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Ukraine Strikes Key Bridge Connecting Russia To Crimea; Lee Jae-myung Sworn In After Presidential Victory; Chile Prosecutors Individuals Alleged To Have Stolen Babies; Chile Prosecutes Individuals Alleged to Have Stolen Babies; France to Prohibit Smoking in Many Public Areas; Dust Cloud Expected to Reach U.S. In Coming Days; Hotter Weather is Helping Iraqi Salt Mining Industry. Aired 2- 2:45a ET

Aired June 04, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:01:34]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London.

Just ahead, Ukraine strikes a vital bridge connecting Russia to Crimea. How they pulled off the surprise operation just days after the devastating drone attack on Russian bombers.

South Korea's new president is vowing to build a completely new nation. We're live in Seoul with more of Lee Jae-myung's promise to restore the country.

And as global warming harms people and biodiversity around the world, a sea salt factory in Iraq claims the rising temperatures are actually good for its business.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Christina Macfarlane.

MACFARLANE: The White House is now signaling that U.S. President Donald Trump will be making the final decision on whether to slap additional sanctions on Russia. Mr. Trump met with top ranking Senate Republican on Monday about the Senate's bipartisan Russia sanctions resolution.

But as the Senate Majority Leader put it, Trump isn't, "There yet." White House Press Secretary made clear Tuesday, the decision to sanction Russia further ultimately lies with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He's willing to use sanctions if he needs them. And the Senate and Capitol Hill understand that the president is the commander in chief, and he's leading United States foreign policy, as he should. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Following the disappointing peace talks in Istanbul, the Ukrainian president called on his American counterpart to support tougher sanctions against Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Russia remains fully committed to war, and they proved this commitment of theirs with both their strikes and their statements. All of this is the argument for new sanctions against Russia, tough sanctions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: On Tuesday, Ukrainian delegation arrived in Washington to discuss military aid and sanctions against Russia with Trump's envoy to Ukraine. Zelenskyy said the delegation is offering the U.S., "Very concrete and mutually beneficial agreements."

On Tuesday, Ukraine carried out yet another daring attack just days after striking military targets deep inside Russia. This time, Ukraine security service says it hit the Kerch Bridge, a key supply line for Moscow's troops, connecting Russia to the occupied Crimean Peninsula.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice over): Ukraine's latest spectacular attack, targeting the Crimea Bridge, vital to Russia's war in Ukraine, 1,100 kilograms of explosives hidden underwater, a months-long operation, according to Ukraine's Security Service.

It's not the first time Ukraine has tried to take out the 12-mile rail and road bridge that links mainland Russia to Annex Crimea. In 2022, Ukraine blew up the roadway, briefly disrupting Russia's flow of warfighting material.

In 2023, Ukraine again tried to take out the bridge, pioneering new technology, a so-called Sea Baby or water drone hitting the bridge at water level. But the bridge held.

The estimated $3.7 billion link was opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018, four years after he illegally annexed Crimea during Russia's first invasion of Ukraine. Roughly the size of Maryland, Crimea is hugely important to Putin, home to Russia's strategic Black Sea fleet, and a key hub in attacking Ukraine.

[02:05:22]

Since his 2022 Ukraine land grab, Putin has also secured a land link to the island-like peninsula. Ukraine has vowed never to give it up.

Ukraine's Crimea bridge attack comes days after another spectacular strategic strike, hitting Russia's long range bombers at air bases, thousands of kilometers from Ukraine. But on the grinding battle front, Ukraine is incrementally losing ground, nowhere faster right now than around the northern city of Sumy.

Russian artillery now so close, they are striking the city center. At least 4 civilians killed, about 20 injured Tuesday, according to city officials.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (on camera): With peace talks effectively deadlocked, Ukraine's strategic moonshots definitely a boost for morale and a hint they still have hidden cards to play. But this as Putin seems intent to ignore President Donald Trump's calls for a cease fire. Putin opting instead for a war of attrition.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

MACFARLANE: Israel's military is warning residents of Gaza against heading to aid centers on Wednesday, calling them, "Combat zones." The Warning follows three days of deadly incidents near a distribution centers. Dozens of Palestinians were killed and injured while trying to collect aid, and there are conflicting reports on what happened.

The Gaza humanitarian Foundation says it is closing its aid sites on Wednesday for logistical preparations. The U.S. and Israel backed organization has been criticized by the United Nations for its limited number of distribution sites.

And the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote on Wednesday on a resolution demanding a permanent cease fire in Gaza, according to a Slovenian diplomat. The draft resolution seen by CNN also demands the immediate lifting of restrictions on aid for Gaza.

Now, South Korea's newly elected president is pledging to build a completely new nation. We're live in Seoul with a look at the inaugural promises from the Democratic Party leader just ahead.

Plus, the Trump administration imposes a new tariff hike on steel and aluminum and issues a so called friendly reminder to trading partners.

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[02:12:19]

MACFARLANE: We are returning now to our top story, Ukraine's daring attack on the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia to Crimea.

For more on this, I'm joined now by Michael Bociurkiw, former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He comes to us this morning live from Odesa, Ukraine. Michael, great to have you with us.

Let's talk about this Kerch Bridge, because, as our reporter was saying just previously, it has been a key supply route for Moscow's forces and a source of much pride for President Putin. So, when you couple this attack with that stunning drone attack on

Russian aircraft just days ago, what message is this sending, and what impact do you think these attacks could have at this stage of the war?

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, SENIOR FELLOW, THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Sure, good to be with you, Christina. Well, if any of your viewers thought they're having a bad start to the week, imagine if you're the head of Russian intelligence or the chief of staff of the military, you get that call from the Kremlin on Monday by Putin saying, what the heck is going on? That's probably what played out in the Kremlin and heads were rolled because of this.

I cannot overemphasize enough, we just finished here the Black Sea security forum. And every expert here that came to Odesa said, there's no way that the Kerch Strait Bridge can be touched, because it has multiple layers of defenses, and yet, the Ukrainians were able to penetrate that and cause pretty, pretty significant damage.

So, a huge humiliation to them, and that, of course, is on top of what happened on Sunday, something like 40 percent of strategic bombing capability of the Russians just evaporated.

Having said that, if I tell you about just a few hours ago, in the middle of the night here in Odesa and the night before, Christina, it sounded almost like the start of World War III. We had so many drones come over, and for the first time, I've been based here for over two years, we heard drones overhead. That means that they're able to penetrate air defense systems. They're not ballistic missiles, but nonetheless, drones can pack a powerful punch here.

MACFARLANE: Yes, a stark reminder that the war continues despite these gains by Ukraine in recent days. And as you were saying that, Michael, I mean, this attack is a coup for Ukraine. It still shows that they have the capability to inflict serious damage.

The bigger question, though, is, how much weight do you think this is going to carry in those ongoing peace negotiations happening right now? Because we know that Russia, as yet, has not shifted at all from its maximalist position?

BOCIURKIW: Yes, a couple of points there. The other thing at this forum we learned is that the Russians have become incredibly adept at repositioning and rebuilding. I'll give you an example. They're now transforming their internal waterway systems that they're more easily able to shift naval assets, not heavy naval assets, but assets nonetheless, from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

[02:15:21]

They're also, for example, building a new railway on the northern coast of the Black Sea, the part that links the mainland with Crimea as a fail safe against damage to the bridge.

Now, peace talks alone will not bring peace. I'm convinced of that. What needs to happen right now, and I mean today, is the folks in Brussels, the European leaders and bureaucrats need to unload and completely every possible sanction they have on to Russia.

As Ambassador John Bolton said the other day, the E.U. has now put 17 sets of sanctions on Russia. Why wasn't all that done at the beginning? So, maximum pain needs to be inflicted.

And one last thing, I'm going to say this anyway. If I called the leaders and bureaucrats in Brussels incompetent, I don't think anyone in Ukraine would dispute that with me, because we can't figure out why they don't inflict the maximum damage that they can.

But lastly, that should include -- it should include the frozen 190 million -- billion euros in assets that they won't touch. They've only touched the interest, but they should take that, give it to Ukraine for new weapons.

MACFARLANE: I mean, perhaps we can speculate, Michael, that it could be because they're waiting to see what the U.S. does in this moment.

I mean, we've been reporting after, you know, calls from Zelenskyy for additional sanctions that the U.S. Senate are preparing secondary sanctions, which is being tabled by Senator Lindsey Graham, a key ally of Donald Trump.

I mean, do you think it's possible this an indication Trump is willing to get tough on Putin and that Europe are waiting to see how that will play out?

BOCIURKIW: Hard to say. I mean, Steve Bannon, a Trump ally and a big MAGA fan, said that Senator Lindsey Graham should be banned from coming back to the country, thrown in jail for producing that for that proposal, and for backing the Ukrainians.

So, this is a type of internal debate I think that is happening in Washington that is not going to help Ukraine. What we are hearing from European leaders and British leaders and we've just seen a new defense strategy out of the U.K. The E.U. is producing a Black Sea strategy. I think these are steps that recognize that we have to move away from dependency on the United States and act unilaterally as a block.

But it's going to take time, because a lot of the political will, a lot of the weaponry just isn't there to take the place of the United States.

MACFARLANE: All right, Michael, we really appreciate your thoughts this morning, and given the situation there in Odesa, please do look after yourself.

BOCIURKIW: My pleasure. Thank you.

MACFARLANE: South Korea now has a new president after device -- decisive victory at the polls, 60-year-old Lee Jae-myung took the oath of office just a few hours ago. The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party is pledging to revive South Korea's struggling economy. He also hopes to help the country recover from months of political turmoil after his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol briefly declared martial law last December. Yoon has since been impeached and faces insurrection charges, which he denies.

CNN's Mike Valerio is joining us live from Seoul this hour. So, Mike, good to see you. What is the mood in South Korea as this new president box on turning the page and, in his words, building a completely new nation?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christina, I would say the mood is one of wanting a new character of South Korean politics to be rebuilt out of this moment. We are standing in the compound of the National Assembly in Seoul. This is the heart of South Korea's democracy.

And Christina, we've been with you through the storyline since then. This is the place where myriad troops were sent by the former president now kicked out of office because he thought that politics, the whole political situation was so bad and so log jammed, he made a horrifying miscalculation to send troops here. His adversaries argue to arrest politicians who are against his agenda. So, that was the nadir. That was the low point of South Korean politics.

And now there's a new president in town, Lee Jae-myung, and he seemed to be acutely aware that a new character needs to be built, especially here, he spoke to that, and also he spoke about troops being sent to this sacred space. Let's listen to what he said, and then we'll come back on the other side of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE JAE-MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I will rebuild everything that was destroyed by the insurrection and create a society that continues to grow and develop. An insurrection that uses the military's power to seize the people's sovereignty must never happen again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:20:09]

VALERIO: I think that's probably the understatement of the morning right there, because that destroys a nation's democratic credibility if you send in troops to your legislature.

So, building upon that, he wants to rebuild the country in terms of making people's economic livelihoods much better. So, he's talking about the microeconomic picture forming an Emergency Economic Task Force to address cost of living, everything's super expensive here in Seoul, Busan throughout the country, also addressing the macroeconomic picture.

It's going to be interesting to see, Christina, whether or not, or I should say, how he addresses getting a trade deal done between Seoul and Washington, D.C. This is a tech tighten South Korea, but hugely dependent on exports. But he has signaled that perhaps the United States does not have the upper hand that it thinks it has, and that it might be better to slow walk a deal and to think of it more deliberately, rather than rushing into a deal like we've seen some representatives in the White House saying that we want a deal done as soon as possible.

So, a lot on the table for this President, but for viewers around the world, just the takeaway is that he wants this to be a new beginning, but politics here in this corner of the world for a key ally of the Democratic international community, very complicated. It's going to be a tall order to repair the fabric after those scenes that we saw on December 3rd, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yes. Well, it begins today, and we will be keeping a close eye on developments. Mike Valerio there live in Seoul. Thanks very much, Mike.

Well, preliminary results from Mexico's judicial election show the country's ruling party gained more seats in the Supreme Court that will give President Claudia Sheinbaum's party control of every branch of government.

Only about 13 percent of voters took part in the controversial election Sunday. Critics say putting the judiciary itself up for a vote was a dangerous move. They warn it could open up avenues for corruption from judges and organized crime, and that it could violate the rule of law.

A new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. kicked in a few hours ago, now doubling to 50 percent. the struggling U.S. steel industry is applauding this latest broadside from the Trump administration, but other sectors that rely on the metals are warning of price hikes everywhere, from car lots to grocery store shelves, although it's not entirely clear how or when the costs will be passed on to consumers.

Meanwhile, the Trump team has asked all countries that trade with the U.S. to submit trade proposals by the end of today. The White House called the letter that went out a friendly reminder that the deadline is coming up.

And Elon Musk is sharing how he really feels about the President Trump's big, beautiful bill. He called it, "A disgusting abomination." Saying lawmakers who voted for it will, "Know you did wrong."

In later posts, Musk accused Congress of making America bankrupt and called for action to fire all politicians who betrayed the American people. President Trump is rallying support in the Senate for the controversial legislation which is meant to fund his domestic policy agenda.

Still ahead, Chile issues arrest warrants for a decade's old scheme to steal and sell babies under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Now, the victims and their families are demanding truth and justice.

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[02:28:19]

MACFARLANE: A dark part of Chile's history is coming to light. The government is prosecuting individuals who allegedly participated in a scheme decades ago to steal babies from their parents and secretly sell them into adoption.

A judge in Santiago has charged and issued arrest warrants for five people in the investigation, the first case of its kind in the country's history. CNN's Rafael Romo has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIMMY LIPPERT THYDEN, STOLEN AS A BABY IN CHILE: My mother, my ma, she gave birth to me one month premature. They told her, you know, oh, he looks jaundiced, you know, he looks yellow. We need to put him in an incubator. And they carried me out of there before she could hold me, before she could name me. They carried me out. And then they came back and told her that I had died.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): That's how the story of Jimmy Lippert Thyden begins. Born in Chile, he says he was stolen from his biological mother and sold to be made available for adoption by an American couple who had no idea about the truth.

THYDEN: They never believed for one second they were buying a child, they never would have -- would have done that.

ROMO (voice over): It's the story of tens of thousands of children in Chile who were torn apart from their families in the '70s and '80s during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.

And now, for the first time, a Chilean judge is prosecuting five people who allegedly were involved in the theft of babies in Chile in the '70s and '80s.

As part of the investigation, the judge has determined that lawyers, priests of the Catholic Church, members of social organizations, health officials and a judge were part of a ring that focused on abducting or stealing infants from monetary gain, with the purpose of taking them out of the country to different destinations in Europe and the U.S., and charging as much as $50,000.

[02:30:00]

Over the last decade, CNN has documented cases of people stolen as babies in Chile who have reunited with their biological mothers decades later after taking a DNA test to prove the relationship.

Scott Lieberman, an American born in Chile, is one of them.

SCOTT LIEBERMAN, STOLEN AS A BABY IN CHILE: I didn't know what happened. I lived 42 years of my life without knowing that I was stolen, knowing what was happening down in Chile during the '70s and '80s. And I just -- I want people to know, people need to know. There are families out there that can still be reunited.

ROMO: Scott Lieberman says he always knew that he was adopted from Chile. What he did not know was the whole truth about how the adoption happened. He found out that in the '70s and '80s, there had been many cases of babies stolen in Chile and sold to adoption agencies, and began to wonder if the same thing had happened to him. ROMO (voice-over): The government of Chile named a special prosecutor in 2015 to investigate cases of stolen babies, and then a second one, who last year said that he hadn't been able to establish that any crimes had been committed. But Chilean President Gabriel Boric created a task force last year to investigate the cases and has publicly stated that many babies were stolen for a long time and handed over to foreign families in the United States and Europe.

On Sunday, he announced that Chilean government will create a genetic fingerprint bank that will provide additional means of searching for origins and enable family reunification, giving hope to the many people in Chile and abroad who are still seeking long lost families.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Rising temperatures around the world are bringing their share of problems, but one industry is thriving. How the heat is helping sea salt manufacturers, after the break.

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[02:36:45]

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. France is extinguishing its longstanding love affair with cigarettes. Starting July 1st, the country plans to ban smoking in many public outdoor areas in an effort to protect children, including beaches, parks, schools, bus stops, and sports fields. French health officials say smoking kills around 200 people every day in the country. The U.K. announced a similar ban last year.

A massive dust cloud from the Sahara Desert is sweeping across the Caribbean, stretching more than 2,000 miles and triggering air quality alerts. The so-called Saharan air layer forms each year creating hazy skies, vivid sunsets, and can even suppress hurricane development. The satellite imagery shows the plume of dry air and dust drifting westward towards the U.S. where it's expected to reach Florida and the Gulf Coast in the coming days.

Iraq is one of the most vulnerable countries when it comes to climate change, but the rising temperatures are creating big business opportunities for the salt mining industry. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Climate change doesn't just cause our planet to heat up. It also gives rise to severe weather, drought, widespread species loss, and many other consequences. But here at the sea salt basins of Southern Iraq, the sweltering heat adds value.

HUSSAM AL-AKILLI, PRODUCTION MANAGER, BASRA SALT FACTORY (through translator): Every cloud has a silver lining. You know about global warming. The phenomenon of global warming is harmful to some, but for us, it causes our production to increase.

VAN DAM (voice-over): One of the few industries actually benefiting from the Earth's rising temperatures, sea salt production. While global warming plagues humans and biodiversity, the Basra Salt Factory in Alpha (ph) is welcoming the warmth.

AL-AKILLI (through translator: We benefit from the high temperatures, especially in Southern Iraq. The higher the temperatures, the higher the degrees of evaporation, so the concentration increases.

VAN DAM (voice-over): Al-Akilli, a salt Production Manager, tells Reuters the hotter temperatures mean quicker production time and better salt quality. Seawater salt plants like the one he manages are generally less invasive of the earth compared to traditional rock salt mining, according to the Sustainable Restaurant Association. But the United Nations Environment Program warns the process can pollute coastal waters and harm marine life if salt workers don't properly dispose of byproducts, especially when done large scale. And experts say the advantages to the sea water salt production industry pale in comparison to the overall dangers of global warming.

MISHTAQ IDAN, PROFESSOR AND RESEARCHER, BASRA UNIVERSITY (through translator): When comparing the damage caused, the partial and simple benefits to some industries, this is an unfair competition to the damage caused by global warming.

VAN DAM (voice-over): Iraq remains one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the world, according to the U.N. But at least here, within the sea salt basins, hotter days are good for business.

Derek Van Dam, CNN, Atlanta.

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[02:40:00]

MACFARLANE: Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London. "World Sport" is up next. And I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "CNN Newsroom." Stay with us.

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[02:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)