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Zelenskyy to Address Congress as Russians Attack Ukraine; NATO's Defense Chiefs Meet on War in Extraordinary Moment; Biden to Announce $800 Million in New Aid to Ukraine as Russians Invade. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 16, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:02]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected his repeat his call for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which is a request the Biden administration has not, thus far, been willing to grant.

In Brussels, Belgium, this morning, a meeting of NATO defense ministers. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin there meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last hour amid signs of cracks in the Russian offensive. The U.K. Defense Ministry says the Kremlin is calling in military reinforcements from across the country, from well away from Ukraine trying to replenish its losses in the invasion.

And the Ukrainians say that at least three Russian military helicopters were blown up during a military strike on Kherson's airport.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Still, Ukrainian cities continue to take heavy fire. We have drone footage now from the city of Okhtyrka. You can see right there, so many buildings just flattened. This is not far from Kharkiv in far Eastern Ukraine, which as seen so much damage already.

Also in Mariupol, Ukrainian officials say Russian forces are holding people captive at a hospital, thousands of civilians struggling to escape that city.

So, today, after President Zelenskyy speaks to Congress, President Biden is expected to announce $800 million in new security assistance for Ukraine. President Biden also plans to travel to Europe next week.

We're going to begin our coverage this hour with CNN's Nick Paton Walsh who is live in Odessa, a key strategic port city. And, Nick, I want to get your take on the news this morning. We heard from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that Russians are all of a sudden getting more realistic in their negotiating positions. That's what he said, even as we see new signs of the relentless Russian attack, including on a T.V. tower right here in Vinnytsia, which is nowhere near where the conflict has been taking place of late. So, how do you reconcile all this, Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Look, it is important to remember two things, John, that Russia negotiates and uses diplomacy often as a way of disguising its military campaign and objectives. We have seen that happen. The two things occur in parallel. They don't stop the fighting and pursuing what they want on the ground while talking. So, that was also happening here certainly.

Their initial objectives, de-Nazifying, demilitarizing their neighbor were ridiculous. And so the possibility that those ideas are no longer part of the dialogue may be what President Volodymyr Zelensky is referring to.

And at some point, I think there may have to end up being a compromise where Moscow perhaps recognizes the ground reality here, that they are simply not going to get to occupy Ukraine in a meaningful fashion without reducing the large parts of it to rubble, and so may need to find something they can negotiate out of this as a viable fig leaf success.

Still, though, pressure mounting here along the Black Sea coast. We are in Odessa where we heard sirens this morning, where officials say jets have been shot down and shelling has occurred along the coastline, perhaps probing their defenses here. But it is further east where we spent a number of days observing how the town of Mykolaiv is under constant pressure and how people in that city are struggling with daily life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (voice over): This is the road down which Russia's war of annihilation may lurch. And its emptiness speaks only of what is to come, from Russian-held Kherson up here to the vital port of Mykolaiv. They know what it is to be in Russia's way.

Out of 18 homes, 10 are left in our village, she says. No electricity, gas, water or heat. The only ones left are those who can't leave, another adds. They're young, edgy, guns raised, unsure who we are, press written on our vests and our press cards slowly calms them town and they apologize.

But this is not an army not in full control of its destiny. The trenches are where the rockets land every night. Some are from Odessa, Moscow's eventual target here, others from just down the road.

It's important to see what tools Ukraine has been left with by a world that seems too concerned. They fight for their homes but tell me they captured Russians who seemed unaware why they were even here. And they said they can't understand what's going on. He said, they can't go back because back there, they are being shot for retreating, so they advance or surrender.

[07:05:00]

Dusk in Mykolaiv has sounded this way for weeks. But unbroken morale takes different forms. And this is a police chief driving a birthday twist to the governor with a captured Russian machine gun soldered onto it. It does not distract from the seriousness of the twilight world in which his colleagues work. Any drunk or man changing his car battery after curfew could be a Russian saboteur, they fear. There really is no way to check by looking at phones and in trunks.

The city is dark, bar (ph) their lights, and the flash of a distant enemy's bombs. And urgent hospital call for blunt has gone out. They rush to help. The savagery of Russia's targeting measurable in how dark this four-floor hospital keeps itself at night, invisible not from a power cut but to avoid Russian bombs.

Mykolaiv has been fearing encirclement for days. There is heartbreak for those who leave. Amid the shared agony, still a tussle to get onto buses to Moldova. The men stay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my wife and my daughter.

WALSH: And she goes to Poland?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She goes to Poland, because I have to come back. Of course, I have to come back.

WALSH: And what will you do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I go to the -- this is my country. This is my country. What I must do is go to Poland? Not Poland, this is my home.

WALSH: And there is heartbreak for those who stay. Svetlana lost her husband in a rocket attack Sunday that killed nine outside a shop. The violence here is a chain of moments of blinding grief, pieces left to wonder alone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (on camera): the one thing that sticks with me, John, Brianna, about that woman is that she was at the shop with her husband buying sweets for the funeral of her 45-year-old daughter who died unconnectedly in Czechoslovakia. But that woman's entire family essentially gone within a matter of a week.

Mykolaiv under pressure. You saw at the beginning of that report the road up from Kherson. Now, there is supposed to be a humanitarian corridor potentially along that road to get people out in the villages that are being flattened often by Russian airstrikes and the fight between Ukraine and Russia to keep them back down that road.

But I think the fear is, as Russia moves around to the north to try and cut off Mykolaiv to its west, they are also pushing up from the southeast up that road from Kherson, a goal to perhaps encircle so pressure can build here in Odessa.

BERMAN: That woman says they took me here in pieces. What searing words there. Nick Paton Walsh for us in Odessa, Nick, thank you so much for that report.

Joining me now, senior adviser to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Sergii Leshchenko. Thak you so much for being with us this morning.

I want your take, if you can, on the news we heard just a short time ago from President Zelenskyy who said, the Russians are getting more realistic in their negotiating positions. What does that mean?

SERGII LESHCHENKO, SENIOR ADVISER, PRESIDENT ZELENSKY'S CHIEF OF STAFF: Good afternoon, everyone. Yes, we see this negotiation process, that in the beginning, Russians have a very overestimated understanding of its own army and they underestimated Ukraine. And now, we see that a negotiation process that they are more concrete what is going on about this war. They understood how many people they lost in this war and they understood that the Ukrainian army is much stronger than they expected before the war started. And this makes the negotiation position of Ukraine stronger and better and we continue this negotiation to have peace in our territory.

[07:10:02]

BERMAN: Can you give me any specifics about how the Russians have changed or what they are now asking for?

LESHCHENKO: This is more from the negotiation room. As I understand it, this is from what they are discussing, how they are discussing. But this is more about tone of the negotiations, about the spirit of negotiations for today.

This is still going on, the negotiation, and even at the moment, we're talking now, they are still ongoing.

BERMAN: So, President Zelenskyy addresses the U.S. Congress very shortly, in just a couple of hours. Do you have a sense or can you tell us what his message will be?

LESHCHENKO: So, now President Zelenskyy is the leader of the free world, this is a crucial moment for Ukrainian history to create our own identity as a model country with very strong army able to defend Russia. And as for today, President Zelenskyy has very, very good attitude towards American Congress, American people.

The main message, I believe, is going to be provide us more support, because we are not defending just our territory. We are defending the values which the American nation was created on more than 200 years ago. And for the moment, unfortunately, we are still not able to have what we're looking for. I'm talking about fighter jets, I'm talking surface-to-air systems, I'm talking about more military to defend our territory. As for today, we are still in the process of negotiation to provide Ukraine these levers.

Also, it's very important to continue sanctions to have not 600 oligarchs but 6,000 oligarchs in the sanctions list and to stop any business from American companies with Russia. And if American lawmakers on their constituencies and their territories have companies doing business with Russia, this business should be stopped. This is the message, I believe, has to be done in American Congress.

This is my opinion, but, again, I think it is very clear for today that it's not a good moment to have -- to make money with Russians. When money from American taxpayers or American companies can be taken for a Russian budget, and then from this money, military can be created to destroy Ukraine.

BERMAN: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that he fears of Vladimir Putin, that Russian military could use chemical weapons. What evidence have you seen of that?

LESHCHENKO: You know, my focus as adviser is fake news and propaganda tools of Russia. And what I can say in the last three weeks, it's nonstop, nonstop around this topic about chemical laboratories, chemical weapons Ukraine created. This is what Russia propaganda says. It is fake news. It is totally not based on real life. But they don't stop spinning this fake news on everyday basis.

This is why I believe the American administration is right saying that it can be one of the preconditions for Russia to use chemical weapons against Ukraine. So, they are now creating a fake argument for this possible attack.

And this is why it is very important to raise the voice about this threat because chemical weapons is what Russia used in Syria. And I believe it's one of their (INAUDIBLE) they have in this war, which is why it should be prevented. And it is why this topic has to be raised as much as possible on the media level or political level, because, of course, Ukraine has no laboratories to create chemical weapons, but they continue saying this on an everyday basis.

BERMAN: Sergii Leshchenko, I know how busy you are. We appreciate you taking the time to talk to us this morning. Please stay safe.

LESHCHENKO: Thank you. Thank you for your interest. And stay strong.

KEILAR: All right. Let's continue the conversation with a member of Ukraine's parliament, Andrii Osadchuk. Andrii, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

Can you just tell us a little bit what it's like where you are?

ANDRII OSADCHUK, MEMBER, UKRAINE PARLIAMENT: good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for having me here.

So, in fact, everything what we observe now is the worst expectations what we said even a couple of weeks ago. Russians, they have huge losses as many people discussing in your media. The loss is increasing. So, it is daily losses in manpower, in helicopters, in tanks and so on and so forth. And as more they have losses, as more brutal they are (ph). So, they are repeating the same in all previous wars. So, they start shelling residential areas.

So, now we are the witnesses of mass murders of civilians countrywide, as you already, I think, reported. Mariupol is probably the most traumatic point on the Ukrainian map right now, almost 350,000, 400,000 people who now are locked in the city without food, water, heating supply.

[07:15:07]

Now, it's still cold in Ukraine and the fate of thousands of people with absolutely uncertainty.

KEILAR: Yes, it's --

OSADCHUK: So, all that is a war crime.

KEILAR: It is being described as hell by people in Mariupol, the conditions that they're facing there.

Andrii, the president, President Biden is going to be announcing this $800 million in military aid to go to Ukraine today, no fighter jets, though. What do you think of this assistance package?

OSADCHUK: First of all, we welcome very much the Senate decision, almost unanimous decision, as we understood, which recognizes Putin as a war criminal. So, the war crimes which are recognized by the United States and by the west oblige the west to act like -- acting against war criminal.

So, that's why, first, we encourage west to stop counting any financial losses due to sanctions. It is a giant responsibility to stop any business with Russia, to stop any dollar to the Russian economy, because Russian economy is the fuel for the war. We shall stop this economy despite how much it will cost for us.

For Ukraine, we need more weapons. We are fighting extremely good. We are burning Russians extremely good. But we need air defense systems. We are not asking you to die for us but we are asking you at least to give us air defense systems and jet fighters to help to stop this war and to win this war on Ukrainian territory. Otherwise, this war will spread all over in Europe and maybe on other lands because you all are readying (ph) the work. That's the fact which everyone shall recognize.

During the last decade, Putin was conducting hybrid war. And it was an ongoing process. Now, he starts an open full-scale war in which we all participate. Ukrainians now die. You shall help us as much as possible again to protect the west, as we know it.

KEILAR: Andrii, thank you so much for being with us. I really appreciate it. And I do wish you safety here in the coming days. Thank you.

OSADCHUK: Thank you very much. Glory to Ukraine.

KEILAR: A Fox cameraman and a producer killed in Ukraine doing their jobs, trying to document the atrocities there. We will be speaking to a journalist who knew one of those killed.

BERMAN: And with a city under fire, the mayor of Kyiv is calling on Pope Francis to come visit, saying it's key to saving lives and paving a path to peace. Stay with us. Our live coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:20:00]

BERMAN: A huge, tragic loss for the journalist community as two journalists of Fox News were killed in Ukraine. Oleksandra Kuvshynova and Pierre Zakrzewski came under fire as they were reporting near Kyiv. Ukrainian officials say Russian forces are responsible. Fox Correspondent Benjamin Hall was seriously injured. He remains hospitalized this morning.

Joining us now is Conor Powell, he is a freelance producer for CNN. He knew and worked with Pierre. Conor, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

I look at those pictures. You look at those pictures of those journalists, you can just see in Pierre's eyes the kindness and curiosity that emanated from him. Tell us about him.

CONOR POWELL, FREELANCE CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He was just a really wonderful person not only to work with but just also to be around when there wasn't work to be done. I mean, he had this big, bushy mane of hair and this even bushier mustache. I always joke that he had the single hardest name to pronounce in all of Irish history and it would give him a chuckle.

And he was the type of person who, in these dangerous, unpleasant places, he was just a joy to work with. He had the two personalities, I think, really made him a great cameraman in conflict areas, which is he was a really good shooter. He really was a professional at his job. But he's the type of person who could make you smile in a really unpleasant situation. And anyone who has been in that type of place knows that like you need those types of people around you to keep everyone's spirits up.

And he was the type of person who would keep people's spirits up. And he was the type of person who would look out for everyone on the crew, especially the local staff. And I think the fact that Sasha was killed along with him is something that would break his heart if he knew, because he really did care a lot about the local staff in Afghanistan, or in Gaza, that I worked with him, anywhere around the world.

And I saw him in Ukraine recently when I was there. And he was really happy to be in Ukraine working. He found it a fascinating place. But he was under no illusions of just how dangerous the war would be and yet he still volunteered to go to places like Ukraine time and time again.

KEILAR: And I know, as you said, you were there recently, Conor. And you got a chance to sit town with him and reconnect with him. I think it's an amazing community when you talk about folks, foreign correspondents, especially war correspondents, even when you go a few years without seeing someone, you reconnect immediately. You have these shared experiences.

I wonder what it was like when you were talking to him. What was the conversation like? What do you recall? POWELL: Yes. I mean, when I quit Fox, there were a lot of people who I didn't know if I would ever see again, and he was one of them. Of course, stayed in touch with him over social media and emails occasionally, but I remember seeing him the first morning that I was in the hotel in Kyiv, when I was in Ukraine. And you just sort of got this big roar and, hey, Conor, in this loud Irish voice. And, I mean, you couldn't miss him because of his bushy hair and bushy mustache.

[07:25:03]

But he was just a really pleasant person to be around. He was the type of person that no matter who you were working with, and I think Clarissa pointed this out, he was the type of person that like everyone would be drawn to go talk and have a coffee with, maybe even a pint after hours and people wanted to sit down and talk to him just because he was a really fun, pleasant person.

And I got to reconnect with him in Kyiv a couple of weeks ago, I was really happy. I remember immediately sort of telling my wife and a few friends like I saw Pierre. I haven't seen Pierre in years. And what a real joy it was. And I think I had that experience that I share with a lot of people because I think anybody who came across him in any situation was generally really happy to be around him.

BERMAN: Conor there are enormous risks in covering conflicts. Those risks are even higher for photojournalists, for the cameramen, because they have limited -- they only can see at the moment what they are looking through in their lens there. On the other hand, we're lucky that we get to see the world through someone like Pierre's eyes. He gives us the view of what's really happening. But it does come with such a high risk.

POWELL: Yes. I mean, the camera is the most important part of television, right? I mean, you can dispense with correspondents, you can dispense with producers, but at the end of the day, television doesn't happen without a camera and that doesn't happen without cameramen. And they have one eye focused on the lens and they often don't have their eyes around them.

And, so, yes, they are always vulnerable. I always look a part of my job along with other people around him was to make sure that he could get his shots. Any time and in a hostile place, the first conversation we have is if something goes wrong, where are we going so the cameraman can get a shot. And that's the way you have to approach conflict areas, whether it's domestically with civil unrest or overseas with war. And Pierre was one of those people who was going to get his shots. He was going to make sure that in the worst situations that he was going to line up his camera and keep the camera rolling. And he was a professional. He was a dedicated professional to make sure that the world saw what was happening in places like Ukraine, or in Gaza, or in Libya, or in a whole host of other places.

BERMAN: Well, Conor, I'm glad you got to see him in the last few weeks. I'm glad you got that hug. And I'm so sorry for your loss. It is a loss for all of us.

POWELL: It is.

BERMAN: Thanks so much for being with us.

POWELL: Thank you.

BERMAN: So, the extraordinary war of words between the head of Russia's space agencies and one of America's most famous astronauts, why NASA has stepped in.

KEILAR: Plus, President Biden is about to unveil some new military assistance for Ukraine. This includes anti-tank missiles. But why it stopped short of several measures that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is calling for?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]