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Russia-Ukraine Peace Efforts; Deadly South Asia Floods; Back To Work. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired August 17, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

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BEN HUNTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN Newsroom with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is me. It's so good to have you with me too.

Coming up on the show, U.S. President Donald Trump believes peace could be close in Ukraine, but many in the international community, including Ukraine, remain skeptical.

Flashfloods have left more than 300 people dead in Pakistan. We will show you the devastating scenes.

And back to work, striking Air Canada Flight attendants have been ordered back to their jobs, but for travelers, things haven't returned to normal yet.

Welcome. Diplomatic activity is shifting into overdrive as the U.S. president believes he could be within striking distance of reaching peace in Ukraine. President Donald Trump told European leaders he wants to hold a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts by Friday. That is if his talks of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy go well on Monday. That's all happening after Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly put his cards on the table at his summit with Mr. Trump in Alaska.

European officials say Mr. Trump told them that Putin wants the entire Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine, and in exchange, he would freeze the front lines in the rest of the country and Russia would pledge not to attack Ukraine or any other European country again.

But as Ben Wedeman reports, the summit didn't go down well with average Ukrainians.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: To gauge reaction to the Trump-Putin Alaska summit, we went to Kyiv's, iconic Maidan Square to an ad hoc monument to the growing ranks of Ukraine's war dead. The verdict here, negative.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't talk about Ukraine without Ukraine. You know, that's my position. If you want to address resolve and problems, especially who are in Ukraine, you need to talk with Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their meeting was really for nothing, no results, and even some shameful situation with the red cabbage (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm deeply outraged that America is welcoming an international war criminal who is killing an entire nation with a red carpet and military honors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEDEMAN: Ukraine and its European allies were hoping and pushing for at least a ceasefire that didn't happen. But there was relief that Presidents Trump and Putin didn't reach an agreement without involving Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, burned once already in the Oval Office earlier this year, decided to look on the bright side, saying in a statement issued by his office that Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace, adding, it's important that America's strength has an impact on the development of the situation.

He also readily accepted President Trump's invitation for another Oval Office meeting scheduled for Monday possibly to be attended by European leaders, and he said he's ready for a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin. But he warned that if that trilateral meeting doesn't take place and peace efforts come to not, sanctions on Russia must be tightened.

Zelenskyy also made clear his concern that while Ukraine's allies give diplomacy a chance, Russia will take the opportunity to double down on its summer offensive, which has already succeeded in breaking through Ukrainian lines in the east.

Now, the optics of the Alaska summit, the jet flyover, the red carpet, the warm words of welcome, it didn't go down well here, yet the worst was averted and an effort, albeit less than perfect, is underway to bring this three-and-a-half-year-old war to an end.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Kyiv.

HUNTE: Russian State Media is celebrating Vladimir Putin's trip to Alaska. They're welcoming the sight of their president, being embraced again by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Fred Pleitgen has the perspective from Moscow.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Russians seemed to be pretty happy with the way the Trump Putin summit in Alaska went down Russian media celebrating the way that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, was received by U.S. President Donald Trump, calling the handshake between the two leaders, quote, historic. Also the spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, she came out and said that for three years the west has been telling people that Russia is isolated on the international stage, and now they see Vladimir Putin on the red carpet, on U.S. soil. Another person who also talked about this was the former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and he said, first of all, the Russians are quite happy that it seems as though that threat of massive sanctions by President Trump, at least for now, is off the table. Medvedev also saying that he believes there is now a mechanism in place for Russia and the United States to speak to one another without any threats, or pressure, but most importantly, he says, he believes that right now the door is open for negotiations even as what Russia calls its special military operation continues.

That is, of course, the position that Russia has had for a very long time where they have said they are against an immediate ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict. Instead, what they want is longer term talks towards a wider agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

HUNTE: Earlier, my colleague, Polo Sandoval, spoke with Robert English, the director of Central European Studies at the University of Southern California. They discussed Ukraine's negotiating position and Russia's demands too.

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ROBERT ENGLISH, DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: It's forcing Zelenskyy and it's forcing all of his western backers, principally the European allies who have been standing up the most for him recently, to confront the fact that Putin holds more cards, that if they say, no deal, no concessions now, that it's better to have no deal than a bad deal, then Putin continues to press forward, his army advances, and we come back to the same point in three or six months in an even weaker position and get an even worse deal. They're simply confronting that power differential right now. It's a bitter pill, but it doesn't seem there's any way to avoid swallowing it.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As we look ahead to Monday, I'm wondering if you can speak to the position that the Europeans will be in when Zelenskyy hits back to Washington. What options do you think that they have if Zelenskyy continues to insist on no territorial concessions to Russia, what next?

ENGLISH: I suspect the European allies will say, look, Volodymyr, we've fought as hard as we could for you, we have tried and tried to persuade Trump. And he met with Putin, he did the best he could, and this is where we are. We can't get a better deal. There's no way around. You're giving up territory. And if you refuse, we'll be back at the table in six months and you'll have lost another thousand square kilometers.

So, there's way to -- you know, this is the end of illusions. This is the time to come to the table. And now, the best we can do for you is provide those troops to push hard for the maximal security guarantees. And that will be, by the way, a big demand for the Europeans. It is hard for them to come up with 50,000, 75,000, 100,000 troops who will be more or less permanently stationed, rotating through Ukraine. But they'll have to do it or else the security guarantees aren't there. It's up to us to provide them.

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HUNTE: Officials in Gaza City are urging the United Nations and other countries to step in as fears of forced displacement grow. Israel says it will hand out tents and shelter supplies as its military prepares to relocate up to a million Palestinians to Southern Gaza. The Israeli security cabinet approved a plan last week to take over Gaza City and eventually to occupy the entire strip.

Meanwhile, the fighting rages on. New video shows Palestinians surrounded by rubble after an Israeli strike hit a school on Friday. Gaza's Health Ministry says, several people who were sheltering at the school were either killed or injured.

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ABDEL RAHIM THERA, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN: We were playing in the square and there were children playing. Women were sitting. We were having fun, and everything was fine. And people were having fun between each other until suddenly a strike on the square on all the people, children, and there were injuries and women injured, lying on the ground, and this is what happened. They hit us and there was nothing. They hit us on the square without any justification, neither resistance nor anything. They hit it without any justification.

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HUNTE: A massive strike is underway across Israel right now to demand the government reach a deal with Hamas to release the remaining hostages. Organizers say hundreds of thousands of business owners and private citizens are expected to participate. 20 hostages out of the 50 that remain in Gaza are believed to be alive.

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Some of the hostages' family members joined protest on Saturday night ahead of the nationwide strike.

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ITZIK HORN, FATHER OF HOSTAGE EITAN HORN: Israel comes to a halt and I call on everyone to join. This is not a day off for shopping at malls. It is a day of protest. It is not only a day to show solidarity with the families of the hostages, but a civic demonstration to preserve the moral character of the state of Israel.

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HUNTE: Okay. Still to come, deadly flooding in South Asia kills hundreds of people over the past two days.

Plus, it is good news and bad news for Air Canada travelers, striking flight attendants have been ordered to go back to their jobs, but many flights are still grounded. An update on that situation after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: Welcome back. Let's head to Pakistan now, where devastating flooding has killed more than 300 people in just the past 48 hours. This comes as heavy rain caused flooding in many parts of the region, killing people in Nepal and India administered Kashmir.

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Witnesses describe the moments leading up to and after the flooding, which devastated the area,

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HUNTE (voice over): A slow drive through what's left of a village in Northwest Pakistan, trees are uprooted vehicles stuck in the mud, boulders are everywhere. Residents of Pakistan's Buner District say the flash flood struck with terrifying speed.

HAROON RASHEED, RESIDENT: A cloud burst triggered a flash flood right here sending water surging through the village. As a result, 70 to 80 percent of the village has been destroyed. Even if not completely wiped out, every single house has suffered damage.

HUNTE: Witnesses say the floodwaters were filled with rocks, pulverizing, anything in their path. Some people say they were able to make it to higher ground before the waters hit, but others had no time to run.

ABDUL ERHMAN, RESIDENT: There's been massive loss of life with many still buried under rubble, trying to get out. The destruction is immense.

HUNTE: Hundreds of people have been killed in the severe weather, which has stretched across the north and northwest of Pakistan, and also into parts of India and Nepal.

And forecasters warn more torrential rain is expected, which could bring more cloud bursts, floods, and landslides to places already deluged with water.

The skies clouded as villages gathered for a mass funeral. For those lost in the floods, a rite that will likely have to be repeated as a death toll rises and a search for the missing continues.

A community hit hard by the floods now also inundated with grief.

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HUNTE (on camera): Hurricane Erin exploded in intensity on Saturday strengthening into a fearsome Category 5 storm for much of the day. It currently is at Category 3 with sustained winds up to 205 kilometers per hour. Erin's rapid intensification makes it one of the fastest strengthening storms in Atlantic history.

On Friday, the Air Force's hurricane hunters recorded this amazing video you're seeing there as they flew through the eye of the storm. The National Hurricane Center says, Erin is undergoing an eye replacement cycle, which will make its wind field grow in size.

Erin isn't actually expected to make landfall, but Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are getting heavy rain and wind from the storm's outer bands.

Wildfires in Southern Europe turn deadly as sweltering temperatures continue. At least seven people have died in Spain, where 14 major fires are burning. High winds and extreme heat are driving the blazers. So, far this summer, fires in Spain have burned through almost twice as much land as the annual average.

The National Weather Agency says the heat isn't going away and temps may reach 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the country. And in Portugal, some residents say they had to fight the flames themselves. They report that no one came to help, but thousands of firefighters are battling huge blazes.

Wildfires across Southern Europe are some of the worst in 20 years.

In the coming hours, Bolivians will cast their ballots in what sure to be a pivotal election. Amid ongoing economic turmoil, nearly 8 million eligible voters will choose a new president and vice president and fill all legislative seats. If either of two conservative candidates were to win, it would mark the country's first right wing victory in nearly two decades.

A new voting verification system will be used after fraud claims following the 2019 vote. If no candidate wins more than 30 percent, a runoff election will be held in October.

CNN's Cristopher Ulloa reports on what's at stake in Bolivia.

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CRISTOPHER ULLOA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Just over a year since the failed coup attempt against President Luis Arce's government, the crisis in Bolivia continues. At gas stations in La Paz, lines stretch for blocks due to a lack of fool. The situation is intensified by roadblocks and a lack of foreign currency to supply. With presidential elections about to take place, people express their discontent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There must be some change. We can't continue to suffer like this. It's very critical.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been in line for hours. This government has been awful. It's been terrible. Everything has collapsed. All of Bolivia has collapsed. We haven't been able to move forward. There's no work, no gasoline, people have to wait in line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're going from bad to worse. I hope things get better after the elections. That's what everyone is waiting for.

The economy has not recovered and citizens must choose between a candidate who promise to fix the situation.

GILBERTO ARANDA, ANALYST: Well, I think there's a combination of political tension and an economic crisis because of a lack of foreign currency, of dollars, due to the energy problem.

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There's no gas. There are oil problems. In other words, it's a full- blown crisis. And, of course, one would have to understand that if one could predict, this means that the mass party will not continue in power.

ULLOA: With Evo Morales, Bolivia's, first indigenous president, out of the presidential race and the ruling party divided, some experts claim anything could happen.

LUIS CARLOS GENIO, RESEARCHER, INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT STUDIES: Possibly, we're already at a saturation point where people are saying, well, you know what? It's better for the price to go up, but at least have gasoline.

ULLOA: This election will not just affect this country. Bolivia has one of the largest lithium reserves in the world, and China has its eyes on it. Some candidates say they will try to recover the economy with treaties and special agreements to export this strategic mineral together with other countries in the region.

Chile, for example, has already diversified its exports, including with the United Arab Emirates.

ARANDA: It's not the maritime issue, but rather the lithium issue and all the options that arise from international cooperation between three countries, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. And for that, all three need to be willing to cooperate, which is not easy.

ULLOA: A decision that will be crucial for Bolivians, experts say, and that could result in a runoff in October between the two top candidates.

For, CNN Christopher Ulloa, (INAUDIBLE).

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HUNTE: The strike by more than 10,000 air candidate flight attendants barely got off the ground. Less than 24 hours after they walked off the job, the Canadian government ordered them back to work. But as CNN's Paula Newton explains, disruptions won't go away immediately.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Air Canada's flight attendants may be going back to work, but that does not mean things will be going back to normal, especially not in the short-term. Now, Air Canada has already said that it would take several days for them to get their schedule back up to capacity, and the union itself is saying that they are not comfortable, that they are in fact quite angry with the government's decision to send the flight attendants to what they call binding arbitration. That means that this will be negotiated by what is supposed to be a neutral party that looks at the issues from both their Canada and the flight attendants, most of those being about pay and unpaid work, and will then impose some type of a settlement. In the meantime, they return to work under the old contract.

I want you to listen now to Canada's job minister as to why she felt this move was necessary.

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PATTY HAJDU, CANADIAN MINISTER OF JOBS AND FAMILIES: Canada's economy has seen unprecedented attacks on trade and significant tariff actions. In a year where Canadian businesses and families have faced too much disruption and uncertainty, they shouldn't have to shoulder another blow. We will not leave them behind.

This is not a decision that I have taken lightly, but the potential for immediate negative impact on Canadians and our economy is simply too great.

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NEWTON: What's interesting here is that this is about unpaid work. Traditionally, flight attendants are paid when they're in the air, and there's a lot of time on either side of that they usually are not paid for.

Now, a couple of airlines in the United States have changed those regulations and do have some compensation for that. Air Canada flight attendants were also looking for that type of compensation.

Now, what does it mean for travelers? Look, things are not going to change dramatically in the next few days. This is going to continue to be very frustrating, a lot of flights canceled, upwards of tens of thousands of people, not just in Canada, but international travelers will continue to be affected. But I think people are hoping that as Air Canada gears up, that the impact will diminish day-by-day.

Paul Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

HUNTE: A new initiative in Malaysia is helping both the community and an endangered species. A wildlife sanctuary now has a team of indigenous women looking after some of the country's gibbons.

CNN's Lynda Kinkade explains more.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Malaysia's first all-female ranger unit cares for these tree-dwelling apes, which are known for their singing. The job empowers the indigenous women and protects this endangered species.

SUNNYDA YOK NUN, WILDLIFE RANGER: The first time I entered the gibbon area, I felt happy and excited to see them with my own eyes. Their voices were so powerful, especially when they sang. It was as if they overpowered the sound of the river. KINKADE: Malaysia's home to five of the 25 species of gibbons in Southeast, according to the Gibbon Conservation Society, which cares for dozens of the apes. The illegal wildlife pet trade is a major factor causing a decline in numbers.

[03:25:01]

The GCS estimates that traders will kill an entire family just to get one gibbon baby to sell as a pet. And many of those infants later die while being transported.

MARIANI RAMLI, FOUNDER, GIBBON CONSERVATION SOCIETY: We are working with traumatized GI here. You know, they will not easily trust human. But when they -- when it told me they're able to transfer like Pablo to another cage without any like aggression from Pablo.

So, I think the way they handle the gibbons is with love and passion.

KINKADE: Although the work is important, the GCS founder says, some people in the community look down on the women and the work they do.

RAMLI: They bully them, you know? Like if they said, oh, you work with the gibbon project? No wonder your face is like monkey. And then when they ask them how many -- how much they got paid, and then they will say, oh, why you put them so like that much? They don't know how to use money. So, all of that, people should be ashamed now of themselves before they give comments. Like this is like really stupid comments.

KINKADE: The rangers are undeterred. This unit is a chance to both empower the women on the team to become more independent while also creating a deep bond with these endangered creatures.

NUN: I wanted to show that women can work too. We don't have to rely solely on men to provide for the family. There's no difference between men and women. We can work too.

KINKADE: Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Love that.

Okay, that's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. I will see you in two weeks' time.

Quest's World of Wonder is next, and, of course, there's so much more CNN Newsroom in half an hour. See you in a bit.

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