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Russia Unleashes More Attacks, Airstrikes on Ukraine; U.S. Concerned Kyiv Could Fall to Russia Within Days; Ex-Ukrainian President Speaks Out from Kyiv Streets. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired February 25, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[06:00:14]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Friday, February 25, and I'm Brianna Keilar with John Berman, and we are following breaking news.

Russian forces closing in on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Moments ago, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that Russian reconnaissance troops entered the Obolon district of northern Kyiv. This is just a few miles from the city center.

The ministry tweeting a request for citizens to make Molotov cocktails and take down the occupier. CNN witnessed a group of Ukrainians security forces leave the city police headquarters with weapons and ammunition.

And overnight, the capital city was hit by missile fire. Ukraine's foreign minister calling this the worst attack on his country since the Nazis invaded in 1941. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says he is Russia's No. 1 target. No. 2, he says, is his family.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Overnight, a Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down over Kyiv, setting an apartment building on fire. Ukraine says it has inflicted about 800 casualties among Russian forces. CNN cannot independently confirm that.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry says it blew up a bridge north of Kyiv to keep Russian forces from advancing toward the capital.

And I want you to listen to this. Russia ordered 13 Ukrainian guards to surrender, but those guards, they weren't going down without a fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I am a Russian military ship, proposing to put down arms immediately to avoid bloodshed and unjustified deaths. In worst case you will be hit with a bomb strike. I am repeating, I am Russian military ship propose to put down arms or you will be hit. Acknowledge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) it, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Just in case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Russian warship, go (EXPLETIVE DELETED) yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Russian warship, go "F" yourself. That might be the slogan of the Ukrainian resistance. That took place right down here on Snake Island, an island off the coast. All of those Ukrainian soldiers who were defending that island reportedly killed.

Russian forces have also seized control of the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine. You can see where that is on the map here. The site of the world's worst nuclear disaster. They are holding the staff hostage, we are told.

Protests of support of Ukraine at Israel, Paris, Berlin, London, perhaps most importantly, in cities across Russia. Police there, though, were cracking down, making hundreds of arrests in a rare show of dissent.

CNN is covering this crisis all across Europe and cities throughout Ukraine.

KEILAR: And in the southern front -- southern port city of Kherson, an intense firefight ensued yesterday, the Ukrainian forces successfully pushing the Russians back over the river.

That is where CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is joining us from now.

Nick, what can you tell us? Earlier, when we were speaking with you, there were air raid sirens going off.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, we heard what seemed to be multiple rocket-landing impacts here near the city. I mean, two separate volleys. One, I think, would be one volley of GRAV rockets.

The other one could have been two or three. The second one, a little bit closer to where I'm standing than the first. But we think it is focused on the bridge where we were earlier on, where the fighting has been, where we saw, heard intense fighting when we came into the city last night.

It seemed that the Russian forces had successfully pushed across the bridge. Let me explain to you why it's important. The Dnieper River essentially splits Ukraine in two. One side borders Russia. One side borders Europe. Symbolic if you'd like.

The bridge goes across it, and Kherson, this town, held by Ukrainian forces at this point, has a bridge to its east that is vital if you're trying to get across.

It seems the Russians got across last night but Ukrainian forces successfully pushed them back. We saw, at the scene there, bodies still lying in the one bridge as civilians, odd, went about their business back and forth. Often you see this. People, by necessity, still driving around.

Russian forces, we were told, in hidden positions on the other side of that river. But these explosions that we're hearing also backed up by a couple of jets, we have heard, too, do seem to suggest that there is a renewed push to try and head towards that bridge.

The damage done to Ukrainian forces evident on the other side. About, say, 10 discarded armored vehicles, multiple craters. Certainly, an airstrike took out one building there.

We saw two dead bodies. Unclear which side they represented. But this fight continuing for a vital corridor that goes up from the Crimean Peninsula up towards the capital, Kyiv -- Brianna.

[06:05:07]

KEILAR: And we know you'll keep your eye on that for us. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much.

BERMAN: This is where Nick is down here in Kherson. You can see not far from Crimea. This is the river he's talking about right now, which bisects the entire nation of Ukraine. Obviously, so important. I do now want to go, though, to Lviv, where our Jim Sciutto is and has

been sheltering from air raid sirens.

But Jim, I can now see you're out. And I understand you have some new reporting.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Yes. Well, listen, you can hear it behind me, I imagine. I'm just going to turn around if that helps you.

But again, these air raid sirens over the city of Lviv, it's the second time in the last half hour we've heard this. I should be clear, we've heard these several times over the last several hours going into the early morning and last night.

And there are times when you take them more seriously than others. They're all serious, right? But the question becomes proximity, right? Where are the threats?

And overnight they seemed to be at targets outside the city. Just in the last half hour, there is more concern here about the city center. That's when we went into the bomb shelter. Then the moment we came up on the roof, we heard -- we heard the alert again. You may be able to here on a loud speaker here, of course, it's in

Ukrainian, wouldn't be able to understand it, but that's the warning that's going out to people that's telling them, in effect, seek shelter.

BERMAN: Obviously, the air raid sirens in and of themselves, Jim, unsettling. But as of now, this is, again, where you are, Lviv, in this far western city. As of now, any evidence of impacts anywhere in the city center?

SCIUTTO: Not in the city center. We did hear and feel the booms, right, of impacts, close enough to feel them. To date, and CNN sent a team out there. There's an airfield military base close to the city where they told us they'd been hit by rocket fire.

No targets in the city center yet. Again, as I said when we were down in the shelter a few minutes ago, John, of course the concern is that a lot of the weapons being used here are not 100 percent accurate. The rocket systems, for instance, not particularly accurate. Artillery, less so.

And by the way, we're not really in artillery range of where we know Russian forces to be. So these are more likely rockets. There also could be overflight of jets. But we haven't seen the jets. And then, of course, missiles have great ranges. And that -- that can be a threat, as well.

As you know, close to 200 missiles have been fired at Ukraine just in the last 36 hours since the air raid started. But it does show you, just to highlight the point, that the entire country is -- is getting shot at, right, by Russian forces, north to south, east to west. And that gives you a strong indication as to what the Russian president's ambitions are here.

BERMAN: Jim, again, you are in Lviv. I do understand you've got some new reporting about events happening in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. What can you tell us?

SCIUTTO: That's right. And I just want to stick to the language here. So pardon me while I read off my phone. But this is reporting from myself and my colleague, Katie Bo Lillis.

And that is that U.S. intelligence officials are concerned that Kyiv could fall under Russian control within days. This is according to two sources familiar with the latest intelligence.

The sources noted that this has been the U.S. intelligence assessment for some time, that Russian forces have the ambition to encircle and take over the capital, Kyiv. And it had been the assessment prior to the invasion that Kyiv might only be able to hold for one to four days.

So now, as the assault has begun, as we've begun to see more strikes on the capital, and forces getting closer to the city, as close as 20 miles, that assessment remains the same. Now, I should note that I've been told, as have my colleagues who

cover this been told, that Ukrainian forces are putting up what's being described to me as stiffer resistance than expected. That could conceivably change the timeline.

But the level of concern about the Ukrainian capital is great. It's just part of the bigger picture. Ukrainian forces are overwhelmed, outnumbered, outgunned. They have tremendous spirit, and they are fighting. That's based on accounts from the ground.

But in terms of pure numbers and power and armament, they're outnumbered. And that's why the U.S. assessment remains the same, that Kyiv is under great threat and could fall to Russian forces within days.

BERMAN: Again, we knew for a fact that the Russians took this air base just north of Kyiv to use as an air bridge. And this morning we have heard that the Russians are moving into the Obolon district, the northern part. You can see how close it is to the city center. This, the outskirts of Kyiv there.

Jim Sciutto, thank you for your reporting. Please stay safe and keep us posted.

SCIUTTO: Will do.

KEILAR: All right. That is some big reporting there from Jim Sciutto.

I want to go now to Kyiv, where we have our CNN senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance. That reporting there coming from Jim Sciutto, Matthew, pretty significant there, that the U.S. is concerned that the capital could fall to Russia within days.

This is sources who are familiar with intelligence saying that. What are -- what are you seeing on the ground, and what do you think about that assessment?

[06:10:08]

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, it sounds like it tallies with what we're witnessing here on the ground. Because as we are talking, just before you came to me, there's been a barrage of exchanges. It seems like small arms fire, possibly artillery or, you know, tank shelling, as well, just a short distance from here to the north of our position here. It is just -- the screen's here. It's just slightly to the left over here. It might be slightly out of shot.

But that's the area where we're getting intelligence and we're getting reports that Russian forces may be close to the -- to Kyiv. They actually entered the city in that -- in that region.

And of course, we already know, as John was just saying, from our reporting over the past 24 hours, that Russian special forces units are already positioned in various locations around the city.

The concern is, of course, that this is going to be a big push on Kyiv.

Now, whether it will be a couple of days, whether it will be sooner than that, which I think is also realistic, depending on what the Ukrainian defenses are like. But it certainly seems to be the Russian objective at this point.

Look, strangely enough, I had the opportunity within the past few minutes to speak directly to the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. I was called out of bed by the foreign ministry, saying, look, he's doing a press conference. Will you be on it? And so I got him a question.

And I asked it on this -- on this news conference, you know, what it is the Russian intention is. I talked about the artillery shells, the cruise missiles, attacks we're witnessing here in Kyiv, with Russian troops now on the outskirts of the city. "What is your intention?" I asked him. "Do you end to decapitate the Ukrainian leadership and replace it with a, you know, a puppet regime controlled by Moscow?"

I think we've got the exchange now. Why don't we take a listen to how that went?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: It's -- it's Matthew Chance from CNN. I'm sorry to bother you. But I'm in Kyiv right now, the Ukrainian capital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Fine.

CHANCE: It's just that I'm in Kyiv right now, and it's under attack, Mr. Lavrov, from Russian forces. And I'd like to know what your plan is for the leadership of this country. Do you intend to decapitate the leadership of this country?

Why are the Russian forces now entering Kyiv, surrounding the capital and battling with Ukrainian military? Do you intend to decapitate Ukrainian leadership Can you give me a simple answer, please?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: All right. Well, that was my attempt to ask him a question, in which he refused to answer, because he wanted to take a question from another news organization.

But I did actually get that to put that question to him again, and he gave me an answer. He says, Look, first of all, you need to listen to what Vladimir Putin has said.

But he emphasized there will be no strikes on civilian infrastructure, no strikes on the personnel of the Ukrainian army, on their dormitories or other places. Nothing connected with military facilities, he said, even though we know for a fact that military facilities, particularly air defense facilities, have been targeted repeatedly by cruise missile attacks.

He said that nobody is trying to degrade the Ukrainian armed forces. What we're talking about, he said, is preventing neo-Nazis from promoting genocide from ruling this country. So -- who promote genocide from ruling this country.

So he's, again, wrongly, without any justification whatsoever, I think, designating the current democratically-elected leadership of -- of Ukraine, which is actually led by Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, of being neo-Nazis and of, you know, promoting genocide, which is, you know, I mean, completely without foundation.

But nevertheless, that is the justification that -- that the Russians are now using to surround and attack not just this city but cities across Ukraine.

KEILAR: Yes. I mean, the fact is he is just full of it. He is lying. He has a huge credibility problem. We all have eyes. You are our eyes, Matthew. You have been showing us what is happening. We have eyes here at CNN all over the country. We can see what is happening. We can see that he is lying.

We're -- we're hearing, Matthew, that residents there in Kyiv are being told, basically, to arm themselves with Molotov cocktails, that there have been security folks going into local stations, getting weapons and ammunition.

Government officials who normally would just be not involved in any sort of violent defense of Ukraine are arming themselves with semiautomatic weapons. What are you expecting here in the hours ahead?

CHANCE: Yes. I mean, you're absolutely right. There is -- you know, obviously, emotions are running high. But one of those emotions is definitely, you know, outrage or anger. And I spoke to a number of Ukrainians over the past couple of days, and they are absolutely beside themselves with outrage that this is happening.

The defense ministry, within the past couple of hours, has confirmed that it has so far distributed 18,000 weapons to ordinary civilians of -- of this city. To -- to defend against an oncoming Russian attack, a Russian attack, actually, that is -- that is already under way.

Among the contacts that I have in the Ukrainian government, kind of aides to various ministers and things like that, the kind of people you normally generate contacts with and give you information to as a journalist, they have now taken off their suits, which they routinely wear, and they've put on military uniforms and are now positioning themselves with the Territorial Defense Forces to fight against Russian forces as they -- they enter the city.

They're picking up guns. They're putting down their briefcases or whatever the metaphor is I'm trying to get at, picking up guns and are prepared now to fight for -- to defend this city.

And I'm positive that that's happening, not just here but across Ukraine. That has be quite a shock, I think, to the Russians, who have been calling on the Ukrainian military to lay down their arms and to surrender. And that simply, at this point, has not happened KEILAR: Yes. Look, we'll see what are they able to do, these

civilians? And what can they withstand? And what length is Russia going to go to to try to put them down? I think we'll maybe have those answers to some of those questions for you here in the coming hours.

Matthew Chance, live for us in the capital. Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. We've seen fire fights now in several different locations of Ukraine. U.S. intelligence sources tell CNN there are concerns that the capital, Kyiv, could fall to Russia within days.

Our special live coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:21:09]

BERMAN: All right. This is CNN's special live coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Moments ago, we heard from our Jim Sciutto that intelligence sources are telling them that there is concern that the capital city of Kyiv could fall to the Russians within the next few days.

We have received word within the last several hours that there is fighting right now in the northern outskirts. This is the city center. We do know there's been activity as close as 20 miles away. We are watching that very, very closely.

In the meantime, I want to go to CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon with some news -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John.

You know, Jim Sciutto taking shelter from those air raid sirens in the city of Lviv to the west. Let's take a quick look back at that map.

And when you look exactly where the city of Lviv is in Western Ukraine and how close it is to the Polish border, you are going to begin to understand that the Russians are now attacking within 50 miles of NATO.

Poland, of course, a NATO member. That border just about 50 miles away. There have been Ukrainians that have been driving, walking, trying to escape across the border into Poland. And that's about a 50- mile journey. The Russians now attacking within 50 miles of a NATO ally.

So what does this all mean beyond, of course, the desperate human tragedy inside Ukraine? Well, the Pentagon is -- announced late yesterday it was sending another 7,000 troops to Germany, bringing the total U.S. forces of the 90,000 in Europe to about 14,000 now devoted specifically to this mission across Europe. And the Pentagon calling part of the mission to deter Russian aggression.

BERMAN: Barbara, hang on one second, if you will. I really do appreciate the reporting. I understand we do have Poroshenko, the former president of Ukraine, on the line.

Mr. President, thank you so much for being with us. I see you on the streets now of Kyiv. Why don't you tell me where you are and what you're seeing?

PETRO POROSHENKO, FORMER PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Thank you very much for projecting attention to the disastrous aggression Russia do against my country.

We are in the center of Kyiv in the -- our battalion of the territorial defense. We are staying right -- in about two, three kilometers from here, it is a fight with Russia, who tried to penetrate to Kyiv. We have serious fighting on the Southern (ph) of Kyiv.

And with that situation, it is extremely important to have unity of the whole world. And I would like to thank you, to thank the West who support us so far. Because you -- everybody should understand, Putin declared a war not for Ukraine. Putin declared a war to the whole world, to every single person who is watching now CNN.

And we -- I think this is also a war, personally, to the president, Biden. And the Ukraine's only seen is just the willing to be free, willing to be democratic, or willing to return back to the European family.

And I'm proud that under my presidency, we do our best to -- to make reform and to go out from the Soviet Union, second edition, which is a dream of Putin. And we shall deal with Putin like the man with the lost reason. And he's just -- he's just simply mad. He's just simply crazy. He's just simply evil to come here to kill Ukrainian, Ukrainian who is -- we lost now about 130 Ukrainian soldiers and about 800 Russian soldiers, who were killed just yesterday under the report of the Ukrainian minister of defense.

[06:25:14]

And I just want to declare Ukraine will not stop Ukraine in our moment to the European Union. And that's exactly why we shall secure Ukraine today and to support Ukraine tomorrow.

And with that situation definitely, we need support. Great to see you. We definitely want to tell that this is our joint fighting. We really need the sanction, which put -- which make Putin weaker and which make Putin to pay for his absolutely disastrous behavior.

We definitely need now SWIFT. Because SWIFT is now to be the same symbolism as Nord Stream 2. Because SWIFT is the symbol of our solidarity. And these this is the things definitely help us.

We definitely need to block Russian ships and Russian plane in the whole E.U. and NATO ports. We definitely need to do everything we could. And I call on the men of faith and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the west to come to Ukraine's support today. And this is the maximum you can do to support democracy and freedom in the whole world. Please call Russian people with all the potential you have. Because

this moment, in the many cities around Russia, people definitely make a protest against Putin, which not -- not -- which not happening in many, many years.

And that situation is just the only thing to keep world safe. The only thing to continue our movement. Weapons supplied. By the way, I want to thank U.S., U.K. for the Javelin. And the -- I want to inform you that my battalion has also low on Javelin. And every single shot with the Russian tank was successful and effective. This is also your part of success. Thank you.

BERMAN: Mr. President, if you can still hear me, I just want people to know where you are. You are in central Kyiv right now, which is here. We have had word of fighting just not far from you, several miles in the Obolon district here. We just heard moments ago that U.S. intelligence sources are telling CNN there are concerns that Kyiv could fall within the next day to four days, at risk of falling to the Russians.

Are you yourself personally armed at this point, and do you feel that you are a specific target of the Russians?

POROSHENKO: Look, I have a feeling that I am specific target of the Russian for already eight years. And this is -- me is just a symbol. We're not afraid of them.

And just now, while we are here, we have a report for our civil defense that, in five minutes, we will have a Russian bomb in the center of Kyiv. And we have a bomb shelter right 100 meters from here.

But not going to interrupt our -- our interview, because the information which Putin make against Ukraine is that part of the hybrid war he do against us for the eight years. And I practically do my best that world should know the truth about situation in Ukraine.

We, Ukraine, are not standing in line for the bread, for the cash from the bank machine. We are standing in line for the weapons. We are standing in line to give our blood to the -- our soldiers. And with this situation, definitely, we demonstrate a unique quality that we can stand against Russian aggression. We can stand against Russian occupation. We are united together with whole world.

BERMAN: And again, I see you there among the Territorial Defense Forces. We have had word there's been an official call from the government for Ukrainians to arm themselves with guns and also Molotov cocktails. Is that enough? Would you like to see the United States, NATO enforce a no-fly zone over the entire Ukrainian nation?

POROSHENKO: Definitely. We should do maximum we can. President Biden yesterday to say about the cyberattack against Russia, to -- to switch off his electricity to redirect all the tank, tools (ph). And this is extremely important.

And you just -- This is extremely important for us that we feel that we are not alone, that you are together with us. We are fighting for democracy and freedom against Russian aggression without any reason Putin make an attack of us.