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Ukraine Given Nearly 20,000 Anti-Tank, Anti-Aircraft Missiles; Civilians Struggle to Escape as Russian Hit Evacuation Routes; Interview with Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushin about Russian Attacks; WNBA Star Brittney Griner Arrested and Detained in Russia; Interview with Ukraine's Parliament Member Lesia Vasylenko about Attacks. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 07, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also under assault, Mariupol. Over here in the Sea of Azov, all but surrounded at this point by Russian forces. There's been no water or power there for five days.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Now Ukrainians are fighting. Ukrainian Special Forces taking out two Russian tanks in a small village 30 miles northeast of Kyiv. According to a senior U.S. Defense official Russia has now fired 600 missiles since the start of this invasion. And 95 percent of the combat power it had amassed around Ukraine it is now deployed within Ukraine. This morning a senior official telling our Jim Sciutto that the U.S. and NATO members have sent Ukraine 17,000 anti-tank missiles and 2,000 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles so far.

More than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine into neighboring countries. And then this morning you have Ukraine pushing back at Russia's claims that it is opening up these humanitarian corridors for civilians in four cities in part because Russia keeps bombing them.

We are monitoring that development as well as a third round of talks between Ukraine and Russia that are expected to begin sometime today.

BERMAN: Let's begin our coverage this hour with senior chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto, who is live in Lviv for us this morning.

And Jim, you have this new reporting on arming the Ukrainians, this mass effort to get weapons inside that country.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It does show you the scale of Western support, U.S. and NATO support, to the Ukrainian military. Close to 20,000 anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, which we are seeing having an effect on the battlefield. They're destroying Russian convoys, armor, but also aircraft, jets and helicopters.

And the vast majority of this aid coming in, Johm and Brianna, since the invasion started. The vast majority of those anti-tank missiles, known as Javelins, the vast majority of those shoulder-fired missiles, the ones coming from the U.S., Stingers. There are other kinds coming from other NATO partners.

And some progress in the last few days on a next step that as of just a few days ago seemed to have too much opposition within the alliance. And that is the idea of sending MiG, really old Soviet-era fighter jets that are currently in Poland but sending them to Ukraine for Ukrainian pilots because that's the kind of jet they know how to fly.

There had been some opposition to that, concern that that would be seen as too far a step, too much of putting the alliance into direct contact with Russia. Also some opposition from Poland. Poland wanted those jets replaced with F-16s from the U.S. But Antony Blinken now saying he is working on exactly that deal. And it does have bipartisan support from U.S. Republican and Democratic senators.

BERMAN: It is really interesting to hear that, Jim, because so many cases now over the last two weeks where there had been initial reluctance by the United States or NATO members for one measure or another. As the days go on and everyone sees what Russia is doing, that resistance it just crumbles.

SCIUTTO: It is. I mean, it moves very quickly. I mean, like on these aircraft. I was inquiring about this end of last week. And it seemed like it wasn't going anywhere. And now here you have the secretary of state saying they're working on it. And I think part of the reason driving this is just how hard and ruthlessly Russian forces are progressing right now and targeting cities, civilian areas, killing civilians.

And with open questions about whether they are deliberately targeting humanitarian corridors, quote-unquote, right, that had been established by agreement between Russia and Ukraine. But they're not safe. Those corridors, it's the image that you started the broadcast with this hour just a few moments ago. That was meant to be a safe passageway out of a suburb of Kyiv. And it's just not, it's not a safe passageway.

And civilians are suffering as a result. And we talk to them every day. They're scared. And that's why many of them are leaving the country.

BERMAN: Look, and the Russians know exactly what routes the Ukrainians are taking. So when missiles or mortars fall on them, you do have to wonder exactly what and why the Russians are doing this.

Jim Sciutto, in Lviv, thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: Thanks.

KEILAR: I want to go now to Scott McLean. He is live at the Poland- Ukraine border where refugees keep pouring in.

Tell us what you're seeing. Just a mass of people there, Scott.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Brianna. And look, a couple of days ago, the borders were fairly clear, fairly easy to get across. That is no longer the case. Obviously people are getting the message about these airstrikes, these bombing campaigns, and they are getting out of the country. So just beyond where you see that bus, that is the border crossing into Poland.

Poland says more than a million people as of last night have crossed over the border. And you can see there is a new mass of them today. And this line of the vast majority of people have been dropped off here by bus from Lviv. And they are going to Poland. Beyond that many of them aren't sure where they'll go.

[07:05:02]

And I just want to share a couple of the stories of the people that we have spoken to. There was one woman in her 20s traveling with her two young kids. And she actually left Irpin which is near Kyiv just two days before intense shelling began there. She's obviously grateful she made that decision.

I spoke to another elderly couple who spent eight days they said in a metro station in Kharkiv. And they could hear the bombing above. And they said inside that metro station where they were taking shelter there were pregnant women, there were children, and the conditions were not ideal, obviously. So they took the decision to get out. They're in their 60s now.

I'm going to try to get you to the end of the line just to show you the sheer scale of people who are here. There are obviously coach buses as well taking people actually across the border. Many of these people are just being dropped off. The conditions here are pretty cold, John. I mean, it is below freezing, or at least it feels below freezing. And so for small children you don't want to have them outside for too long.

So luckily, they are now allowing the smallest children to actually skip the line and go to the front of it. And I just want to share one other thing with you. And that's that I did spot one man -- again, you can see the line just stretches as far as the eye can see. I did meet one man in the line. And obviously I had to ask him why he was here because he was probably in his 40s. And what he was doing is he was actually -- he works in the heating business and he was taping, like, foil, heating foil to his daughter's shoes because they weren't warm enough.

Obviously, he's not allowed to cross the border himself. But this man has to win the dad of the year award just to make sure that his wife and 15-year-old daughter are comfortable while they're crossing the border. He's not sure when he's going to see them again. And of course his story is far from unique here. Again I'm trying to show you the end of the line, but it just -- it really does just go on and on, guys.

KEILAR: Yes. Look, we're just seeing more and more people trying to make this exodus across the border.

Scott, thank you so much for sharing that with us. BERMAN: So this horrifying video has emerged showing the moment that

Russian forces fired mortars at a bridge killing a family with two children in Irpin. That's just west of Kyiv right there. A warning, this video is disturbing to see but, look, this is what's really happening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in foreign language)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My fucking film.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in foreign language)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, medic.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Medic!

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Photojournalist Lynsey Addario with the "New York Times," whom you saw in that video captured this image of the victims. She reports a mother, her teenage son and her daughter died in this attack. You can see the medics working on a man who later died.

The mayor of Irpin reported at least eight people were killed in those strikes on Sunday. I did speak to Mayor Oleksandr Markushin a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Mr. Mayor, thank you for joining us. You saw these civilians killed before your very eyes. I'm so sorry to have to ask you this, but describe to me what happened.

MAYOR OLEKSANDR MARKUSHIN, IRPIN, UKRAINE (through translator): So we have been evacuating people for four days now. On the first day, we evacuated by train. On the second day, they blew up -- on the second day they shelled the train. So on the first day they shelled the train. On the second day, they blew up the rail track, and three people were injured. But those who were accompanying the train. And yesterday we had an unprecedented incident when a group of people

were being led to evacuate and within 50 meters, I saw a mortar ordinance blew up and killed two children, tore them in two in front of my very eyes, plus their parents. They were killed in a matter of seconds. And on the whole, eight people were killed yesterday during evacuation.

[07:10:01]

These are not -- this is not an army. These are animals. They are killing civilians. They are shelling our city, our residential buildings and ambulances. They are firing on ambulances. This is just a monstrosity. These are animals, they are not people.

BERMAN: Everyone knows that's how civilians are trying to escape by that bridge. We had our reporter there yesterday. Do you think the Russians are targeting civilians?

MARKUSHIN (through translator): Yes. This is 100 percent, they are targeting civilians. Everybody knows where we are taking civilians out by car, along the evacuation routes. And they are targeting these routes, they are targeting these people. And this is absolutely true. They're trying to intimidate our population, but they will not succeed.

BERMAN: Mr. Mayor, I have to let you go. I know your own family is going to try to evacuate as soon as they can. You are going to stay behind. Just know that we are thinking about you. Thank you so much for being with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: New this morning, CNN has confirmed, as the "New York Times" first reported, that U.S. and some NATO nations have sent nearly 20,000 anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine over the past week. And we're seeing the effect of those on the ground there in Ukraine.

So joining us now is one of the reporters who broke this story, CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. He is a White House and national security correspondent for "The Times."

This is a really, really well-reported, fascinating piece in the "Times" this morning. And you're describing, in your words, sort of a Berlin Airlift style event. Tell us about it.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, the only real comparison here really is the Berlin Airlift. And so with some of my "Times" colleagues, some in Europe, some here in Washington, what we tried to do was put together the totality of what you're seeing. Some of it is obvious. It's those anti-tank and anti- aircraft armaments that are going out.

The pace is remarkable. The 17,000 made it in six days because the Biden administration had pre-positioned them in Germany awaiting President Biden's order to send them in. So they have managed to disbursed most of the $350 million aid package in a week. By comparison, it took between August and November last year to disburse a $60 million package. So that's the speed at which it's moved up.

But meanwhile, there are cyber teams that were initially in Kyiv that are operating from Eastern Europe now, trying to deal with Russian communications and so forth. There are lobbyists and lawyers here in Washington who are --

KEILAR: Working pro bono as you point out.

SANGER: Working for free. Not --

KEILAR: And they weren't before and now they are.

SANGER: Yes. That's exactly right. That's not usually what they are known for. But in this case helping to put together a war crimes kind of evidence in case the administration goes that way.

KEILAR: You mentioned one of the leading firms has actually filed basically a lawsuit, a war crimes lawsuit on the behalf of the Ukrainian government. You also talk about the MiGs that possibly Poland might supply. And there are some complications. This may or may not happen. But the question I really have here is, if that is going to be supplied, at what point does Vladimir Putin say, hey, this makes you guys a co-combatant? And explain why that matters so much, the legal argument and how the U.S. versus Russia sees that.

SANGER: So President Biden's view has been we can supply arms, we can supply intelligence. But we're not going to put American troops in a position where they're facing off directly against Russian troops, Brianna. And that's why he refuses to go along with this no-fly zone. Because to enforce the no-fly zone, you need to put American pilots up in the air and sooner or later they're going to run into Russian pilots and then you're into the obvious direct conflict issues.

But over the weekend, we have now seen the Russians say for the first time to the Ukrainians if you park your aircraft abroad, somewhere in Romania, the Russians said, and then you launched those from there, we will consider the country or the airfield where it left to be part of the combat area. Well, of course that's NATO territory. The American side has a very legalistic description of what you can and cannot do as a full combatant. In real space, in cyberspace. It's not clear that's Vladimir Putin's definition.

KEILAR: I suspect there is disagreement.

SANGER: Yes.

KEILAR: And I don't think I'm going out on a limb to say that. Really fascinating piece, David, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

[07:15:03]

SANGER: Thank you. KEILAR: A WNBA star facing drug charges in Moscow as the U.S. hits

Russia with sanctions for invading Ukraine. What that means for her chances of being released, next.

And we do have some brand-new video just in that shows Russian tanks taking up positions among civilian apartment blocks. This is just west of Kyiv. We'll be getting more details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: WNBA star Brittney Griner detained in Russia on drug charges and facing up to 10 years in prison. Diplomats are now working to try to ensure her release.

CNN's Rosa Flores live in Houston with the latest on this -- Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning. The focus right now really from her friends and her family is to try to get Brittney Griner back to the United States.

[07:20:03]

Her wife, breaking her silence over the weekend on Instagram, saying that the family is asking for privacy but that they're doing just that, trying to get her back.

The timing of this arrest is very curious given Russia's attack on Ukraine and U.S. sanctions on Russia. I asked a political scientist about this and he says that the Russians are likely to drag this on, be tight-lipped like they have so far, and use Griner as a bargaining chip.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): As the diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Russia crumble, a WNBA star is caught in the middle. Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner was arrested on drug charges after Russian customs officials said they found vape cartridges that contained cannabis oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow in February. Griner remains in custody.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: I've talked to a couple of sources and they said it's been a couple of weeks that this has been going. One source said since the NBA All-Star Game.

FLORES: Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave few specifics on Griner's case.

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: Whenever an American is detained anywhere in the world, we of course stand ready to provide every possible assistance. And that includes in Russia.

FLORES: The episode comes as the United States has implemented economic sanctions on Russia as its assault on Ukraine intensifies.

(On-camera): What does the timing of the detention tell you? NIKOLAY MARIKOV, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY

OF HOUSTON: I think it tells you everything. The trajectory of the case now will probably be different. And so they will definitely look for a sort of certain bargaining chip effect, propaganda effect.

FLORES: Given the timing of this, does the U.S. have limited leverage given what's going on in Ukraine?

MARIKOV: For sure. So President Putin has declared that the West is at war with him by leveling these economic sanctions. He has likened them to war. And so just being an American citizen who can potentially be accused of carrying a substance she was not supposed to be carrying. Of course whether that actually corresponds to the facts we don't even know. And I wouldn't put anything beyond the authorities there. But so yes, this is probably a propaganda trick.

FLORES (voice-over): Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee who represents Griner's home city of Houston, calling for her release.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX): I don't want to disregard a sovereign nation but Putin has disregarded sovereign nations. His entire service in this world. And anyone that is killing and attacking and destroying Ukraine, their neighboring country that has not bothered them has no right to hold Miss Griner. Period.

FLORES: And Griner's wife breaking her silence in an Instagram post thanking everyone for their support and writing, quote, "Please honor our privacy as we continue to work on getting my wife home safely."

Back home in Houston, Griner's high school coach grew emotional, worried Griner could face severe consequences.

(On-camera): What is your biggest fear?

DEBBIE JACKSON, GRINER'S HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL COACH: My biggest fear is that this will become a -- that she will be a political pawn.

FLORES: If she by any chance watches this story, what would you tell her?

JACKSON: I would tell her please know that you are loved by so many people. You've always had a true resolve and grit to get to the finish line. And know that it's -- you will get to the finish line this trial you're going through, this ordeal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Now her coach, high school coach, also said that the toughest part for Griner right now is most likely isolation, not being able to be with her family. But her coach also says, and this woman knows her very well, she says that Griner has the skills to get through this because she has the grit and self-determination to fight to the end.

And, John, she also means fighting to the end of every game like she has throughout her life. And that's why she's a star. She said that she can get through this. She just needs to rely on those skills that she already has to get through it -- John.

BERMAN: Yes. Very much caught in the middle. Rosa Flores, thank you very much.

KEILAR: The U.S. and NATO are resisting calls to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. They're arguing that doing that would bring Western troops into direct conflict with Russia and that that could lead to a full-fledged war in Europe.

The U.S. is, however, working with Poland to supply Ukraine with MiG fighter jets. The possibility of that not determined. Joining us now is a Ukrainian member of Parliament, Lesia Vasylenko.

Ma'am, thank you so much for being with us today. You hear that the U.S., that Western allies are really drawing a firm line when it comes to a no-fly zones. What do you say to that?

[07:25:01]

LESIA VASYLENKO, MEMBER, UKRAINE'S PARLIAMENT: I say to that that the only word missing at the end of the sentence is yet. We also heard firm lines against switching Russia from the SWIFT. We heard firm no's when we're raising the question about stopping Nord Stream 2. And we heard a million reasons why sanctions could not be introduced against Russia. But then it all happened.

But it all happened a little too many when already the invasion was escalating to levels never seen before in Europe since World War II and when already Ukrainian lives were being lost. At this point when I say that it's a matter of time until NATO starts -- NATO member states start taking firmer action, while that time is costing human lives, it's costing Ukrainian lives.

KEILAR: The MiGs, the possibility of getting MiGs to Ukraine, and it's not a done deal, just to be clear. Will that be enough?

VASYLENKO: That will be a significant help. I mean, we need all the resources here on the ground with which to fight off this plague that the Russian aggression is and it's actually a plague not just on Ukraine but on all of the democratic world. Essentially what Ukraine is doing is fighting for the very principles of sovereign states, of democracy, the very principles of respect of borders, of human rights, everything that is written there in black and white in a number of international conventions.

We are fighting for that here on the ground with our bear hands and with all the weapons that we can get a hold of. So we need more of these weapons to be able to withstand the second biggest army in the world. It would be nice if NATO could --

KEILAR: Lesia, I think we just -- we lost your sound. I don't know if you have been muted. Can you talk again? Lesia, can you hear me? All right. I think we are having a little trouble communicating with her. So we're going to move ahead here. But that was Lesia Vasylenko, a member of parliament in Ukraine talking to us. The president there in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, telling Vladimir

Putin we will not forgive you as Russian forces target and kill civilians. Just look at this scene here near Mykolaiv. We're going to speak with Ukraine's former president Petro Poroshenko, next.

Plus we also just saw Clarissa Ward there at a train station, just seeing heartbreaking images of fathers saying good-bye to their children. And one young boy escaping Ukraine without his mother.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]