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Ukraine: 3 Cities Under Attack by Russians with Airstrikes; NATO: Russia Using Belarus for Many Air Missions into Ukraine; U.S. to Move to Revoke 'Most Favored Nation' Status for Russia; U.S. Official: Russia Increasingly Firing Weapons from a Distance; Zelenskyy's Former Spokesperson is Interviewed about War; Biden Team Holding Talks with Saudi Arabia on Oil. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 11, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: CNN's breaking news coverage of Russia's war here in Ukraine continues right now.

[05:59:03]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Friday, March 11, and I am Brianna Keilar with Alex Marquardt in Lviv, Ukraine. And John Berman is off this morning.

We're beginning with breaking news. Three major cities in Ukraine now under siege. There's Dnipro in the center of the country, Ivano- Frankivsk, which is in the West, and Lutsk, which is in the Northwest. All taking heavy fire from Russian forces.

Fatalities are being reported following a series of explosions and air strikes. In Dnipro, Ukraine's emergency service says that three airstrikes hit a kindergarten, an apartment building, and a shoe factory. All civilian targets there.

CNN is live on the ground from Dnipro here in a moment.

And in the meantime, the U.K.'s ministry of defense said moments ago that Russian forces continue to make limited progress advancing toward the capital city of Kyiv. They could be preparing for a fresh attack against the capital here in the coming days.

A senior U.S. defense official said that some troops are now within nine miles of Kyiv's city center with other units approaching from all directions.

These new Maxar satellite images from the outskirts of the city show that 40-mile-long Russian convoy that we've been talking so much about here in recent days that have been stalled for days.

It has largely dispersed and redeployed. Some of the units there are now repositioned into forests and tree-lined areas. And then northwest of Kyiv in Chernihiv, images show the Russian onslaught has inflicted heavy damage.

The mayor says the city is encircled now by Russian troops. And take a look at this. Ukrainian state emergency services releasing this heart- stopping video, showing them defusing a bomb from a downed Russian fighter jet. You can hear these explosions going off in the background.

MARQUARDT: Extraordinary courage there.

Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has condemned what he calls Moscow's barbaric crimes, posting video of sick orphans being evacuated and ambulances from the town of Vorzel. That's near the capital of Kyiv.

Now, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that around 100,000 Ukrainians have been evacuated through humanitarian corridors over the past two days. but in Mariupol and Volnovakha in the East of the country, those corridors do remain blocked.

Ukrainian officials are accusing Russian troops of attacking them and preventing aid from getting in and people from getting out.

Let's get straight to Dnipro, where civilians are being targeted by Russian forces. Sam Kiley is on the ground there.

Sam, Russian now targeting in the middle of the country where you have been for quite some time. What are you seeing and hearing?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alex, the landscape behind me, I think you can probably see some smoke there. This was an air strike in the early hours of this morning, or at least a strike from the air. I'm not sure if it was an aircraft or a cruise missile-type missile, but a very large explosion there.

Tragically, one person was killed. But it could have been a lot worse, because it was 6 a.m. in the morning when that explosion occurred. It was only the caretaker who was killed in that shoe factory.

There have been two other hits elsewhere in the city against civilian areas in those locations. Again, mercifully, no serious casualties.

But this, of course, is Dnipro. It's right in the middle of the country. It's a long way from the nearest Russian ground troops. This site behind me has no military value, clearly. It's not an airfield. There have been airfields that have been attacked also today to the West of the country. That at least makes some kind of military sense.

But the military sense as we are seeing right across this country is, from the Russian perspective, to try to break the back of Ukrainian resistance by increasingly targeting the civilian areas. That's a tactic they used in Chechnya. They used it viciously in Syria, with deliberate targeting of hospitals. We've seen a hospital deliberately targeted in Mariupol a couple of days ago.

And now they're extending their reach, even into the middle of the country at a city like Dnipro. MARQUARDT: Yes. More of these indiscriminate attacks from -- from

Russian forces across the country. Sam, when you look at what's happening where you are, when you look at what's happening to the West closer to where I am, what do you see in terms of a shift in tactics from the Russian military?

KILEY: Well, I think it's been very, very clear the main Russian thrust came from the North. It came in from Belarus, towards Kyiv and towards Kharkiv right over in the East and Sumy.

Now, around Sumy and Kharkiv, the Russian forces were very obviously held up. They ran into much, much stiffer resistance than they could have anticipated or should have anticipated perhaps, and then resorted very rapidly, particularly in Kharkiv, to use multiple rocket- launching systems. Those are area weapons, very inaccurate, designed to kill everything in a substantial area.

And we've seen very significant levels of destruction, civilian areas, attacks on municipal buildings in Kharkiv. We've seen similar levels of attack in besieged Mariupol.

And all of this, I think, is a response to the fact that the Russians are losing -- or had lost momentum. It may be picking up, as you were reporting there in the introduction.

According to British analysis, there may be some effort now to refocus their attempts on actually military progress, rather than simply smashing up civilian environments. But it's very, very clear and has been for some days now, that the Russian tactic has been to try to break the back of the Ukrainian people, not just its military.

[06:05:07]

MARQUARDT: All right. Sam Kiley in the central city of Dnipro, near the site of one of Russia's latest attacks. Sam, thank you very much. We'll come back to you throughout the show -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Thanks, Alex.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting today with the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus has been playing a key role as a base of operations for Russian troops and planes and perhaps in other ways.

NATO is keeping a close eye on Belarus. This includes with surveillance radar maps. CNN's Natasha Bertrand flew along on one of those missions yesterday.

Natasha, this is fascinating here. The NATO forces that you were with said they can't tell whether it is Russian or Belarusian pilots flying planes in the Ukrainian airspace.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna. So CNN was granted rare access to this surveillance flight yesterday that flew over the Polish-Ukrainian border and tried to monitor kind of the Ukrainian airspace and the Russian activity there. And what we were told by these NATO airmen on board is that they have seen Russian-made planes entering Ukrainian airspace from Belarus.

Importantly, though, they can't tell, as you said, whether or not these are actually Russian forces flying the planes or Belarusian forces flying them, because the Russians and the Belarusians use the same kind of aircraft. But that a listen to what one NATO technician told me yesterday on board that plane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do see activity coming from -- from Belarus going into Ukraine. We cannot distinguish whether it is Russian aircraft or Belarusian aircraft. Sometimes, there are certain periods on a day which are not on a regular basis, where we do have a lot of activity getting in. Like a larger package with 10 to perhaps 20 aircraft coming in from the Belarusian airspace into Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: So obviously, one of the major looming questions over this war has been whether Belarus has been involved in more than just -- in a capacity more than just allowing Russia to use its country as a base of operations, including sending actual forces in to fight that conflict on Russia's behalf.

But they simply don't know at this point, they cannot tell who's flying that aircraft. It is very -- it drives home, though, the fact that Belarus is very key, very instrumental in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Now, we did ask whether this intelligence was being shared with Ukraine directly. Because obviously, it would help them to know where and when these Russian aircraft are flying into Ukrainian airspace.

And we are told that NATO members, NATO itself as a bloc, is not sharing that intelligence directly with Ukraine. But the NATO members, such as the U.S. and the U.K., they are able to share that intelligence at their discretion with Kyiv, if they want to -- Brianna.

KEILAR: That is certainly something. Natasha, thank you for taking us along on that ride. We appreciate it. Natasha Bertrand for us, the Netherlands.

MARQUARDT: Yes, absolutely fascinating stuff from Natasha there. President Biden today is going to be announcing that the U.S. and its allies are revoking what's called most favored nation trade status from Russia.

This is the latest move that is designed to punish President Putin for invading Ukraine. CNN's Arlette Saenz is live at the White House.

Arlette, what are we expecting to hear today? What is it going to mean?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alex, this is the latest effort that the U.S. has coordinated with allies to try to hold Russia accountable for its attack on Ukraine.

And in just a few hours, President Biden will be announcing that the U.S., in coordination with the E.U. and G-7 countries, will call for revoking Russia's most favored nation status. Here in the U.S., that's known as permanent normal trade relations.

And what this essentially does is it allows the U.S. and its allies to impose tariffs on a host of Russian goods. Just another effort to try to hobble Russia's economy in the wake of these attacks.

Now, each country will have to pursue this through its own mechanisms. And here in the United States, it will require an act of Congress. But there has already been some bipartisan traction on this idea over the course of the past few weeks.

Lawmakers had initially crafted a bill that included this. The White House then expressed some concerns, and it was stripped out. But now, lawmakers say that they are once again talking with the administration about passing such a measure.

Now, additionally, the U.S. is also preparing to send additional support to Ukraine. The president is expected to sign a spending bill, which includes $13.6 billion of assistance to go directly to Ukraine as they're looking to help their efforts in the wake of this aggression from Russia -- Alex.

MARQUARDT: All right. Biden administration stepping it up against the Putin regime. Arlette Saenz at the White House, thanks very much.

KEILAR: So the U.S. has seen over the last few days an increase in Russian forces firing weapons from a distance. That is according to a senior U.S. defense official.

[06:10:04]

So let's bring in retired Army Major General James "Spider" Marks.

First off, give us a sense of where they're firing these weapons from a distance and what does that mean?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, we've seen, with the reporting that's coming in, we've seen that, obviously, Dnipro is being hit. Luhansk and Ivano-Frankivsk are being hit.

And what they're being hit by, probably, is just described by aircraft coming out of Belarus on these targets and then probably out of Russia on targets like that.

And you look at it. You go, that seems incredibly indiscriminate and not supportive of their operation. Their current operation obviously has stalled in this area, stalled in this area. They haven't been able to get over to Odesa. And obviously, Kharkiv still remains out of Russian hands.

So this just looks like punishment. There isn't necessarily a strategic objective other than to, again, wear down, try to wear town the Ukrainian will to resist.

KEILAR: Terrorize them, right?

MARKS: Totally.

KEILAR: So that there's no safe harbor. These places maybe that weren't under bombardment before.

And then we're also seeing from some satellite imagery this convoy, which we've been focused on this for days because it's huge. And it's not too far outside of Kyiv. But now we've seen it disperse. So show us what we're seeing and what that means.

MARKS: You know, what that really shows you is that this is where the vehicles are lined up, really restricted to those main avenues of approach.

But what you see over here are these images of the tank transport. They're getting off the main roads. Over here, as well.

KEILAR: You can see them right there. Two tanks with the tracks behind them.

MARKS: The advantage, clearly, is you tuck yourself up next to a building, under some cover or under some concealment, so that nobody can see you. Maybe you can gain a little bit of cover support. Cover being protection. Concealment meaning I can't see you. And that really gives us an opportunity. Also, it's maybe a precursor to a follow-on operation.

KEILAR: Is this a sign of strength? Is this good news for the Russians, bad news for the Ukrainians? Do we know?

MARKS: Well, what it means is the Russians have stalled. So it indicates that the Russians have not been able to get this convoy and its supplies of personnel and ammunition, we can only assume -- we haven't been inside those vehicles -- into Kyiv to continue to provide the support. That's what they want to do. They want to come in and they want to take Kyiv. They haven't been able to do that.

So now they're dispersing, which means they are trying to get out of harm's way. And maybe as I indicated, it's in preparation for an assault.

So it's good news for the Ukrainians. There's great resistance in Kyiv. And the Russians still have not been able to overcome their lack of momentum and ability to achieve pace in this operation.

KEILAR: Still inflicting costs. But you to what end, I think that's really the question.

MARKS: It seems to be illogical.

KEILAR: Yes. General, thank you so much for that. Really appreciate it.

MARKS: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: New video just into CNN of the smoking remains of a shoe factory in central Ukraine, now under assault by Russian planes.

And Ukraine's president with a new message for the world about the Russians. This former spokesperson standing by to talk to us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:17:29]

MARQUARDT: The invasion continues to devastate Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has had some strong words about the Russian forces. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): This is outright terror, blatant terror from experienced terrorists. The world needs to know that. It has to admit it. We're all dealing with a terrorist state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Joining me now is journalist and a former spokesperson for President Zelenskyy, Iuliia Mendel.

Iuliia, thank you so much for being with me today. I want to first ask you about President Zelenskyy, because you worked with him for quite some time. We hear from him on a daily basis. He's gotten global praise. What is your impression of how your former boss is doing?

IULIIA MENDEL, JOURNALIST/FORMER SPOKESPERSON FOR PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY: Alex, thank you for having me. This is a very good question. And I must say that the pride and the respect to President Zelenskyy is rising all over the country. And people haven't (UNINTELLIGIBLE). First of all, didn't understand President Zelenskyy was democratically and legitimately elected as the president of Ukraine, as the record, 73 percent. And we stand for the independence of our country. So we understand he is the one to represent Ukraine.

But there is another thing also, which is very important. He showed to all Ukrainians that he will stay with us, fighting for us, to the very end.

And he talks every day to Ukrainians, explaining what's going on. And we see how much effort, how many efforts he put there to unite the world around Ukraine and to unite every Ukrainian -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Mr. Zelenskyy from the capital of Ukraine when Russia (ph) knew it was not possible for him.

Because this is just not the part of his character. And what I hear now from people from different regions, towns, villages, that they say we respect this so much that he didn't run away and he stays with us all the time. He hides in bomb shelters. And he keeps saying that his family is in Ukraine, which means a world

for us. So right now, he's a sign -- he is a symbol of democracy of Ukrainians, of independence, and of our struggle for our future.

MARQUARDT: Yes. That is something we hear from many people around the world, non-Ukrainians, as well. But Iuliia, let me ask you. You know, you have been very vocal about, you know, the struggle or the pain of people leaving their homes.

[06:20:10]

When the Russian attacks started, you were awakened by the bombing. Tell me about your personal decision to leave where you were and come

to western Ukraine.

MENDEL: Alex, for two days in a row we were woken up by the explosions not far from our home. And we were following the Russian troops moving in our country.

To be frank, there was never any chance that they could get to the capital of Ukraine so fast as they actually did on the second day of an invasion. As if they didn't have any air superiority.

You probably know about this discussion of a no-fly zone. And this is one of the reasons Ukraine demands it, because Russia has air superiority.

But also, of course, Ukraine turned into the country of -- of actually, military actions. We see bombarding everywhere. It has happened in 16 regions of 25 regions in Ukraine.

And even if we don't follow the bombardments that are like terrorist actions, as we have seen in the maternity hospital in Mariupol, it's still scary to stay in the towns that are occupied by Russians.

I am myself from Kherson. It is in the south of Ukraine. And people there hear small fighting all the time. And they do not know what to expect.

My mother works as a pediatrician in the hospital, and she stays in the bomb shelters with the newly-born kids. Right now, she told me that there -- there is fighting not far from her hospital. And we know that --

MARQUARDT: Right.

MENDEL: (AUDIO GAP) hospital. So it -- we all work on humanitarian aid that is passed from the West to coordinate it through Ukraine on the military access. It's not a usual life, you know.

MARQUARDT: Right. Iuliia. If you can still hear me, I have to ask you about something you wrote on Twitter. You tweeted that the presidency of Kamala Harris, if that were to happen, that that would be a tragedy. You deleted that tweet. But why do you think that?

MENDEL: I deleted that tweet, because I was explaining that -- I'm sorry. This is an air alert. I'm sorry.

I deleted that tweet because I was explained that Kamala Harris had this kind of speculative communication when she feels uncomfortable. But for us, as for Ukrainians, it is really -- it was a very bad experience to see this type of reaction, a laugh, when we were listening about one of the biggest tragedies of Ukraine right now, when so many millions of Ukrainians are turned into refugees.

However, we also understand that the United States is very united around Ukraine, and we really appreciate the support of $13.6 billion that were provided to the Ukrainian army and to Ukrainian humanitarian aid. And in fact, Kamala Harris is the president of the Senate.

So we understand, even if her communication was somehow inappropriate, probably her actions make more sense and show more than, you know, some of her communication behaviors.

MARQUARDT: OK. Iuliia Mendel, we have to leave it there. We're thankful that you are safe and have gotten away from some of the fighting. We wish you and your family all the best. Thank you.

MENDEL: Thank you so much.

MARQUARDT: Now, President Joe Biden is turning to the Middle East as he tries to lower rising gas prices. We'll have new CNN reporting on that. That's coming up next.

Plus, a harrowing escape for students who were trapped in Ukraine's war zone. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What was going through your mind when you were sheltering in that basement?

SHABNAM HEERAH, FOREIGN STUDENT IN SUMY, UKRAINE: I just said to myself, I'm ready to die. I'm going to die now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:28:31]

KEILAR: CNN has some new reporting that the Biden administration has been holding quiet talks to ease its rocky relationship with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It's part of a diplomatic effort to raise global oil production amid surging prices from Russia's war in Ukraine.

CNN's Kylie Atwood is live for us at the State Department with more on this. Kylie, what can you tell us about this?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna. The headline here is that there's cautious optimism within the White House. That is according to our reporting.

Basically, what the administration is trying to do here, as you said, is go to countries and encourage them to increase oil production because of those rising prices at the gas pump due to this Ukraine crisis.

And the two countries that they're really narrowly focused in on right now are the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, two major oil suppliers around the globe. They're both members of OPEC, which produces about 40 percent of the global oil supply. So those are key players here.

Now, both of those countries haven't had the best relationship with the Biden administration in its first year. And you will hear officials acknowledge that. But they are working on this relationship, they say.

And there was some cautious optimism in the White House this week when the UAE ambassador to the United States here said that the UAE wants to raise oil production.

Now, that is a country that has independently said they want to raise oil production, but they do have to rely on OPEC, generally speaking. Their rules are that all countries have to agree. So it wasn't altogether surprising.

But for him to say that so publicly was viewed in the White House as a step in the right direction.

And then on the Saudi side, there was a proposed phone call between President Biden.