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Isa Soares Tonight
Putin Agrees To Temporarily Halt Attacks On Ukrainian Energy Infrastructure; Gaza Ceasefire Broken As Israel Launches Deadly New Strikes; Chief Justice Roberts Rebukes Trump Rhetoric About Impeaching Judges; U.S. Officials Gives More Details On Deportation Flights; Netanyahu's Televised Statement After Ceasefire Shatters; Stuck Astronauts On Their Way Back To Earth. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired March 18, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News!
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, and a very warm welcome, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, we begin with breaking news following
two major stories for you this hour. It's been the deadliest day in Gaza in more than 15 months of war. The fragile ceasefire shattered as Israel
carries out extensive airstrikes.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump holds a high stakes call with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the U.S. pushes for a ceasefire deal,
of course, in Ukraine. We'll bring you all the details in a very busy hour. But we begin, of course, with this phone call that so many on both sides of
the Atlantic hope will lead to an end to three years worth of bloodshed in Ukraine.
And U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke for nearly two hours by phone today about the American proposal for a 30-
day truce. The White House and the Kremlin agreed to halt attacks on energy and infrastructure, and both believe that the fighting in Ukraine needs to
end with a lasting peace.
A Russian source tells CNN the call went very well. Ukraine signed off on that temporary ceasefire proposal and is calling on Russia, of course, to
do the same. Let's get straight to Alex Marquardt, who is in Washington for us. So, Alex, just talk us through what the U.S. readout is of this call
that seems to have gone very well, at least it was lengthy.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House is putting a positive spin on this, in that they have agreed to a
partial ceasefire over energy and infrastructure. We have not yet heard from the Ukrainians as far as I know. But Isa, it's hard to look at this as
anything but the United States settling for less.
Ukraine had already proposed a partial ceasefire on energy, on infrastructure, on civilian sites, on the Black Sea. That is what the
Ukrainians were putting on the table. And the U.S. essentially said, no, we want a full and complete and immediate ceasefire all along the frontline,
across all fronts, right now, in order to begin negotiating a longer term peace deal.
That was the U.S. approach going into this phone call with Vladimir Putin. So, we expected to hear today if President Trump had been able to convince
Putin of that. Clearly, the White House came up short and they are now settling for something far less in this moment. I want to read you a little
bit of the statement from the White House that just came out moments ago, in terms of what the two leaders agreed to.
They said "the leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on
implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, a full ceasefire and permanent peace. These negotiations will begin immediately in the
Middle East."
They don't say where in the Middle East these conversations are going to take place, but it is clear that President Putin has convinced the U.S. of
essentially a drip-drip approach. They are slow-walking this. They're agreeing to this energy ceasefire. But at the same time, Isa, if you read
between the lines, of course, the Russians are on the March in Kursk, which had been taken by the Ukrainians.
They are on the march in eastern Ukraine. They can still make progress on the ground while maintaining an energy and infrastructure ceasefire. So,
they're going very slowly here. The U.S. is very eager to talk about a longer term permanent deal that would -- that would deal with territorial
concessions and the like.
But it is clear that Putin is saying here that yes, I'm agreeing to something along the lines of what the U.S. has proposed, but it is far less
than what the U.S. had been hoping for. The fighting, no doubt, Isa, will continue despite this call.
SOARES: This does not look like to me like win in any way for the United States, for diplomacy, or indeed for Ukraine. Because when we're talking
about you know, key areas in the United States, energy infrastructure, which they have been hit repeatedly, what happens outside of those key
areas? Is the bombing going to continue? Is that how -- I mean, how do you -- how do you read this?
MARQUARDT: Yes, that's absolutely right. The bombing will continue on civilian infrastructure. It looks like the bombing will continue on the
frontlines. The artillery will continue being fired, the drones will continue being fired. The Russians will still launch these long-range
missile attacks from inside Russian territory against Ukrainian military positions.
[14:05:00]
So, this is a relatively small section of -- that would govern -- that the ceasefire would govern. Obviously, the Ukrainians had wanted the fighting
to come to a complete standstill that would have allowed them to breathe a little bit. It would have allowed these longer-term peace negotiations to
get on track and actually go towards a more permanent solution.
As painful as that solution might have been in the end, but it does appear that President Putin has managed to run around President Trump in essence.
There had been some speculation that if President Putin had denied or declined rather a full ceasefire, that maybe President Trump would say, all
right, you know what? We're going to put sanctions on you.
We're going to continue flooding Ukraine with weapons. That is not what is happening here. This is a very middling solution, falling well short of
what President Trump --
SOARES: Yes --
MARQUARDT: And his top aides have said on the record that they were looking for. Isa.
SOARES: And indeed, and we were, and of course, we are still waiting to see what the Ukraine response is. But very quickly, and I'm going to go to Fred
in just a moment. But do you have anything? I'm seeing the Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded the halt of foreign aid, military aid
to Ukraine. We don't -- I didn't see that in the readout from the United States from Karoline Leavitt. Did you see that at all?
MARQUARDT: No, we're not seeing that right now.
SOARES: OK.
MARQUARDT: The next paragraph down talks about the need to stop proliferation --
SOARES: Yes --
MARQUARDT: Of strategic weapons, but nothing specific to Ukraine. That's obviously a point that the Russians would have been pushing with Trump --
SOARES: Yes --
MARQUARDT: But I'm not seeing anything here about Trump agreeing to that. Isa.
SOARES: Well, let's go to our Fred Pleitgen -- thank you very much, Alex Marquardt there for the very latest. Let's go to our Fred Pleitgen in
Moscow with more on the Russian perspective. So, we've just heard kind of the White House readout, give us a sense of what the Moscow readout is
saying. It seems both men saw eye-to-eye on many levels. It was a positive conversation. What more came out of that, Fred, from the -- from the
Kremlin side?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all -- yes, Isa, first of all, I think you're absolutely right. I think
that both sides are trying to say that this phone call happened in a very positive atmosphere, as they put it. If you look at just the sort of the
format of the Russian readout, it certainly is a lot longer than the readout that we saw from the White House, and certainly also at some points
in it that we did not see in the readout from the White House.
It was one that you were just talking about where the Russians indeed, and the Russian readout are saying that there should be, as they put it, an end
to western military aid for Ukraine. Now, again, you guys were talking about this. It's really unclear what exactly the Trump administration made
of that. Certainly, the Trump administration does not seem to mention it in their own readout.
But for the Russians, this is something that they've been calling for, for an extended period of time, and of course, something that for periods of
time in the past, they've actually gotten. There has been a halt to U.S. military aid, both at the end of 2023 and then, of course, and for a few
days at least over the course of the -- of the past two weeks when the Trump administration halted military aid to Ukraine.
The Russians, by the way, also talking about Intelligence-sharing as well. So, those seem to be very important points for them. Now, the other points
that were mentioned, of course, are also the ones that the Russians said were extremely important, like the halt to attacks on energy
infrastructure.
And I think one of the things that's very important to note there is that, of course, we have seen the Russians targeting Ukraine's critical
infrastructure, energy infrastructure over the past couple of years with pretty much drone and missile strikes going on almost every night and on
many days as well.
But the Ukrainians have also become a lot more prolific at targeting Russian energy infrastructure with attacks on refineries, with attacks on
other critical, for instance, electricity infrastructure as well. So, that's certainly something where it seems as though the Russians also
believe that they have something to gain for if -- from a 30-day halt to attacks on that, if of course, the Ukrainians agree to it, it's not clear
whether or not they will agree to it, because right now we only know that the U.S. and Russia have spoken.
The other thing that we also picked out is that the two sides that say that they want to talk about an essential ceasefire in the Black Sea, that, of
course, is also something where the Russians started out in the full-on invasion of Ukraine, really hitting the Ukrainians with their ships from
the Black Sea.
But the Ukrainians have then also started to target Russia's Black Sea fleet with seaborne drones of their own. So, certainly, the Russians could
use a respite there as well. Isa.
SOARES: Fred Pleitgen there with the very latest on this breaking news, appreciate it, Fred. Let's get more on this. I'm pleased to join now to Sir
William Browder; the head of Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, he's a long-time Kremlin critic, described by some as Putin's number one enemy, a
well known face here on the show.
Sir Bill, welcome to the show. Let me first of all get your reaction to the breaking news that we just reported in the last few moments. We now have
the readout from the United States, from the White House, from the Kremlin. It seems that President Trump -- President Putin, pardon me, wants a
temporary halt on attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days.
[14:10:00]
And Russia, according to the Russian readout, President Putin is demanding the halt of foreign military aid to Ukraine, although President Trump
doesn't mention that. Your reaction, first of all, to what we've heard.
WILLIAM BROWDER, HEAD, GLOBAL MAGNITSKY JUSTICE CAMPAIGN: Well, to put it in very simple terms, Putin rejected the proposal that was put on the
table. Last week, Ukraine agreed to a 30-day full ceasefire, unconditional. And then the ball was in Putin's court to do the same. And Putin came back
with a ceasefire that was conditional.
Conditional on a lot of different things, and most importantly, they're saying we won't attack the power plants, but we can still kill civilians.
SOARES: Yes --
BROWDER: We want to keep the power plants, but we're going to -- we're going to keep on pushing in eastern Ukraine. And so, this is not a
ceasefire of any sort. This is Putin was stuck between a rock and a hard place on one hand, he doesn't want to stop this war. And on the other hand,
he doesn't want to offend Trump.
And so, he's got to find something to say which sounds kind of good, but it doesn't have any materiality. And that's what he's come up with.
SOARES: It doesn't seem a sort of deal that you can sell that I know the United States is trying to spin it, the White House, but I don't see this
speaks really of any sort of winnable deal here, especially when you talk about, yes, they attack energy infrastructure, but they were going to
continue as we heard from Alex Marquardt, continue attacking civilians as they have done for years. We are waiting for the Ukrainian view. How would
you think they will react to this, Bill?
BROWDER: They'll reject it outright. There's nothing to do here. The Ukrainians have had a very successful operation hitting Russian oil
refineries, which obviously --
SOARES: Yes --
BROWDER: The Russians are very upset about. And so, they're hoping that they can convince the Ukrainians not to hit their oil refineries while the
Russians continue to hit hospitals, schools and civilians. It's a -- it's a non-starter. I mean, this is -- this really is a failed negotiation.
However, the White House is trying to spin it.
SOARES: And this reminds me of a conversation I had, Sir Bill, with Nina Khrushcheva just last week where she told me that what we're likely to see
is a master-class in KGB diplomacy. How do you see then this -- the next step being, because, I mean, did Donald Trump underestimate Putin here?
BROWDER: Well, I don't know whether he underestimated or overestimated or just came up with, you know, he comes up with all sorts of crazy stuff that
doesn't come true.
SOARES: Yes --
BROWDER: But this is a classic KGB rope-a-dope. He wants -- Putin just wanted to throw a whole bunch of complicating features into the whole
thing. You know, he's going to put some tiny little thing out there that he's going to offer, and then he's going to put a bunch of unrelated things
out there and hope -- you know, invite everybody to a long, unproductive negotiation.
Putin doesn't want this war to end. Putin needs this war in order to stay in power. That's his -- this war is a way of turning Russia's attention
away from him towards a foreign enemy. He can't afford to compromise, and he never has compromised. And so, that's -- this is just one more example
of that.
SOARES: And do you think -- I mean, I wonder how you see both of these men -- clearly, it was a positive atmosphere that was discussed. They spoke for
a long time. They want to re-establish relations between both countries, it seems. Do you think that President Trump would walk away from this,
thinking that he's got -- this is the start of a great deal?
BROWDER: I don't know what President Trump is going to think or not think, but what I can say is that there was no positive environment about this at
all.
SOARES: Yes --
BROWDER: Putin, he was keeping Trump waiting, speaking at some kind of businessman's --
SOARES: Yes --
BROWDER: Conference in Moscow. I mean, there's nothing respectful or positive about this whatsoever. Putin was thumbing his nose at Trump and he
thumbed his nose further by basically rejecting the overall ceasefire that was proposed.
SOARES: So, Bill, I know we have to leave you, busy schedule, but appreciate you taking the time to speak to us, Sir Bill Browder there.
Thank you, sir.
BROWDER: Thank you.
SOARES: We're going to return -- we'll return to this breaking news in just a moment. We have another big breaking news story. Very busy hour here
today. We're going to go to Gaza now where Israel has resumed its bombing campaign against Hamas, and a fragile ceasefire is in tatters. A new
violence is threatening to fully reignite the 17-month old war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(EXPLOSIONS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Those are the sounds in Gaza overnight. And these, the scenes there this morning. Health officials say more than 400 people were killed in the
Israeli strikes, nearly 600 others injured and others are believed to be trapped underneath the rubble. Gaza's hospitals, already overwhelmed, are
struggling to cope with the influx of wounded, many of them children.
[14:15:00]
Israel says Hamas is to blame for rejecting two U.S. proposals. Hamas, meantime, says it had adhered to the terms of the agreement in January and
was ready to enter phase two of that specific deal. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to speak this hour. We'll bring you that
to you when it does happen. Hostage families have been protesting outside his residence as you can see all day, accusing the Prime Minister of
abandoning their loved ones in Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANNY ELGARAT, BROTHER OF SLAIN HOSTAGE ITZIK ELGARAT (through translator): The government of Israel has decided overnight that the fate of the
hostages will be like the fate of Hamas. Hamas is going to be destroyed, and also the hostages are going to be destroyed. It's a dark night, dark
day for the state of Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Dark day there for so many of the hostages. Jeremy Diamond is joining me now in Tel Aviv. And that looks like to me, Jeremy, Hostage
Square behind you. We'll speak to those hostages and to what this moment may mean for them, of course. But first, just give us -- I know we're
expecting to hear from Prime Minister Netanyahu.
What are we likely to hear from him, and as of course, I know that the Israeli Defense Minister has kind of doubled down of course, on the
resumption of these strikes.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. Well, we certainly expect him to continue to explain his justification for breaking
this ceasefire agreement and effectively returning to war, perhaps also addressing the concerns of so many Israelis who we have heard today about
what this return to war will mean for the fate of those nearly 60 hostages who do indeed remain in Gaza at this hour.
But shortly after 2:00 a.m. this morning, we saw as the Israeli military began pummeling the Gaza Strip once again, resulting in the deadliest
single-day in Gaza in more than 15 months.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israeli airstrikes once again pounding Gaza, marking the end of a two-month ceasefire and a return to the sights and sounds of
war. Civilians rushing to the enclave's barely functioning hospitals carrying the wounded and the dead. In just a few hours, Israeli airstrikes
killed more than 400 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Hundreds more were wounded. It is the single deadliest day of the war since November 2023, and once again, children among the victims, some too stunned
to speak, others silenced forever. Their small bodies motionless on the morgue floor. Israel says it targeted Hamas commanders, officials and
infrastructure, launching the strikes because of Hamas' refusal to release more hostages.
Israel, now threatening to widen these attacks. Hamas so far not firing back at Israel, insisting it has been committed to negotiating phase two of
the ceasefire agreement while accusing Israel of trying to impose new conditions. In the daylight, the scale of the devastation becomes all too
clear. Hazem al-Janad(ph) was preparing a pre-fast meal for her family when the missiles hit the school they were sheltering in east of Gaza city, 16
of her relatives were killed, the youngest just two years old.
"I have no one left", she says. "Sixteen people killed. Why? They're all civilians." At another hospital, a father opens a body bag to show the face
of his daughter. "This is an unjust world", he cries. "The whole world is unjust. Here are the children. This is a little girl." Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad acknowledged a number of their militants and officials were killed in the overnight strikes.
But a doctor at one hospital in Gaza city told CNN, the majority of cases she had seen were children. Residents in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza said
they had no prior warning of the strikes, which killed families as they were sleeping. "We have been pulling the remains of children since this
morning", this man says. "Since 2:00 in the morning, we have been collecting the remains of people from the streets. They are all civilians,
children."
The Israeli military now ordering civilians in multiple neighborhoods close to the border to move west as the threat of a renewed Israeli ground
offensive looms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND: And today, we just heard this evening, actually, from several former hostages who were released in this latest ceasefire agreement,
including Keith Siegel; that Israeli-American citizen who recalled the moment when in late 2023, the last ceasefire agreement collapsed. He
recalled the sounds of the warplanes, the bombs that were dropping and his fear in that moment, the anger that it sparked from the Hamas militants who
were guarding him on that day.
And he expressed his concern for the hostages who remain in Gaza at this moment as yet another ceasefire agreement collapses.
[14:20:00]
We also heard from Sasha Troufanov, who said, quote, "military operations endanger their lives directly, calling for a return to negotiations. Isa?
SOARES: And as we wait, Jeremy, for Prime Minister Netanyahu, I wonder if you can flesh out really the reasoning for this return to war. The Israeli
Defense Minister said, warned Hamas that the rules of the games have changed. Just explain what they mean by that. What exactly -- what
reasoning are they giving for this, for the return to war?
DIAMOND: Well, Israeli officials have given a few different reasons. On the one hand, they have said that Hamas had refused several offers to release
more hostages, to agree to new conditions to extend the ceasefire, and therefore, Israel was going back to war because they didn't believe Hamas
was negotiating in good faith.
What they have also said was that this was a, quote, "preemptive strike" as one Israeli official told me because of Hamas preparations for an attack,
although they didn't provide any details of what those preparations were or any evidence for that claim. More broadly, what is clear is that Israel is
returning to a strategy of bringing military pressure to bear on these negotiations, conducting these negotiations under fire, as so many Israeli
officials have told me in the past.
It is quite clear in this moment that unless Hamas agrees to new terms to release additional hostages in order to extend this ceasefire, Israel will
not stop bombarding the Gaza Strip. And in fact, Israel will continue moving along an escalating ladder that will likely come to include if there
is not a deal before then, the sending of a significant number of Israeli troops into the Gaza Strip.
So, we will see when and if that happens, how soon that might happen, whether or not that is something that the Israeli Prime Minister will lay
out tonight, but certainly, he has the backing in this moment from the Trump administration, from the White House, which made very clear in
statements today as well as yesterday that they were supportive of these actions by the Israelis, and that they certainly were not going to stand in
their way.
SOARES: Jeremy Diamond there for us in Tel Aviv this hour, thanks very much, Jeremy. Of course, when we hear from Prime Minister Netanyahu, we
will of course, bring that to you. I want -- I do want to stay in Gaza because Rachael Cummings is the humanitarian director for Save the Children
in Gaza. She joins me now from Deir al-Balah in Gaza.
Rachel, really appreciate you being with us. Just give us a sense, first of all, of you know, what we have seen unfold in the last 24 hours. You gave a
pretty incredible description to my team of what -- you said this, you said -- I'm trying to find it here, but we've got what? For among -- dozens of
children killed among the 400. Just give us a sense of what you are hearing.
RACHAEL CUMMINGS, HUMANITARIAN DIRECTOR, SAVE THE CHILDREN: Well, you know, thanks for the opportunity. Just after 2 O'clock this morning, we were
woken up to extraordinary noise of jets overhead, drones, and of course, the bombing. And we now know that has resulted in over 400 people being
killed, many of those children.
And it's extraordinarily challenging for children in Gaza. And this -- the hope that children have had for the last couple of months being able to
hold on to in terms of this very delicate pause, has been completely obliterated by the increased violence that we've seen in the last 24 hours
-- extraordinarily.
SOARES: You know, you called it -- I just found what you told my team. You called this nothing short of a death sentence for Gaza's children. This is
on top, of course, of the pause in aid that we have in the last two weeks, on top of the thousands upon thousands of children who have been killed
since this war started. What impact has the last -- has the pause in aid first of all, has that had on the children in Gaza?
CUMMINGS: You know, over two weeks now, there's been no humanitarian supplies or any supplies --
SOARES: Yes --
CUMMINGS: That have entered Gaza. That is medicine, that is food, fresh food, that is water. It's desperate situation. And of course, this comes on
17, 18 months of conflict where children have lost their family members, have seen their family members killed, they've been forcibly displaced
time-and-time again.
So, it's compounding problems for children manifests in many different ways. And of course, we're very concerned about their physical health and
their mental health.
SOARES: Yes, and look, we've seen more than almost 18,000 children killed in this war since it started. It is heartbreaking to think of what they're
going through, especially now, Rachael, because this is happening during Ramadan as well. A time where it's supposed to be joyous, a moment of
celebration, really what we're seeing unfold.
[14:25:00]
And it caught me, really a description that I saw from one of the doctors that we've had on our air. And I'm just going to read that to -- this out
to our viewers if you give me just one second. "One volunteer medical aid for Palestinians described the moment, basically the casualties who were
arriving at Nasser Hospital.
The ER, the emergency room were just chaos. Patients everywhere on the floor. There were probably three men and the rest were all children, women,
elderly, everybody caught in their sleep, still wrapped in blankets, terrifying. A level of horror and evil that is really hard to articulate.
It felt like Armageddon."
And I imagine for so many, these people, it feels like Armageddon every single time they are being hit. And you know, facilities already in Gaza
already so overwhelmed and so strained. How can they cope if we're seeing, as we heard from our Jeremy Diamond in Israel, you know, a return to war
here.
CUMMINGS: Well, facilities cannot cope. I mean, they are already overwhelmed. They are short of supplies and they are now overwhelmed with
the demand for services. So, the children runs two clinics, nutrition points, education facilities, learning opportunities for children. And yet
we know that we're not able to meet the needs of children.
They are extraordinary needs that we're seeing across the whole of Gaza. Whatever we do is a drop in the ocean for the children, and it's really
with this new conflict that's now erupted overnight, it's unbelievable what's happening to children here.
SOARES: Can I ask you very briefly, Rachael, what are children telling you? You know, we talk so much about the trauma that they're going through,
they're living through right now. What do they ask you?
CUMMINGS: Children are extraordinarily resilient. But they want peace. When we ask them, what do they want? They want an end to the war. They want to
go back to normal. They miss their school. They miss their friends, and children want normality. And that's what is required here for a cessation
in the conflict, for a definitive ceasefire. We need to give that to children here.
SOARES: Rachael Cummings, I really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you, Rachael.
CUMMINGS: Thanks.
SOARES: And still to come tonight, a rare statement from Chief Justice John Roberts about President Trump, what he's saying about the fight between the
President and a federal judge. And the attacks are not just coming from the President, we'll hear what some senior White House aides are saying about
the legal showdown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
SOARES: Now, to the legal showdown between the White House and the Judiciary. That, legal experts say, is pushing the U.S. towards a
constitutional crisis and has the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court issuing a rather rare rebuke. John Roberts didn't mention Mr. Trump by
name, but he pushed back on calls by the president and his allies to impeach a federal judge who issued an order barring deportation flights
under the Alien Enemies Act.
Here's what the chief justice said about all of that. For more than two centuries it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate
response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. A major deadline has now passed for the Trump administration surrounding those controversial
deportation flights.
The U.S. federal judge, James Boasberg, demanded detailed answers by this afternoon as to why those flights continued after he ordered them to turn
around. And this comes one day after a heated hearing where Judge Boasberg summed up the Justice Department's reasoning in the cases, quote, "We don't
care, we'll do what we want."
Along with U.S. presidents, some senior White House aides have also been ramping up their attacks. I want you to have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: The district court has no ability to in any way restrain the president's authorities under the
Alien Enemies Act, or his ability to conduct the foreign affairs of the United States. This judge violated the law. He violated the constitution.
He defied the system of government that we have in this country.
TOM HOMAN, U.S. BORDER CZAR: We're not stopping. I don't care what the judges think. I don't care what the left thinks. We're coming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The administration may continue doing these flights?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, those clips say a lot. Let's get more details now because we are getting new details on how the Trump administration is responding to
the judge's demand for detailed information on those deportation flights. Let's bring our crime and justice correspondent, Kaitlan Polanski, live in
Washington.
So, Kaitlan, give us a sense of how the administration's responding, where they're going to meets the judge at all. Just ignore that deadline and move
on. What's going to happen next?
KAITLAN POLANSKI, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: No, they have given some answers today. They have given a sworn declaration. So, a sworn
statement under penalty of perjury from a top immigration official at the Department of Homeland Security. He did say in his statement, this is what
happened with these flights, giving some details there saying that when a flight took off after, the judge gave a written order on Saturday with
migrants on that flight, those people were being removed for other reasons than the presidential proclamation that the court had blocked.
And so, they are arguing that they did not violate the court's written order. And that is the legal position still of the Justice Department in
court. But we are in such an unusual situation because there is a hint in these court filings that they don't believe the judge has power over the
presidency and the decisions of deportation -- of deporting migrants to the U.S.
And so, you see those political statements, not just --
SOARES: I'm going to interrupt. I'm sorry, I'm going to have to interrupt because Prime Minister Netanyahu is speaking. Let's just listen.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): -- implications to Doha and Cairo along with the mediators. We accepted the
suggestions of Witkoff from the U.S. However, Hamas denied any ceasefire suggestion. I promise to you, if Hamas did not release our hostages, we
will return to battle. And indeed, we did. We returned to battle forcefully.
Together with the minister of defense, I accepted the IDFs recommendation to return to a forceful fighting against Hamas. From now on, Israel will
fight against Hamas in more and more -- with more and more power. And the negotiations will, from now on, be under fire. Hamas already felt our
force. And I'd like to promise them this is only the beginning. We will continue to fight in order to get all the goals of the war, returning all
our hostages, destruction of Hamas, and the promise that Gaza will no longer be a threat for Israel.
The citizens of Israel, my heart and everybody else's heart, is with the hostages and their family. They are going through a nightmare each and
every moment. I'd like to refer to the families and say that our obligation is to operate an act in order to bring back your loved ones, both dead and
alive.
[14:35:00]
I hear all the commentators who are lying as if the IDF's action are out of political consideration. There's no shame. Once and again, they are
encouraging Hamas by doing that. So, I'd like to say to Hamas, don't build on it, nothing will stop us from achieving all goals of the war.
I like to thank all the IDF heroes, the policemen, the Shin Bet and all of the security personnel. And I like to say thank you to the Israeli
citizens. We achieved historical achievements. We are changing the face of the Middle East, but there are many challenges. First in Gaza, when we have
released 196 of our hostages. The military pressure is crucial to release more hostages. The military pain that Hamas is having, it's not
contradictory to returning the hostages.
We are winning this war, but it's not finished yet. The Houthis have again fired missiles on Israel. Please, citizens of Israel, adhere to the
instructions of the home front. They are saving lives. And I really appreciate the American help against the Houthis. And, of course, we have a
lot of work to do in front of other parts of the axis of evil. But I'm certain we can do it. We will destruct them with the help of God and we
will win.
SOARES: You've been listening there to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressing the country in Hebrew, saying we are winning this war, but it's
not finished yet. He also said that the negotiations will continue from now on and will continue only under fire. Then he added, nothing will stop us
from achieving our war aims. This is, of course, as we've seen a restart, return to the war in the last 24 hours in Gaza.
We've also heard Netanyahu said the military pressure is critical condition for releasing the hostages. And he said it's not contradictory because, of
course, what we have seen many hostage families as we saw earlier on our show complaining and criticizing this administration for restarting the war
and putting their loved ones lives on the line.
But a clear message here, as we heard from Netanyahu, that blaming Hamas for the restart of this war, saying that Hamas denied any of the ceasefire
suggestion. He -- and he said, if -- and we'd said from the beginning, he said, if Hamas did not release our hostages, we will return home to battle.
From now on, they're going to -- Hamas is going to be -- is going to feel their power with more and more -- they're forced with more and more power.
Let's go to Alon Pinkas who may have been listening. I'm hoping he was listening there. Former Israeli consul general in New York joins us now
from Tel Aviv. Great to see you, Alon. I'm not sure whether you heard Prime Minister Netanyahu, but very much addressing the Israeli population,
explaining why they are returning to war and not to phase two of those ceasefire negotiations.
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: No, I did hear it.
SOARES: What did you make? What did you make of what he said? We are not finished yet. We are winning this war, but it's not finished yet, he said.
PINKAS: Yes. Well, you know what, Isa, I've worked with three prime ministers. So, it's not easy for me. Believe me. And it's even painful to
admit that I just don't take him seriously. And not many people do take him seriously.
There was a ceasefire. It was holding. There was an agreement that he signed. There was a phase two that was supposed to have begun on day 42 of
the ceasefire. It was violated today on day 59. And Israel consciously and deliberately did not engage in phase two negotiations.
[14:40:00]
Now, for him to come and say that he is doing this in order to create military pressure. That's not serious. 44, 4-0, Israeli hostages that were
taken alive on October 7th have died in captivity. And if you look at the broader picture of his attempts to save his coalition, of his attempts to
divert and distract attention from his reckless dismissal of the head of the General Security Service, it's a wag the dog scenario. It was almost
inevitable. I think we've even discussed this on your show a few weeks ago, that there won't be a phase two. That he's sacrificing -- knowingly and
ruthlessly sacrificing the remaining hostages.
So, you know, when he says we're winning the war, this has been going on for 16 months. Now, Hamas should have been eradicated, obliterated,
annihilated, choose your term or your synonym for this, but it hasn't happened.
And so, this phase, this is what's going to change -- this is going to be the game changer. This is going to tip the scales, I doubt that.
SOARES: Yes, and he said from now on we will act against Hamas with increasing force. From now on negotiations only under fire. And I remember
-- Alon, I remember our discussion, when we were talking about phase one of these negotiations. You know, you -- of course ceasefires are always, you
know, pretty much on shaky ground, inherently so. But, you know, I remember you and I having some serious doubts over whether we would actually ever
get to phase two, of course.
Now, what do you make of the argument they make that the Hamas denied any ceasefire negotiations? because from what I understood Hamas made it clear
they wanted to stick to the ceasefire agreement.
PINKAS: Look, I have no illusions about Hamas, a vile murderous terrorist organization. But there was an agreement. It was signed in January. I don't
want to re-litigate the history of 2024, but this agreement was there for the signing in May of 2024, and then again in July of 2024, and again in
August of 2024.
Just imagine how many Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians, noncombatants in Gaza, whose lives could have been spared if Mr. Netanyahu
was serious at the time. But no, he waited for his buddy, for his soulmate, Donald Trump, to become president. In comes Trump, and Netanyahu starts
selling him on the idea that this is a bad agreement. By the way, Isa, an agreement that Trump took credit for during the transition period.
SOARES: And so --
PINKAS: And -- yes, go ahead.
SOARES: Sorry. I was going to say, I mean, given then this we -- here we are again, something that you knew was probably going to happen. How then
do you read the -- how much do domestic politics speak to this? Because he said, nothing will prevent us from achieving his war goals. Clearly,
addressing some of the hostage families as well. They've been a Hostage Square protesting. Speak to the domestic angles.
Because we had Ben-Gvir quit, Bezalel Smotrich threatening to quit. And then, there's been a whole storm over the Shin Bet, the firing of the head
of Shin Bet. What is going -- how much is that playing into this?
PINKAS: No more than 101 percent. Everything in his calculus is about domestic politics. And there's a confluence of events. His testimony in his
trial for corruption, bribery and obstruction of justice, his coalition on the verge of disintegration, and he needed to save that. Demonstrations in
the streets -- I just came back from a demonstration of several -- dozens of -- tens of thousands of people on the dismissal of the head of the Shin
Bet, the General Security Service, the equivalent of the FBI or MI5, if you will.
And you take all these events, and he knew that phase two involves an Israeli withdrawal from two key passages inside Gaza. And an effective
permanent ceasefire, things that he could not allow. He needs a permanent state of war because he has another agenda, saving himself.
Look, he fired the chief of -- the -- he fired his defense minister. He basically pushed out the IDF chief of staff. He's threatening to fire the
head of the General Security Service. The head of military intelligence already resigned. The head of the Israeli Southern Command already
resigned. And the guy who was the prime minister on October 7, 2023, he's got nothing to do with this.
This is ridiculous. His entire impetus, his entire calculus, his entire motivation in this breach or violation of the ceasefire. And again, don't
misunderstand me, when you got to hit Hamas, you hit Hamas, no problem with that. But his entire motivation is driven by domestic political
calculations. It has been the case of the last year.
[14:45:00]
SOARES: Alon Pinkas, really appreciate you coming on, on this breaking stories there, as we just heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu. Thanks,
Alon. Great to see you.
PINKAS: You too, Isa. Thank you.
SOARES: And we're going to take a break. We'll see you after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: And recapping our breaking news this hour. Russia says it will pause attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and carry out a prisoner
swap after a phone call between the U.S. and Russian presidents. The announcement from the Kremlin follows a nearly two-hour call between
Presidents Trump and Putin today.
The White House, as the two leaders, spoke about the need for peace. A Russian source tells CNN the call went, quote, "very well." According to a
readout of the call from the Kremlin, the Russian leader demanding an end to foreign military aid to Ukraine.
Let's get the view from Kyiv, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a well-known face on the show. Andriy, great -- really
appreciate you being with us.
ANDRIY ZAGORODNYUK, FORMER UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: Thank you.
SOARES: We are waiting for an official response from President Zelenskyy. But is this the deal that Ukraine would have wanted, a temporary halt on
energy infrastructure and a demand for the halt of foreign military aid to Ukraine, according to the Kremlin?
ZAGORODNYUK: Well, certainly, the infrastructure part is positive. Russians tried to destroy our energy system again this winter. The winter is pretty
much over. We expect warm weather. And the heating season is over. So, essentially, they couldn't do this. So, right now, the -- suddenly, we can
survive that.
But we also damaged quite substantially Russian Petro plants, you know, their refineries and so on. So, I guess that's a ceasefire on both sides.
And that would mean that they would produce more gas, more diesel and so on, including for the armed forces, which we've been attacking.
[14:50:00]
Now, regarding the cessation of the support of military support, that certainly is going to be a big issue, because Ukraine needs to rearm.
Ukraine needs to keep up, it's building up its defense capabilities. Otherwise, we will just simply see that Russia will continue a
militarization of its industry. They will grow the army, they will recover. And after that, in one year or so, they would represent a major force,
which would be basically a major threat for the whole Europe, but particularly, of course, Ukraine.
SOARES: Yes. I mean, on the first point. I mean, like you said, we normally see attacks on energy infrastructure in the colder months. This is
something that we've seen year after year, which then begs the question, I mean, is this really the deal that you would have wanted as you get into
spring and to warmer months, first of all?
ZAGORODNYUK: Exactly.
SOARES: And then, who would oversee this?
ZAGORODNYUK: That's -- that can be -- we've seen except for showing the evidence. So, if some of the rockets or drones are flying into the energy
systems, we can show the pictures and bring the international observers and so on.
I believe that this is -- frankly speaking, this looks like more like a gesture to show the willingness to progress and that Russians understood
that they need to give something. So, to show that they are not withdrawing the negotiations so they're not (INAUDIBLE) too harsh conditions. So, that
the White House could report a positive call. And I guess for that, they gave this more like a gesture.
Same thing as it was a prisoner swap. They are going to be going after 175 prisoners swap, which, of course, is always a positive sign. But then, they
said the rest should be discussed. They want to start with a maritime ceasefire discussion. And then the rest. And of course, and then it's a
question whether this -- we pass through many ceasefire discussions with Russia. That's not the -- that's a beginning -- it could be beginning of a
very, very long story, frankly speaking.
SOARES: Andriy, really appreciate you coming on, on this breaking news story. Thank you very much indeed.
ZAGORODNYUK: Thank you. Thank you.
SOARES: And still to come right here, return to Earth. Finally, the two astronauts stuck in space for months are on their way back home. We'll have
a live report tracking their progress. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Now, the two NASA astronauts stuck for nine months on the ISS told CNN last month they didn't want to be called stranded. Well, they're
definitely not stranded now. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore left the International Space Station earlier today on a mission back to Earth,
finally.
[14:55:00]
They along with two teammates are on SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule. Williams and Wilmore arrived in space last June aboard a Boeing Starliner
spacecraft. But that spacecraft malfunctioned, if you remember. Officials didn't think it was safe for them to return on it. And a few days in space
turned into, well, an extended stay. The pair are expected to splash down off the coast of Florida later tonight and reunite with loved ones 286 days
after setting off. Imagine all the Christmases and the birthdays they may have missed. We wish them, of course, a bon voyage.
And finally, a sea creature once deemed the world's ugliest animal has had an underwater Cinderella story after being declared the world's ugliest
animal back in 2013, the blobfish has now been voted New Zealand's fish of the year. The competition is aimed at raising awareness of the country's
marine life and its fragile ecosystem. The gelatinous creature can grow up to 30 centimeters long or about a foot and look like a big blobby tadpole
with big nose and beady eyes. I bet you my Kiwi producer found this story.
That does it for us for tonight. Thanks very much for watching. Do stay right here. Newsroom with Max Foster is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
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