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New Day

Alexander Vindman is Interviewed about Russia and Ukraine; Airlines Suspend Flights over 5G; U.S. Postal Service Tasked with Delivering Covid Tests. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired January 19, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:33:31]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, Secretary of State Antony Blinken now in Ukraine where he met a short time ago with Ukrainian President Zelensky to reinforce the United States' commitment to Ukraine as tensions with Russia continue to build. The meeting comes as sources tell CNN the U.S. government is considering additional military support for Ukraine.

Joining us now, former European affairs director for the National Security Council, retired Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman.

Colonel, thank you so much for being with us this morning. We really appreciate it.

And I think what we're wondering here this morning simply is, is there anything left for the United States to do here that will actually deter this potential Russian invasion? I know you tweeted that that should be the goal. Or are we at the point where it is essentially inevitable?

LT. COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN (RET.), FORMER EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: I think we're at the tipping point. It's probably, in my view, inevitable that the Russians are going to conduct their offensive. And this will be the largest offensive in Europe since World War II. An enormous employment of air power, cruise missiles, all sorts of weapons, modern weapons, to destroy Ukraine's will to resist, destroy the Ukrainian armed forces. But, more importantly, destroy Ukraine's will to exist as a sovereign independent state.

There are some things that still can be done. This bout of diplomatic engagement is going to include Germany. A -- probably the linchpin in the European alliance. He's now in Ukraine talking to the Ukrainians I'm sure with a keen eye to providing maybe additional support, including weapons that could effect, on the margins, Russia's calculous.

[06:35:10]

And then he's going to go talk to Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, and saying, we're not just talking -- we're -- this is not just about diplomacy. We will support Ukraine. Maybe all that together, and this bill that's circulating through the Senate by Senator Menendez, which is very broad ranging, that, as a package, might still have some effects. But we're at the tipping point.

HUNT: So, Colonel, at this point, do you see the Russians actually making this decision in a way that ultimately will break the spine of NATO the way Vladimir Putin has talked about, or do you think that the threat is not quite that great in the event of an actual invasion?

VINDMAN: It is very, very significant. I think his primary objective is to achieve what he had wished to do in 2014 when he first attacked the Ukrainians with military force, which is break the back of the Ukrainians and their will to resist, fold them back into the Russian sphere of influence.

But there is an equally important objective on the geopolitical landscape and it has less to do with security assurances or guarantees. It has more to do with fracturing the NATO alliance, exploiting those seams between the U.S. and the Europeans, how far they're willing to go with regards to sanctions, how far they're willing to go with regards to support, but also internally. There's an east-west divide between the eastern flank of NATO, which feels (ph) (INAUDIBLE), was subject to a Soviet power for much of the 20th century, and the western portions of Europe that think that they still need to preserve their economic relationships and ties. And that -- those are the things that will have seismic effects on the geopolitical landscape.

And that's why everything needs to be done right now to avoid this. Again, we're right at the tipping point. But it should be a full-court press on the diplomatic track and the pressure track. The pressure track includes weapons that probably won't be militarily deterministic but will start to affect the calculus. A coherence around sanctions. Very, very potent, powerful sanctions. This bill that signals U.S. support, bipartisan support from Democrats and Republicans, led by the executive branch and by President Biden, all that brought to bear might still have an effect on Putin's calculus.

But we should remember that we have over 100,000 troops on Ukraine's border. The last really elements to support a full-scale military offense are now going into a place to add weight to a northern vector of attack that goes towards the capital of Ukraine, Kiev, as well as a massive force presence on the eastern and southern flanks, a buildup of the Black Sea fleet to threaten the Port of Odessa. All this is moving into place. The last bits and pieces are coming together for an attack in days. I would expect this to unfold in the middle to late part of February. HUNT: Dire prediction there.

All right, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, thanks very much for joining us this morning. We really appreciate your perspective.

VINDMAN: Thank you.

HUNT: Coming up next, the 5G high-speed wireless service leaving airlines scrambling. Some even suspending flights. Why airline executives say the rollout is interfering with airplanes.

Plus, blunt politics.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every 37 seconds someone is arrested for possession of marijuana.

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HUNT: That man smoking a joint is running for U.S. Senate. And he will be a guest on NEW DAY straight ahead.

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[06:43:01]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, several major airlines have canceled flights to the United States after they said signals from the new 5G cell phone service rollout could disrupt essential airplane safety technology.

CNN's Pete Muntean joins us now.

This is becoming a real situation, Pete.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John.

You know, this saga is not over yet even after yesterday AT&T and Verizon said they were going to delay parts of this rollout near certain airports. Now airlines are saying there could still be flight cancellations.

Just look at the latest here from Delta. It says, quote, while this is a positive development toward preventing widespread disruptions to flight operations, some flight restrictions may still remain.

We have seen some international carriers already suspend their flights coming into the United States. Carriers like Emirates, ANA, Air India, Japan Airlines have all suspended at least some of their flights.

Now, airlines say at the center of this issue right now, they don't really know all of the details of this delay from AT&T and Verizon. They need to know exactly which airports this is happening at. They don't know the timeline just yet. The real center of this issue is all about radar altimeters. It's a

really sensitive instrument onboard commercial airliners, on cargo planes, on helicopters. It beams a radio wave at the ground that can bounce back to the airplane, that gives a hyper accurate reading of height. But the problem is, that operates on a similar band, a similar frequency, to what the 5G towers operate on as well. It could interfere with those instruments, pilots say, when they need it the most, in low visibility, at low altitude, right before landing.

BERMAN: I just -- I just can't believe that it's taken -- that it has gone this far and this hasn't been resolved yet.

Pete Muntean, please keep us posted. Thank you very much.

So, today, President Biden gives a news conference to mark one year in office. This as his agenda hits roadblocks and the crisis intensifies at the Ukrainian border.

[06:45:00]

We're going to ask White House communications director Kate Bedingfield what changes we can expect.

HUNT: And we remember "Vogue" legend and visionary icon Andre Leon Talley. The mark he left behind and his fight for diversity in the fashion industry.

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HUNT: America losing another cultural icon. The fashion world is mourning the death of trailblazer Andre Leon Talley. Talley was a long time creative director at "Vogue," and later "Vogue'" editor at large. An author and fashion industry pioneer in his own right. Throughout his career, Talley was known for his attention-grabbing outfits and larger-than-life personality. He was often seen sitting front row at elite fashion shows next to "Vogue" editor in chief Anna Wintour. Talley was also a champion for diversity, encouraging top designers to include more black models in their shows.

[06:50:03]

Here's how Talley described American fashion to CNN.

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ANDRE LEON TALLEY: If you live within your decade or your time, you want to be in with the trend or be individualistic because American style is individualism. It's everything is important. There's not one style. The great thing about American style is that it's as free as a t-shirt with a pair of jeans, it's free as a jumpsuit on Beyonce or Madonna in the 80s, or it's as elegant as Jacqueline Kennedy in the '60s, as our first lady, or as -- as really boldly original as First Lady Michelle Obama or is extraordinarily perfection in the current first lady, Melania Trump. So, fashion does reflect who we are and where we are at the moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Talley had been in the hospital battling an unknown illness. He was 73.

BERMAN: I've got to say, he was a vision and he had a vision.

HUNT: Yes.

BERMAN: Quite a loss.

HUNT: No, it is very much -- very much a loss. We'll be remembering him.

All right, coming up next, the U.S. Postal Service is under pressure, trying to get millions of free at-home Covid tests sent to households across the country. Are they going to get to you in time?

BERMAN: And the New York Attorney General's Office said Donald Trump's company misled banks and tax officials. Where that investigation stands. There were major developments breaking overnight in this.

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[06:55:42]

HUNT: The U.S. Postal Service in the hot seat after being tasked with delivering the first batch of at-home Covid tests. The USPS is already facing big delays from the omicron surge. So, getting 500 million tests into the hands of Americans quickly is quite the ask.

Let's bring in CNN's Gabe Cohen.

Gabe, what's the plan to get this done?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, there are a lot of moving pieces to get this done. The American Postal Workers Union tells me this this is one of 43 USPS facilities that are going to be centers where they're actually going to be working on this program, bringing in temporary workers who are going to put these test kits together and get them shipped out.

But, as you mentioned this morning, USPS, the postal service, they're already dealing with staffing issues, serious issues, because of this surge. And now they are facing growing pressure, as well as the Biden administration, to deliver.

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COHEN (voice over): This morning, the new government website covidtest.gov is up and running. With just a name and address, families can request four free at-home rapid antigen tests to be delivered to their home.

It comes as the Biden administration faces growing pressure to fix the Covid testing shortage.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We're looking forward to getting free tests out to the public.

COHEN: The White House says they have tens of millions of tests ready to go and are spending $4 billion to deliver the first 500 million, passing pressure to the postal service to quickly deliver.

The postmaster general saying they are well prepared to accept and deliver test kits on the first day the program launches. But, right now, the U.S. Postal Service is facing some problems with communities in several states dealing with mail delays because of omicron.

DEREK REYNOLDS, HOMEOWNER IN MARYLAND: It's mostly bulk mail.

COHEN: Derek Reynolds just got mail delivered to his Maryland home for the first time in three weeks.

REYNOLDS: It's a very weird and frustrating situation to have things you know are coming that you just don't know when they're ever going to arrive.

COHEN: As of Tuesday, more than 19,000 postal workers were either sick or quarantining, just shy of the agency's pandemic high and more than twice as many as just two weeks ago.

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D), DC DELEGATE: There are households where there has been no mail delivered for days.

COHEN: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton sent a concerned letter to the postal service about the delays in D.C.

NORTON: And if we can't get the mail, how are we going to get these Covid test?

REYNOLDS: I would be very worried about getting a test in any kind of timely manner.

COHEN: The postal service is now ramping up operations, setting up 43 centers where they'll pack and ship those tests and hiring more than 7,000 temporary workers, many of them still staff from the holidays.

USPS says their mitigation plans continue to perform well during omicron, adding that 90 percent of first-class mail was delivered on time in the first week of January.

MARK DIMONDSTEIN, PRESIDENT, American POSTAL WORKERS UNION, AFL-CIO: We will get those test kits where they belong, providing the test kits get to the post office in a timely way.

COHEN: But even if all goes right, don't expect overnight delivery. The White House predicts most tests will ship in seven to 12 days, and not until late January. They say the tests should be used in three situations, if you have symptoms, at least five days after exposure, or before gathering indoors with high-risk people.

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, DIV. OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Order the tests before you need them. If they wait until they have an issue, by the time the tests arrive, the optimal time for testing may well have passed.

COHEN: Dr. William Schaffner is part of the CDC's advisory committee on immunization practices.

SCHAFFNER: If you've been exposed, you don't have the tests available, you'll have to find testing resources elsewhere.

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COHEN: Now, Kasie, what's not clear this morning is whether or not the postal service is actually adding more mail carriers to deliver these tests given the staffing issues they've faced. Although two of the postal unions tell me their understanding is that they're not going to be adding any mail carriers. That's going to fall on those that they already have on staff. At this point we haven't gotten much in the way of logistics for this program from USPS, other than the postal service telling us that they are confident they can get this done.

Kasie.

HUNT: All right, Gabe Cohen, thank you very much.

And I know even my neighborhood here in Washington, D.C., has been affected by this. So they've got quite a bit to work on to get those tests out to Americans.

[07:00:01]

All right, NEW DAY continues right now.