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Ukraine: Russia Dropping Bombs on Civilian Corridor in Mariupol; Russians Bomb Children's Hospital in Ukraine; Gas Prices Rise Again as Russia's War in Ukraine Intensifies; Is NATO Ready for Full War with Russia? Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 10, 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.

[05:59:34}

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Thursday, March 10, and I'm Brianna Keilar with Alex Marquardt, live in Lviv, Ukraine. John Berman is off this morning.

Vladimir Putin's tactics in Ukraine are growing more horrifying by the hour. A Russian air strike, as you see here, on a maternity and children's hospital in the city of Mariupol has killed three people, and that includes a child, a little girl.

A massive crater that you see here left behind in the hospital's courtyard from that bomb strike. The facility in ruins. It is gutted. Pregnant women dazed and bloodied, helped through the rubble, some of them needing stretchers.

This attack coming despite Russia agreeing to a 12-hour pause in hostilities to allow for evacuations. President Zelenskyy calling this proof of a genocide of Ukrainians.

And there's no end in sight. Moments ago, a meeting in Turkey between the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine ended with no agreement on humanitarian corridors or a ceasefire.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: And just down the road from that hospital, a university, and the city council administration building were also left in ruins by what appears to be a Russian missile strike.

We have to warn you: the images that we are going to show you are particularly disturbing.

There are so many bodies now in Mariupol, so many dead that the residents there are digging mass graves. There are no individual funerals. It's too dangerous.

Officials say that at least 1,300 civilians have been killed in Mariupol in that southern city since the beginning of Russia's invasion two weeks ago. And many believe that number could be as many as four times higher.

This morning the Ukrainian government is trying -- trying -- to open humanitarian corridors to get people out, to evacuate civilians in several parts of the country, including in Mariupol. And moments ago, authorities there accused Russian forces of bombing the corridor that had been set up.

So let's bring in our Scott McLean. He's been tracking all of these developments around the country.

Scott, what more do we know about these accusations from Ukrainian officials that that corridor out of Mariupol has come under attack?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So this is from local officials there from the mayor's office in Mariupol. They are saying that the Russians have started bombing the corridor, the green corridor out of Mariupol, essentially trying to destroy the roadway so that there is no route out for people who are trying to escape.

Now, you know, it wasn't clear earlier whether or not the Russians and the Ukrainians had clearly spelled out what exactly had been agreed upon. And now, having listening to the foreign ministers at the meeting in Turkey, it's not any more clear at this stage of the game.

Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, saying that he proposed the idea of a 24-hour ceasefire to allow people to get out and for aid to get in. No real progress there.

Also broached the topic of a route specifically out of Mariupol. Maybe more hope there. The -- his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, said he would bring it back to his counterparts. But again, no firm agreement.

So it's not actually clear what has been agreed to on the ground. We've seen some bits and pieces of success. Yesterday, some people able to get out. The president said some 35,000 able to get out of certain cities. In other cases, like in one particular suburb out of Kyiv, you had the Ukrainians saying that the Russians were actually blocking the road.

And so what happened in that instance is that some people were actually leaving that convoy that it was ready to depart but being blocked and actually tried to get in another corridor. But by that time, it was quite late. You ended up with 10 miles or so of traffic backed up.

And so there's a lot of communication and miscommunication on these corridors, and it seems like this is happening day in and day out.

MARQUARDT: And this is a corridor that goes from Mariupol up into Zaporizhzhia, up into the center of the country.

We have to remind everyone that this goes both ways. Humanitarian aid is supposed to come in. And officials have also accused the Russians of bombing those efforts as they're coming into the city, which is where they say hundreds of thousands of people are being held hostage. Scott McLean, thank you so much. We know you'll stay on top of it.

MCLEAN: You bet.

All right. Now, the situation in Mariupol was already at a critical stage before this bombing occurred yesterday. Listen to this audio recording by a staff member from Doctors Without Borders, describing the awful conditions of that city that is under siege.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are collecting wood to cook their food. Now there is no drinking water, and so people are collecting water from the roof when the snow melts.

And especially, it's a very, very bad situation with elderly people, with people with disabilities, or lonely people. They cannot find even food and they cannot create a fire for themselves to cook their food. And it's a very, very bad situation with the people with children, because they need much more different supplies and hygiene, and they can cannot find it anywhere now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: OK. A staff member from Doctors Without Borders there, describing what is one of the most dire situations across the country.

So joining me now is the executive director of Doctors Without Borders, Avril Benoit. Avril, thank you so much for being with me this morning.

And we just played that recording from one of your staff members. What is the latest that you know from your staff about Mariupol. Do we know if things have gotten any better since -- since that?

[06:05:11]

AVRIL BENOIT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Well, we are still in contact with some of the staff and others not. So we're extremely concerned, especially when you do lose contact, you don't know whether something terrible has happened or whether it's just that, because of a lack of electricity, they haven't been able to charge their phones; they haven't been able to make contact with anyone on the outside.

But without a doubt, what we have been hearing from our staff in Mariupol who are people who want to stay as much as possible to be able to support their people is that it's an absolutely untenable situation.

So our main concern is to make sure that all of those civilians in the city can have safe passage out.

MARQUARDT: Do you know if there -- if there are any evacuation efforts that are being successful? I mean, we just heard from Scott and from Ukrainian officials that that corridor is being -- is being hit. So is anyone getting out?

BENOIT: The last I heard is that people are trapped. And so despite repeated calls from all kinds of organizations and from officials from all around the world and civil society organizations like us, we have been calling repeatedly for some sort of safe passage so that civilians can flee the city.

But beyond all of this, what we have is a survival situation that is untenable in the city at the moment, as you've reporting. We, without a doubt concerned as a medical humanitarian organization, with the lack of supplies to the hospitals, the fact that hospitals could also be targeted again.

We know that the medics who are staffing hospitals as best they can are desperately short of the supplies they would need to even treat the war wounded that might come in.

MARQUARDT: What is most needed right now in Mariupol and elsewhere in terms of supplies?

BENOIT: Well, without a doubt they need everything. Right? They need water, clean drinking water. They need food. We also, as we've been in contact with hospitals, we know in many parts of the country but especially there, surgical teams are lacking electricity to be able to even have a functioning operating theater. They lack all the supplies.

So we have been trying to -- we've been working incredibly hard to bring in surgical supplies as best we can to different parts of the country. Additional supplies would be arriving over the coming days. We've got containers full with the surgical kit that would allow a team with doctors, nurses to be able to get right to work.

Now, that -- that is just one thing, right? That's something that would allow them to run in a situation of mass casualty or individual injured patients, for them to be able to save those lives and hopefully alleviate the suffering right there. Without a doubt, quite apart from medical supplies, the people of Mariupol need everything to survive.

MARQUARDT: How difficult is it for your teams to get to the places that you need to be?

BENOIT: Well, it's always harrowing, because you don't know when the attacks will come. You don't know where the front line necessarily is all the time. You do the best you can with the networks of people informing you, trying to call ahead when you've got these trucks coming in.

We have succeeded in bringing supplies into Kyiv, into the capital. And we've also had surgical teams. One surgical team has gone into the country.

But the problem, even. for them to move around, you just don't know where it would be safe enough to even drop the gear and set up. Some sort of medical facility. Things are moving so quickly at this stage of the conflict, of the war. But we're still in that assessment phase. And you don't want to be sitting there being attacked for running a medical facility.

So even with our movements of people, let alone of the cargo, we're always trying to signal to all the authorities and the belligerents involved in this war, where our people are, where our vehicles are, as a form of deconfliction, if you will. Just trying to make sure that, look, if you target an ambulance, a medical team, hospital structure, clinic, anything like that, you know, we absolutely must demand respect for international humanitarian law so that this kind of work can continue in a war like this.

MARQUARDT: Well, Ukrainian doctors, of course, need all the help they can get right now. And if there's any organization that can offer that kind of help, it is yours. It is Doctors Without Borders.

The executive director of Medicins San Frontieres, Avril Benoit, thank you so much for your time.

BENOIT: Thank you.

KEILAR: As Russian attacks against Ukraine intensify, the U.K. is planning to supply anti-air missiles to Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN WALLACE, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: So in response to the Ukrainian request, the government has taken a decision to explore the donation of Starstreak high-velocity, man-portable anti-air missiles. We believe that this system will remain within the definition of defensive weapons but will allow the Ukrainian force to better defend their skies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So what are we talking about here with these missiles? Let's take a closer look with CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

The Starstreak. So we know about these other missiles that have been used. What is the Starstreak?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Starstreak is a British missile, Brianna, that is designed to be a man-portable anti- aircraft weapon. It's very high-speed. It goes greater than Mach 3, up to Mach 4.

It basically can be used from a variety of platforms, including everything from helicopters all the way to rooftops and land rovers for ground mobile use. And it can have a range of up to 7 kilometers, or 4.3 miles.

That compares to the Stinger like this. The Stinger is a five-foot- long missile. Its maximum range is five miles. So about the same as the Starstreak. Its altitude is up to 12,500 feet depending, of course, on which type of Stinger you use. And this one is a heat seeking anti-aircraft missile. So it's a bit

more sophisticated than the Starstreak, but he Starstreak will definitely get the job done for the Ukrainians.

KEILAR: It will definitely get the job done?

LEIGHTON: Absolutely

KEILAR: Would that mean, like, more misses if it's not a heat-seeking missile?

LEIGHTON: Potentially, yes. But it depends on the capacity of the operator to actually handle it. So there's some training that's required. But the amount of training is not as much as you would think for a weapons system that is actually quite sophisticated.

KEILAR: So could I ask you, because there is this debate going on right now, should the U.S., should the West be engaged in a no-fly zone? I think we're very clear on where the U.S. is. They say no. That's going to put the U.S. squarely in a direct conflict, at war with Russia.

What's the difference, though, between supplying Stingers and Javelin missiles and Starstreak missiles versus, say, jet fighters, or having a no-fly zone?

LEIGHTON: So the jet fighters, of course, a manned platform. So something like the MiG-29, you know, it is a manned platform, usually with a crew of two. Some aircraft have a crew of one.

The F-16, the -- you know, the American variant here, would -- would be something that is also -- would be used by the Polish air force as a replacement for the MiG-29. But both of these aircraft are manned aircraft.

The way these things are perceived as weapons systems is, if it's a manned platform, that means the parties are more engaged in the actual war.

Whereas, with missiles like the Starstreak, not manned. Yes, they are operated by people, but the missile itself is not a manned platform. And that's basically the difference between these platforms. And that's why the perception is so different among the different countries.

KEILAR: And that Putin would perceive it to be different?

LEIGHTON: Absolutely. That's at least the way in which the U.S. intelligence services look at this. They believe he'll see this as a very different threat to his -- his people.

KEILAR: Very interesting. Colonel, thank you so much for taking us through this.

This is -- again, this is what the Brits are going to be supplying to Ukraine. And I should ask really quickly, though, is there any way, if there's

no no-fly zone, that they can get these weapons in at a certain point? Will they be cut off, or no?

LEIGHTON: There's a high risk that these -- these weapons would be cut off from -- because the way these -- these weapons would come in would be basically through Poland, potentially through Romania. These areas could be interdicted, to use military speak. They could be cut off, because what would happen is, if the Russians saw them as a big threat, they would stop the movement of these weapons into areas that the Ukrainians could use them from.

And that is why they'd have to be moved very quickly, in some cases surreptitiously, into the Ukrainian theater.

KEILAR: Yes. They are a big threat. We've been watching it. We've been watching it unfold.

All right, Cedric. Thank you so much for that.

LEIGHTON: You, too, Brianna.

KEILAR: Putin's invasion of Ukraine helping to drive gas prices to record highs. We're going to tell you what ordinary Americans are saying about this hit to their pocketbooks. And it's not what you might expect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:26]

KEILAR: The fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed gas prices to record highs, up 60 cents in a week and just as the summer driving season is poised to begin. It's already having an impact on everyday Americans.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins us live. I wonder what you're hearing from people, how they're talking about this cost, versus what they're watching on their televisions, Vanessa?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, this morning, Americans are waking up to another record-setting day of gas prices: $4.32 a gallon nationwide. This's up 7 cents overnight.

And this is coming after Americans were already experiencing high inflation which pushed gas prices higher. Now with this conflict in Ukraine may signal that the worst is yet to come for drivers filling up at the pump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH (voice-over): For up to 15 hours a day, New York City cab driver Wayne Chen looks for passengers.

WAYNE CHEN, CAB DRIVER: I drive, like, 150 miles on an average day.

YURKEVICH: But with business still down pre-pandemic and gas prices at a record high, he says he's barely surviving.

CHEN: Most of our gas stations are expensive anywhere you go.

YURKEVICH: And his pricey taxi medallion, needed to operate, costs him almost $2,000 a month. With three boys on their way to college, the extra $100 he's spending a week on gas for his Prius is eating into savings.

CHEN: If I don't have money for them to go to college, you know, I worry. Right now I'm not making enough, you know? We're just surviving.

[06:20:05]

YURKEVICH: He comes from a family of survivors. His grandparents, refugees, fled China during World War II.

CHEN: Watching the news from Ukraine saddens me, because compared to what those people are going through, you know, I don't mind paying more. Because they are very suffering. You know, my own family, like my grandparents, they go through this.

YURKEVICH: This week President Joe Biden banned the import of Russian oil, gas and coal, accounting for 8 percent of the U.S. energy supply. Some analysts estimate with inflation and now the war, it could push the national average over $5 a gallon.

DAVE LEMOS, LOS ANGELES DRIVER: Everything has just gone skyrocket.

YURKEVICH: Small business owner Dave Lemos is already paying more than $5 a gallon in Los Angeles. He says he drives 450 miles a week for work.

LEMOS: We're hitting close to about $2,300 over budget on things that we never thought we had to even worry about: on gas, and travel, and couriers and stuff.

YURKEVICH: Back across the coast, retirees John and Pat Grasso were on their way back to the Bronx from a trip in south Jersey.

JOHN GRASSO, NEW JERSEY DRIVER: We were just talking about, you know, it's going to cost us an extra, like, 30 or 40 cents a gallon since we left two days ago.

YURKEVICH: President Biden authorized the release of 30 million additional barrels of oil from the nation's reserve, trying to offset rising prices. The world consumes 100 million barrels of oil a day.

(on camera): Do you think that this will make a difference?

PAT GRASSO, NEW JERSEY DRIVER: It's very difficult to say, but I am willing to pay higher prices of the gas.

J. GRASSO: I am too. I'm willing to sacrifice and pay for the people that are suffering in Ukraine.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): But Robert Harrel isn't so sure paying more will have an impact on Putin's all-out war.

ROBERT HARREL, NEW JERSEY DRIVER: It's not going to work. He wants to fight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH: And that is the big question. Will any of these economic moves by the U.S. against Russia stop Putin from his mission of all- out war?

And analysts are predicting, Brianna, gas at $5 a gallon nationwide in the next month or so, this comes ahead of the busy summer driving season. It's the time of year when we change over our fuel blend, which is already more expensive.

Just take a peek behind me. Gas here in New York City already over $5 a gallon. Same thing in Los Angeles and other major cities. It's a big, big economic pinch for Americans right now -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Really fascinating to hear what people are saying as they're paying those prices, Vanessa. Thank you for that report.

The breaking news this morning, the death toll of that bombing of a maternity ward and children's hospital in Mariupol climbing to three. And among the dead are a little girl. We are live on the ground in Ukraine with the very latest.

Plus, would NATO be ready for a full-out war with Russia? What's the tipping point here? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:27:20]

MARQUARDT: I'm Alex Marquardt. This is CNN's special live coverage of Russia's intensifying war here in Ukraine. We are live in the city of Lviv this morning.

Just moments ago, officials in the southern besieged city of Mariupol said that the Russians are right now bombing a humanitarian corridor meant to help civilians try to escape and get aid into that city.

This is the same city where the children's and maternity hospital was bombed just yesterday.

Now, also this morning, we are seeing the highest-level talks yet between Russia and Ukraine. Those ended just moments ago but without any progress on those humanitarian corridors or a ceasefire.

In fact, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, has continued to peddle lies and conspiracy theories about the war and the invasion that his country launched just two weeks ago.

Now Bianna Golodryga is standing by with more on what the West may do in response -- Bianna.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Alex, thank you.

Well, images out of Ukraine show absolute devastation caused by Russian forces, with millions of civilians fleeing in desperation. We see it every day now.

With the White House warning that Russia could use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies continue to rule out direct intervention.

Joining me now is Steve Hall, CNN national security analyst and former CIA chief of Russia operations. Steve, great to have you with us.

So here we see all of the NATO allies in Europe. And I'm just curious to get your opinion. We're in day 15. We continue to see these horrific images of civilians fleeing for their lives, maternity wards bombed. Right? Indiscriminate bombing on the side of the Russians.

At what point does the U.S., does NATO step up more, perhaps even militarily?

STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, this is the -- this is the big question for me, Bianna. Because as we've seen, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has been extremely effective in showing exactly what is being brought down upon his country by the Russians, whether it's the killing of innocent children, you know, hospitals. We've seen all this before in places like Syria and even in the Balkans.

So as those pictures continue to reach us and other of our Western allies, I think the question is going to be at what point do we say, look, we can't -- we can't withstand this anymore. We must do something.

And that is something that I think President Zelenskyy is very much interested in. And to the extent that NATO is ready -- of course, military, it is. But the political will to actually pull that trigger, literally, and actually go to war against Russia, that's a really, really tough thing. And right now, I think correctly, the administration is being very, very cautious in that regard.

KEILAR: Well, you have the Russians already accusing the West of economic warfare, right? But in terms of what the U.S. and NATO can do, that's something. What would that look like?

We've already seen a bit of distance between -- the first time we've seen it, really, throughout this war, between the U.S. and Poland.

[06:30:00]