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U.S. Official Said, Russia Added 7,000 More Troops Around Ukraine; American Detained in Russia Says He's Coughing Up Blood, Denied Care; Russian Skater Kamila Valieva Competes Amid Doping Scandal. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired February 17, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:01]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: At least 150,000 Russian troops are now positioned to invade. And according to The New York Times, a senior administration official directly accused Russia of lying, claiming there is fresh evidence that Kremlin is mobilizing for war and planting false stories as a pretext for an invasion.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: So, just moments ago, CNN learned that Ukrainian armed forces and separatists in the disputed Donbas region reported shell fire. Russia called the shelling a matter of deep concern but has no plans to talk to Ukrainian officials about it.

New satellite imagery from Max-Air Technology shows heightened military activity in several regions near Ukraine. Russian forces consolidating, even adding to their positions, Russian and Belarusian military units, including self-propelled artillery units, seen conducting drills near Brest, in Belarus. That's about a 150-mile from Ukraine. U.S. officials are also watching the construction on of a new bridge in a key area of Belarus less than four miles from the Ukrainian border.

Overnight, Russia's Ministry of Defense released new video. Again, consider the source here. They still insist this video shows units from their southern and western military districts have completed combat training exercises and are returning to their home bases.

KEILAR: And Melissa Bell is in Brussels for us with our top story. Melissa, good morning to you.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brianna. Good morning, John.

We're just waiting to hear from the secretary-general of NATO. His press conference delayed by a few minutes. And then we should be hearing a little later from the secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin. But the message so far as a result of these two days of meetings here in Brussels, very much, first of all, what you were saying in terms of that American assessment in line with that. We heard from the secretary-general yesterday saying that far from agreeing with the Russian claims that there was withdrawal of troops, what NATO believes is that there had been a strengthening with more Russian troops on their way to that border with Ukraine.

Now, what the defense ministers have been talking about here are not only the strength and deployments that have taken place to Europe's eastern flank, NATO's eastern flank, as a result of those actions around Ukraine these last few weeks, the extra aircraft, the extra NATO troops that have been deployed, but actually looking at more long-term deployments that might result from all this.

The message to Vladimir Putin from NATO headquarters here in Brussels really being, look, whatever happens with regard to Ukraine now, whether or not there is an invasion, the fact of the actions Russia over the course of the last few weeks led NATO not only to act in a much more unified way than it had in a long time but, in fact, to decide to strengthen its military positions on its eastern flank.

It has also been looking how to combat cyberattacks specifically with some of its partners that are not yet members, like Ukraine, and that is, again, the new message coming from NATO these last couple of days, that it will stand by the open-door policy leaving that option for Ukraine to join one day if it chooses to since one of the foundational principles, said the NATO secretary-general of NATO, is that any country is free to decide of its own security arrangement.

So, very strong messages coming from Brussels and very much at Vladimir Putin these last couple of days, Brianne and John.

KEILAR: Yes, potential NATO membership, a key point of disagreement obviously between Ukraine and Russia. Melissa, thank you for that report.

BERMAN: Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to depart shortly on a high-stakes foreign trip. She will lead the U.S. delegation to the Munich Security Conference. And the vice president will meet with Ukrainian president, Zelensky, for the first time.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond live at the White House. Jeremy, what's the goal of this meeting?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, at this hour, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to step onto Air Force 2 to head to the Munich Security Officials, at one senior administration official called a very decisive moment. That is, of course, because this is not only the biggest international stage as far as European security is concerned but also because it comes at this incredibly tense moment where U.S. officials are saying a Russian innovation of Ukraine could happen at any time. Not only that, but they are also now saying that Russia, while it is publicly talking about diplomacy, it is privately mobilizing for war.

So, that is the forum in which Vice President Harris now steps into. She is set to meet with NATO secretary-general on Friday. And then she will meet with the Ukrainian president, Zelensky, on Saturday, as well as meeting with the German chancellor.

A senior administration official described her visit as a three- pronged focus. They said, first of all, focusing on the fast-changing situation on the ground, showing the solidarity with U.S. allies, sending this united front at this moment of tension, And then, third, sending a direct message to Russia that the U.S. is prepared and it wants to continue to engage in diplomacy, but also to lay out very clearly the consequences that Russia will face.

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Now, we know Vice President Harris has had a couple of other foreign trips. This will be her second time in Europe as vice president. And, certainly, John, this will be the biggest test for her yet. At her side also will be, at moments, the secretary of state, Tony Blinken, who has been intimately involved in this issue. But U.S. officials also say that Harris, she has spent days with the president, with President Biden in those presidential daily briefs, intimately involved in this issue and prepared to deliver this message at the Munich Security Conference. John?

BERMAN: All right. Jeremy Diamond at the White House for us this morning, thanks, Jeremy.

KEILAR: All right. Let's talk about this more now with CNN National Security Analyst Beth Sanner. She was the deputy director of National Intelligence during the Trump administration. Beth, thank you so much for coming in this morning to talk about this.

Where are we in all of this? How are you seeing this scene that we're watching right now?

BETH SANNER, NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think Putin has everybody on edge, right? We are clearly seeing more troops move in and more behind them. So, we are in this period where I think I'm calling it no war, no peace. A good friend of mine coined that and I think it really is apt. We're all on tenterhooks. That's what Putin wants.

Because, ultimately, what he wants is Ukraine and the west to capitulate to the demand to have Ukraine sever ties with the west and ultimately become subservient to Russia. So, this is a big pressure campaign and we are seeing incredible squeeze on Ukraine right now. . KEILAR: And it seems like NATO is saying no, right, no, even after we heard a key Ukrainian official last week kind of raising the idea that perhaps it could agree that Ukraine would not join NATO in the future. They're saying no.

SANNER: Right. So, Zelensky yesterday did a trial balloon, floated this idea of having a referendum for the Ukrainian people to make a decision about whether they should pursue NATO membership. So, taking this page, I think it's quite an astute political move because Zelensky politically could never say, like, no NATO. So, he's saying, well, maybe we should ask the people.

But, ultimately, Brianna, that is not enough for Putin, just a referendum, a vague referendum. He wants capitulation. And that's why we are hearing all of this talk about Minsk negotiations. And it's something that the Chinese foreign ministry picked up yesterday and said, oh, we need more negotiations. So, I think we are in this period of tense pressure, trying to push capitulation on the negotiations.

KEILAR: So, there is a satellite image that is showing what appears to be a pontoon bridge being built across the Pripyat River. This is less than four miles from the border with Ukraine. What is the point of this bridge? It seems pretty obvious. It would be to move material and to move troops and that kind of thing. How do you make sense of that as Russia is trying to pretend that it is drawing down?

SANNER: I just think it's a ploy, the talk of drawing down. Part of that is for an internal audience because people in Russia only see what Putin wants him to see. I mean, you can go on the internet, but state media runs everything. So he's putting himself out there as the statesman and he keeps saying I don't want war. And so that's what they're seeing. And what we are still missing in this, Brianna, is we are missing the provocation. So, the Russians are innocent, that's what everybody is hearing at home, and it's Zelensky who is threatening genocide.

KEILAR: Okay. So, to your point, if the provocation is missing, now the White House is warning about potential false flag events on the part of Russia creating a provocation.

SANNER: Exactly. That's what they need to do. Because right now, the situation on the ground would not justify an invasion, because Putin publicly, over and over, we don't want war, I don't intend to evade. So, something has to change here for him to actually pull the trigger.

KEILAR: What can come out of this Munich Security Conference?

SANNER: I think a lot of NATO solidarity. That is the main thing. And the administration and the European allies have been phenomenally good at holding things together. So, you're going to see a lot of that. And I think opening the door a little bit, continuing to open that door to diplomacy. In fact, the NATO proposal and the U.S. proposal going back to Russia and saying, like, you want to talk about European security and more stability? We have got some good ideas on that, things that would actually strengthen for both sides. We're waiting for Russia to respond on that. And I expect to see that in the next couple days. But I think they're holding it back on purpose.

KEILAR: for a long time now, in fact. Beth, thank you so much for putting all of this into perspective. Beth Sanner, I appreciate it.

SANNER: Thankyou.

KEILAR: And ahead, we're going to speak with Senator Chris Coons on what Congress plans to do next and his concerns about a possible invasion.

BERMAN: Trevor Reed, an American detained in Russia two years now says he's coughing up blood and hasn't received medical care.

[07:10:02]

We will speak with Reed's parents on his condition now.

And Russian Skater Kamila Valieva set to return to the ice this morning as the women's free skate begins.

KEILAR: Plus, lawmakers want to hear from Britney Spears. They have invited her to testify before them about conservatorships. Is she going to show?

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KEILAR: Concerns are growing over the health of Trevor Reed, an American and former American Marine who has been detained in Russia the past two years. Officials at the U.S. embassy in Moscow are escalating calls now for his release, tweeting, in December, Trevor Reed had prolonged exposure to another prisoner with active tuberculosis. Trevor now reports he is coughing up blood and has not received medical care for it.

[07:15:02]

The embassy calling on Russia's foreign ministry to, quote, give Trevor proper medical treatment, better yet, release him.

In July of 2020, Reed was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on charges that he endangered the life and health of Russian police officers in an altercation after a night of drinking. He and his family have denied the charges with the U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan calling the trial, quote, a theater of the absurd, this coming at a time when tensions are mounting between Moscow and Washington over this situation in Ukraine.

And joining me are Trevor's parents, Paula and Joey. Thank you to both of you for being with us. I know you're so concerned about your son. What is the latest you have heard, Paula?

PAULA REED, TREVOR REED'S MOTHER: We have heard from an attorney last week that he is not feeling well still. He had written some complaints to give to the attorney, but, unlike normal times, they confiscated them. They wouldn't let him give those to the attorney. And under normal circumstances they had, this is the first time they haven't done that. We don't understand what the reason was for that, but he was able to talk with the attorney and let us know that he is not feeling well, and he has been asked to be tested for T.B. and he has been asking for medication, I think, and they are not giving it to him.

KEILAR: So, Joey -- go on.

JOEY REED, TREVOR REED'S FATHER: Right, I'm sorry. They are giving medication to other prisoners, but not him because they all came in close contact with someone who definitely has T.B. and may be actually dying from it at this point.

KEILAR: Your worry, Joey, is obviously that your son has tuberculosis.

J. REED: That's just one of our many concerns, yes.

KEILAR: And so why, as you understand it, or as you suspect, is this information to the attorneys not getting through?

J. REED: That, we're not sure of. Because, like I said, throughout the whole two and a half years in Moscow and now in the prison camp, they have allowed him to exchange written documents with his attorney back and forth, but this time the guards confiscated his notes and all of his complaints about his prison conditions, which are third world, and about his exposure to T.B. and failure to test him for it.

KEILAR: Paula and Joey, are you encouraged by what the embassy is doing and what more do you need from the U.S. government?

P. REED: We are encouraged by what the embassy is doing. We love Ambassador Sullivan. He has gone to see Trevor twice, and it's eight- hour drive each way. So, we appreciate that very much. The staff there is excellent. They have been very helpful to us in these last couple of months, especially. And we need the government to bring our son home, get him out of there.

KEILAR: Joey, when did you talk to Trevor last?

J. REED: It's been 217 days. We spoke to him on July 15th in the summer before he left to his Moscow prison. And for some unknown reason, they're not allowing him to call us. They said -- they gave multiple excuses. And the last excuse they gave was that the phones don't work internationally. And if that was true, why didn't they say that in the beginning. But they do allow him to occasionally call his girlfriend in Moscow. But other than that, it is just the ambassador's couple visits, an attorney every month, and a few calls to his girlfriend.

KEILAR: So, the national security adviser to the president, Jake Sullivan, said this this past weekend. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: So, I have personally met with the families of both Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. I have communicated to them directly from President Biden that it is a priority of ours to get them home safely. The Russians have been willing to engage in various channels to discuss a way to make that happen. And we are actively engaged in an effort to do that. And I'm not going to share more here because of the obvious sensitivity of it. But we would like to get Paul and Trevor home as soon as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: He says it's a priority. Do you think, Paula, that the U.S. government will be able to get your son released?

P. REED: I hope so. I hope they do it quickly. We were glad to hear that negotiations were ongoing. So, we hope that they can still continue to talk and they can come to some agreement and Trevor and Paul can come home.

KEILAR: Look, I don't know if your son will be able to hear this from you, but I think it's worth you speaking to him in case he can. What do you want your son to know?

P. REED: We want him to know we love him and we miss him every single day. He has a lot of friends and family praying for him, strangers as well. And we need him to hang in there a little bit longer, stay tough. He's a pretty tough guy anyway. So, I know he's okay. But hang in there, Trevor. We're coming to get you.

J. REED: We love you, Trevor, and the president that you protected when you were in the Marine Corps as a presidential guard, we believe he is trying to bring you home and we know everyone else in the government is too. So, hang in there. We love you.

[07:20:00]

KEILAR: Joey and Paula, thank you so much for being with us. And we're going to keep following your son's case and bringing the very latest to our viewers. Thank you so much.

P. REED: Thank you for having us.

J. REED: Thank you.

BERMAN: So much strength from those parents that have been so much.

All right, an update to a story we have been covering. The man charged with opening fire at the Kentucky campaign offices of Democratic Louisville Mayoral Candidate Craig Greenberg. The man charged with the shooting has been released on bond. Police say, Louisville Activist Quintez Brown fired a handgun at Greenberg and one of the bullets grazed Greenberg's sweater.

I spoke with Greenberg earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG GREENBERG (D) LOUISVILLE MAYORAL CANDIDATE TARGET OF SHOOTING: Fortunately, I'm fortunate to be here. I know that many others in Louisville and around the country are -- their situation with guns ends much differently than mine. And so my team and I were feeling blessed yesterday. We're feeling blessed today. But yesterday mostly what I wanted to do was to get home and hug my wife and sons and be with my family. And it's that -- I woke up this morning feeling the same way as well, just blessed to be here and blessed to be with my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Brown has been charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanted endangerment. He has pleaded not guilty and will now be under house arrest, home confinement. But I think a lot of people around the country were surprised to see someone accused of attempted murder is now out on bond.

KEILAR: On thin ice, the Russian figure skating star at the center of the Olympic doping scandal is about to compete again. The IOC now saying an asterisk will be next to her scores. BERMAN: Why NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers and actress Shailene Woodley have called off their engagement. New details just in to CNN.

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[07:25:00]

BERMAN: Russian Figure Skater Kamila Valieva is just moments away from taking the ice for her final Olympic skating event in Beijing. She is comfortably in the lead. And the investigation does continue following the 15-year-old's positive test in December for a banned drug.

Joining me now is Jules Boykoff, Professor of Political Science at Pacific University and the author of five books on the Olympics, including Power Games, A Political History of the Olympics. Professor, it's a pleasure to speak with you. I've been a big fan of all your work for a long time.

It's a hell of a moment for the Olympic movement this morning and not in a good way.

JULES BOYKOFF, PROFESSOR SCIENCE, PACIFIC UNIVERSITY: There has never been an Olympics quite like the Beijing games, and that we are talking about staging a sporting spectacle amid the coronavirus pandemic in a country that is a serial human rights abuser whose actions clash mightily with the lofty principles that are enshrined in the Olympic charter. And so when you lacquer on a doping on top of all that, that's a lot for one Olympics. And any way you look at this, it spells trouble for the International Olympic Committee, Switzerland-based group that oversees the games.

Now, Kamila Valieva is only 15 years old, so she is what is called a protected person within this system. But it's very clear that she hasn't really truly been protected by the people around her. She's very young. And it's hard to conjure a situation where you can think about her independently consuming this cocktail of heart medication that turned up in her system. So, we might be looking at what people call a forced doping situation here.

BERMAN: Sure. It is very possible that she is the primary victim in all of this. But there are a number of other victims too, which is all the clean skaters there.

And to be clear, the women's figure skating event is the premier event of the Winter Olympic Games. It has become the premier event of the Winter Olympic Games. And I just can't think of anything like this where the woman expected to win, expected to walk on the ice very shortly, the whole world knows she failed drug test that, by all accounts, should be keeping her from stepping on to the ice.

BOYKOFF: That's right. And I think it's important to maybe try to create a learning moment out of this in a certain respect, in a sense that if we can point to the wider context of the figure skating world, which can be a conveyor belt for cruelty and exploitation despite the fact that the sport is incredibly popular, like you mentioned, John. But that cruelty and exploitation can take the form of abusive coaching practices, eating disorders. And, in fact, those dynamics I'm talking about in figure skating also extend to the wider Olympic world. And so the adults in the doping room need to be held to account here.

And one group that is having a lot of fingers waggled in its direction is that International Olympic Committee. Because they decided that in light of what is going on with the Valieva case, they will not hand out medals to anyone who medals in this event. They're going to wait to have this process roll through. And, basically, that means they are meting out collective punishment against athletes who are clean athletes, who are basically being deprived of their moment in the Olympic sun here. Standing on the podium and accepting your medal and listening to your national anthem is a very special experience for a lot of athletes and something they would really, truly look forward to.

So, instead of being specific and focusing only on the people that are being accused of doping, they are meeting out collective punishment instead. And that's a real problem.

BERMAN: How can the Olympics be trusted if Russia keeps getting away with it?

BOYKOFF: Well, I think you're pointing back to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where there was systematic doping that took place there. I mean, there were urine bottles passed through a little hole in the wall at the doping station there at the Sochi Olympics. And that was all revealed afterwards. This was a systematic effort on the part of Russia to dope its athletes to enhance their performance.

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