming here, the last time they occupied parliament, the president was not here. So there's an even stronger security presence because of the president's expected presence here.

But that's on the backdrop of what human rights groups say are many human rights abusers.

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