Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Russia Detains Uzbek Suspect over General's Assassination; Syria in Transition; U.S. Far Left Critical of Trump's Relationships with Billionaires; Horrifying Police Reports Reveal Details of Pelicot Case; Zelenskyy States E.U. Might Discuss Peacekeeping Troops; Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate: Prison Walls Won't Stop Me; Chinese Astronauts Set Spacewalk Record. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired December 18, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thanks so much for joining me here for the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Erica
Hill in New York.
Russia claims it has in custody a suspect in the targeted killing of one of its top generals.
New this hour, Ghana's supreme court delivering a blow to the LGBT community, dismissing legal challenges to a controversial and restrictive
law.
Plus, CNN's shocking exclusive investigation into the criminal case that has rocked France and much of the world. How a French man found multiple
men to allegedly rape his wife.
Plus, Chinese astronauts breaking a record in space as some U.S. astronauts learn their stay in space is being extended again. We'll speak with a
retired astronaut.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HILL: Our top story this hour, Russian authorities wasting no time pinpointing a suspect in the killing of one of its top generals, detaining
a 29 year old man from Uzbekistan. Russian state media airing a video that appears to show the man's confession, though it is unclear whether that
confession was made under duress.
Russian investigators claim the Uzbek suspect was recruited by Ukraine to help kill Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who died in a bomb blast
outside his Moscow apartment early Tuesday.
Ukraine has not commented on the detention of this alleged suspect. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow with more on both the suspect and the
accusations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russian state media has named the suspect that the Russian Investigative Committee says
has been arrested as 29-year-old Uzbek citizen, Akhmad Kurbanov.
Now the Russian authorities are saying that he is suspected in connection with the assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who, of course,
was killed when leaving his apartment yesterday by a bomb blast.
And the Russian investigators are saying that they believe that Kurbanov was recruited by Ukraine's intelligence service, the SBU. They say that he
was told to get a electric scooter and then was given a homemade bomb and parked the scooter with the bomb in front of the door that later the
general, together with an aide, would come out of.
Now as part of this plot, the Russians say that Kurbanov also got a car- sharing car -- rented a car-sharing car and parked it outside of the door
of that building as well. They say that that car was outfitted with a
camera that had a live feed that went straight to the city of Dnipro in Central Ukraine where it was monitored by Ukrainian security services.
And when the general left his building, that is when the bomb was detonated. Obviously, General Kirillov was killed yesterday when he left
his apartment building. That blast seemed to be massive.
When we were on the scene, we saw that even in the houses adjacent to where this blast took place, that windows had been shattered there.
Russian politicians obviously irate about all this. The Kremlin came out and commented on all of this for the first time today. The Kremlin
spokesman saying that all of this shows that Kyiv, as he put it, does not shy away from terrorist methods.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: A symbolic touchdown in Syria, the first domestic flight since the fall of the Assad regime taking off from Syria's capital earlier today
after authorities reopened Damascus airport for internal flights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILL (voice-over): In this video, you see the Syrian Airlines flight landing in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Well, the U.N.'s Refugee Agency says it expects a huge number of Syrians to return from abroad in the coming months. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REMA JAMOUS IMSEIS, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, UNHCR: Now we have forecasted that we hope to see somewhere in the order of 1 million
Syrians returning between January and June of next year.
So we've shared this plan with donors, asking for their support in order for us to be able to meet the needs on the ground. And that includes the
needs of returning Syrian refugees but also internally displaced Syrians, who are returning to their areas of origin and to the host communities that
are welcoming them back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: The director adding more than 90 percent of Syria's population will need humanitarian support to survive.
This comes on the heels of comments from the director general of the International Organization for Migration, who told CNN there are positive
signs about the new leadership's willingness to work with the international community.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY POPE, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION: We've seen right away that, the moment that this caretaker government has
come in, they've been very open to the international community. They're very willing to partner.
They are committing to creating a more inclusive and responsive government and they are committing to address the needs of the millions of Syrians who
need them. So it is a complete sea change from what we've seen in the past. And, frankly, it's quite welcome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: A short time ago, I spoke with Middle East expert Firas Maksad about his takeaways, asking him specifically about these early days of Syria's
new chapter.
[10:05:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIRAS MAKSAD, DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: You know, I've been talking to some of the biggest skeptics of the new regime in Damascus,
of HTS, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, whether it's in the Gulf or even here closer to their borders.
Even those that have been very skeptical of what they refer to, the DNA of the new regime, which is jihadi and comes from Al Qaeda. Even those seem to
indicate that, so far, Julani and HTS have been very cooperative, have reached out and are coordinating.
Again, demonstrating that the core interest right now for Julani, the core priority is going to be domestic. But that said, there is also a concern.
Damascus has always billed itself as the beating heart of Arab nationalism. It's the heir to the Umayyad dynasty, the much famed Islamic and Arab
dynasty based in Damascus.
And right now, you look at the Syrian tapestry, it's being dominated by Turkiye but also Israel, that has pushed further into Southern Syria, only
20 kilometers or so now from the Syrian capital. Those are very concerning facts for the Arab countries surrounding Syria.
And I think in the days and weeks ahead, we're going to see some Arab demonstration of power and influence, both to put Julani on notice in terms
of his jihadi background but also to try and some to reassert some Arab influence in Damascus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu making his way to southern Syria on Tuesday, where he gave a briefing on Mt. Hermon, saying the
Israeli military would stay there on Syrian territory as long as Israel deems necessary.
The IDF moved its troops onto the summit and into the surrounding hills after the fall of Assad's regime. Mt. Hermon, of course, is the highest
point in the region. It is a key strategic asset as it overlooks Lebanon, Syria and Israel.
CNN has confirmed a House panel took a secret vote to release the ethics report on former U.S. congressman Matt Gaetz. That investigation, of
course, looked into allegations of sexual misconduct, drug use and possible bribes and is now set to be made public very soon. Alayna Treene has more
on this exclusive CNN reporting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a reversal from where they were. They voted last month not to release it. And the decision now to release
it, this change does suggest that some Republicans ultimately voted with the Democrats to make this report public.
When they voted last month not to release it, I would note that it was a -- the vote was along party lines. So keep that in mind.
Now we are told that this report is expected to be made public once this session of Congress ends and lawmakers leave Washington to return home for
the holidays. But I think the timing of this is very notable.
We know that, when the committee first voted last month not to release this report, Matt Gaetz was still Donald Trump's pick to be his attorney
general. Since then, he has withdrawn his name from consideration.
He has also made clear that he has no plans to return to Congress next year and has also said that he is planning to join One America News Network to
be an anchor for them in January.
Now just to get a little bit into this report, the Ethics Committee has been working on this report and investigating Gaetz's alleged conduct for
about a year now.
Here is some of what they've been investigating: whether he engaged in sexual misconduct, whether he used illicit drugs.
And also whether he shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to
personal use, accepted a bribe, use -- had improper gratuity or impermissible gifts. And that is according to an announcement from the
panel while they were investigating this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Alayna Treene there with the exclusive reporting that she helped break.
Well, Donald Trump, meantime, is set to host Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in Florida today, just the latest in a series of meetings at Mar-a-Lago
involving tech CEOs and the president-elect.
Unlike in Trump's previous presidency, Bezos is now voicing support for Donald Trump. As we prepare for that second term. Take a listen to more of
what he had to say about business regulations, specifically during "The New York Times" event earlier this month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF BEZOS, FOUNDER, BLUE ORIGIN: I'm actually very optimistic this time around that we're going to see -- I'm very hopeful about this, his -- he
seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. And my point of view, if I can help him do that, I'm going to help him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Perhaps not surprisingly, that is drawing the ire of the far left. Senator Bernie Sanders, says Bezos, along with Trump confidant Elon Musk
and other billionaires, used their money and influence to get Trump reelected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Just 150 billionaire families spent nearly $2 billion to buy our recent elections. This is not democracy. This is not one
person, one vote. This is not all of us coming together to decide our future. This is oligarchy.
[10:10:00]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: And there has been much made, of course, about the tech magnates, who once opposed Donald Trump, now trying to get in his good graces. Listen
to this from a reporter for "The Hill."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MYCHAEL SCHNELL, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, "THE HILL": Now we're seeing this pattern, as you mentioned, of these tech titans head down to Mar-a-Lago,
meet with Trump. Mark Zuckerberg going down there, donating $1 million to the inaugural fund.
Jeff Bezos now doing the same with Amazon, expected to give that $1 million to the inaugural fund as well. So it seems like these tech companies are
trying to curry some favor with Trump as they head into the next four years.
But also, Bezos has a particularly other interest in this. And that's Blue Origin, right?
He is in direct competition with Elon Musk's SpaceX. Elon Musk, of course, donated somewhat of $200 million to help Trump get reelected. And he's now
one of the president-elect's closest allies.
So Elon Musk sort of sees, I think -- I think that Jeff Bezos here sees that if he's going to be racing against Elon Musk in this area, he's going
to want to try to curry some favor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Well, there are new details emerging about the suspect in America's latest school shooting that, of course, left two people dead at a school in
Madison, Wisconsin. Court records obtained by "The Washington Post" show the 15-year old alleged shooter had a turbulent home life and was actually
enrolled in some counseling before the shooting.
Officials also say there appeared to be a combination of factors that may have motivated her to go on a rampage. CNN's Natasha Chen has more of this
developing story for us now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police in Madison, Wisconsin, are urgently searching for what led a 15-year-old girl to bring
a nine-millimeter handgun to school and opened fire.
Investigators say Natalie Rupnow, who went by Samantha, arrived at the Abundant Life Christian School Monday morning, killed a teacher and fellow
student and wounded six others before taking her own life.
CHIEF SHON BARNES, MADISON, WISCONSIN, POLICE: The past 24 hours have been a flurry of emotion, sadness, anger, disappointment, grief.
CHEN (voice-over): Grief, as they try to understand why a festive day with students dressed in their holiday pajamas ended with them evacuating a
shooting scene.
Police Chief Shon Barnes says the motive was a combination of factors and they are looking into everything from possible bullying, to her online
activity, adding, everyone at the school was targeted equally in the shooting. As for writings related to the shooting that have been
circulating online -
BARNES: At this time we cannot verify the document. We ask that you not share the document or spread any information that may be false.
CHEN (voice-over): But police are looking for original documents that may have been taken from the shooter's home and speaking to her parents, who
they say are cooperative, to determine whether they owned or possessed the gun their daughter allegedly used.
MAYOR SATYA RHODES-CONWAY (D), MADISON, WISCONSIN: I think law enforcement will take the steps necessary but we don't know nearly enough yet.
CHEN (voice-over): Not enough to know whether the parents will face criminal charges. While the police chief says they will look into whether
the parents were negligent, he says that does not appear to be the case right now.
Two of the shooting victims remain in critical condition with life- threatening injuries. And police are asking members of the community to
respect the privacy of the student and teacher who were killed.
REBEKAH SMITH, CHILDREN ATTEND ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: That particular teacher, she would have done anything for those kids. She would
have been right there. Loved the school. Loved her kids. Loved teaching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beautiful lights.
SMITH: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That they were beautiful souls.
CHEN (voice-over): It was at least the 83rd school shooting in the U.S. this year, more than any other year since CNN started tracking school
shootings in 2008.
MELISSA AGARD, DANE COUNTY EXECUTIVE: There's going to be public debate about the motives and other aspects of this mass shooting but let us
remember this fact, gun violence is the number one killer of children in this country. That's a legacy we cannot accept.
CHEN (voice-over): Natasha Chen, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Just ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, perhaps the most infamous husband in the world right now. A CNN investigation uncovers how Dominique Pelicot
allegedly brought local men into his domestic rape scheme.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HILL: Ghana's supreme court dismissing two separate cases that challenged the legality of the country's restrictive anti-LGBT bill. That bill
intensifies a crackdown on the rights of LGBT people and those promoting gay, lesbian or other sexual or gender identities.
It was unanimously approved by Ghana's parliament in February. Today's decision now paves the way for the president to sign it into law. CNN's
Larry Madowo joining us now with more from Nairobi.
So Larry, the reaction to the court's decision, walk us through what we're hearing.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, this bill is largely popular in Ghana and I know this have been reporting in Ghana just twice this year. I
know most people support it. It was supported by the Christian, Muslim and traditional leaders in Ghana. It passed unanimously in parliament, like you
mentioned.
And now the pressure is on outgoing Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo to sign it or if he will kick the can down the road and leave it for the
incoming president, John Mahama. He has only three weeks left in office until there's a change of power in Ghana.
But whoever is president on January the 7th, this problem will not go away for them. But here's the complication.
The reason why I call it a problem is the finance minister has warned that, if this goes ahead, Ghana risks losing out on $3.8 billion from the World
Bank, another $3 billion from the IMF that they badly need to get out of an economic crisis.
But they might be in better luck with the incoming Trump administration that is not likely to be as strongly pro supporting these values around the
world, promoting these values like the Biden administration has been, as we saw, for instance, with similar pressure on the Ugandan government.
But the activists in Ghana, who have been pushing for the repeal of this law, for it not to come into law, who presented this case in parliament,
are warning that there are already serious consequences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABENA TAKYIWAA MANUH, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTRE FOR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE: It is a sad day and it has implications for the LGBT community. Even without
the passage of the bill, people have been attacking members of a certain community.
And I think that just this pronouncement, this kind of formalism, this resort to constitutionalism, actually put at risk the life and health of
certain members of the community and, of course, some of us who are human rights defenders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: Amnesty International warning that this is not an infringement on the rights of just one group but on the rights of all and asking the
incoming president of Ghana, John Mahama, not to sign it.
But one of the lawmakers that supported this bill, that brought it before parliament, Sam George, has tweeted a short while ago that it is finished,
to God be the glory. So you see that religious aspect of this.
This is something that combined and brought together really diverse religious viewpoints in the country. The Muslims and the Christians support
it, the traditional leaders support it.
And even though it's said to be one of the strictest, strictest laws in Africa, it will -- it's very likely that if this goes ahead, it will be
signed into law and then be contested in court again.
Erica.
HILL: Larry, really appreciate it. Thank you.
We are expecting a verdict Thursday in the Pelicot rape trial that has shocked France and, frankly, much of the world. Dominique Pelicot is
accused of organizing years of rape and abuse of his wife, Giselle. She decided to waive her right to anonymity.
She has spoken openly in court, saying it is time to, in her words, "look at this macho, patriarchal society and change the way it looks at rape."
Her strength and conviction have been applauded around the world; 15 men, including Pelicot, have pleaded guilty to rape. Others said they thought a
husband's consent was enough.
Now exclusive access to French police reports reveals just exactly how her husband was able to find these men to rape his wife. I want to warn you,
the content is graphic. It is disturbing.
[10:20:00]
And it is incredibly important reporting from my colleague, Saskya Vandoorne.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: I've come here to retrace the steps of all those men who visited Pelicot's house in the middle of the night.
This case really has captured the world's attention with so many people asking, why?
We're going to focus instead on how?
Pelicot led the men right here.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): The way he communicated, the tactics he used, how he came to be on trial for mass rape and drugging his wife. What was his
playbook?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 50 men accused in the mass rape of Gisele Pelicot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was drugged.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Drugged unconscious by her husband.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dominique Pelicot --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dominique Pelicot admitted to recruiting dozens --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enlisting other men to join --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- to rape his wife, caused outrage across France.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Global concern about violence against women.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): CNN has gained exclusive access to police reports with thousands of messages that Dominique exchanged with the 50 men on
trial alongside him. He didn't have to search far for his alleged accomplices. They all live within a 30-mile radius of his house in Mazan.
VANDOORNE: The horror is still felt here by local women.
NEDELJKA MACAN, MAZAN RESIDENT: This area was so quiet and nice area and now, we don't know if somebody who is in the next shop is one of these men.
It changed everything.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): From a firefighter to a journalist to a nurse, from 27-years-old to 74-years-old, all the men were connected by one
website, Coco. Shut down this summer, Coco's chat rooms were easy to access.
VANDOORNE: It was not buried in the dark web, as one man accused of raping Gisele Pelicot said.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I got in touch through Coco in the evening when I was by myself. My wife had gone to bed and I was a little
bored.
VANDOORNE: But because the so-called dating site was entirely unmoderated and anonymous, it boasted chat rooms selling date rape drugs and spaces to
glorify sexual violence.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Under the pseudonym "AvailableAllNight," Pelicot posted in a chat room called "Without her knowledge." It was there that
misogyny and sexual abuse were completely normalized.
VANDOORNE: While Pelicot has pleaded guilty to rape, most of his co- defendants say that they believe Dominique Pelicot's consent was enough.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Pelicot was the door. Pelicot would then move the discussion to Skype.
VANDOORNE: He traded videos of his wife being raped for intimate images of the men's own partners, according to the police report.
MATHIAS DARMON, LAWYER, INNOCENCE EN DANGER: We saw Coco was a very dangerous website.
VANDOORNE: "Innocence en Danger" has been campaigning against this site for years.
DARMON: They went to this website to realize their worse -- their worst fantasies. So it became a reality, thanks to Dominique Pelicot.
VANDOORNE: He told police that over time, he built a network of men.
DARMON: It's a place where they could meet, what time, what they could wear, they couldn't wear.
VANDOORNE: He allegedly told the men what drugs to buy and how to use them. This all went undetected for 10 years.
Dominique Pelicot never thought his text messages or his alleged crimes would see the light of day and they probably wouldn't have if it weren't
for the events that took place right here on September 12th when a security guard caught him red handed, filming up the skirts of several women.
DARMON: This -- these kind of websites, as long as there is demand, then there will be supply.
VANDOORNE: In the wake of Coco's shutdown, more websites have gained in popularity in France. CNN extracted data from just one of those websites.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): After going through almost 6,000 messages from a 24-hour period, we found a strikingly similar pattern of men sharing
explicit photos of their wives and girlfriends and asking to move the discussions to private messaging platforms.
VANDOORNE: Some men went as far as offering up their wives to other users in a manner like Pelicot but it's unclear if any of them set up real-life
encounters.
There are some websites that could be the new Coco. How does that make you feel?
MACAN: For these websites, it's kind of a marvelous thing what happened with Gisele Pelicot. It brings them advertising.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It could very well happen again tomorrow in another place.
[10:25:00]
MACAN: We expect that some laws will change. But, of course, I'm not sure that will be enough. So I don't feel at ease here in the streets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And again, that was CNN's Saskya Vandoorne reporting.
Authorities in Mayotte are racing now to stop hunger, disease and even lawlessness from spreading after a cyclone devastated the French territory
over the weekend. Officials say hundreds, possibly thousands, could be dead in Mayotte, which took a massive hit from the Cyclone Chido.
Located in the Indian Ocean off the East Coast of Africa, it is one of France's poorest overseas territories. Many parts of it remain inaccessible
at this point days after the storm. A former Mayotte senator is now assessing the damage where he comes from and had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THANI MOHAMED-SOIBHI, FORMER MAYOTTE SENATOR (through translator): I arrived in Mayotte yesterday. I saw my family again for the first time
since the cyclone. I hadn't had news of my family for two days.
We were very scared. We were very lucky. Many have still not had news from their families; 80 percent of the island doesn't have cell service.
Here I see a desolate landscape. The island has been pulverized. The world needs to see what I'm seeing. Many houses in Mayotte are constructed with
sheet metal. They've been wiped from the map.
Here, this was a solid house. You can see there's nothing left. The damage is heavy. The president of the republic has decreed a national day of
mourning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Officials say 22 deaths and more than 1,400 injuries have been confirmed so far.
Just ahead here on CONNECT THE WORLD, Russia says it is holding a suspect now over the Moscow bombing that killed one of its generals early
yesterday. A Russia expert takes a look at what the Kremlin could be thinking after this high profile assassination.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HILL: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Erica Hill in New York. More now on the arrest in the killing of a top Russian general in Moscow.
Russian officials say they are holding a 29-year old Uzbek citizen, who they allege was recruited by Ukraine's security service. According to
Russia, the suspect planted the bomb that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and an aide on Tuesday.
On Monday, Kirillov was charged in absentia by Ukrainian prosecutors for using banned chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Looking ahead, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet soon with European leaders and also the head of NATO in Brussels. The Ukrainian president has
said his allies might discuss the possibility of international peacekeeping troops in his country. To dig down a little deeper, Nigel Gould-Davies
joins me now.
[10:30:00]
He's a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
Good to have you with us. Let's start, first of all, with what we're hearing out of Russia. Ukraine not commenting on this suspect. Perhaps not
surprising but this 29-year old Uzbek. Russia also airing on state TV what they say is a confession. It's not clear whether that video was made under
duress.
What do you make of just how quickly this has all come about?
And by quickly, I mean in terms of speed after the killing and the targeting of this Russian general.
NIGEL GOULD-DAVIES, SENIOR FELLOW FOR RUSSIA AND EURASIA, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: Yes. I mean, the killing itself is a very
striking development. It's the most high profile killing of a senior Russian elite figure since the war began.
And I think slightly unusually, in this case, the Ukrainian security service, the SVU, has claimed responsibility for it. As for the rapid
detection, well, this did take place in Moscow, which is a highly surveilled place.
The Russian security service say that they used, dashcam footage from a nearby car and mobile phone data to quickly track down who they say is the
suspect. I've seen the footage of this alleged perpetrator's alleged confession.
It seemed reasonably calm; halting, it has to be said, and heavily accented Russian. So but, yes, no independent verification that this suspect is
indeed responsible for the killing. But -- and we await next developments from what the Russians share. But no independent corroboration at this
point.
HILL: As you noted, this was the senior most Russian official known to have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.
Does it signify to you a change at all in this war?
GOULD-DAVIES: It's not the first such action of this kind. In the past, certainly the early actions of this kind tended to target senior Russian
propagandists and ideologists, if you will.
And more recently, there's been a move toward targeting Russian figures directly responsible for the attacks on Ukraine, including, in this case,
the use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine.
I think, again, what's most significant about this was that it takes place at an unprecedented level of seniority. And this will deeply disconcert
other senior elite, including military figures, that they can, in the capital itself, be killed like this.
HILL: Speaking of deeply disconcerting, we have we have Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Brussels to meet with E.U. and NATO leaders today.
I was struck by comments from Mark Rutte, who said of just this week, warning of threats from Russia, said, we're not ready for what's coming our
way in the next four to five years, calling on a need to boost spending.
Just how significant do you think this looming threat from Russia is?
GOULD-DAVIES: It's very significant. Europe's ability to respond depends partly, of course, on the decisions taken by the incoming Trump
administration. So the sense in which Europe is looking west as much as it is looking east. At the moment, slowly on the ground, Russia is making, at
great cost to itself gains.
It is, you know, has a larger economy and just more troops than Ukraine, that it's also, of course, subjected to nearly all of the destruction of
the war. So Ukraine finds itself in a difficult position now.
And Europe understands that, if there were to be some fundamental strategic failure now, if, despite all the endless promises that Russia must fail,
all the photo ops with President Zelenskyy and so on.
If, nonetheless, having stacked up all those rhetorical chips on the board, Russia were nonetheless to prevail, then Europe would find itself in a
profoundly difficult situation not only strategically on the ground but with respect to its underlying credibility and authority as well.
So Europe is urgently aware of the need to commit a greater share of its own very large economy to supporting Ukraine and defending itself. And
Secretary General Rutte has been leading the call for that.
HILL: Nigel Gould-Davies, really appreciate your perspective. Thank you.
A high profile Iranian women's rights campaigner is out of prison temporarily. And speaking to CNN, Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace
Prize, of course, for her activism in 2023. She's serving multiple sentences, which amount to decades in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, even
after various convictions.
[10:35:00]
This month, though, you may recall she was given a three-week release so that she could recover from surgery. She spoke exclusively with my
colleague, Christiane Amanpour, who began by asking about the moment she was released for that medical leave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARGES MOHAMMADI, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE AND IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST (through translator): The moment they let me in the ambulance and
I saw the streets, I felt liberated.
And I felt -- I could see a woman who was crossing the road without a headscarf and they recognized me and they greeted me and I started
chanting, "Woman, Life, Freedom"
And I felt that this is not a movement that is going to lose its strength and it's still going strong because our women are very strong. And I was
filled with joy to see our women like that. And I greeted freedom because I realized I was not surrounded by guards and I could leave prison.
But it was -- I had a kind of dual feeling about leaving prison.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I understand what you're saying but I'm also -- I mean, I'm just so amazed that you
would be leaving prison for only a period of time.
You're jailed for defying the state and yet, you still come out and you shout the slogan, "Woman, Life, Freedom." You're on an international
television interview right now that will be shown all over the world and in the United States. And you're still standing up for what you believe in.
Are you not afraid of the consequences?
MOHAMMADI (through translator): I have been tried for nine times. But you know, I -- and they continue to convict me of various crimes. But I think
the path that I have chosen will never stop. Not even the prison walls and all these convictions can ever stop me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: And you can see that full interview today at 1 pm Eastern, 6 pm London. We'll be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HILL: A new milestone in outer space: two Chinese astronauts breaking the record for the longest spacewalk, which had been held since 2001. They
managed to do it for nine hours. For much more, we're joined now by former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao.
It's great to have you with us. So the U.S. had held that record of eight hours, 56 minutes. These two Chinese astronauts managed to do a nine-hour
spacewalk. Just, I mean, just put this in perspective for us if you would.
LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, sure. Normally, spacewalks, U.S. spacewalks are planned for about 6.5 hours in duration. Russian spacewalks
are typically about the same, maybe a little bit shorter, maybe 5.5 hours. And you're really limited by two things.
[10:40:00]
One is how much oxygen you have left. And the other is how much battery power you have left. Right? And so, you know, it's a little bit of a
dubious record to have the longest spacewalk. That means that things didn't go well. Right? And so you had to take a lot longer to get maybe your tasks
done and maybe you didn't get everything done.
So it's not a record that you necessarily want to have, which I think is actually a very important clarification.
HILL: So I like the way you put that for us. I am also struck by -- I'm kind of obsessed with the story, I have to admit, the fact that Suni
Williams and Butch Wilmore, we're now learning, their stay has been extended once again.
They left for -- folks, you may remember, they launched on June 5th, I believe it was. They were supposed to be at the ISS for about a week. We're
now told they're not coming home before late March. I understand there's some aversion to the words "stuck" or "stranded." Kind of feels like that's
what they are in this moment.
CHIAO: Well, I mean, they were planned -- it was planned for them to come down in February, of course. And so that's been delayed now for a few
weeks. But that's not unusual in the station program. There's a whole traffic model of vehicles coming up, vehicles departing and one vehicle
getting delayed.
Or something happening ripples through the whole schedule. So it's not that unusual to be delayed, either move back or forward a couple of weeks. And
so this is nothing more than that.
They're -- they are doing fine. They look at the videos, they're in good spirits. They're busy. They've both flown long duration flights before. So
yes, this was not a planned thing for them. But at the end of the day, astronauts like being in space. So they're going to be fine.
HILL: So they're in their happy place. That being said and I know part of the training, right, is also how you deal with this situation because it
can come up. And part of that training is the is the mental aspect of it. And knowing that, I mean, this has been extended now so many times.
Just real quickly, what is that training like?
What do they say to you?
What do they put you through to prepare you for a moment like this?
CHIAO: Well, sure. And it's not, I guess it's not specific training per se. It's a mindset. You're trained to expect issues, expect the unexpected
or try to anticipate, adjust. And so that's part of all that.
You know you adjust to the situation. Do what you have to do. And you know, all astronauts are motivated and have that mindset of, hey, you know, I
signed up for this job. It's exciting but it's also got some unknowns. And when I get a curve ball, I've just got to deal with it.
HILL: Just got to run with it. Leroy Chiao, always great to have you. Thank you so much.
CHIAO: Thank you.
HILL: Thanks to all of you for joining me this morning for CONNECT THE WORLD or afternoon or evening, wherever you are in the world. Be sure to
stay with CNN. "MARKETPLACE ASIA" comes your way next.
END
