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Explosions, Possibly Missiles Heard in Kyiv; Russia Requests Military, Economic Aid from China; Russia Threatens to Arrest Business Leaders Who Defy Government; Zelenskyy to Speak to Council of Europe; Polish Hotel Takes in Refugees Fleeing War in Ukraine. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 14, 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.

[05:59:41]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Monday, March 14. I'm John Berman with Brianna Keilar.

Dangerous moments unfolding this morning as the Russians bring their deadly war to NATO's doorstep. New video just in of Ukrainian rescue and evacuation efforts after Russian shelling hit a residential building this morning. It killed at least two people, injured several others. This was in a suburb of Kyiv.

Meanwhile, a barrage of Russian missiles also hit a military base in Western Ukraine, leaving at least dozens dead and more than 100 injured.

Those missiles, more than 30 of them, landed right here. You can see how close to the Polish border that is. Poland a key NATO ally.

And we have this new video from Mariupol. The city in the South under siege, completely surrounded by Russian tanks, firing on apartment buildings there. The Red Cross is now calling for an urgent solution to prevent a worst-case scenario for the thousand civilians trapped in this city.

Ukraine also says that Russian forces have now abducted a second Ukrainian mayor, from Zaporizhzhia, from that region in Southern Ukraine, after capturing the mayor off Mariupol on Friday.

This video allegedly shows Russian troops leading him away from a government building.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Satellite images show the Ukrainian military stopped an attempt by Russian vehicles to cross the Irpin River on a pontoon bridge.

As Ukrainian forces continue to repel the Russian advances into Kyiv, President Zelenskyy remains defiant that Ukraine will emerge victorious in defeating Russia. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are going through the worst ordeal in our history, in our lives. We protect the most precious thing we have. We must hold on. We must fight, and we will win. I know that. I believe in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And moments from now, Russia and Ukraine expected to hold more talks. But this comes as CNN learns Russia has requested military and economic assistance from China.

This as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will be meeting with his Chinese counterpart today in Rome.

Let's begin with CNN's Scott McLean. He is live for us in Lviv, Ukraine. Scott, largely a city that has been spared bombardment, but this coming particularly close over the weekend.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and Brianna, I should just point out quickly that those talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators, according to the Ukrainian side, should be getting under way shortly, if they haven't already. They're taking place via video link.

And both sides, surprisingly, previously have expressed optimism that there might actually be progress. But as you said, not a lot to be optimistic about on the ground.

That new round of air strikes over the weekend hitting as close as 11 miles from the Polish border. And this is bound to spook a lot of people who have fled to Western Ukraine for the relative safety here.

Case in point, one woman that I met coming into the country at the outset of the war, who lives in Lviv, said she would only take her 9- year-old son to safety in Poland if absolutely necessary, if she felt unsafe in Lviv. Well, it appears that that day has come. She is on a bus right now to Poland as we speak.

You mentioned already the situation in Mariupol, which is increasingly dire. The Red Cross there painting an absolutely horrifying picture of people running out or have -- who have already run out of the absolute bare necessities of food and water while they shelter in freezing cold basements.

A humanitarian aid convoy sent by the Ukrainians has stalled about 50 miles outside the city. The Red Cross is calling on both parties to work out the fine details of exactly where and when that corridor will run and to respect whatever is agreed on, because of course, lives are depending on it.

And brand-new video from Mariupol, as well, shows an absolutely horrifying hellscape of increasing shelling, smoke rising from the landscape and all -- and all of it, plenty of destruction left in the wake. Residential apartment buildings in particular. In Kyiv, an explosion just this morning was felt across the city. It

appears that Ukrainian anti-air systems went off, aiming at either a Russian jet or a Russian missile. Not clear if anything was actually struck.

But of course, this comes just as the search efforts continue at an apartment complex in the northern suburb of Kyiv, looking for any survivors after shelling hit an apartment building there, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, I think your report says it all, Scott, which is no place really feels safe in Ukraine anymore. Scott McLean live for us in the Western part of the country. Thank you.

And new this morning, CNN has learned that Russia has requested military support and also economic aid from China. That is according to two U.S. officials.

CNN's Kylie Atwood is joining us live from Washington, D.C. Do we know yet, Kylie, how the Chinese are responding to this request?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Chinese embassy's spokesperson here in Washington said they had never heard of that, when asked about our reporting that Russia asked China for this military and economic support for the invasion into Ukraine.

The spokesperson went on to say that it is their priority that the situation in Ukraine doesn't escalate out of control and also said that China calls for exercising utmost restraint in preventing a massive humanitarian crisis.

[06:05:08]

But significantly, Brianna, this would be huge if China were to support Russia in this endeavor. Because there are those places in Ukraine that have not yet been toppled by Russian, and of course, Chinese support could potentially give Russia the support that they need to do that.

Now, we don't know exactly how China has responded to these requests from China for economic and military support. But listen to what the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said over the weekend about how the United States has been very clear with China there would be consequences if they did provide support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: We are communicating directly, privately to Beijing that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions of Asian efforts or support to Russia to backfill them. We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a life line to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country anywhere in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now, Brianna, it is our reporting that China did know that Russia was going to go forth with this invasion before they did it. So that is significant.

But this request for military and economic support came from Russia after they had already begun their invasion into Ukraine.

Now, today, what we're watching is national security adviser Jake Sullivan is meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Rome. And the White House said that meeting had been in the works for some time. There aren't any deliverables that are expected.

But it is a hugely significant meeting, because the White House is concerned about China potentially providing any support to Russia -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Maybe no deliverables, but certainly, a message will be sent. We'll see what that is. Kylie, thank you so much.

BERMAN: Want to bring in David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent for "The New York Times" and a CNN political and national security analyst.

David, we're going to talk about the situation on the ground in Ukraine in just a moment. But first, you've got some insight into this news that Russia might be asking China for help.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, there are all kinds of fascinating things about it.

First of all, if Putin thought that he was going to be able to pull this off quickly, you know, he wasn't intending on going and begging for additional help, first.

The second is that the U.S. leaked this out. Why did they do that? First, it's embarrassing to Putin. Second, it puts the Chinese right in the public lair, having to make a choice.

Remember, it was just three weeks ago, with the Munich security conference, the Chinese foreign ministry said we believe in the sovereignty of nations, the sanctity of their borders, and that includes Ukraine.

So now, if they come and they help them, they have just reversed what they said publicly in front of the entire world.

BERMAN: Puts them in a mind. All right, David. Overnight, you put out a story in "The New York Times" that it's really interesting, talking about different ways this might end. And they're all -- none of them are good, by the way, for Ukraine, or great for Ukraine.

One of them is the whole war gets much closer to NATO, which we are already seeing. We're seeing this Russian missile attack on this base, right next to the Polish border. We can push in and see just how close it is right there. Talk to us about that.

SANGER: Well, the concern here all along for President Biden has been that he's going to stay out of this war. He doesn't want to get in direct conflict. But he said if there is moved one inch into NATO territory, then it

invokes Article 5, which is the part of the NATO treaty that says an attack one one is an attack on all.

So now you've got a couple of problems. One is an accident. You have this many missiles flying around this close to the border, the chances that something is going the land in a NATO country, pretty high.

Remember, in 2014, the Russians shot down MH-17, the Malaysian airliner. Again, that's the kind of thing that can happen when these are going on.

But the second is that there's a lot of concern that Putin may decide to go push beyond this and, you know, go back to your original map. Look how close he is here to Moldova right there. He's trying to take Odesa, a key -- a key port. He would just be miles away.

BERMAN: You talk about possible negotiated solutions here and the difficult decision that President Zelenskyy might have to face. What do you mean?

SANGER: Well, he's going to have a couple of really hard choices. Let's say that these negotiations work out. What are the Russian conditions, if they stick to them?

The first one is that -- that President Zelenskyy acknowledges that Crimea is part of Russia.

The second is that he acknowledges that this whole region of newly- created states that Russia just -- just recognized are, in fact, no longer part of Ukraine. So he would have to give up a big part of his country.

BERMAN: He's basically looking to annex or give Russia all this. more or less, right?

SANGER: That's right. So basically, that third of the country would -- would go out or a quarter of the country. [06:10:08]

And the clock is ticking. Because the closer that Putin moves in to Kyiv, the harder it gets to negotiate. Because you can't imagine that, if the capital falls, that Putin will then just settle for this, which we think was his original objective back in the fall before he sort of expanded this to try to take the whole country.

BERMAN: How close is he at this point to having Russian troops operating all this region at this point?

SANGER: He's doing pretty well in the areas by the coast. The further in, I think, the harder it gets. But this is not an area where he's going to run into the kind of opposition that he will in the West and up in Kyiv. More Russian speaking. More divided opinion.

BERMAN: To the extent that there is a clock right now, you do think it is in what's happening in Kyiv. So we're watching that very closely. David Sanger, terrific article. Thanks so much for joining us.

SANGER: Thank you.

BERMAN: The number of Western companies leaving Russia is skyrocketing. What a new report says Russian prosecutors are threatening to do to them, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:15:15]

BERMAN: This morning Russian prosecutors are warning the heads of Western companies in Russia that they will arrest anyone who criticizes the government over its invasion of Ukraine. "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting they are also threatening to seize assets of any company that leaves the country. Russia has denied this report.

CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans joins us with all this.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. A response that would seem to these epic sanctions. Russia denying this exclusive report in "The Wall Street Journal" this morning that Russian prosecutors are intimidating Western businesses there.

The "Journal" reporting that prosecutors reaching out and warning executives of Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Proctor & Gamble, IBM, and others, warning them with phone calls, letters and even visits.

"The Journal" cites people familiar with the matter. The threat here, any corporate leader in any way critical of the government will be arrested. And company assets left behind, even trademarks, will be seized. No comment from the companies.

The Russian embassy in the U.S. dismissing this "Wall Street Journal" report is, quote, "pure fiction," blasting the press in the process, the free press, I should say in a Facebook post, saying, "The West should abandon the vicious practice of spreading fake news" and calling it "Russophobic hysteria."

But the truth is, it is Putin's war disrupting business as usual. An exodus of Western companies pulling back or leaving Russia altogether. They cite the sanctions. They cite solidarity with Ukraine. And the list is growing. Media companies, consumer giants, manufacturers, shippers, oil companies, even Wall Street banks.

The response from Russia threats last week. Russia vowed to nationalize anything these companies leave behind. Joint ventures and clothes factories, stores, offices, restaurants.

Putin said last week he backs a plan to nationalize these things. External management of foreign companies leaving Russia, they call it, warning that Russia needs to act decisively. Local legislation has been drafted on all of this. Still, the story here is the swift and growing isolation of Russia.

Russian citizens facing a cratered economy, empty shelves, long lines, limits on their own money and limited credit card services. A recession is certain. Some say a Russian invasion depression is coming.

BERMAN: And another week where they're not opening the markets.

ROMANS: That's right.

BERMAN: As long as Russia doesn't open the markets, you know this is hitting hard.

ROMANS: And a ruble that is worthless, essentially.

BERMAN: Right. Christine Romans, thank you very much.

All right. Coming up for us, more on the breaking news. We are getting word of explosions heard in Kyiv. That's happening right now as the Russians continue to close in on the capital. We'll take you there.

KEILAR: Plus, a hotel chain in Poland vowing to provide free temporary housing to Ukrainian refugees. I'll be speaking to the director of that hotel chain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:21:58] KEILAR: This morning we're going to hear from Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when he addresses the Council of Europe, amid Russia's escalating attacks on his country. The Council of Europe is the continent's leading human rights organization.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand is live at the E.U. headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Natasha, good morning to you.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brianna.

Yes, President Zelenskyy is expected to address the -- President Zelenskyy, he is expected to address the Council of Europe in the coming hours. And he's expected to make much the same plea that he has made over the level several weeks and months, which is that Ukraine wants to join the European Union.

He will reiterate that Ukraine feels like this is not only a fight that they are waging against Russia for Ukraine but also for the whole of Europe, for European security.

And this is why just yesterday, we were seeing him reiterate this call for a no-fly zone, of course, from NATO, saying that because of the Russian missiles that are flying so close now, landing so close to Poland's border that the stakes really are becoming clearer and clearer, not only for Ukraine but also for Europe and NATO territory.

And so we do expect him to reiterate that. We expect that he will call, of course, for more humanitarian assistance, more lethal aid to Ukraine.

But ultimately, this has been kind of a disappointing saga for him. He has requested many times that Ukraine be able to join the European Union on a fast track. And that actually was not agreed upon last week when E.U. members met. They said that they support Ukraine's aspirations to become a member of the European Union, but they do not believe that now is a good time for that application to actually be fast-tracked.

And so he has been very disappointed by this, obviously. He has continued to push for Ukraine to be fast-tracked into the European Union. But this is a process that can take years and years. In fact, the average amount of time it takes for a country to become a member is about five years.

Ukraine saying, obviously, they don't have that kind of time, given the Russian onslaught. But they say that, you know, this will be a hugely important symbolic move, if nothing else, showing the Russians that they are part of Europe, showing the Ukrainian people that once they get out of this war, that they will have that at the end of this, have that European membership at the end of this to look forward to.

So we expect him to address all of this. Of course, all of this comes as negotiations are about to begin yet again. A new round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations. It's expected to be virtual. So far, no major breakthroughs have come from those either, Brianna.

KEILAR: No, we'll wait to see if any of that changes. Natasha Bertrand, thank you so much, live for us in Brussels.

And as Ukrainians are continuing to flee the war at home, there is a hotel chain in Poland that has pledged more than a million dollars to provide free temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees at 16 of its locations.

Joining us now is Marta Korma. She's the director of the Arche Hotel in Lublin, Poland.

Marta, thank you so much for being with us. I just want to know how many refugees you all have been able to help at this point.

[06:25:05]

MARTA KORMA, DIRECTOR, ARCHE HOTEL IN LUBLIN, POLAND: To be honest here, it's quite a few of them, a lot of them. We don't really count these people, because the need is really big. So we provide temporary housing and obviously, food, as well.

Now the company is trying to make, like, bigger places. Because most of them, they need to stay for much more longer [SIC] than we can keep them in the hotel. So --

KEILAR: So it's a bit of a transitional place for them to then move on to something a little more permanent?

KORMA: Yes.

KEILAR: How are you able to identify the people who need your assistance and need to be able to stay?

KORMA: Well, you know, hospitality is not a job. It is a lifestyle, basically. We -- we talk to those people. We provide support. Some of them just -- they just need to talk and, like, one night just to stay, just like a stop and then go further.

Some of them, they just -- they don't know what they want to do. Most of them, they would love to come back to their country. But obviously, they don't know if they're going to be able to come back.

And one lady, she said to me this morning she's -- she was standing with the phone. And she said, I'm just waiting for the text, You're safe to come back.

So it's really difficult to run a business -- and at the same time.

KEILAR: Are there lots of kids, Marta?

KORMA: Yes. It is lot of kids. In my hotel at the moment, I book around 40 or 50. But like I said, we've got, like, 16 locations. One of the hotel is -- has got about, I think, 80 just children, as well. So it's really, really plenty of kids.

KEILAR: And I imagine it's emotional for them to have the relief of knowing a place to stay but also having left home.

KORMA: To be honest with you, it's been emotional for us, as well. You know, the team is sometimes just serving them in the front and then going back and crying, as well. Because we're human beings, you know? It's really difficult to -- we just cannot believe that's happening in the 21st Century. It's -- it's really, really surprising, I think, for everyone.

KEILAR: Yes. And just next door to you, it really is.

And Marta, thank you so much. You're doing amazing work. And we thank you for speaking with us about it.

KORMA: Thank you very much.

KEILAR: Just in, some tragic news out of Ukraine. The Associated Press reporting this morning that a pregnant woman from the maternity hospital in Mariupol when the Russians bombed it, has died, along with her baby.

You may recognize the image of her, of the woman who was carried on a stretcher outside of the hospital last week following the strike.

And according to the A.P. medical teams, did not have time to get the woman's name before her husband and father came to claim her body so she did not end up in one of Mariupol's mass graves.

Just a horrific reminder that Vladimir Putin's war is stealing the future of many Ukrainian families.

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