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Ex-U.S. Ambassador To Ukraine Joins New Day on Russian's War; Woman's Father Killed While Crossing Street In Russian Attack; Film Stars Wear Support For Ukraine On Red Carpet At BAFTA Awards. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired March 14, 2022 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, one person with unique insight into all of this is Marie Yovanovitch. She was removed from her post as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine after a smear campaign led by allies of former President Trump.

This morning, she is out with a new book that's pressure on many levels -- obviously, written before the Russian invasion.

Yovanovitch warned, quote, "We have failed to call out Russia's behavior in a way that Russia finds persuasive or taken steps to stop it that Moscow finds compelling. If we continue to fumble around, we will someday, maybe soon, find ourselves in a serious confrontation in a context not of our choosing and not to our advantage."

Joining me now is the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and author of the new book "Lessons from the Edge," Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. Ambassador, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

As I said, what you wrote, in so many ways, was pressure. How is what we are seeing on the ground today in Ukraine the consequence of what you write?

MARIE YOVANOVITCH, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE, AUTHOR, "LESSONS FROM THE EDGE": I think it's the culmination of what we've seen coming from the Putin regime over the last 20 years -- 2008, the invasion of Georgia. Then we had Ukraine in 2014 and now, Ukraine again in 2022. And I think Putin will continue to expand the Russian empire -- the former Soviet empire as he sees it unless he is stopped.

BERMAN: You write that Putin needs to be met with a closed fist and too often over the last decades he's been met with an open hand. Is what's happening now -- is the world resistance to this meeting him with a closed fist?

YOVANOVITCH: I think that the Biden administration and the international community has done a lot. The response has been good. But I think we need to do more. I think we need to be creative about how we can provide greater assistance -- greater support to Ukraine.

Nobody wants to push Putin over the edge. But on the other hand, I think that the question I have is how long can we stand by while Ukraine is being destroyed and thousands of people are losing their lives and we do have the means to stop it or at least to help the Ukrainians stop it. We can't let Vladimir Putin decide or set the conditions for this war.

BERMAN: Well, what means are you talking about specifically?

YOVANOVITCH: I think I would leave the details to, sort of, military planners and military commanders. But I think that there are a lot more defense systems that we could be providing to the Ukrainian people.

BERMAN: You talk about Vladimir Putin -- not wanting to push him over the edge. There was this missile strike on this base just 11 miles from the Polish border. People can get a sense of just how close it is. This is the Polish border -- the border with NATO -- with a NATO nation there.

To what extent do you think that Putin has an edge? Is he already over the edge? Does he care so much about that border just 11 miles away from the site of that strike?

YOVANOVITCH: That is a really good question. I think as you know yourself, that base was a joint base with the U.S., the U.K., and Ukraine, so I think he's sending a message when he's attacking that base. It's also about the supply lines going into Ukraine.

But I think that it's the big question. What are Putin's limits? And we see him continuing to escalate. And I think we need to remember that it is Russia that is the aggressor. It is Putin that is driving this. And we can't, again, let him set the parameters of this war.

BERMAN: Yes. The whole world is seeing this right now. One of the things that's happening is that Russian forces continue to try to encircle Kyiv. They're pushing in there. And we have seen evidence of the Ukrainians fighting back, destroying this pontoon bridge that the Russians tried to place over a river to get to the central part of the city.

You obviously lived in Kyiv for some time. How important is this --

YOVANOVITCH: Yes.

BERMAN: -- city to the soul, frankly, of Ukraine? What kind of a loss would it be if Putin would ever be able to take it?

YOVANOVITCH: Well, obviously, Kyiv is the capital and it is the heart of the country. But I think that what you're seeing is that the Ukrainian people -- their spirit. That is the center of gravity. That is their strength. And I think that they will prevail.

I don't see a scenario, even if Russia is able to dominate militarily -- and there are some questions about that. I don't see a scenario where in the end, Moscow can win because the Ukrainian people will continue to fight back. What we've been seeing over the last three weeks is what is going to continue.

[07:35:12]

BERMAN: Volodymyr Zelenskyy -- obviously, the president of Ukraine -- you had a complicated beginning with him. You met him several times as he was campaigning there.

He was supposed to speak to a European gathering this morning. We now understand the prime minister is speaking, not the president. Not quite sure why that is.

But how important is he personally right now to the defense of Ukraine?

YOVANOVITCH: I think he is absolutely vital. He is not only inspiring his own people and coalescing a nation, but he is inspiring the world. And I think through his superb communication skills he is letting us know what is at stake. That it's -- this is -- this is a fight for Ukraine but it is also considerably broader. It's -- it obviously threatens Europe and more broadly, the international order.

BERMAN: David Sanger had a piece overnight in The New York Times talking about possible end games here where the Ukrainians might be able or willing to negotiate and what Russia might want out of it. One possibility, David suggests, is basically, seeding some type of control to Russia of an entire swatch of Ukraine that would include Crimea, which Russia says is annexed already, but also the south, all the way to the Donbas region.

Do you think the Ukrainians would ever accept anything like that?

YOVANOVITCH: You know, I'm not in Ukraine now so I don't know where they stand. But I think -- I think that would be difficult certainly for the Ukrainian people to accept.

BERMAN: Now, a lot of people in the United States who might not follow the diplomatic corps closely got to know you, obviously, during President Trump's first impeachment trial and know your plight, really, where you were pushed out by this smear campaign from allies of President Trump.

To what extent do you think that affected Vladimir Putin, or how did that episode, in some way, influence -- or did it -- what we're seeing now?

YOVANOVITCH: Well, I think it emboldened Putin because he could see that in the mind of the former president Ukraine was just a pawn and he was willing to use it to promote his own personal and political interests rather than the national good -- the national -- our national security interest. I think this emboldened not just Putin but bad actors around the world.

BERMAN: And just finally, you mentioned briefly the --

YOVANOVITCH: And we're seeing the results.

BERMAN: You're seeing -- you're seeing the results right now? You mean, is the result of the ground that Trump set, or is it more the result of other administrations not providing Ukraine the support that they may have needed to defend themselves?

YOVANOVITCH: Well, in retrospect, I wish we had provided more defensive weapons all along the way. And I think that right now, the Biden administration is providing a lot of defensive weapons. And I think we need to think about, as I said before, how we can do more. How we can be more creative to not only support Ukraine but save Ukraine.

BERMAN: Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, I appreciate you being with us this morning. Thank you very much.

YOVANOVITCH: Thank you.

BERMAN: A Ukrainian father and husband killed while walking across the street, telling his daughter before he died he wanted to stay to protect his tomato garden. His story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:43:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: The United Nations has reported 1,581 civilian casualties in Ukraine so far. That is 579 who were killed and 1,002 who have been injured so far.

Joining me now is Maria Semykoz. Her father, Mykola, was killed by Russians while he was crossing the street in his hometown in Ukraine. Thank you so much for being with us, Maria. I really appreciate it. I'm so, so sorry for the loss that your family is experiencing.

Can you tell us what happened?

MARIA SEMYKOZ, FATHER KILLED BY RUSSIANS WHILE CROSSING THE STREET IN UKRAINE: Yes. So, my parents decided to stay in their hometown despite the war coming. They didn't want to leave. They lived all their life -- lives in Siverskodonetsk in the city in eastern Ukraine.

It's a Russian-speaking city, so most people speak Russian. My dad spoke Russian for most of his life.

And so, therefore, a couple of days there was no electricity in half of the city where my parents were and their mobile phones were out of charge. So he went to another place to see if he could get his phone charged so he can connect with us -- with his children and potentially, with whatever other needs that there were.

And he was coming back from the place to our -- to our home and while on the streets, the artillery -- Russian artillery shelling started and he was hit in his head from one of the chards. It was next to a shop. There were zero military or even production facilities -- just houses and shops. And it's clear that they were targeting just civilians and trying to create terror on the streets of my hometown.

KEILAR: Yes. He -- there in a civilian area, as you said.

[07:45:00] I know that you had offered -- I know you were worried about your parents and you'd offered to get them out. Can you tell us what your dad said when you offered?

SEMYKOZ: He said I -- he said I have tomatoes to sell. So, it's March and March is coming, and we were talking in late February and he was saying no, March is coming. It's the sowing season. I need to prepare for tomatoes and I don't let Putin take away my tomato garden. He also was sowing -- like, he also was taking care of apples and apricots, so he loved them.

KEILAR: He didn't want to leave his home.

SEMYKOZ: Exactly. He lived there for 50 years and he just didn't seem like he needed to flee from his home -- yes.

KEILAR: Will you -- will your family be able to bury him? Will he get a proper funeral?

SEMYKOZ: Unfortunately, this is not possible at the moment because the city is under constant shelling still, so funerals are not possible. People are being buried in common graves and even that is already a risk -- life risk for people who are --during.

What we decided was -- my brother and my family -- is that we will create a small memorial at this common grave for all the victims in Siverskodonetsk. Right now, there are over 30 people -- probably even more.

We don't -- there is no real count because even for us to find our dad -- to retrieve his body, it took us a couple -- like to even -- we are not able to retrieve his body but to find where he was and to make sure that it was his body, it took us two days. So, it's -- the count will be way larger than even 30.

KEILAR: One of the things that Putin and Russia -- they're saying is they're there to liberate Russian speakers, and I know that your dad -- your dad was a Russian speaker. And I wonder how your family makes sense of the rationale that the Russian government is giving for all of this.

SEMYKOZ: I think people have been in the war with Russia in that region for eight years and people don't have illusions anymore about the intentions of the Putin regime. This ideology doesn't make sense. Somehow, basically, Putin has an image of a right Ukrainian, a correct Ukrainian and my family didn't fit and my town doesn't -- my city doesn't fit into that understanding. Therefore, Putin feels that they can just kill everyone.

So, it's -- the justification about language -- it just doesn't any sense. Because if you look at where most of the civilian victims in Ukraine are, they are all in Russian-speaking areas. So I'm not sure who they are liberating.

KEILAR: Maria, I'm so sorry for the loss of your family. I'm so incredibly sorry. Maria Semykoz, thanks so much for sharing about your dad with us.

SEMYKOZ: Thank you. Thank you for letting me -- yes.

KEILAR: There is some renewed concern this morning on the lengths that Vladimir Putin will go to following a deadly missile strike on a military base in far western Ukraine, just miles from the Poland border. Plus, Clarissa Ward will be joining us live from Kyiv where explosions are being heard this morning in the capital. Stand by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:51]

KEILAR: Film stars walked the red carpet while showing their support for Ukraine at last night's BAFTA Awards in London. The show's host, Rebel Wilson, even offered a one-finger salute to Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBEL WILSON, HOST BAFTA AWARDS: Our thoughts are also, at this time, with the people afflicted by the conflict in Ukraine. In all sign languages, this is the gesture for Putin (one-finger salute).

(Applause)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And Ukrainian football player Andriy Yarmolenko breaking down in tears after scoring the opening goal in a Premier League game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PREMIER LEAGUE ANNOUNCER: Yarmolenko (INAUDIBLE). What a story this is. Andriy Yarmolenko, the Ukraine international, in tears. Let me tell you something. You can't see it -- I'll tell you. The Aston Villa fans are applauding. Listen to this rock.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The West Ham forward and former captain of the Ukrainian national soccer team has been granted compassionate leave from the club since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

BERMAN: That was an incredible moment to see.

In the meantime, gas prices rising here in the United States, but where do they really fall in historical terms?

Joining us now, Harry Enten, CNN senior data reporter. Harry, there's no question that prices are going up. People see it, people feel it.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes. I mean, look -- and they see it and they feel it because it's happening.

A year ago, we were only at $2.85 per gallon -- the national average. A month ago, $3.49. So this was rising even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Last Sunday, $4.01. Saturday and Sunday, $4.33.

And I just got a look at the new numbers and it's, again, $4.33. So there may perhaps be some stabilizing going on over the last few days. But still, $4.33 is significantly higher than it was even, let's say, last week and certainly, a month ago. And certainly, a year ago.

BERMAN: Yes. The jump from a month to now -- that's the one that really is striking to me.

[07:55:00]

Now, when you look at this, though, in historical terms and you adjust for inflation, it's a little bit of a different picture.

ENTEN: It is, and that's something we obviously want to keep in mind here. So, previously, the historic high was $4.11 back in July of 2008. That's a while ago. But now -- look at that -- $4.33. So you're saying OK, this is higher than the previous high. But take into account inflation.

Still, we're at $4.33 obviously now. But back in July of 2008, we were at $5.30. Now, I'm not sure how much comfort that is to folks but we are not at the highest gas prices we've ever been once you take into account how much you can, in fact, get with a dollar.

BERMAN: And inflation is just one factor here. There's another way to look at this also, which is that we don't need to use as much fuel to drive our car.

ENTEN: Yes. This -- you know, when we were talking about this segment John, you came to me with this. My friend Norm, who's very smart, came to me and said aren't cars more fuel-efficient than they used to be? They, in fact, are.

So, essentially, what I did here was I said OK, what's the average price to go 100 miles, and taking into account fuel efficiency and inflation?

Now, the average price to go about 100 miles is about $17.00. Back in July of 2008, it was about $25.00. This is using real miles per gallon. So it costs a lot less to be able to go 100 miles than it used to.

Again, I'm not sure how much that really helps people out but it, simply put, doesn't cost as much to go places.

BERMAN: It's about a third less. It matters in historical terms. It may not be as much of a sting as it was then. However, the reason that gas prices matter for people is that they're not living with a lot of slack in their budgets, right?

ENTEN: They're not. So, there are -- there are great poll questions that often ask OK, how many paychecks can you miss and still pay for essentials? And I think this gives you an understanding of how much people are living paycheck to paycheck. Fifty-one percent of the population among the employed -- the majority say that they can only miss one paycheck or less and still pay for essentials without dipping into their savings. Then there's an additional 15 percent who can only miss two. Then, basically, the other 25 percent can miss a bunch of them.

But this clear majority -- about two-thirds of the American public -- can only miss two or fewer paychecks and still --

BERMAN: Yes.

ENTEN: -- be able to, in fact, pay for essentials. So any crunch at the tank can, in fact, hurt these families.

BERMAN: You know -- and actually, when you look at that and you can see when you jump from a month ago to $3.49 to $4.33 it's that quick, rapid change.

ENTEN: You can't prepare for it. That's the problem.

BERMAN: It makes budgeting a real issue there.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: All that said, and the obvious sting this does have on Americans, they do seem to be willing to support some of the policy here, yes?

ENTEN: They do. So, essentially, this poll question has been asked a number of ways, but stop importing Russian oil and gas. Support it, even if gas prices rise -- look at that -- 63 percent of Americans say that they will support stop importing Russian oil and gas, even if gas prices rise. There's another 13 percent who oppose if gas prices rise. And 23 percent who oppose it in general.

But the clear majority -- this 63 percent -- say that they support stopping important Russian oil and gas even if that means that gas prices rise.

BERMAN: Now, there's an interesting split on the American support of the president on these issues, yes?

ENTEN: Yes. So, you might say OK, then, you might be still approving of Joe Biden's job of handling of gas prices even -- you know, even though they're rising, in part because of the ban on importing those Russian oil and gas. Look at that, though. His approval rating on gas prices, just 28 percent. That is significantly less than his approval rating on the situation between Russia and Ukraine, which is 48 percent.

So this message that Biden's trying to put forth on gas prices, blaming it on Russia, American folks aren't really buying that with concern to him (ph). Although, a lot more folks are supporting him now on the situation between Russia and Ukraine than used to, say, a month ago when this number was significantly lower.

BERMAN: Harry Enten, thank you very much for that.

ENTEN: Thank you, sir.

BERMAN: NEW DAY continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

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

And we do have breaking news. Explosions heard in Kyiv this morning as new images just in to CNN show the aftermath of the Russian shelling after hitting a residential building this morning, killing at least one person there and injuring many others. This was in a suburb of Kyiv.

A barrage of Russian missiles also hit a military base in western Ukraine, leaving dozens dead and more than 100 injured.

Let me show you where that missile strike was -- the far western part of the country here. You can see even west of Lviv, you can see just how close it is to the Polish border. Poland, obviously, a NATO ally.

We also have new video in from Mariupol, the city in the south under siege, completely surrounded. Russian tanks firing on an apartment building there.

[08:00:00]