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Civilian Evacuations Underway in Six Areas in Russia, Ukraine Deal; Kremlin Says, U.S. Has Declared Economic War on Russia; U.S. Nuclear Chief Very Concerned by China-Russia Cooperation. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired March 09, 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: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Wednesday, March 9th. I'm John Berman with Brianna Keilar.

Ad breaking moments ago, Ukraine says they agreed to a Russian offer for a cease-fire to get civilians out of six areas. All these areas here are cities in red. The cities they are trying to get them to, the ones in yellow. These cities do include the city of Mariupol right here, which all but surrounded at this point by Russian troops.

Is it possible to tell whether this agreement will amount to anything? We're watching it very closely. The Russians have attacked humanitarian corridors before.

And one of the cities under discussion, Sumy, 5,000 have already been able to evacuate. It comes days after 21 people were killed by Russian air strikes there, including two children.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Now, fighting has been fierce in Sumy. This drone video here showing a Russian military vehicle destroyed in a battle with Ukrainian troops. An eyewitness video shows the Kremlin moved an armored military train from Crimea into Ukraine's Kherson region. This is nine cars long. It has at least two apparent gunner cars and it has that the telltale letter Z painted on some of the cars.

In Southern Ukraine, heavy shelling and explosions overnight in the city of Mykolaiv.

Ukrainian forces are blocking Russian advancement into the critical port city by piling tires at every entrance to be set on fire in case of attack. Right now, the Ukrainians remain in control of Mykolaiv but it has been coming under heavy bombardment.

Also, let's go to Kyiv now where we can speak with the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko. Mayor, thank you so much. I know that you're incredibly busy. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us this morning.

I know that you have had a couple of rocket attacks, that things have actually been relatively quiet, but that you are seeing Russian troop movement. What are you seeing?

All right, let me try this again. Mayor, it's Brianna Keilar. Can you hear me?

All right, I think we're having a little trouble with the mayor. We're going to reestablish that connection.

I do want to go to Jim Sciutto for the very latest. Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, we are 14 days into this war, 14 days since Russian forces invaded. And based on the latest U.S. intelligence assessment, here's where the battle stands. Here's where the war stands.

So far, the U.S. estimates that Russia has lost as much as 10 percent of its forces in just two weeks, as much as 10 percent. This is vehicles, aircraft, tanks, armored personnel carriers that were either destroyed or left inoperable. It's a remarkable percentage. And that estimate is about double where it was estimated a week ago as the U.S. has gathered more intelligence. U.S. estimates Ukrainian military forces have lost a similar percentage of their hardware.

As far as personnel losses are concerned, they are harder to verify than the losses of equipment, armor, air craft, et cetera. The U.S. does estimate that Russian forces have lost somewhere between 2,000 and 4,000 military personnel, though that assessment comes with low confidence.

As far as the Ukrainian military is concerned, the U.S. does not have reliable assessments of Ukrainian military losses. As far as civilians, though, those numbers are climbing. The U.N. estimates close to 500 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, including dozens of children, close to 900 have been wounded. But the U.N. says that the actual number to date is almost certainly substantially higher.

A couple other bullet points, Brianna, as far as the battlefield is concerned, it's the U.S. view that Russian military forces have advanced more in the south, coming up from Russian-controlled areas in Crimea more quickly there, more slowly in the east and the north, though those forces continue to try to or sometimes successfully surround cities in the north.

As far as Kyiv is concerned, that, of course, the prize, the capital, the seat of government here, the U.S. believes it's several days before U.S. forces can surround Kyiv. And then even after that, they would be likely to face a protracted battle to control the city center.

Big picture, this is not where Russia or the U.S., frankly, expected this war to be when it began. They expected it to be a much quicker Russian advance. Why is that? They have run into surprising Ukrainian resistance.

KEILAR: Yes, a lot of it. Jim Sciutto live for us in Lviv, thank you so much.

Let's go back now to Kyiv where there have been some Russian troop movements overnight, as we understand.

[07:05:02]

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, with us now.

What can you tell us about this? I know that you have been out and about looking to see where troops are moving. What are you seeing?

MAYOR VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV, UKRAINE: Good afternoon. Good morning, everybody. It's not secret. Kyiv is a target. It's a target. And that is why the Russians try to make a circle around Kyiv. Right now, so much forces, thousands of Russian soldiers north of our city right now, they fight. They (INAUDIBLE) in Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel, nonstop, already a week-long, the fight there.

We don't have exactly the numbers of injury, wounded people or killed people because there is no connection there. I guess we will receive the numbers a little bit later. But right now, we guess it's thousands, it's thousands, because it's nonstop, the fight there. We listen every day, during the night, the alarm, the bombing alarm, and so many thousands of people in the city spend a lot of time in bunkers because people are really afraid

KEILAR: Yes.

KLITSCHKO: It's no panic, it's a huge patriotic way. And some part of the population already leave the city, but everyone who stayed in the city, we never go to the knee. We are ready to defend our city. We are fighting for our houses. We are fighting for our city. We are fighting for our country. And everyone is prepared to defend our future.

KEILAR: So, mayor, let me ask you, what are the indications right now of the troop movements? Are you worried Kyiv could soon be surrounded on all sides? And do you have the food and the medical supplies in the city that you need?

KLITSCHKO: I want to say thank you very much for humanitarian help, what Kyiv has received. Also thanks so much for all friends of Ukraine who sent right now humanitarian help, the food products, also defensive weapons, because we need that very much.

Kyiv right now has resources for, I guess, for a week or maybe two weeks, if Russia makes a circle around Kyiv. But our soldiers destroyed the plans of Russians. They tried to do that already ten days ago. But until today, his plans don't implement.

KEILAR: So, you know, one of the several agreed-upon humanitarian corridors just overnight in Ukraine is actually from the suburbs of your city into Kyiv. Do you know how many people are trapped outside the city, just outside in the towns and the suburbs bordering the capital city?

KLITSCHKO: Right now, in this moment, the green corridors from Bucha because the people were scattered and we didn't have a connection. We just received information, thousand of the people spent in the bunkers a week already. And they don't have food and water. And I guess in a couple of hours, we have exactly numbers, how much people we evacuate from this zone.

KEILAR: You have been visiting defense posts around Kyiv. What are you telling people?

KLITSCHKO: I tell the people, we never give up because it's our land. It's our city. It's our family. We depend on our future. The reason of the war from Russian side is actually senseless war. But the reason why Putin do this war because we want to be democratic European country and Putin wants to rebuild Russian empire. And without Ukraine, it is difficult to do it. It is his dream to rebuild solidly the Soviet Union. We don't want back to USSR. We see our future as democratic European country and part of European family.

KEILAR: The mayor of Hostomel, which is not far from you, was reportedly killed by Russian troops. Can you tell us anything about that?

KLITSCHKO: It's my colleague. They just bring the -- tried to help with the evacuation bring the food and make the green corridor.

[07:10:05]

In this moment, he was killed. It's no rules. Right now, we see how many schools, preschools destroyed, how many civilians died in this war. The Russian explain it is just war against Ukrainian soldiers. It's not. It's not because thousands of the people right now around Ukraine injured, killed. And we see what Russians do with Kharkiv, what they did with Mariupol. It is actually cities destroyed. It's civilian buildings. It's hospitals, schools, preschools destroyed, senseless, senseless war. And we see there's no rules. And the Russian tanks fired in civilian guards, killed people. We have a lot of pictures in internet and in T.V.

KEILAR: Yes. I'm very sorry, Mayor, because I know, as you said, he was a colleague of yours and someone that you knew.

I know you're aware Poland says that it wants to send fighter jets to Ukraine, but it wants to do it by sending it to a U.S. NATO base in Germany. And you have the American Defense Department saying that that is untenable. They're rejecting this proposal by Poland. Do you accept that?

KLITSCHKO: I don't want to discuss about that. We need help immediately, because in minutes, in hours, because we understand we're ready to fight. We need support and weapons to support. We stand in front of the strongest army in the world.

KEILAR: Well, then let me ask you this. Do you need planes? Do you need these fighter jets?

KLITSCHKO: We need planes. We need jets. We need the weapons. We are ready to fight. Please help us, help Ukraine.

KEILAR: Mayor Klitschko, I really appreciate you making time with us today. Please stay safe and please be in touch with us.

KLITSCHKO: Thank you very much. Thank you for the help. God bless.

BERMAN: All right. Breaking news, just moments ago, the Kremlin said the U.S. has, quote, undoubtedly declared economic war on Russia. This comes after President Biden announced a ban on oil imports from Russia but also an international boycott of Russia grows, with some of the biggest U.S. companies joining in, Starbucks, McDonald's, Coke, Pepsi among them, all suspending operations in Russia.

Joining me, CNN Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans. I mean, look at the list of companies.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is an exodus. And some of these companies are saying they are suspending operation, some are quitting the country altogether. But the risk of operating in Russia is just too hot to handle at the moment. And every day, we get new companies.

McDonald's, there are 847 locations there. Think back to 1991, 1990- 1991, McDonald's had its first ever Moscow store. Look at the lines there.

BERMAN: That's amazing.

ROMANS: This was a sign of Russia joining the world, the end of the Soviet empire, the fall of the iron curtain, and finally a taste of globalization for Russian citizens. Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has put Russian citizens back in time. Long lines in ATM machines, there will be import bans, things they won't be able to get, they can't get control of their own money to get it out of the country, and now they're losing so many of these products. Starbucks also saying that it is suspending 130 stores, they'll close those stores. It's going to stop shipping products, Coca-Cola suspending all business.

And Pepsi generates roughly 4 percent of its revenue in Russia. It's going to keep some footprint there for things that are essential, like baby formula, milk and baby food. So, Pepsi will continue to operate those. But all of its products, it will not be operating.

Interesting, by the way, that Pepsi has been operating in Russia for some 60 years, way back in time when they would have to trade for Pepsi shipments, they would trade for solely vodka and warships, because the Soviet Russia didn't have any money, didn't have any cash for these imports. And, indeed, it looks like with all of this exodus from these companies, Russia is indeed, its economy is going back in time.

BERMAN: Yes. Pepsi had been there for 60 years, McDonald's for 30 years, as of today, not there.

ROMANS: Yes, absolutely.

BERMAN: Christine Romans, thank you very much.

All right, joining me now is Daleep Singh, Deputy National Security Adviser at the White House. Daleep, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

You heard Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin say that the U.S. has declared economic war on Russia. Your response?

DALEEP SINGH, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: This is a brutal and needless war of aggression, John. We said all along if the aggression escalates, so will the costs. And the strategic failure for Putin continues to mount.

[07:15:01]

We have imposed the most severe and coordinated economic sanctions in history. His economy is in tatters. His currency is in freefall. Companies are leaving in a mass exodus. The west is more unified and determined to make this a failure than ever. It's Putin's next move.

BERMAN: Is it an economic war?

SINGH: I wouldn't call it an economic war, John. This is our way of demonstrating resolve. And not just us, it's 30 countries around the world. Most of the free world is saying Russia has violated the core principles and that have underpinned peace and security across the world for decades. And the costs are standing by and allowing unchecked aggression in the heart of Europe, those are costs we're not willing to bear.

BERMAN: I want to ask you about this situation with the MiGs. There is some desire certainly within Ukraine to have these MiG fighter jets somehow shipped in because the Ukrainian pilots know how to fire them. And there was this offer from Poland to send their MiGs to the U.S. base in Ramstein, the U.S. NATO base in Ramstein, and then somehow get them into Ukraine. The Pentagon calls that idea untenable. Why is it untenable?

SINGH: John, I'm going to stay in my lane and allow the Defense Department to comment on that. But I can just tell you we are standing by Ukraine and its fight for freedom. We are doing that with over a billion dollars in defensive security assistance, the most in any year for any president. We have done that with humanitarian aid. We've done that with billions of dollars in economic aid. And we're doing it by making these costs on Putin the most severe costs any country has faced in economic history.

BERMAN: I know Vice President Kamala Harris is going to Poland today, and presumably this issue of the MiGs will come up. I understand you want to put his in a Pentagon lane, but the vice president will be there. Has the White House ruled out somehow allowing these MiGs to get into Ukraine?

SINGH: I'll allow the vice president to comment on that, John. But, again, we will do everything we can to support Ukrainians fight for freedom. But we have -- the president has said very clearly, we're not going to escalate this conflict into becoming a direct co-belligerent in a fight against Russia.

BERMAN: What would cross that line into becoming a direct co- belligerent?

SINGH: I don't have anything for you on that, John.

BERMAN: I thought I would ask.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that the White House, the president reached out for a discussion -- the White House reached out for the president to have a discussion with the de facto leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, their crowned princes, and those discussions were denied. What's your reaction to that story?

SING: Well, the president spoke with King Salman a couple of weeks ago about a broad range of interests we have with Saudi Arabia. Energy security is one of them, but also ending the war in Yemen, dealing with proxy attacks from Iran in the region, climate, trade, investment, infrastructure, finance in Africa.

Let me step back, john, and tell you, we consume about 20 million barrels of oil each day in this country. We produce about 12 million. So that means we import 8 million barrels and the price is set on the global market between supply and demand. The way God made earth, there are a few big suppliers out in the world and we talk to them.

We also need to talk to our domestic producers to supply more because this war is not going to be costless for anyone. And the president is very mindful of the impact of this conflict, prices at the pump. And we'll do all we can to contain those increases.

BERMAN: Those crowned princes, though, The Wall Street Journal reports, did talk to Vladimir Putin. Presumably, the president wants to talk to them to get more oil production. Does that bode well for that effort?

SINGH: Look, we want more supply in the world, more oil supply. We want it from producers that have spare capacity. There are about 3 to 4 million barrels per day of spare capacity. Saudi has some of that spare capacity. We have production capacity at home. Private producers have the leases, the permits, the price signal to boost their production, working with Wall Street, to invest in America's energy security. We want that to happen.

And for those countries that have strategic petroleum reserves, 1.5 billion of these reserves world, this is the time to use them.

BERMAN: As a national security matter, the White House is calling for more domestic oil production, more production of fossil fuels domestically?

SINGH: Look, we want supply wherever it can be produced. That's at home. That's abroad.

BERMAN: Daleep, the White House, I understand, the president signed an executive order today on cryptocurrencies. You say this will make the U.S. more competitive globally. Does this have any impact on Russia? Because there's been a lot of talk about Russia is somehow trying to operate in the crypto sphere. SINGH: Yes. Well, John, in the case of Russia, crypto is really not a workaround for our sanctions. I think the average trade size between Bitcoin and the Russian ruble is a few hundred dollars. But, more generally, the growth in cryptocurrencies has been explosive. I think it's above 3 trillion dollars in market cap. And so the implications for our national interests are profound.

[07:20:02]

Cryptocurrencies and digital assets can affect how people get access to banking, it can affect how consumers are safe and protected from the volatility of these assets and it affects the primacy of our dollar, our leadership position in the global economy. So, this executive order is a way for the president to articulate at the highest level. What are our national interests and what course should we set to make sure we're still at the forefront of this evolution.

BERMAN: Daleep Singh, I appreciate you being with us this morning. Thank you.

SINGH: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: So, right now, a new attempt underway to evacuate civilians from parts of Ukraine. Will these new cease-fire deals hold?

And a chilling new warning for the man in charge of America's nuclear arsenal.

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BERMAN: So, all the fighting continues on the ground in Ukraine. Admiral Charles Richard, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the U.S. nuclear arsenal, tells the Senate that Russia and China are presenting a nuclear situation unlike the U.S. has ever faced.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADMIRAL CHARLES RICHARD, COMMANDER, U.S. STRATEGIC COMMAND: We are witnessing one of the largest shifts in global, geostrategic power the world has ever witnessed. Today, we face two nuclear-capable near peers who have the capability to unilaterally escalate to any level of violence in any domain worldwide with any instrument of power at any time. And we have never faced a situation before like that in our history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. Joining us now Bianna Golodryga, CNN Senior Global Affairs Analyst. Two near peers when it comes to nuclear weapons, obviously, the Soviet Union, then Russia seen as a near peer, now China a near peer there. How does that change how the U.S. needs to think about all this? BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, listen, we should separate this from there in Ukraine right now, because both countries have been investing heavily over the last two decades in more nuclear technology in their arsenal. Remember, both invested and tested hypersonic weapons as well. We have seen Vladimir Putin boasting about this over the past few years, as has China in just last year. Remember, Mark Milley, after China tested their weapon, Mark Milley called that a near Sputnik moment.

So, that having been said, I think given the instability in the region, some of the posturing that we have heard, especially out of Vladimir Putin, putting his nuclear forces on high alert last week, I think all of this is causing more concern about what we could possibly see. Hopefully we won't get there.

BERMAN: From the very beginning of this, for the weeks before, Bianna, you were looking at China. How would China respond to the Russian invasion? What would China's posture be globally? And you and I both read this alert moments ago that China is sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but how much is it?

GOLODRYGA: So, I had to do a double-take. Maybe it was just early in the early morning to make sure I only saw three zeros after the 791, so, $791,000 that they said they were offering in humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Look, any amount of money is welcome, but given that China in the world's second largest economic power, at $15 trillion GDP, you would imagine that much more money would be coming from China at this point.

BERMAN: To quote Bianna Golodryga during the break, there are schools who are raising more money than China is right now.

We're also getting word that Chernobyl -- the Ukrainian foreign minister is saying the Chernobyl power plant, which is under Russian control right now, the power somehow has stopped being delivered to it. The electricity has been cut off and the diesel generators only have 48 hours to operate. How much of a concern is this?

GOLODRYGA: It is just alarming given what we know, the history there, obviously, in the region, and also the fact that there had been fighting at Zaporizhzhia, and firing from Russian forces at the Zaporizhzhia power plant there. And it has been turned off for the last three decades. That having been said, any sort of misfire, any sort of miscalculation, it really has people on edge.

BERMAN: And if you're the IAEA, the international agency that oversees atomic energy, how do you deal with this?

GOLODRYGA: You're always on watch, right? And you just have to test whether there is any sense of nuclear power being eliminated, right, being emanated from these two sources, because you can't be the eyes and ears on the ground there when there is a major global conflict.

BERMAN: You have to cross your fingers and hope, which is not a comfortable place to be when it comes to nuclear energy. Bianna Golodryga, thank you very much.

Fierce fighting happening in the southern city of Mykolaiv, in Ukraine. We are live on the ground there.

And a U.S. Army veteran, now a film student, fighting for his native Ukraine.

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