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Putin Questions Ceasefire, Trump Reacts to Putin; Annexation of Greenland a Possibility Says Trump; U.S. Stocks Crash as Trade Wars Intensifies; Israel Accused of Genocidal Acts; Protesters Arrested at Trump Tower; Surge of Rape and Sexual Violence in DRC; Man Held Captive by Stepmother for Decades; Total Lunar Eclipse Features A "Blood Moon". Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired March 14, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: Hello, wherever you are in the world, you are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and it is so good to have you with me. Coming up this hour, new questions from Vladimir Putin leave Ukraine peace talks stalled, how President Trump is responding.

America's economy rattled by tariff threats and uncertainty. The White House says it's not worried.

And a rare type of blood moon is set to make an appearance. We're tracking the lunar eclipse.

The U.S. and Ukrainian presidents are responding after the Kremlin issued an unenthusiastic reaction to Washington's plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had reservations about it after Moscow received the proposal on Thursday. He raised so many questions about how it would work. He made it clear he does not go far enough. Ukraine has already signed off on the plan and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Kremlin of dragging its feet without saying no to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): Now we have all heard from Russia very predictable, very manipulative words from Putin in response to the idea of the ceasefire on the front line. He is actually preparing a refusal as of now. Putin, of course, is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: U.S. President Donald Trump reacted to the Kremlin's answer while meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Mr. Trump said the Russian president's response was promising but not complete. He added he would like Russia to be fully on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, we'd like to see a ceasefire from Russia. And we have, you know, not been working in the dark. We've been discussing with Ukraine land and pieces of land that would be kept and lost and all of the other elements of a final agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Meanwhile, well Moscow claims it has recaptured Sudzha, the largest town held by Ukraine in Russia's Kursk region. Fred Pleitgen has more from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Just hours after visiting his generals near the front lines in the Kursk region, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, back in Moscow, pouring cold water on President Trump's initiative for an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translation): I would like to begin with words of gratitude to the U.S. President, Mr. Trump for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine. We agree with the proposals to end hostilities but we proceed from the fact that this end should be such that it would lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis.

PELITGEN (voice-over): In other words, the Russians want to hammer out a full peace deal before ending the fighting, even as the Trump administration says the shooting should stop immediately. The U.S. president had hoped Putin would fully endorse his proposal.

TRUMP: Now we're going to see whether or not Russia is there and if they're not it'll be a very disappointing moment for the world.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): This as Russian forces say they've been making major gains in the Kursk region, Ukraine's last small foothold on Russian territory. Putin's soldiers are now patrolling the streets in small towns leveled by the battles.

There was fierce fighting here, the soldier says. Ukrainian troops brought in heavy equipment and shot at the building point blank. But the buildings are strong, the walls are strong, so the defense held up. Putin went on to say he has concerns that the Ukrainians will use a ceasefire to regroup and rearm if Moscow's troops take their foot off the gas now.

PUTIN (through translation): So these 30 days will be used how? So that forced mobilization continues in Ukraine? So that weapons are delivered there? So that units undergo training? Or if nothing of such sort will happen, then the question arises, how will the issue of control and verification be resolved? And how will we be guaranteed that nothing like this will happen? [02:05:06]

PLEITGEN (voice-over): While the Ukrainians have fully signed off on the ceasefire proposal and say they're willing to implement it immediately, the Russians say they see little benefit in freezing the fighting although Putin says he too wants to see the war come to an end.

PUTIN (through translation): I think that we need to talk about this with our American colleagues, partners, maybe call President Trump and discuss it with him. But the idea itself to end this conflict by peaceful means is supported by us.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Let's dig deep into this. We're joined by Mick Ryan, a retired Major General of the Australian Army. He's also the author of the book, "The War for Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation Under Fire." General Ryan is speaking with us from Kyiv. Mick, thanks so much for being with me. How are you doing?

MICK RYAN, AUSTRALIAN ARMY (RETIRED): Yeah, I'm really good, thanks. It's great to be with you again.

HUNTE: Glad to hear that. Firstly, the Russians seem to want a full peace deal before ending the fighting. Meanwhile, the Trump administration says the shooting should stop immediately. Who do you think is going to get their way?

RYAN: Well, it's hard to know, but Putin's position has been very clear throughout the war and he's showing that he hasn't changed his maximalist aims for this war. But he doesn't want peace, he wants Ukraine and there's nothing really in between and his rhetoric about speaking direct to the U.S. again is only delaying and pushing back the negotiations that are necessary to bring peace.

HUNTE: The Russian military has been making gains in Kursk, recapturing territory that Ukraine had occupied. Do you think the setbacks on the battlefield are going to be weakening Ukraine's bargaining position?

RYAN: I'm not sure Kursk was ever a strong bargaining position for Ukraine. I mean, Russia has about 18 percent of Ukrainian territory. Kursk represents much, much less than 1 percent of Russian territory. So it was never a strong negotiating point anyway. But I'm certain that Putin would have directed his generals to ensure they take Kursk before any potential negotiation takes place.

HUNTE: And how about from Russia's perspective? Is it to Putin's advantage to delay a ceasefire agreement as long as his troops are making gains on the battlefield?

RYAN: Well, I think he sees it that way. He thinks he's making progress in the east, even though that is coming at massive costs. Now, where he's made the most progress this year is in the minds of decision makers in the U.S. who think that they have to force a peace agreement on Ukraine to help Ukraine. Unfortunately, a bad peace will be much worse than no peace and many Ukrainians agree with that proposition.

HUNTE: We're coming to you from America. So let's talk about America a little bit. What does all of this mean for President Trump and his attempts to at least appear to be in some kind of control? And what would the truce mean for him?

RYAN: Well, the response of President Trump after Putin's rejection of the peace deal will be very insightful. It will tell us just how serious Trump is about peace. Does he want an enduring and just peace or just does he want to get this off the table so we can turn to other issues? But it'll also give allies insights into how Trump is thinking about dealing not just with Putin, but how he might deal with President Xi of China in the future.

HUNTE: Oh, yes. And just a few weeks ago, we saw that very awkward estrangement with President Zelenskyy marching out of the White House. Are you surprised that we're now in this position of peace talks?

RYAN: Not really. I mean, peace talks and the negotiations to get to negotiations are always difficult. They take time. They're very emotive, particularly for Ukrainian people. They've sacrificed a lot in this war. They want to ensure that they receive a just and enduring peace, not something that's convenient for someone in the White House.

HUNTE: The last time I spoke to you in your home in Australia, you're now in Ukraine. Can you give me a bit of a picture of what it's like being on the ground there right now? Is it dangerous? Like what's going on?

RYAN: It's as always, it's an inspiring and wonderful country to be in. I always enjoy coming here. I was out east in the last couple of days. And, you know, the soldiers out there, they understand what's going on with negotiations. But essentially, their view is if there's peace, we won't fight. If there's no peace, we continue fighting. The Ukrainians understand they have to continue fighting if they're going to get a deal that's acceptable and just at the end of the day.

HUNTE: Well, that's our time for now, Mick. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. And please do stay safe. Thank you for joining me again.

RYAN: Thank you.

HUNTE: President Donald Trump's plan to take over Greenland is perhaps unsurprisingly getting pushback from political leaders there.

[02:10:00]

Outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede promised that his party will strengthen its rejection of the annexation plan. And the leader of the party that won this week's election on the island territory also rejected the idea, calling it inappropriate.

On Thursday, Mr. Trump once again said that a takeover of Greenland, quote, "will happen."

In Washington, the clock is ticking for Congress to avert a government shutdown. Lawmakers have until tonight to pass a plan that would fund the government. And if they don't, hundreds of thousands of workers could be furloughed without pay, and many government services would be halted. The top Senate Democrat has said he would support a Republican bill that keeps the government open. But some Democrats still plan to oppose it.

All eyes are on the U.S. stock market as traders hope to bounce back from a tough day that followed weeks of declines. Have a look at how things ended on Thursday. The Dow fell 537 points. The Nasdaq dropped around 2 percent. And the S&P tumbled into correction territory down 10 percent from its record high last month.

Mr. Trump's erratic trade war is driving force behind the volatility. He's now vowing to slap a 200 percent tariff on wine, champagne and other alcohol products from Europe. That is unless the European Union removes a 50 percent tariff it put on U.S. spirits. American and European politicians are expressing concern over the escalating trade war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL MCGRATH, EUROPEAN UNION COMMISSIONER: We will respond in a firm, but a proportionate way. But this is not where we want to be. Tariffs are ultimately a tax on consumers here in the United States and in Europe, and they will hurt businesses and they will cost jobs.

REP. DARIN LAHOOD (R-IL): I have a heavy agriculture district, heavy manufacturing district. And so, yeah, to me tariffs are taxes. They're taxes on my farmers, my constituents, folks that are in my district.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Electric car maker Tesla, which is run by Elon Musk, is also raising concerns about tariffs. Company representatives warn the U.S. to carefully consider its trade policies. But as CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports, the White House isn't budging.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: As President Trump ends another week here at the White House, the financial markets have been roiled once again, reacting to the trade war and the tariff policies that have really driven down stocks and have raised questions about this administration's policies. But the president on Thursday saying he's taking the long view.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're not going to bend. We've been ripped off as a country for many, many years. We don't need their cars. We don't need their energy. We don't need their lumber. Now, there'll be a little disruption, but it won't be very long. But they need us. We really don't need them.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZELENY: The president saying it won't be very long, but that, of course, will be one of the metrics to which he is judged going forward. Will the markets still continue to have an adverse reaction to what these policies are doing? Now, the White House says, look, the market goes up, the market goes down. But it is clear the uncertainty that the trade war has signaled as really sparking uncertainty in the markets. The president, though, embracing this policy is looking ahead to even more tariffs when the reciprocal ones go into effect in April.

The bottom line to all of this, the White House saying, look, judge the president by what he did in his first term. But the reality is he's now being judged by his policies of the second. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

HUNTE: A shocking scene near an airport gate in Denver, Colorado. An American Airlines jet caught fire on Thursday after landing. The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane was diverted there while flying from Colorado Springs after the crew reported engine vibrations. The plane's engine caught fire on its way to the gate.

Passengers were forced to exit the plane by climbing onto its wing. The Denver airport reports all 178 people on board got off the jet. Fire officials say 12 people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Aviation authorities are investigating.

An alarming new report from the U.N. paints a damning picture of Israel's war in Gaza. We'll have details on the findings.

A total lunar eclipse takes over the night sky. When we come back, illuminating the rare occurrence of the blood moon.

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[02:15:00]

HUNTE: Protesters filled the atrium at Trump Tower in New York to denounce the arrest of Palestinian activist and U.S. resident Mahmoud Khalil. Demonstrators chanted "Free Mahmoud Khalil" and unfurled banners that read "Never Again for Anyone." Ninety-eight people were arrested on Thursday. Khalil remains detained by immigration authorities over his involvement in last year's protests at Columbia University against the war in Gaza.

On Thursday, the Council on American Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit on behalf of Khalil and seven other students against Columbia and Barnard College. The lawsuit alleges the schools agreed to disclose private student records to Congress under threat of losing billions of dollars in federal funding.

[02:19:59]

A new report by a U.N. commission accuses Israel of carrying out, quote, "genocidal acts" against Palestinians in Gaza. The report published on Thursday says Israeli authorities partially destroyed the reproductive capacity of Palestinians in Gaza as a group through the systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive health care facilities. The commission also cited the growing proportion of female deaths and the targeting of women and girls in Gaza, which the U.N. says is meant to terrorize Palestinians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS SIDOTI, MEMBER OF U.N. INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION: The frequency, prevalence and severity of sexual and gender-based crimes perpetrated across the occupied Palestinian territory leads the commission to conclude that sexual and gender-based violence is increasingly used as a method of war by Israel to destabilize, dominate, oppress, and destroy the Palestinian people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: The Israeli mission to the U.N. said Israel categorically rejects what it says are unfounded allegations. Another new U.N. report finds rape and sexual violence against children are skyrocketing in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The horrifying attacks come as violence in the eastern region of the DRC reaches its most serious point in more than a decade of conflict. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz brings us some of the accounts as told by the survivors themselves.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A crisis of rape and sexual violence against children is unfolding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their aid workers tell us hundreds of children have been raped, most by armed men, according to UNICEF. Now, we have testimonies from two survivors. But before I read them, I want to give you a trigger warning. We're also going to keep the identities of these victims anonymous for their protection. These are the words of a 14-year-old girl.

UNKNOWN: I have no mother, no father. My grandmother is the only family I have left. She has cared for me all my life, despite her old age and fragile health. On the night of January 26th, around 9:00 p.m., during the armed clashes, two men with guns entered our home. My grandmother could do nothing but watch as they raped me. She cried, but she was powerless. We kept it a secret. I didn't tell anyone. My grandmother was too ashamed and afraid.

ABDELAZIZ: Now, one of the most dangerous things for a child to do in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today is to draw water from a well. That's how this nightmare began for a mother of two.

UNKNOWN: My two daughters, ages 15 and 13, became victims of rape this morning. They were going to draw water when six armed men isolated them and raped them in turn. I wanted to intervene, but I had just escaped death after being shot at twice. My daughters are in very critical condition. Please pray for them. We need your support and help.

ABDELAZIZ: The fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to escalate and aid workers say they are receiving cases of children raped by armed men on a near daily basis. Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London. HUNTE: A man in the U.S. says his stepmother held him captive for

more than 20 years. Just ahead, how he risked his life to finally escape.

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[02:25:00]

HUNTE: Emergency crews in the U.S. state of Connecticut made a disturbing discovery last month while responding to a house fire. At the property, they found a middle-aged woman and her 32-year-old stepson, who claimed he'd been kept secret his entire life and revealed startling allegations of abuse. CNN's Jean Cazares has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FERNANDO SPAGNOLO, WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT POLICE DEPARTMENT: Thirty years of law enforcement, this is the worst treatment of humanity that I've ever witnessed.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When authorities were called to a home on fire, they were looking for anyone who may be trapped inside.

SPAGNOLO: Officers and fire investigators quickly realized that there was a room in the house that appeared to have locks on it from the exterior portion of the house.

CASAREZ (voice-over): A 32-year-old man was locked inside that room.

SPAGNOLO: They began to speak to the male victim who disclosed that he was being held captive in the house for an extended period of time.

CASAREZ (voice-over): The man was treated for smoke inhalation, and police say he admitted to setting the fire to gain his freedom. He also told them he'd been held captive for more than 20 years by his stepmother since he was about 11 years old. He said he was only fed two sandwiches and two cups of water a day.

Authorities say he was held in an 8x9 foot storage room with no heat or air conditioning, and he suffered serious physical consequences. According to a police affidavit, the 32-year-old is 5 feet 9 inches tall and just 68.7 pounds.

SPAGNOLO: There's a lot of physical therapy that he'll have to go through. There's a lot of healing that he'll have to go through.

[02:29:59]

CASAREZ (voice-over): According to law enforcement, authorities went to the home twice in April of 2004. The first visit was a welfare check requested by the Department of Children and Families.

SPAGNOLO: Officers went to the house. The house was clean. It was lived in. They spoke to the victim at that point in time, and there were no cause for any alarm.

CASAREZ: Later that month, the family attempted to file harassment charges because the school district continued reporting the family to DCF. The affidavit says after that, his stepmother pulled him out of school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just unfathomable that anyone could treat someone this way.

CASAREZ: The alleged victim says he wasn't allowed to use the bathroom and instead had to use bottles and newspaper. His stepmother, Kimberly Sullivan, was arrested on charges of assault, second-degree kidnapping, and first-degree unlawful restraint. Her attorney says the allegations against her are not true.

IOANNIS A. KALOIDIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR KIMBERLY SULLIVAN: Absolutely not true. He was not locked in a room. She did not restrain him in any way. She provided food. She provided shelter. She is blown away by these allegations.

CASAREZ: Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

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[02:35:53]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Skygazers are enjoying a celestial treat, a total lunar eclipse now, moving through the night. It's visible from the Americas, New Zealand and parts of Europe, Africa, Japan and Russia.

The eclipse turns our lunar neighbor into what's called a blood moon.

Let's dig deeper into this. We're going to bring in Chris Packham. He's a physics and astronomy professor with the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Chris, how are you doing?

CHRIS PACKHAM, PHYSICS & ASTRONOMY PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, SAN ANTONIO: Very good. Just enjoying this beautiful spectacle outside.

HUNTE: Oh, I love that we were going to try and get outside, but we couldn't make it work. I wish we were. I'm just seeing lights above me right now.

Can you explain to us what is it that were actually seeing tonight?

PACKHAM: It's this incredible coincidence. This celestial phenomenon where the sun, the. Earth and the moon are all lined up and some of the light from the sun goes through the atmosphere of the earth and falls onto the surface of the moon.

The moon right now is in the shadow of the Earth, but it should be completely dark. Except we have that atmosphere. That atmosphere is filtering the light, and that red light gets through and falls onto the surface of the moon. That's why we see this beautiful red moon, sometimes called the blood red blood moon, as you've been saying. The reason why it's red is just like every sunset or sunrise.

We -- it's going through the kind of edge of the atmosphere. So it gets red and it gets colored. That beautiful sunset or sunrise red.

HUNTE: Okay, that's interesting because me and my producer were talking about why specifically does turn red, because you kind of answered that there, but is it a surprising sight? I can't see it. So tell me when you look it up, is it a surprising thing to see?

PACKHAM: It's not surprising in the sense that the mechanics, the celestial mechanics, work like clockwork. We can predict things down to the nearest second, so it's not a surprise. It's still, though, a very beautiful event to look at.

What I get a chance to see. I can look at both the beauty of it and thinking how beautiful nature is. But I can also think about the science and what's going on, why this is happening.

And if I may, one of the things that I would love and hopefully we'll be able to do in the not too distant future, if you could be on the moon, standing on the surface of the moon right now, looking back at the earth, you'd see the globe of the Earth and everywhere around the Earth, all around where the atmosphere is, you'd see sunset or sunrise, that beautiful color coming towards you and falling onto the surface of the moon.

HUNTE: Well, that sounds beautiful. I love that.

Our lunar eclipse is safe to look at with the naked eye.

PACKHAM: Absolutely, no problem at all. And I loved one of the things that you said earlier, naming all the countries that you can go out and see it from right now, we all see it around the Earth. We're one Earth right now. We can look up at the moon anywhere that you are on the Earth, as long as you're on the night side of the earth and you can see this beautiful thing, its kind of a wonderful, unifying kind of perspective to think about.

HUNTE: Wow, how rare of an event is this? I mean, for many people, a solar eclipse is a once in a lifetime event. How often can we expect to see a total lunar eclipse?

PACKHAM: We know actually in the U.S., we're pretty lucky we get another total lunar eclipse in September the 7th, so it's not too far away. They're not so rare simply because the shadow that the earth casts is quite large, and so that chance alignment of the sun, earth and moon happens fairly regularly.

I should mention the reason why it doesn't happen every month is because the moons orbit around the earth is slightly tilted, so sometimes the moon is kind of above or below the Earth's shadow. HUNTE: Okay. On social media, I saw that people were talking about

the emotion involved in seeing an eclipse. She gave me a little brief preview earlier, but I saw a solar eclipse in New York last summer.

How does an eclipse make you feel? What type of way?

PACKHAM: Well, we -- we -- I'm enjoying this eclipse, looking forward to the eclipse in September. We also had a total solar eclipse here on the here in San Antonio.

[02:40:02]

That's when the moon casts a shadow on the earth. Those things are far more rare, and they're far more spectacular.

Unfortunately for us here in San Antonio, it was a cloudy day, but it was still incredible. Even though it was cloudy, it did go like night within just a few short minutes. It is an incredible thing. So get out there and enjoy this natural free of charge event.

HUNTE: Amazing. Well, Chris, we will see you in September. Thank you so much for joining us for now. We appreciate it.

PACKHAM: Wonderful. Thank you so much.

HUNTE: See you then.

Okay. Well, thank you for joining me on the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. It's been so real. Let's do it all again in 15 minutes time.

"WORLD SPORT" is up next. And you are watching CNN. See you soon.

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[02:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)