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Civilian Evacuation Underway in One City Amid Deal; Kyiv Mayor's Brother is Interviewed on War; Pentagon: Putin Trying to Recruit Syrian Fighters to Ukraine; Thousands Sign Petition Demanding WBNA Star's Release from Russia. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 08, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And NEW DAY continues right now.

[05:59:16]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BERMAN: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Tuesday, March 8. I'm John Berman with Brianna Keilar.

The breaking news this morning: evacuations for Ukrainian civilians under way in the northeastern city of Sumy, as long as Russia stops attacking for a few hours.

Overnight, the Ukrainian government agreed to an offer from the Kremlin to set up a humanitarian corridor from Sumy right here down south to Poltava right there. You can see that right now.

Heavy fighting has been seen there in recent days. Nine people were killed in an air strike, including two children. And moments ago, Ukraine says a humanitarian convoy headed for Mariupol is getting shelled by Russian forces. That's down here.

There was a convoy coming from the area up here, Zaporizhzhia. The Ukrainians are saying that is being shelled by the Russians. We're watching that very carefully.

A defiant President Zelenskyy, seen in his office in Kyiv for the first time since the invasion started. He says he will not hide. He is not afraid, and he does not trust any offer from the Kremlin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There was an agreement on humanitarian corridors. Did it work? Russian tanks worked instead. Russian grabs. They even mined the road, which was agreed to transport food and medicine for people and children in Mariupol. They even destroyed the busses that have to take people out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, the Russians are promising safe passage in these corridors. They have released new video of what they say is their tanks in the Kyiv region. To be clear, this is not the city itself, but the broader area.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And Ukrainian civilians continue to suffer this morning. In Chernihiv, a school and residential buildings pummeled, as you can see here.

Zaporizhzhia, near Kyiv, a devastating fire at St. George's Church. Parishioners say that it was hit by a Russian military attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Go home. Go home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We've been seeing them for days. We know how to save them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNSHOTS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Stop! Stop!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Near Kherson, protesters clashing there with Russian troops who are occupying their town, chanting, "Go home, go home." Gunshots can be heard. It does appear that no one was hurt.

And in the Zatoma (ph) region, two fires raging in oil depots, according to Ukrainian's Foreign Ministry. Ukraine's state emergency services say they were caused by Russian air strikes.

One point seven million Ukrainians have now fled the country. According to the U.N., that number could soon swell to 5 million.

BERMAN: All right. CNN's Scott McLean is live in Lviv for us this morning. Scott, I want to focus on this humanitarian corridor from Sumy, which has seen intense shelling. And the hope is to get as many people as they can further south to Poltava. How is it working out so far?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Yes, that -- that corridor is going to be open for another eight hours. That's what's been agreed upon by the Russians and the Ukrainians.

And we know that some people have managed to get out, including 700 Indian students who have been trapped in that region. That is one of the rare bright spots in these negotiations between Russia and Ukraine that so far have bore [SIC] very little fruit. Now, Russia is also offering a series of other humanitarian corridors,

but as you pointed out earlier, many of them are going to Russia. Something that Ukraine isn't a big fan of.

President Zelenskyy said that that would only aid in Russia's propaganda war, having Ukrainians crossing the border into Russia, surely to be greeted by Russian TV cameras, to play into the Kremlin's hands.

So while these parties work to make these humanitarian corridors actually happen, if they can, people are flooding to the exits of Ukraine, if they're lucky enough to be able to get out. People are crossing on foot, where they're waiting in long lines. They're crossing by bus, by train. And they're also attempting it by car.

It will take you several days to get across the country with all of the check points. And that one family who has packed up in their vehicle yesterday, they've waited more than 24 hours to cross the border into Poland. And their journey was still far from over.

BERMAN: Yes, and Scott, again, you were talking about these corridors here that the Russians proposed. These red lines are the routes that they offer. And you can see they lead into Russia, Russia, Belarus here. You can understand why Ukraine was not anxious to follow those routes.

So this route right here in yellow was the one that's been open for the last few hours.

Other news has to do with Mariupol right down here, which is a city that has been under siege. There's been an effort to get humanitarian aid into the city. But the Ukrainians say that that humanitarian convoy, that has been shelled. What can you tell us about that?

MCLEAN: Yes. So John, CNN has not been able to verify independently the status of that corridor. And so the information that we're getting is from a Ukrainian minister.

Again, it's not clear what exactly has been agreed upon between Russia and Ukraine, but that minister says that there were more than 30 buses headed from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol. Eight trucks carrying aid, food, water, medicine, all of the essentials that that city so, so desperately needs.

And that minister says that that convoy was facing shelling in their direction. So it is not clear at this stage whether it will be able to proceed into the city. Again, it's not clear what they have agreed upon.

The Red Cross has really stressed -- the Red Cross, by the way, working as sort of an intermediary on the ground to help coordinate these evacuation routes. They have stressed that both parties need to get the details right.

[06:05:10] It is not enough at this stage of the game just to agree on, in principle, the need for humanitarian corridors. You actually have to roll up your sleeves, agree on the very fine details of who, what, where, and when and for how long. And only then do these corridors actually have a chance of working in practice, John.

BERMAN: All right. Scott McLean for us in Lviv. Scott, thank you very much.

KEILAR: Moments ago, I spoke with Wladimir Klitschko, the former Ukrainian world champion boxer and a member of the Kyiv Territorial Defense Force. His brother, Vitali, is the mayor of Kyiv. And here is part of our discussion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Can you just give us a sense of what things are like there on the ground and what you've been seeing as part of the Territorial Defense Force?

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO, FORMER UKRAINIAN WORLD CHAMPION BOXER: On the ground, it's clear that the Russian army is trying to attack and planning attack on the capital of Ukraine, city of Kyiv.

Obviously, Territorial Defense, as well as military, are standing together against this Russian aggression and senseless war where children, civilians are getting killed.

And not to forget, Ukraine is under huge threat, and the world under huge threat. We cannot count days, weeks, not even hours, minutes. So, the shooting is constant.

In city of Kyiv, when you go to bed, you hear the explosions and launching of the rockets for to defend -- to defend the city, as well as landing from bullets to rockets here on the territory of city of Kyiv.

So, this pressure is enormous and gigantic. Pressure on us, Ukrainians. But we stand together against this Russian aggression.

KEILAR: You are a hall of fame boxer. You're a favorite among many people, including a lot of Russians. And I wonder if you think that they're getting information, that they know what side you're on and that that may be raising questions for some Russians about what their country is doing.

KLITSCHKO: It's not about sides. It's about peace, because Ukraine is the most peaceful country, which never started any attacks.

And if we're talking about any military equipment that Russia doesn't like us to receive, that is to defend ourselves, so our children, women, men will be stopped to be killed by the Russian army.

And there's -- one more time, there's no sides to choose. We're on the right side. This is our home. This is our country. And I'm proud to be Ukrainian. KEILAR: Do you hope it's giving some of your fans, some of your

Russian fans pause, to see -- to see where you are?

KLITSCHKO: Yes. They should see where I'm at. And, yes, they should know that their country and, in this case, the politics of the president, Putin in this case, is aggression. Killing the innocent. This is not OK.

The truth is on our side. And we stand for our right for freedom and choice to be part of European Union and the western world.

KEILAR: Your twin brother is the mayor of Kyiv, also a hall of fame boxer, well known, certainly, before he got into politics. How is he dealing with his city being under siege?

KLITSCHKO: It's stressful. Unexpected. We were not prepared for this war to be started an attack of Russia. And we learn every day and mobilize every day.

And I could feel the spirit of the Ukrainians that are coming back from the other countries from the western world -- doesn't matter where they are in the world -- coming back home to defend their homes.

Today is International Woman Day, not to forget. And I've seen a lot in the Territorial Defense, as well as in the army, a lot of Ukrainian women stand in arms with the men to defend this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Vladimir Klitschko, thank you so much for that interview.

The Pentagon tells CNN that it does believe reports that Vladimir Putin is trying to recruit foreign fighters, specifically from Syria to fight in Ukraine on behalf of Russian forces. They think this is true.

Joining us now is retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, our CNN military analyst and former Army commanding general of Europe in the 7th Army.

What do you think about this? They're hiring foreign fighters, specifically Syrians.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: That speaks of desperation, Brianna. I mean, we're talking about the announcements that about 1,000 of their fighters who had fought in Syria.

[06:10:12]

But that tells me that he has some considerable problems within the Russian army as they continue their attack.

They are showing these kinds of propaganda pictures of tanks rolling, when we know from reports that all of -- as Mr. Klitschko just said, that all of the convoys are being stopped. They're being attacked by both Ukrainian forces and the territorial forces. I think this is a desperation move on Mr. Putin's part, and it's to,

again, contribute to the imparting of fear on the Ukrainian people. So it's just one more terror effort that he's -- that Mr. Putin is trying to convince others that he's doing to tamp down and subjugate Ukraine as a culture and as a people.

KEILAR: How would this even work, do you think? Because, I mean, certainly, they would be recruiting, you would think, battle-hardened Syrians who have experience. But they're not familiar with Ukraine.

HERTLING: No.

KEILAR: They, you would expect speak a different language. Maybe at, like, a coordination level there's a speaking of Russian or Arabic. But how the heck would they even fit into this situation and with the timing, the need being now?

HERTLING: They wouldn't, Brianna. And that's the point of the whole thing. It's a propaganda tool, much like all the other propaganda tools Mr. Putin has been using.

When you introduce, let's call it a partner or an ally, into a force without any training, without understanding of the ground, it violates, again, some of those principles of war, of simplicity that we talked about once before.

It's fascinating, because the cost of bringing -- if he brings 1,000 Syrian fighters that fought in Syria to Ukraine, just to fight, what would be their objective? How would they integrate into the command? What kind of missions would they be given?

It's -- it's ludicrous from a military standpoint to do something like this at this stage of the campaign. He's 12 days -- 13 days into this now. And he's going to bring in a new force? That would be like the United States saying, Hey, we're -- we're in Iraq right now. We want to bring in some Macedonians tomorrow to help us fight without any training or preparation. It just is not done.

KEILAR: This moment that we're in, 13 days in, can you put it into context for us?

HERTLING: Yes. I've said this a couple times, Brianna. What I think is -- Russia is reaching what the military calls a culmination point. They're having challenges with pursuing the offensive, so assume they're going to have to transition to the defense. That's -- that's what a culmination point is.

They have met resistance in every attack axis they have found. While there are still some forces moving, they are moving at a snail's pace. They are still not getting the resupplies that they need to conduct an attack. They do not have what the Russians normally have, which is a second echelon. After the first echelon reaches that culmination, their doctrine is to push a second echelon forward and resupply it on the move while it goes into the fight. They have not done that. They don't have the capability for doing that.

So, what I truly believe -- oh, and oh, by the way, they just lost their second general yesterday in Kharkiv.

So you're seeing some huge losses on the part of the Russians. You're not seeing the same thing on the part of the Ukrainian Defense Forces or their Territorial Forces. In fact, they are growing with more volunteers.

So what you're going to see as they attempt to start encircling these areas, like Kyiv, I'd remind everybody that the perimeter around Kyiv is about 40 miles. In order to encircle something that's 40 miles in circumference, you need a whole bunch of forces. And right now, Russia does not have a whole bunch of forces for Kyiv, for Kharkiv, for all the cities in the south. You're talking about the subjugation of millions of people.

So what Mr. Putin is trying to do is create terror. He's -- he's suggesting these open corridors where civilians can go into, and then he's bombing them. So that's even more terror. They're not only being shelled by missiles and artillery in their homes, but they're being shelled when they try and get out of their homes.

And what we're going to see in many places, truthfully, is rubbled cities with people who are without homes and water and food. So that creates an additional terror element. It's not something the Russian military is doing. It's something they're doing to the civilian population.

KEILAR: Yes. And look, I think Vladimir Putin may also be terrorizing his own forces, from what we have seen.

HERTLING: Exactly.

KEILAR: Important to note, as well.

General Hertling, thank you so much for the analysis. We do appreciate it.

HERTLING: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: We have a new image just obtained by CNN of American basketball star Brittney Griner as she is detained in Russia.

Plus, Russian soldiers, on the orders of Vladimir Putin, sent in to fight their neighbors and now their families, are using a Ukrainian- run hotline to desperately search for their loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: This is not our fault. Please, understand that they were forced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Yes, I understand.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: I also want this to end. I want everyone to live in peace.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. New overnight, this photo of WNBA star Brittney Griner appearing on Russian state television. It shows Griner reportedly at a Russian police station, holding a sign with her name on it.

The two-time U.S. Olympian was arrested and detained in Russia on drug charges. It happened last month. Thousands have now signed a petition demanding her release.

CNN's Rosa Flores live in Griner's home town of Houston -- Rosa.

[06:20:08]

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning.

Brittney Griner's arrest left her family in this agonizing wait and the public with very little information.

Now, thanks to our colleague, CNN correspondent Lucy Kafanov, who speaks Russian, she was able to dig up this Russian state TV report. That's where we see that mug shot of Griner.

Now, this report has a little bit more information, not a lot. What we do know, based on this -- this report, is that that photograph was taken at a Russian police station, but it does not include a date. We still do not know when Griner was arrested. We don't know if she's been arrested for days or weeks.

What we do know is that, according to Russian officials, she allegedly was carrying cannabis oil at the airport. Now, that Russian state TV news report included an interview with a customs official. And here's what that customs official had to say. Take a listen.

Excuse me, guys, because my IP dropped.

BERMAN: Guys, I don't think we have that video, Rosa.

FLORES: I believe we are having technical difficulties. I apologize.

Russian officials say that, if convicted, Griner could face up to ten years in prison.

CNN has reached out to Griner's attorney, the person representing her in Russia. We have not heard back. Now White House press secretary Jen Psaki said yesterday that the

White House does not have a privacy waiver for Griner. So that she's not able to provide more information.

But Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee saying yesterday that the Congressional Black Caucus met with President Biden and that Griner is on Biden's agenda -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Rosa Flores, thanks so much for the update. Appreciate it.

KEILAR: Joining us now is CNN contributor Patrick McEnroe. He is also an ESPN commentator and the host of the "Holding Court" podcast.

Look, Patrick, I will -- I will say there's a lot we don't know here. We know, certainly, what the Russians are saying about what she's alleged to have done. How worried are you that she's just, you know, she's a pawn here? She's caught up in something so much bigger?

PATRICK MCENROE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think we should be very wary, Brianna. And great job by your reporter in Russia to even be able to get that information, because I've checked with my multiple sources and basically have been able to find out nothing new in the last 24 hours.

And to me, this is extremely troubling, because how can we get this information out? We don't even know when she was detained.

And this sort of brings up a larger issue to me, Brianna, that we're seeing starting to develop even more and more, you know, with the Olympics and China, with the Peng Shuai situation, the tennis player who's been manipulated by her government.

And now, obviously, a much more serious situation happening in Russia and Brittney Griner, who is one of the best female basketball players on the planet, essentially forced to go to a country like Russia in the last couple years, as are many other great WNBA players, because that's the only place where they can make significantly more money than they make in the WNBA.

So that dichotomy is existing. We're seeing it play out now more and more, with some of these great athletes, putting them in this predicament that is very, very troubling.

KEILAR: Yes. I'm so glad that you make that point, because when you look at what she's making in the U.S., it's $200,000, I believe, with the Phoenix Mercury. She goes to Russia -- and this is why so many athletes do and basketball players, female basketball players -- she makes $1.5 million. I mean, so you see the sort of -- the reason why athletes are doing this.

What needs to be done, though, when it comes to sports organizations, the U.S. government? What do they need to do to get her out?

MCENROE: Well, that's a great question. And obviously, they've been working behind the scenes, it seems like, in the last couple of weeks, which is why I think we haven't -- we hadn't heard about it publicly until just the last couple of days.

So clearly, I think the U.S. government needs to continue to do what it's doing.

But I also think the sports organizations, Brianna, need to do more. Whether it's the WNBA, the Women's Tennis Association, obviously making a huge stand by saying they're not going to go play again in China.

I'm still extremely disappointed with the men's ATP tour, who are continuing to have China -- events in China on their calendar later this year.

But I think it's becoming more and more incumbent upon the organizations in sports to get more involved, because this is becoming a very dicey situation for athletes going to these countries where political conflict is rising. And obviously, you've got it rising to a whole another level in Russia and Ukraine.

[06:25:02]

So the organizations are going to have to do more to help their athletes, in the long run, be safe.

KEILAR: Yes. I think -- we don't know how this particular case is going to play out. So we're paying a lot of attention to it.

Patrick McEnroe, appreciate you being on.

MCENROE: Thanks, Brianna.

BERMAN: All right. The breaking news this morning, we are getting word that a humanitarian convoy under fire by Russian forces down near Mariupol there. This is according to Ukrainian officials.

And it comes as Ukrainian civilians are also now trying to use a corridor in this region right here, where there's been a series of deadly attacks that killed at least 19 people, including children. Stand by for this breaking news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Just in, energy giant Shell saying it will stop buying Russian crude oil and leave the Russian energy industry altogether. That's a pretty big announcement, as gas prices here in the United States reach record highs.

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