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Isa Soares Tonight
World Leaders Pledge Support to Ukraine at NATO Summit; Biden Under Major Pressure As Actor George Clooney Calls for Him to Step Aside; London Triple Murder Suspect Found After Manhunt; British Police Suspect Who May Have Used Crossbow in a Triple Murder; Opening Statement in Alec Baldwin Trial; NATO Accuses Russia of Sabotage; NATO Leaders Gather in Washington; Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Meets with U.S. House Speaker Johnson; Stoltenberg Expects U.S. to Remain in NATO if Trump Wins. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 10, 2024 - 14:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A very warm welcome to the show everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, NATO allies meet in Washington this
hour, vowing steadfast support for Ukraine. We'll have all the details from the summit that is now underway.
Then more pressure on Joe Biden as actor George Clooney joins a growing chorus of calls for him to step aside in the presidential race. We'll have
the very latest. Plus, just moments ago, a triple murder suspect had been found in north London after a major manhunt. We are live from the scene
with more details on the gruesome attack involving a crossbow.
But first at this hour, U.S. President Joe Biden is doing some high-stakes juggling. Right now, he's leading NATO's growing commitment to defending
Ukraine, while at the same time, trying to convince those same world leaders and American voters he's up to the task of beating Donald Trump in
November.
Mr. Biden greeted other heads of state at the NATO Summit in Washington, as you can see there. His unwavering message, the United States will always
have Ukraine's back. NATO appears steadfast in its support. Secretary- General Jens Stoltenberg says he expects allies to agree to quote, "a substantial package for Ukraine".
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told leaders, NATO members are already making good on their promise to Kyiv. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: As we speak, the transfer of F-16 jets is underway coming from Denmark, coming from the
Netherlands.
(APPLAUSE)
And those jets, those jets would be flying in the skies of Ukraine this Summer to make sure that Ukraine can continue to effectively defend itself
against the Russian aggression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, we have coverage from our Natasha Bertrand at the Summit, so, you can see there in Washington, and CNN senior international
correspondent Fred Pleitgen joins us this evening from Kyiv. Natasha, to you first, a landmark summit, of course, for NATO and a critical week for
both President Biden and for Ukraine.
Just talk us through first of all, what is being promised, and whether that goes far enough in Mr. Zelenskyy's eyes here.
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, so, we've seen a number of promises already over the last few days. We have
seen the U.S. as well as its allies promise additional air defense systems including new Patriot batteries that will be donated by the U.S., which is
a very key air defense system that the Ukrainians really need at this moment.
And of course, we've also seen the U.S. commit to providing those F-16s, they are going to be delivered soon. Those U.S.-made F-16s from countries
including Denmark and the Netherlands. And so, things are moving along here in terms of the U.S. commitments to Ukraine, showing really no signs of
letting up.
But at the same time, of course, President Zelenskyy saying, look, we need permission to strike deep inside Russian territory, because if we can't
defend ourselves from those strikes, if we can't hit back, then really we - - our chances to win the war here are going to get slimmer and slimmer.
And so, he is making a public plea still for the U.S. to change its position on that. Of course, as of right now, they are permitted to strike
right across the border into Russia. But many of those strikes on pretty regular occasions are coming from deeper inside Russian territory.
And the Ukrainians are forbidden from using U.S.-made weapons to hit back at them. So, Zelenskyy been very public about that. But then again, you
know, we see also some of Zelenskyy and Ukraine's NATO aspirations coming to the fore here with the communique that is expected to be released after
the summit is, you know, reaching its conclusion.
We're told that is going to say that Ukraine's path to NATO membership is quote, "irreversible", which is a significant victory for the Ukrainians
who wanted that language inside that joint statement. And so, it's kind of a mixed bag here on the one hand, they are getting significant commitments
from the U.S. and its allies.
But on the other hand, they say that, that needs to strike directly over the border and further into Russia is greater now than it has been ever
before, Isa.
SOARES: Stay with us Natasha, let me go to Fred in Kyiv. And Fred, you and I have spoken about Ukraine, and what it needs a great lens, right? You
remember you told me in terms of what it needs to meet and what it needs to win. It needs air defense, it needs ammunition and both in large
quantities.
I mean, is this enough and what we're hearing here so far from NATO? Is this enough for a decisive victory, if not, what else is needed?
[14:05:00]
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think right now, the Ukrainians are pretty far away from turning things around
the battlefield and going into some sort of offensive or some sort of decisive victory. However, it does appear as though, especially those F-16s
and a surface-to-air missile systems, those certainly are things that could help the Ukrainians at least to a certain extent, turn the tides in
some areas of the battlefield.
Of course, in the past couple of months, you're right. I mean, we have talked about this a lot. The Russians have been on the offensive. The
Russians have had the initiative, the Ukrainians have sort of managed to stall that in several places now along the frontline, that they've gotten
more ammunition from the U.S. and from its allies.
Of course, for a long time, the U.S. wasn't sending any sort of ammunition over to the Ukrainians, and they really suffered from that. The Ukrainians
do hope that the F-16s, for instance, once they do go into service and hit the battlefield, that they may make a big difference, because one of the
things that's really hurting the Ukrainians right now, Isa, is the fact that the Russians have become much more effective using their own Air
Force.
They-ve developed, of course, aerial glide bombs that they can drop from much further away from the frontlines with their jets really hurting the
Ukrainian frontline positions. But with F-16s and their powerful radars, the Ukrainians hope they'd be able to engage the Russian Air Force and keep
that away from their frontline troops.
So, that certainly is something that could be very important for the Ukrainians. What they've been saying is, with all of these things, with air
defense, with the jets, but also with some of the ground systems that they've been getting, is that they need a lot more than they've been
getting so far, and they obviously need it faster as well if they want to turn the tide on the battlefield.
But again, there are also two sides to that as well. Of course, the Ukrainians do say they need more weapons. However, the West also says
Ukrainians also need to draft a lot more troops to be able to use those weapons if they really want to turn the tide --
SOARES: Yes --
PLEITGEN: On the battlefield. Nevertheless, I would say that right now, the Summit so far, the pledges that the Ukrainians have been getting have
been key for the Ukrainians, especially as far as air defense and those long-range air defense systems are concerned.
If they do in the near future get four more Patriot batteries and another long-range systems from the Italians, that will certainly help them go a
long way to keeping not only cities like this one safer, but also helping their frontline troops out in trying to keep the Russian jets away from
them. Isa.
SOARES: Yes, and Natasha, back to you at the NATO Summit, while this is, of course, a show of unity and optimism, and we're seeing the support as
Fred just laid out for Ukraine, the specter of Trump looms large here too. How are these allies -- what are you hearing in terms of how these allies
are preparing for the possibility, Natasha, over possible Trump win. A man, of course, who once declared NATO obsolete.
BERTRAND: Well, I think President Zelenskyy put it most succinctly last night during a press briefing. He said, look, everyone here, including the
Ukrainians, including him, they are looking towards November and what is going to happen in the presidential election.
And the way that NATO is thinking about it, according to our reporting, just that they are essentially going to take a lot of the planning for the
training for the Ukrainian military for the equipment of the Ukrainian military, giving them weaponry and things like that.
And they are going to centralize it into a NATO body so that the U.S. really doesn't have outsized control over that process. So that, for
example, if our future president were to pull out of NATO or if a future President were to say, look, I don't want to support Ukraine anymore, then
that could be under kind of the NATO umbrella.
And so, they're setting up a system for that right now. It's going to be headquartered in Germany, and this is really a way, according to a NATO
official that I spoke to, to exactly that, to Trump-proof the support that the alliance is giving to Ukraine at this moment.
SOARES: And how very quickly, Natasha, how soon will that -- will that be ready?
BERTRAND: Well, it's going to be up and running fairly soon this year --
SOARES: OK --
BERTRAND: We're told they are taking all of the steps necessary to start centralizing that, and they do hope, of course, that it is going to be set
up before the election.
SOARES: Yes, of course, that is the key. Natasha, thank you very much. Fred Pleitgen, beautiful Kyiv backdrop there, thank you very much to you
both. I want to bring in Oleksandr Merezhko, he is the head of the Ukrainian parliament's Foreign Relations Committee and joins us -- joins us
from Kyiv this hour.
Oleksandr, welcome to the show. We have been hearing as you would have had as well pledges, promises from many NATO allies, from the U.S., Denmark,
Netherlands and others. Are these pledges in your view enough to turn the tide?
OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, HEAD OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT'S FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: We're very hopeful that it will help us at least to start
turning the tide. But of course, besides a weaponry, including air defense systems, including ammunition and including long-range missiles, we need
also to lift any restrictions on the use of western weaponry in the territory of Russia to target Russian military targets.
Because we are being bombarded, we have been shelled from the territory of Russia, and to win this war, we need to wage the war in the territory of
the aggressor, otherwise, we'll be bleeding.
[14:10:00]
SOARES: But Oleksandr, it doesn't seem that you're going to get that, that the U.S. seems to want that right now. Is this something that you are
confident that you will get soon? Because we're not -- I don't see those signs at this juncture.
MEREZHKO: Well, we already had before such a situation when we will start with no, and later on, we would move to yes. So, we have to work on this
issue, and I'm really hopeful that we'll manage to get this permission from our partners and allies, including the U.S. of course.
SOARES: And the U.S. of course, as our viewers would know, has been the biggest and most ardent supporter of course, of Ukraine. But there have
been delays, which as Fred was saying, has impacted your frontline, and not just delays from the U.S., but also, I should say, from the EU.
I just want to read out what the Romanian President has said, "regarding the aid that all of us are giving Ukraine, I think the time has come to be
realistic. We have delivered about half of what we promised. And that is not enough, if we want Ukraine to win, we must help with more."
I mean, the promises and the deliveries have been very piecemeal at this juncture, which of course, allows Ukraine to survive, but not to win it.
So, are you hearing of a strategy to win this, to secure a victory?
MEREZHKO: Well, first of all, to win the war, we need to have at least parity with Russia in terms of quality and quantity of weaponry, so it will
help us to move forward. And we are still very highly motivated, morale are still high in Ukraine, and we are determined to return all the territory
including Crimea, of course, which was occupied by Russia.
SOARES: And of course, Ukraine is center stage, there's also kind of the specter looming large as I was discussing with my correspondent in NATO, of
prospect of the return of Donald Trump who once, of course, declared NATO obsolete. I just want to play out to you, Oleksandr, what we heard from
President Zelenskyy today. Have a listen to this.
Oh, we don't seem to have it, but he was talking about everyone is waiting -- I don't have the verbatim, but everyone is waiting for November, the EU,
the U.S., allies, even President Putin. So, to you, Alex, I mean, what can we expect from a second Trump term? I mean, how can you prove -- Trump-
proof Ukraine here?
MEREZHKO: Well, to me, it's the strength of American democracy that we cannot predict who will become the president. And as for one of the
candidates, Mr. Trump, I think we should focus on the current situation. And I would like to invite him to come to Ukraine.
I think it's worthwhile for him before he will take any decisions, before he will prepare his own peace plan, it's worthwhile to meet Ukrainian
people, to talk to us, I will gladly host him, and I do hope that he will accept my invitation. And I think --
SOARES: Do you -- on that note, Oleksandr, on that note, do you think that he will push Ukraine to the negotiating table, push you to accept a bad
deal?
MEREZHKO: I'm sure that the United States will continue to follow the principle, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. It's extremely important
principle, and I'm sure no matter who becomes the president, he will continue to follow this quintessential principle.
SOARES: Let me just pick up with something that I heard our correspondent, Fred Pleitgen say when -- he's currently in Kyiv. He was talking, of
course, not just -- not just F-16s that I needed, not just the deliveries to happen fast enough, but also troops. This has been a huge concern for
Ukraine. Do you have the manpower? I know everyone's incredibly burnt-out. Do you have the manpower to win this?
MEREZHKO: Well, of course, compared with Russia, we have less manpower. That's why it's so crucial, important to have enough weaponry to defend
ourselves. But recently, our parliament has adopted a new legislation on the conscription, on the mobilization, and the situation is changing for
better. So, we have more and more trained troops, and at the moment, we don't have a problem with that.
SOARES: Yes, not everyone, of course, welcome the conscription as we have reported on that. Oleksandr, really appreciate you taking the time to speak
to us. Thank you very much, sir.
MEREZHKO: Thank you.
SOARES: Now, to the increasing pressure on U.S. President Joe Biden from the halls of Congress to the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. A growing number of
Democratic power-brokers are calling for Mr. Biden to end his candidacy. Major Democratic donor, as well as actor George Clooney is now calling for
a new nominee.
[14:15:00]
In a "New York Times" op-ed, Clooney writes, "it's devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the
Joe big f-ing deal Biden of 2010. He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."
Well, filmmaker and prominent Democrat Rob Reiner is also calling for the President to bow out. It comes amid some eye-catching comments from the
former Speaker of the House -- from our senior White House correspondent Kayla Tausche, she joins me with more. And Kayla, we know -- and we heard
this yesterday at the press conference, the White House really wants to turn the page.
But what? we're 11 days, 12 days since that debate and the concerns are still there. I just want to play for our viewers some of what some of the
voices that we've been hearing from the Democratic side on this. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): It's up to the President to decide if he is going to run. We're all encouraging him to make that decision. I want him
to do whatever he decides to do. And that's the way it is.
SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO): Donald Trump is on track, I think to win this election, and maybe win it by a landslide, and take with him the Senate and
the House. I think that we could lose the whole thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, Kayla, how -- I mean, how is the White House then responding to this continuing turmoil?
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's exasperations on all fronts. I spoke with several officials yesterday who
made it clear they were eager to move on to their day jobs. They were not focused on the President's public demeanor or any of what they called noise
from Democrats in the party suggesting that he would step aside.
I spoke with a senior adviser to the President last night who said that there was zero chance that the President makes any personnel changes within
the White House or atop the campaign after the debate debacle and what has happened since then.
And that there was zero chance that he would reconsider his position to run again, saying that he truly believes that he is the only one who can beat
Donald Trump. It is not an act. But this person also told me that the president's own family could be the ones to persuade him otherwise, if not
other members of the party, saying that Jill and Valerie(ph) won't let him go down in flames in this adviser's words, if the polls spell a really bad
outcome for the President to protect his legacy, that they would encourage him to do the same thing that other members of the party that you just
cited are doing.
But it doesn't seem that we're at that point today. The President is still on the world stage rallying world leaders and hailing the expansion and the
strengthening of NATO. Of course, we wouldn't expect him to do any, otherwise the planning for this event, the groundwork was laid months ago.
So, certainly, this is not the backdrop that his White House or world leaders envisioned having when they came to town for this high stakes
discussion about geopolitical stability. And yet, it is the discussion that the president finds himself in the White House in.
SOARES: And meantime, Kayla, I see that you have -- reporting about a top Chicago donor, just tell us what this person is telling you.
TAUSCHE: Well, there was planning underway in the early stages for a lunch to take place during the Democratic National Convention. It was not
affiliated officially with the Biden campaign, but several well-heeled Chicago donors at Deep Blue City were expected to put something together to
tap into their networks to get them to max out their wallets for President Biden's re-election.
And I'm told that, that group has met several times in the wake of the debate, and just this week decided not to proceed with that event. Now, the
Biden campaign is hosting events across the country in Texas, two in California, one in Colorado. But we spoke to another donor in Florida who
said that he has an event in September that's currently up in the air, and that any private individual who is attempting to plan an event is really
trying to take the temperature of their network to figure out how to proceed. And right now, it's uncertain at best.
SOARES: Thank you very much, Kayla Tausche there for us at the White House. And still to come, for the fourth time in four days, an Israeli
strike has hit a school complex sheltering displaced families in Gaza. A live report from Jerusalem just ahead for you.
And I'll be speaking with Lithuania's Foreign Minister, I'll ask about NATO's support for Ukraine and his nation's response to the bombing of Kyiv
children's hospital by Russia. Both those stories after this very short break, you are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
SOARES: Well, the Palestinian Health Ministry calls it a heinous massacre against displaced civilians in Gaza. Officials say at least 27 people were
killed, including children when an Israeli strike hit a school complex housing families near Khan Younis. Israel calls it a precision strike that
targeted a Hamas militant.
This is the fourth such attack on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza in just four days. A CNN analysis shows a U.S. manufactured ammunitions were used
in the strike. Israel also striking Hezbollah's air defenses in Lebanon. It says it bombed targets in the Bekaa Valley, one of the deepest strikes
since near-daily cross-border fire began if you remember in October.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says his group will stop firing on Israel if there is a ceasefire in Gaza. He also says whatever Hamas accepts in
terms of a deal, Hezbollah will support that as well. Let's bring in our Jeremy Diamond for more. He is live for us in Jerusalem.
So, Jeremy, four attacks on schools, ten shelters in four days. What is the IDF saying about these strikes? But also, they're also planning to
guarantee safe passages out of Gaza city. How can they assure that?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is certainly very little faith on the ground in Gaza in those assurances from the Israeli
military, even as they try and provide safe passage for people out of areas like Gaza city.
And it is because of incidents like the one that we are talking about today. The school just outside of Khan Younis housing thousands of
displaced people in and around that complex. Just outside of this school, at the gate of that school is where this American-made GBU-39 small
diameter bomb hit, killing 27 people according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, wounding 53 others.
And you know, we have footage from on the ground, not only of the devastation of the scale of the injuries, not only the dead, but the
injured, many people with limbs missing in this attack, but also the stories of those who were killed and injured. This hit a street where there
were many people, vendors selling of various foods, but also one man Bellal(ph), who was killed in this attack, his body torn to pieces by this
bomb.
He was running a charging point, allowing other Gazans to be able to charge their phones and other electronic devices. And for him to try and make a
little bit of money. His son is now orphan as a result of this attack. The Israeli military, when pressed for comments about this, acknowledged that
it did carry out this strike.
They say that they quote, "struck a terrorist from Hamas' military wing, who they say took part among other terrorist activities in the October 7th
terrorist attacks. But what's notable here is first of all, they're pointing to striking one terrorist in this attack. They are not providing
any information about the identity of this individual.
[14:25:00]
And in addition to that, what we have on the ground are 27 people who were killed. And so, absent an explanation of the seniority of this target, try
and get some understanding of the proportionality involved here. This very much seems like a disproportionate attack. So, a lot of questions about
this. The Israeli military said that they were looking into reports of civilian harm -- civilians harmed in this attack.
You really don't have to look very far. The footage that we saw, not only from the scene of the strike, but also the hospital in the aftermath. You
can see the number of civilians who were killed and injured including multiple children who were in the area when this strike took place. Isa.
SOARES: Jeremy Diamond for us there, thanks very much, Jeremy. And still to come tonight, British police apprehend a suspected killer who may have
used a crossbow in a triple murder. We'll have live report from the scene here in north London, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: A manhunt is over in north London, north of London for a suspect who is accused of killing three women. British police said one of the
possible weapons used in the attack could have been a crossbow. Authorities say they detained this man, 26-year-old Kyle Clifford in connection with
the deaths.
The victims have been identified by the "BBC" as the wife and two daughters of a "BBC" journalist. And it could -- it could have been a targeted
attack. Our Nic Robertson joins us now from Lavender Hill cemetery in Enfield, north London for much more.
And Nic, so, the suspect now being detained, what more do we know about him and the possible relationship here with the victims?
[14:30:00]
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. The police are saying that he was known to the victim's family. We also know that he
served for a short time in the British military, left the British military in 2022.
We don't have a lot of other details about him from the police. So far, we do know that when they reached him here in the cemetery behind me, that he
was injured. There were paramedics on the scene. In fact, people living on the street here told us there were ambulances, fire trucks, as well as
heavily, heavily armed police converging on this area in the afternoon.
We don't know the nature of his injuries, but the police say that no shots were fired and that he had these injuries when they actually got to him.
This area is in the north of London. It's sort of on the edge, if you will, of the fields that surround London. You go north of here and it's pretty
much countryside. In the fields below me here, you'll find sheep not far away.
We do know as well that this is the area that he lived in, and it is about 45 minutes from the house where the police were called to after hearing
screams, women screaming at the house yesterday evening in an area called Bushy, also in North London, 45 minutes' drive from here. And the police,
of course, and medical services, when they arrived, they found the three women there injured. Sadly, they passed away very soon after.
And it was CCTV video from a nearby house that seemed to indicate that Kyle Clifford was carrying a crossbow, which really set a huge amount of alarm
here. And this intense manhunt all the way across London over the past 24 hours, ending here in the cemetery just a couple of hours ago, Isa.
SOARES: And these three women who were killed by a crossbow were two daughters and the wife, I believe, of a BBC commentator, John Hunt. Just
talk to us about this and what the reaction has been in the neighborhood there. It's absolutely appalling.
ROBERTSON: Shocked. I mean, the BBC say they're utterly devastated and giving John Hunt every support that they can give him. His wife Carol was
61 and the daughters 28 and 25. Why Kyle Clifford knew this family, the police are not saying that information isn't available at the moment, but
it does appear, by the very nature of the crime itself, as if he was able to get very close to these three women and clearly overcome them and -- to
the point of being able to deliver deadly injuries to them.
But at the moment, the police investigation, it seems to be over in as much as they've discovered him that they've been to properties that were
connected to him earlier in the day. We've seen a forensics van turn up here a short while ago and a couple of other police officers go in. But,
you know, people -- for people here, -- and this is a quiet neighborhood. It's right on the edge of London. It's parkland, it's fields, old historic
buildings not far away. Not something people here would expect.
The neighbor that I talked to just a short time ago was really still in shock about it. He couldn't believe that it had happened.
SOARES: Absolutely horrific. Our thoughts, of course, are with John Hunt this evening. Thanks very much, Nic. Appreciate it.
I want to turn our attention to the United States. U.S. Senator Bob Menendez was back inside a Manhattan court on Tuesday as his defense
wrapped up its closing arguments in his federal corruption case. The New Jersey Democrat is facing charges of being part of a year's long bribery
scheme, along with several others. Menendez is accused of using his position to try to advance foreign interests in exchange for lavish
rewards. Part of the evidence against him are gold bars and cash found in his home. Menendez's lawyer says his actions were "lawful, normal, and
good." Menendez and his codefendants are all -- all pleaded guilty.
And dramatic opening statements today in Alec Baldwin's criminal trial in New Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX SPIRO, ATTORNEY FOR ALEC BALDWIN: This was an unspeakable tragedy, but Alec Baldwin committed no crime. He was an actor acting, playing the
role of Harlan Rust. An actor playing a character can act in ways that are lethal, that just aren't lethal on a movie set. These cardinal rules,
they're not cardinal rules on a movie set.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And that was the attorney for Alec Baldwin. The prosecutions trying to show deadly negligence on the set of the movie "Rust." Baldwin
has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set in 2021. He previously told
CNN he did not pull the trigger, but he has admitted to pulling back the hammer of the gum. We'll stay across that trial for you.
[14:35:00]
And still to come on the show this evening, is Russia sabotaging its neighbors? NATO says it is. CNN visits some of Russia's closest neighbors
facing threats of cyber-attacks and even arson.
And as NATO leaders gather in Washington, I'll be speaking with Lithuania's foreign minister about the war in Ukraine and the alliance's support for
Kyiv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. And return to our top story. While domestically, U.S. President Joe Biden deals with a political storm over
his ability to stand in November's election, earlier today, he welcomed NATO heads of state for a three-day summit in Washington, D.C. While
marking 75 years of the alliance, leaders are discussing strengthening support for Ukraine as it continues to fight Russia's invasion.
The president is also seeking to prove to the U.S. public and his own Democratic Party that he can handle the big stage.
And NATO is accusing Moscow of engaging in a bold sabotage operation across NATO member states for more than six months, targeting ammunition depots,
factories, as well as railways. Take a listen to NATO secretary general speaking earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENS STOLTELBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: We have seen a pattern of increased Russian hostile acts against NATO allies over the last months,
organized by the Russian security services. And this is about sabotage. This is about cyber-attacks. This is about arson attempts. This is about
different types of malign actions against NATO allies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Of course, it's Russia's neighbors most at risk of sabotage. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh travel to Poland and Estonia where authorities there are
on high alert.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): U.S. bases in Europe are on the highest alert for a decade. This
key American and Polish supply hub, an hour from Ukraine, peppered with air defense.
This Ukrainian cargo plane from Norway, a major part of NATO's weapons supplies to Kyiv. You're watching an odd paradox. The largest loudest
arming effort of our times happening in near secrecy, fences obscuring what they can. The main reason, the threat of Russian sabotage, persistent,
real, growing across Europe along the supply lines to the Ukrainian border here.
[14:40:00]
WALSH: While supply hubs like these have never really been more vital for Ukraine trying to hold the front line. But a senior NATO official has told
me of a six- to nine-months' effort by Russia to sabotage NATO weapons supplies into Ukraine. A fair bit of it going right down these tracks.
Now, they described it as something that is against, at times, the point of production, against those making the decisions, against the storage of
weapons or even their actual delivery, saying the operation has been bold.
WALSH (voice-over): It too is something in the shadows with a huge potential for escalation. This is the moment, first broadcast here, a vast
saboteur operation in Poland gave itself away. Caught on camera is Maxim, a 24-year-old Ukrainian living here, recruited online by Russian agents, who
first just asked him to daub anti-war graffiti, filmed buying a lot of energy drinks, a move that led Polish agents to arrest him and 15 others
because he dropped a receipt from here at a crime scene.
His Russian handler, Andrzej, had begun asking for much more, positioning cameras, some here overlooking these tracks to Ukraine; others, where
Poland trained Ukrainian troops and for Maxim to commit arson. In all, it got him six years in jail.
WALSH: Amazing how the Russians are recruiting people straight off Telegram, who find themselves here in maximum security.
WALSH (voice-over): He gave our producer a rare interview inside. We could not record, so an actor is voicing his words.
MAXIM, UKRAINIAN RECRUITED BY RUSSIAN AGENT (voice-over): It was easy money. I needed money badly. I didn't think any of it could cause any harm.
It seemed so insignificant. When Andrzej told me to install cameras where Poles were training Ukrainian soldiers, that's when I knew it could be
serious. It made me feel uneasy. That was when I decided I'd quit. But I never got a chance. I got arrested the next day.
WALSH (voice-over): Put together, suspected Russian sabotage is quite widespread, with arson around Poland at an ammo depot and even a shopping
center. Concerns voiced over a fire at a key Berlin metals factory. Czech officials have pointed at Russia over railway hacking. France arrested a
pro-Russian separatist plotting to blow up a Paris hardware store. And last month, intelligence chiefs warned, on a Swedish island close to Russia,
there was an increased risk of sabotage of weapons bound for Ukraine.
But it gets fiercer here, right next to Russia, in Estonia. Russia's appetite to disrupt led them, at this tense border crossing one May night,
to sneak out in these thermal camera images and remove the buoys marking where Estonia ends and Russia begins, literally removing the border.
Tank traps and razor wires speak of how bad it has got. Estonian GPS signals have been jammed. In the skies above, Russians film us filming
them.
WALSH: Your job is also to filter out any of the Russian agents who might be being used to come and do hybrid attacks, right?
EERIK PURGEL, HEAD OF ESTONIAN BORDER GUARD BUREAU, EAST PREFECTURE: All the time, 24/7, and trying to filter those people out. I think the Russians
now are trying to see how we will react to different things.
WALSH (voice-over): Security officials say Russia was using amateurs here, too; 10 people arrested in February after an attack on the Estonian
interior minister's car, fears the Ukraine war may, in the future, make Russians more aggressive still.
HARRYS PUUSEPP, ESTONIAN INTERNAL SECURITY SERVICE: We saw significant rise in their activity in last autumn. We have seen it moving toward
physical attacks. Yes, they are at the moment were against -- more against properties. There are people who take part in the war against Ukraine. They
have more experience; their mindset is more violent. They are perhaps not so patient anymore, trying to get results.
WALSH (voice-over): A shadowy standoff where the unthinkable, in a matter of months, becomes reality.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Narva, Estonia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: I want to take you briefly to these pictures. You can see there, President Zelenskyy in Washington. This is just moments ago. You see there,
President Zelenskyy sitting alongside the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Let me just see if we can hear anything.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): He did. Yes, he did.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Just now.
JOHNSON: -- through the election for us. So, it's difficult to find the time to go --
SOARES: So, both men meeting just a short time ago, of course, around the NATO Summit, the speaker of the house, if you remember, was opposed at
beginning on to -- key on funding for Kyiv, but then was fundamental in returning that around and pushing that forward. So, an important
conversation as we head into us elections in November, all happening, of course around the NATO Summit, this landmark summit in Washington, we'll
stay across these images as of any more developments, we will, of course, bring them to you.
[14:45:00]
And speaking of the NATO Summit, joining us from Washington, D.C. is Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. Foreign Minister,
welcome back to the show. I believe he can hear me. Can you hear me, sir?
GABRIELIUS LANDSBERGIS, LITHUANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Yes. Yes, I can hear you.
SOARES: Fantastic. Great to have you here. Great to have you with us, Foreign Minister. You and I have spoken on numerous occasions and you have
always been very vocal about support for Ukraine, calling for more to be done. We have had pledges of F -16s today from numerous countries. Is this
enough? Is this going to lead to a victory in your eyes?
LANDSBERGIS: Well, I think that the messages that we're hearing today are quite important. They are continuation of the pledges that have been
announced or partially announced before the summit. But I still -- you know, I'm always trying to push a little bit you know, the line a bit
further.
You know, Putin is sending a very clear message to us. You know, by attacking a children's hospital in Kyiv, he says that he believes that he
can act with impunity. While the leaders our free world are gathering here in Washington, he's killing children in Kyiv. And I think that the best
thing to do right now is to react to that and find a way how to send a message back that we see it and --
SOARES: How? How would that be?
LANDSBERGIS: -- there definitely will be action. I think that the best thing would -- now would be to allow Ukrainians to use the weapons that
they already been given deeper in Russia. There are still airfields from which the attacks happen. There are airfields from which the attack against
the children's hospital happened. And they're out of reach of Ukrainians, not because they cannot reach them technically, but because there is not
yet a political decision formulated to allow them to do that.
For me, personally, and I think for millions of people in Ukraine and in Eastern flank and in other countries, that would be a tremendous victory if
that would be formulated here in Washington these days.
SOARES: And what we have heard, and we heard this previously from President Zelenskyy, is that right now not being able to do that, Foreign
Minister, is like fighting a war with a hand --with one hand being held behind your back. Are you -- what signals are you hearing from the United
States that that may be possible? Because so far, we don't seem to be there.
LANDSBERGIS: Well, I think that now the conversation will be ongoing, you know, the conversation about Ukraine will be going on tomorrow. So, I'm
hopeful that this could be one of the outcomes of NATO Summit in Washington. And President Zelenskyy was very clear why he needs that. And I
think that, you know, if we don't find a reason enough, in his words, then maybe the message that I've mentioned before, you know, by Putin.
And to add to that, you know, we're witnessing what is still called a hybrid activity. An intensive activity of Russian agents within NATO
territory, and my country has witnessed that as well. Russian opposition member and, you know, one of the leaders of opposition was attacked in my
country. Their buildings, their shopping malls that are being burned down, you know, by people who are being paid by Russia. I think it also merits a
reaction. And there could be no better reaction than allowing Ukrainians to use the weapons the way they see fit.
SOARES: And of course, these pledges that we are seeing, and I'm guessing we're still waiting for members to agree on what they've been calling a
substantial package, all very welcome, but, you know, Foreign Minister, you and I have also been talking -- talked about this, there have been
substantial delays, ammunition, you know, out of Europe is just an example of this.
You have written -- you have recently said that you cannot win the war just by defense. What do you mean by that? How else? And you're talking about
attacking inside, right, further in inside Russia? What else would you like to see?
LANDSBERGIS: Well, it's -- you know, when I'm talking about this, I'm talking also about the strategy. I'm really glad, as I'm sure that many of
us is -- whenever any defensive weapon reaches Ukraine. And now, that the pledge of air defense, additional elements of air defense will reach
Ukraine, and that's a very important step forward.
But, yes, I mean, you cannot win the war if you --if that is a strategy, if that is the goal of Ukraine and us assisting Ukraine, you cannot win the
war just by defending. That means that Ukrainians have to have a way how to attack the forces, how to push out Russians, how to, you know, inflict
damage on those who are attacking them every single day for almost, you know, two and a half years and coming for the full three years.
So, we have to balance this. And in order to do that, we have to have a very clear strategy formulated and announced. And this is what is -- you
know, what has been missing for -- since the beginning of war.
[14:50:00]
SOARES: And of course, the conversation is very much centered around Ukraine and this NATO Summit but, I suspect also, there is some
conversation about possibility of president -- of Former President Trump returning. What is the -- what are you hearing? How concerned are you,
Foreign Minister, about the possibility of that, of a Trump 2.0 here?
LANDSBERGIS: Well, my position and my country's position has been very clear. We are -- we take no part in the decisions that are being made by
the people of United States of America. We have worked with every administration that is out there, and we will continue doing that in the
future.
What we can do, what we are doing is to have a very clear story of why we need a very strong Transatlantic partnership. You know, and my country can
definitely tell the story. We have a contingent of U.S. troops in -- stationed in Lithuania. We believe that it's the biggest deterrent that my
country can have in these days. And we need for U.S. troops to stay. And this is a message for current administration. This is a message for the --
if this administration continues, and this would be the same message for -- if the administrations would change.
And the second message is that we're doing what we can. Lithuania has joined a 3 percent club. Just recently, we reached 3.03 percent of our GDP
towards defense. So, that we're not free riding. We will do what we can and we will try to convince others to do the same thing.
So, these are messages that we are preparing for the, you know, upcoming election in United States. But then, sorry, I won't go, you know, and, you
know, issue some advice to the voters. I'm sure that they have a clear mind as to what to do best.
SOARES: I wasn't going to go there because I knew you wouldn't be able to tell me anyway. You're ever the diplomat. Mr. Landsbergis, it's always
great. Foreign Minister, appreciate it. Thank you very much. Great to see you.
And still to come tonight, we're just minutes away from the Netherlands taking on England at the Euros. At stake, a spot in the final. That is
next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: And we are just minutes away from the match we've been waiting for the Netherlands taking on England in the Euro semifinals. Our Seb Shukla is
in Germany for the match and has filed this report.
[14:55:00]
SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Isa, kickoff is just around the corner here for tonight's game, England versus Holland. It will follow on from
that game, that scintillating game that took place in Munich last night and will determine who will be the final two teams in that -- who will make
their way to Berlin on Sunday.
Isa, though, as you can see, fans piling into the stadium now. The white of England and those orange of Poland. And if you go into -- and as it has
been all day in downtown Dortmund, it's basically been in what looks to be an extension of a new province of Holland. Some almost 90,000 Dutch fans
have descended on Dortmund to support their team. There's no way that all of those fans are going to get in here. And there needs to be a 50/50 split
for partiality -- or impartiality rather.
It should be, as the atmosphere has been building in the city all day, an absolutely fantastic atmosphere inside. We'll wait to see who comes out on
top, but it should be a fantastic game of football all the same. Both teams have rightful feelings to believe that they are the ones who will go all
the way in this.
England need to play perhaps a little quicker and a little more direct with their football and perhaps a little slicker and look, maybe not to go
behind in games before trying to pull themselves back out of it. Holland, on the other hand, have often gone ahead in games and scored plenty of
goals in this tournament. So, we should be in for something really special here, Isa.
SOARES: Thank you very much. Seb Shukla there. Well, the Animal Kingdom may have some clues to who wins tonight's match between England and the
Netherlands. Just call him the orangutan oracle. Meet Wally, an orangutan at the Dortmund Zoo. Given the choice between two bags with each team's
flag, he firmly chose, you can see there, the Netherlands.
In London, a trio of zoo meerkats will also put to the same test. Dracula, Penelope, and Frank had to choose between buckets. Dracula quickly chose
England, or at least the treats underneath England's bucket. Good luck to whoever wins tonight.
Thanks for watching tonight. Do you stay right here, "NEWSROOM" with Jim Sciutto up next. I shall see you tomorrow. Bye-bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
