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Biden Team Holds Talks with Saudi Arabia; Harrowing Journey for Students in Ukraine; Powerful Winter Storm to Hit East Coast; North Korea Launches Missile; Ukrainian Trains Shuttle Refugees; Shelters Rescue Ukraine Animals. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired March 11, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: 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 and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia earlier this year. Saudi Arabia instead gave Biden the king to speak to. That's not necessarily a good signal. But what White House officials say is that it was actually a productive conversation. It led, just a few days later, to a trip by top administration officials to Saudi Arabia where they did sit down and meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. So, they feel that there is some movement in the right direction here.

Of course, this is something that we will continue to watch because they aren't there yet. The UAE and Saudi Arabia still haven't announced any increase to the oil supply.

Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we'll be watching for that. Thank you so much, Kylie. Appreciate it.

Alex.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, well, it's not only Ukrainians who have been struggling to try to flee the deadly Russian onslaught. Foreigners, non-Ukrainians have also been trapped and terrified amid this Russian invasion. They've been trying to get out as well. And many of them are actually international students, hundreds of them, who have been studying here in Ukraine.

CNN's Scott McLean has been following this story.

Many of them coming from the northeast where they've been studying and now they're trying to get out?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so it seems like a lot of foreign students were able to get out early on with great difficulty. Trains, obviously, were prioritizing women and children, which left a lot of these foreign students sort of stranded. It seems like in the first week or so most were able to get out.

But there was a particular group in Sumy which was kind of stuck. This was an area that had taken heavy bombardment. I mean even just on Monday, an apartment building was hit there. Nine people died, including some children as well. And so there was some diplomatic pressuring going on behind the scenes to try to get these students out.

There were two earlier attempts to get a humanitarian corridor out of Sumy that had failed, sort of getting their hopes up. These are students that were in their dormitories living normal lives two weeks ago. Now all of a sudden they're taking refuge in a basement.

Finally, there was a breakthrough earlier this week. They were able to get out. And I met up with them when they arrived here in Lviv.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN (voice over): This is what relief looks like for hundreds of foreign students who have been trapped in Sumy, a Ukraine city under constant Russian bombardment. Their say their exhausting journey to safety took more than 24 hours.

SHABNAM HEERAH, FOREIGN STUDENT IN SUMY, UKRAINE: I don't think I will ever forget this in my whole life. It will -- it will just be in my mind.

MCLEAN: Shabnam Heerah, a student from Mauritius (ph), was one of hundreds who spent days sleeping in an underground bunker hoping and praying the bombs would let up. They didn't.

MCLEAN (on camera): What was going through your mind when you were sheltering in the basement?

HEERAH: I just said to myself, I'm ready to die. I'm going to die now.

MCLEAN: Really?

HEERAH: Yes. Because when you hear that bomb explosion, you just freeze and you start shaking.

MCLEAN (voice over): The evacuation of the students, who are mostly from India, China and countries in Africa, came after intense diplomatic efforts to get them out to safety, and tense negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to open a humanitarian corridor out of Sumy after days of failed efforts in other cities.

DURI NDISIRO, FOREIGN STUDENT IN SUMY, UKRAINE: How will I get out of this place? And even if I get out of this place, will I survive the journey out there? Because we heard in Sumy that the Russian army was surrounding the city and all of those subs (ph).

MCLEAN: When the buses finally left, the students were prioritized in the first convoy. Local authorities say subsequent convoys were held up because of fighting on the outskirts of the city. It took 11 hours along the indirect corridor to Pultiva (ph), past rows of military vehicles. Then they were quickly put on a train bound for Lviv, arriving some 15 hours later.

BLESSING JOHN IBANGA, FOREIGN STUDENT IN SUMY, UKRAINE: Me being here doesn't mean I've given up on Ukraine. We are still going to fight and to stand strong. And I'm supporting Ukraine all the way.

MCLEAN: These students from Nigeria are headed to Budapest by bus, where their embassy will help them from there. Some say they're planning to go back as soon as the war is over.

SAMUEL OTUNLA, FOREIGN STUDENT IN SUMY, UKRAINE: I've spent six years in this country. And it's just -- it's a wonderful place to be. The Ukrainians are -- they are going through all of this trauma in their country but they're still able to look out for us as foreigners. And a lot of us are very grateful for that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN: And, you know, you heard there, many of these students could not speak more highly of their experience in Ukraine. Many of them have been here for years. And even though their education was primarily in English, a lot of them speak fluent Ukrainian or Russian. So, this was especially disappointing for many of them who wanted to stick around a lot longer.

I have been in touch with them since they left Lviv and they have managed to make it to Budapest. Some are going to stick around there for a while. Others have other places to go in Europe or they'll go back to their home countries. But, obviously, the journey from Lviv to Budapest was a lot easier than the journey out of Sumy.

MARQUARDT: And just like with so many Ukrainians, so many decisions to make about where to try to go and great to hear that they want to come back when this war is over.

[06:35:05]

Scott McLean, terrific reporting. Thanks very much.

MCLEAN: You bet.

MARQUARDT: All right, well, more on our breaking news coming up.

Major cities in Ukraine are under attack. This morning we have new video right there of explosions at an airfield in Lutsk, here in the western part of Ukraine.

And a new threat that's a half a world away. North Korea firing missiles and what U.S. intelligence is now calling a serious escalation.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:40:05]

KEILAR: More than 50 million people are under winter weather warnings as a powerful storm is rapidly moving east. And this could bring blizzard-like conditions, as well as widespread wind damage.

Let's get now to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.

What are you tracking here?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, Brianna, just when you thought spring was right around the corner, all of a sudden we have a very winter storm coming in that will eventually turn into a coastal nor'easter.

The snow already beginning this morning across parts of the Midwest. Already some slick spots. But that's not the real snow that we're worried about. The snow across the Appalachian Mountain chain, this is where we're going to see the eight to twelve inches of snow. And winds behind the snow, behind the snow ending will be 50 miles per hour.

Also, the potential for some severe weather down across the deep south, even with the potential for some tornados, today and tomorrow, all the way down to the low country of South Carolina.

There's the low across parts of the Gulf Coast. This looks vaguely familiar to the storm of 1993, though this doesn't get the power of that super storm. But that's where it started. And then it runs up the East Coast, filling in with all of this snow to the north.

And behind it, the winds get extremely strong. The air gets very cold. Even the low temperatures down here in Atlanta on Sunday morning could be 22. And my plants are already ready to go. My dill is growing. Everything's growing. You're going to have to take those precautions for your pets and your plants because this is a very cold storm.

Brianna.

KEILAR: I'm a lazier gardener than you. I have daffodils that pop up year to year. But is this going to kill them? That's what I want to know.

MYERS: Well, they're not going to live long anyway.

KEILAR: Oh, come on, Chad. I guess you're right.

Chad, thanks so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

KEILAR: So, U.S. intelligence officials say that recent missile launches by North Korea were designed to secretly test elements of a new weapons system which the U.S. considers to be a serious escalation by Kim Jong-un.

CNN's Barbara Starr is live for us at the Pentagon. Barbara, good morning to you.

What can you tell us about this?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brianna.

The Biden administration now really taking a stand for the first time in a very public way against North Korea's missile program. What they say is that North Korea is now testing what could turn into a functioning intercontinental ballistic missile, of course meaning a missile that they could launch and hit the United States with.

So now publicly saying for the first time that they will increase their intelligence and surveillance of North Korea and that they will increase the readiness of U.S. missile defenses in the Asia region. This is something they don't publicly talk about, but now they are because there is so much concern.

North Korea conducting a number of tests. But two of them in particular. Missiles that were shown at a recent parade and the intelligence when they test-fired them led the U.S. to believe that this is a missile system making progress towards becoming a functioning ICBM.

So, what are they looking for? They're looking for North Korea making progress in a missile that can fly intercontinental ballistic ranges, that could reach the U.S. and deliver a warhead precisely to a target that the North Koreans would choose. That's what the U.S. cannot allow to happen. And that is why the Biden administration is so concerned about these early stages of a program in North Korea that could potentially do that.

Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Barbara Starr, live for us at the Pentagon. Thank you for that.

Just ahead, troops from that stalled Russian convoy in Ukraine, we've been talking about this for days, well, they're now taking cover in trees, behind homes. What does that say about their next move?

And Ukrainian citizens crowding train stations as they try to flee the war zone. Railroads are under pressure to keep evacuations on track.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:08]

MARQUARDT: There is a new, grim milestone this morning as the U.N. announces that more than 2 million Ukrainians have fled this country, many of them by train since this invasion began.

The CEO of the Ukrainian government owned rail transport system says that during the height of the refugee crisis, they squeezed between 5,000 and 6,000 people onto a train that normally would seat around 200. Moving around 90,000 people a day. That's about six times the capacity of the conditions before this Russian invasion started.

So, joining me now is the CEO of Ukrainian Railways Passenger Company, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi. He oversees the rail operation which has helped carry many of those 2 million refugees to safety.

Sir, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

We have seen these very tough images of people crowding onto train platforms, pushing to try to get onto trains, to try to escape, waiting for days at the train stations. How is your network holding up, the physical network holding up? Are you worried about Russia bombing the tracks?

OLEKSANDR PERTSOVSKYI, CEO, UKRAINE RAILWAYS PASSENGER CO.: Well, above all, such an incredible human migration was possible due to really heroic work of our railway police (ph) because you can imagine, like, 20,000 passenger service (ph) and police (ph). Some of them lost their homes. Some of them don't have like anywhere to return. But they keep working for 10 to 12 days without any break to facilitate this movement. So this is number one.

In terms of the physical infrastructure, we always have to balance the risks of either sending those (INAUDIBLE) trains in the areas through the heavy shelling or not doing so.

[06:50:05]

But we know that millions of people still live in, you know, difficult conditions and risk their lives under heavy shelling every day. So we keep running about (ph) 90 percent (INAUDIBLE) fill under our control. So we find alternative route to pretty much get everywhere (INAUDIBLE).

MARQUARDT: You mentioned your staff and really the incredible work that they are doing. We understand that the vast majority of them have kept coming to work throughout all this.

What do you say to them as their leader to keep them going? And what do they say to you about why they keep coming to work?

PERTSOVSKYI: Well, first of all, they are not like sitting somewhere in the shelters, you know, beneath the surface of earth. So what we are doing is, always on the go. We have a command center that is mobile. And like right now, for example, we are returning from the city of Odessa. Yesterday we were in the city of Lyman (ph), where it's like in the very east of Ukraine. And it's pretty difficult to get to people in some of the towns near there. So we are standing right next to them. And I think that motivates people.

Second, we launched a program that is called Iron Heroes, specifically for the railway employees. And every day we find up to 10 distinguished employees, some of the train drivers who, you know, despite -- despite (INAUDIBLE) and took passengers from some remote stations or rail track maintenance engineers that go and fix segments of the network that was damaged. So we motivate them (INAUDIBLE) really, really honored to be among such people that are doing this work in very tough conditions.

And, of course, even rail station personnel that has to do a lot of crowd management. And you can imagine with this 2 million people (INAUDIBLE) our trains in the last like 15 days, there was no single casualty at the train stations. No one was, like, injured in this crowd. So we -- we (INAUDIBLE) the volunteers of centers at the train stations (INAUDIBLE) take care of children, because a lot of women with the really young children also board these trains. We tried to do the priority boarding for them. And, yes, I think what motivates our employees is they see the -- you know, they're effectively saving lives and they see what happens to those people who didn't manage to vacate. Unfortunately, a lot of lives are lost.

MARQUARDT: Yes, they really are saving lives. We've seen so many of those heartbreaking scenes at those train stations as families say good-bye to each other.

Oleksander Pertsovskyi, thank you so much for what you and your staff do. You are doing such a critical job for so many Ukrainians across this country. Thank you for your time.

PERTSOVSKYI: Appreciate the interest in (INAUDIBLE).

MARQUARDT: All right, well, up next, CNN is on the ground as a major Ukrainian city is getting pounded by Russian air strikes this morning.

Plus, the effort on the ground right now to save animals that are caught in Ukraine's war zone. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:32]

KEILAR: As millions of Ukrainians flee their homes for safety, many have been forced to leave their beloved pets behind. Shelters in neighboring countries are now working to rescue and to evacuate defenseless animals injured in Russia's invasion.

CNN's Sara Sidner has more.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is Moon. She is a survivor of war.

SIDNER (on camera): Medically, what are -- what is wrong with her? Is she sick?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, she's sick. She's in bad condition.

SIDNER (voice over): She's dehydrated. She's scared.

SIDNER (on camera): She has lots of problems, pancreatitis, maybe worms.

SIDNER (voice over): She also has a tumor that needs to be removed. But at least she's alive. Rescued from a shelter in Ukraine after the war began. SIDNER (on camera): She's not aggressive or --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SIDNER: She's just letting you do what she needs you to do.

It's OK, sweetie.

SIDNER (voice over): This veterinarian must poke and prod her to find out just how sick she really is.

SIDNER (on camera): Everything is in this dog's ear, dirt, wax.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We must clean this ear --

SIDNER: Same.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For seven days.

SIDNER: Seven days you have to keep doing this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SIDNER (voice over): The staff at the Otta (ph) Foundation treats these dogs as their own. It is a no-kill animal shelter in Proshemishal (ph), Poland. Hundreds of animals from war-torn Ukraine are being cared for here.

The humans have not slept much since the war began in neighboring Ukraine. They are just a few miles from the Polish-Ukrainian border. The staff has been driving into war-torn Ukraine to save truckloads of shelter animals and pets people simply couldn't carry across the border.

In another room, more animals, different war stories.

SIDNER (on camera): This is Sasha (ph). Oh, and she's from Ukraine.

SIDNER (voice over): A baby goat brought from Ukraine with legs that needed mending.

DR. RADOSLAW FEDACZYNSKI, VETERINARIAN AT ADA: So we made this bandage and we are feeding her (INAUDIBLE). And we must keeping her warm and to -- and at peace and a lot of love.

SIDNER (on camera): That's really a good boy. Sleepy baby.

SIDNER (voice over): Sasha is a newborn, just seven days old. You can tell because he tries to nurse on my ear lobe, biting down when no milk comes out.

[07:00:05]

The doctors say without the care he got here, he would have starved to death if left.