Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Russian Military Forces Continue Invasion of Ukraine; Civilians Inside Mariupol Theater Struck by Russian Military Reportedly Survived; Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) Interviewed on Aid U.S. Should Provide to Ukraine to Fight Russian Invasion; CNN: Biden to Speak with China's Xi Tomorrow Amid Russia's War; Interview with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired March 17, 2022 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: He already, the Russians bombing earlier this week a site in Ukraine just miles from the Polish border. So everyone is getting closer together, and a lot of worry that they keep it all under control.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you so much for that. And NEW DAY continues right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

BERMAN: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. It is Thursday, March 17th, and we do have breaking news, perhaps miraculous news. Word that people are alive and emerging from the Mariupol theater that was hit and more or less flatten by a Russian strike. This theater was being used as a bomb shelter, and there was concern that perhaps hundreds of people were trapped inside.

Before the bombing, you can see the satellite image we've been showing you, the word "children" clearly written in the ground in two locations in Russian. This was a message there are civilians in the building. We also saw video from inside the theater taken a week ago. So many people, hundreds and hundreds, have been sheltering there. Again, the news this morning is that crews are working to clear the rubble, allowing people trapped inside to walk out. Some are emerging. A key aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told us many are, but we're trying to get much more information on this at this time.

Now, a couple miles away, a building that houses a public swimming pool, it was also hit. An official says the building was housing pregnant women and women with children under three years old. You can see the destruction there.

And just hours before a curfew in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv was set to expire, a new attack on residential building there. At least one person killed when part of a downed missile hit the building. Now, despite all this evidence that everyone can see with their own eyes, Russia denies that they're targeting civilians. Kyiv's mayor is having none of it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VITALI KLITSCHKO, MAYOR OF KYIV, UKRAINE: They destroyed -- they killed children. Women, citizens. They -- for what reason?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Putin says he's only targeting military targets.

KLITSCHKO: Bullshit. Sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden with his strongest condemnation yet of Vladimir Putin, for the first time calling him a war criminal for his attacks on Ukrainian civilians.

Putin responding to that charge just moments ago. But some examples here, much of the small city of Volnovakha lying in ruins, destroyed by Russian strikes. Here's what this residential area and a church looked like before the invasion, and you can see what is looks like now. And then this is just the neighborhood, you see the roundabout there, surrounded by homes and buildings. Now you see the areas totally destroyed. It is flattened, scorched rubble everywhere.

A senior adviser to President Zelenskyy claims Ukrainian forces are beginning to counterstrike against the Russians. This is some new video that shows blown up Russian military vehicles at the Kherson airport. And then in Mariupol, Ukrainian forces taking out a Russian tank in a military strike. Overnight, Zelenskyy taking his worldwide plea for help to Germany. In a virtual address, he invoked the holocaust. And he called on the German chancellor to destroy the wall that is separating Europe.

BERMAN: Now is Wladimir Klitschko, the brother of the mayor in Kyiv, former world boxing champion. He's fighting in Ukraine as a member of the Kyiv territorial defense. Thank you so much for being with us this morning. A 36-hour curfew had been instituted in your city. That has now been lifted. Can you tell me the situation on the ground this morning?

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO, BROTHER OF KYIV'S MAYOR: For Ukrainians, today, the situation on the ground, speaking of the country, the east of the country, as well as the south, has been attacked. As you know already that the targets are civilians. And this has been repeated multiple times, such cities, Bucha, Hostomel, Fastiv, that are satellite cities of the capital of Ukraine, city of Kyiv, have been destroyed, 90 percent of Mariupol is bombarded and destroyed. Just luckily, the theater where up to 1,000 children, innocent, were in the building, were destroyed, but they were underground, so they survived. That was luck.

But the targets of the Russian army are civilians. This is genocide of the Ukrainian population.

[08:05:00]

Those rockets and bullets are flying into and destroying not just the infrastructure of the country but killing the innocent. And that's the matter of fact. Kyiv is still standing strong. The Russian army is trying to circle the city. They're having no success. We're standing strong. Our will is strong. And, honestly, I'm proud of our women and men that stand together against this Russian war and aggression.

BERMAN: We can see right here the Russian forces trying to encircle the city of Kyiv from all these directions. But it's largely been the situation for a few days. We have word from some Ukrainian officials that the Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive against the Russians. What can you tell us about that?

KLITSCHKO: There is a lot of planning. I'm not a military man with office behind me, so I cannot make official statements what has been done, but eventually, Russian boots and Russian equipment need to leave our territory, our serenity of our country, and just leave the country. Eventually, it's going to happen. And the sooner it's going to happen, the better it is.

I want to say thank you to the U.S. government to delivering, or at least promising to deliver, and it was confirmed, delivering of their military equipment, as well as England. So this aid, this military aid, is very important for us to protect our choice to live in a free country and protect our borders and get out the Russian boots, as I said, out of our country.

BERMAN: As part of that military aid, there is word this morning it does include some drones, these switch blade drones that hit targets and destroy what they're aimed at when they land. What difference do you think this might make?

KLITSCHKO: We'll see what difference it's going to make. But as I said, any aid, especially military aid, is crucially important to defend our country. We are fighting, but we also need support of our allies. We need humanitarian help, because a lot of civilians are struggling. We need this support crucially. And we need to stop Putin's war. We need to stop as soon as possible. The sooner it's going to happen, the more civilian life, or lives in general we're going to save.

BERMAN: So German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this morning something which has been said by pretty much every NATO nation up until now. He said while they will help as much as they can, know there will not be any NATO military inside Ukraine. Your response to that?

KLITSCHKO: We're going to take care of ourselves. We promise. We're going to take care ourselves, which we've done already in the past 21 days of this senseless war. What we need, we need military equipment. Deliver it. And we will defend ourselves. We're going to close the skies by ourselves. We're going to do the job, because we're defending our country. But we're also defending the freedom and peace in Europe, and the western world. And we're defending the democratic principles of every other country that are our allies and partners. We are not alone. We know that. As I said, and I'll repeat it one more time, this war is against humanity. This war is against peace. This senseless war of a madman is going to come to an end. But please, we need the war to make this end sooner. We need it. BERMAN: Wladimir Klitschko, please stay safe. We do appreciate you

being with us this morning.

KLITSCHKO: Thank you.

KEILAR: Let's bring in Democratic Congressman Tom Malinowski now of New Jersey. He serves on both the foreign affairs and the Homeland Security committees. And also of note, he fled communist Poland as a child with his mother. Sir, thank you so much for being with us.

I'm not sure if you just heard, but the brother of mayor of Kyiv just said that everyone survived that Mariupol theater bombing. I know we want to obviously validate that, we want to confirm it. He said, but this was luck. I wonder what your reaction is to that, and especially as you see Russians, the Russian military, targeting civilians like this?

REP. TOM MALINOWSKI (D-NJ): Well, thank God, if that's true. But it doesn't change the fact that the Russians, unable to move forward, which is good, are just pounding away at civilian targets in these cities, hoping that somehow that gives them a stronger bargaining position, that it will wear down the Ukrainians.

[08:10:03]

It's not going to work, but it is going to kill a lot of innocent people. And it's the reason, one reason why we've got to step up our support to help the Ukrainians beat this back.

KEILAR: The Ukrainian government says that Ukrainian forces are performing counterstrikes against Russians, particularly, they're doing this outside of Kyiv. Do you believe that to be true? Do you believe that to be effective? What do you know?

MALINOWSKI: I think they're being very effective. Look, it's day 21, and the Russians haven't even managed to surround Kyiv. This is not the way the war was supposed to go, according to all of the experts. And they're doing well because they're brave, because they're defending their country, and also because of what we've given them. And we should -- we should not underestimate the strength of what we have already done, with the weapons that we have given the Ukrainians and more on the way. They have killed more Russians in 21 days than we lost in Afghanistan and Iraq in 20 years. That's absolutely extraordinary. And it gives me confidence that, as horrible as the suffering of the Ukrainian people is right now, they are winning and the Russians are losing.

KEILAR: Those casualties you're talking about, do you think that that ultimately leads to the downfall of Vladimir Putin?

MALINOWSKI: I don't know, and I don't think we can count on that. I don't think we should base our decisions on any expectations about what the Russian people will do to Putin. What I do hope is that the Russian military will in effect disintegrate around Kyiv, around Kharkiv, around these cities. We've seen massive casual, as I've mentioned, among the Russian troops. There are desertions. There are Russians leaving their vehicles when the fuel runs out.

At some point, there is a more realistic prospect, I would say, that this army just disintegrates, and that Putin cannot sustain it anymore. Our sanctions also help in that respect. Let's not forget, we have sanctioned the Russian economy back to the 1930s, and that also affects the ability of the Russian government to support these troops in the field for the long term.

KEILAR: We have just learned, I should mention, that President Biden is going to speaking with Xi Jinping of China tomorrow, and this of course, is coming that China may be willing, may be open to helping Russia, which has requested military and economic assistance. What is your reaction to that? And what do you think that Biden should communicate to Xi?

MALINOWSKI: He should communicate that if China wants to get involved with Russia here, then China's going to be subject to the same types of blocking sanctions that have devastated the Russian economy. And I don't think the Chinese will do that. We'll see. I know of several instances in which the Chinese have refused Russian requests in recent days to help. And the Chinese statements have gotten more supportive of the Ukrainians in last few days. I think China is aware of which way the wind is blowing here. But there are still very significant dangers ahead. I don't want to mislead anybody.

KEILAR: I want to ask you about something that Senator Lindsey Graham said. He has repeated his calls for Russians to assassinate Putin. And he was asked if he still stood by that earlier call. He said, yes, I hope we'll be taken out one way or another. I don't care how they take him out. I don't care if we send him to the Hague and try him. I just want him to go. What do you think of that?

MALINOWSKI: Well, I can understand the sentiment, but I don't think it's a wise thing for American elected officials to say, because it's the sort of thing that the Russians can play on their propaganda networks back home to whip up patriotic sentiment. At the time when Putin is struggling to do that, I don't want to give them any propaganda lifelines.

Look, Putin is losing. But a defeated Putin is also a dangerous Putin. And I think we do have to be -- we've got to support the Ukrainians but do it in a careful way. I think the Russians want to bring us into this conflict. I think that may be Putin's last gambit as he sees his forces unable to move forward in Ukraine. If he can bring us in and, in effect, terrify us into believing that World War III is possible, ironically, his negotiating position from his point of view might grow stronger.

And so I want to keep helping the Ukrainians close the skies, give them the antiaircraft weapons, planes if that will help. Continue to give them the anti-tank weapons that are devastating the Russian military. But I do also want us to be careful not to bring the United States unnecessarily into this conflict in a direct confrontation with Russia, because ironically, I think that would help Putin.

KEILAR: Sir, thank you so much. Congressman Tom Malinowski, we do appreciate your time this morning.

MALINOWSKI: Thank you.

[08:15:00]

KEILAR: New overnight, Japan says it has spotted four Russian warships possibly transporting troops and combat vehicles to Ukraine. This is so far away from Ukraine, we have to stress, but what does it tell us about the state of Russia's offensive that they're going all this way potentially?

Plus, anger erupting as oil prices tumble but gas prices remain high. The U.S. energy secretary joins us live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We do have breaking news. CNN has just learned that President Biden will speak with the Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow.

Let's go to CNN's Jeremy Diamond live at the White House.

Jeremy, what an important conversation this will be, given the situation in Ukraine.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, John, this is a really interesting fact that this call is going to happen between President Biden and President Xi, because it comes at this inflexion point that China is being asked to help it with its military effort to invade Ukraine, and also to help it to try and invade some of those sanctions that the U.S. and European nations have imposed on Russia as a cause for its invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S., meanwhile, has been warning China against doing exactly that. Just a few days ago, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with his Chinese counterpart in Rome. That meeting happened on Monday, I believe.

And now, tomorrow, you're going to have a conversation between President Biden and President Xi.

[08:20:04]

According to the White House, this conversation is going to be about managing the competition between the two countries, as well as Russia's war against Ukraine and other issues of mutual concern. That's from the White House press secretary.

All of this comes as we know that Russia has not only requested help from China on military and economic front, but as the U.S. now has information that China has expressed some openness to helping Russia with that. But the fact that these lines are communication are still open between the U.S. and China suggests that China perhaps hasn't made up its mind entirely. They really have been trying to maintain this public front of neutrality.

But, of course, we know President Xi has called President Putin his best friend, just a few months ago when they met in China. And, again, China and Russia have grown closer in recent years. There's been more competition between the U.S. and China.

But China also has an economic incentive here not to get on the U.S. and European Union's bad side. The U.S. and European Union are China's biggest trading partners there's a lot at stake for all involved -- John.

BERMAN: Yeah, this meeting tomorrow huge potential consequences, Jeremy Diamond at the White House -- thank you.

KEILAR: Gasoline prices tend to shoot up like a rocket which oil spikes, only to drop like a feather when crude crashes. And President Joe Biden appears fed up with this. He fired a tweet saying oil prices are decreasing, gas prices should too. Last time oil was $96 a barrel, gas was $3.62 a gallon. Now, it's $4.31 a gallon. Oil and gas companies shouldn't have their profits at the expense of hardworking Americans.

Joining us now is Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Secretary, thank you so much for joining us.

As I know so many Americans are going to the gas pump and, you know, it's just killing -- it's killing them, really, looking at what it's doing to their budgets. What's going on? Are these oil companies profiteering as some Democrats are suggesting?

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, ENERGY SECRETARY: Well, certainly, the oil companies as they have said in their shareholder meetings are making quite a profit at this time.

And as you noted in your introduction, it's this phenomenon of oil prices coming down, and gas prices coming down much more slowly is called rockets and feathers. Shooting up quickly, coming down very slowly. It is a -- you know, it's been happening for a long period of time.

But when the price is so high, it is really acute for people. And you know, there is concern about whether is profiteering happening at the gas station level, as well as at the oil company level. And I think the oil companies, you know, must be sensitive to this.

I was in Houston last week for a very large energy conference, largely oil and gas, and asking the oil and gas companies to increase production right now because the pain at the pump is so acute. The reason why the pain is so acute is because so much Russian oil has come off the market.

So, we need for everyone to step up. Whether it's gas station owners, whether it's oil companies, we need to all band together at this moment against Russia, and increase supplies so we take away Vladimir Putin's means of funding this war. And that we become more energy dependent.

At the same time, Brianna, I would say, we also have to step on the accelerator toward clean energy so that we're not reliant on these volatile sources.

KEILAR: I mean, rockets and feathers, yes. But do you believe that they are taking advantage, that they are making more money in this moment? Or is this something that over time it all just kind of comes out in the wash for gas station owners and for oil companies?

GRANHOLM: I know they would say, this is what I heard them say and reported and in fact during the pandemic, they took a bath. I mean, it was really hard for both gas station owners, as well as for oil companies because the price was down. You know, they were in negative territory.

So, they pulled back on production. And they pulled back on production because they had pressure from their investors. The pressure from the investors was, don't invest in capital, invest in shareholder buyback so that we can see some increase, some better returns on our investment. And so that happened. They have been experiencing record profits.

And so, now is the time that they have got to step up, to increase production right now, and to be able to be part of the solution, and not -- you know, not have people feel like they're being gouged at the -- at the pump.

KEILAR: We've seen --

GRANHOLM: By the way --

KEILAR: Sorry. Go on.

GRANHOLM: I was just going to say, you know, this -- I was just going to say just quickly, this increase in gas prices, you know, can you imagine how much disproportionately it really impacts people who don't have the luxury of being able to work from home, people who are in the service sector, people who are large -- often, lower income people get slammed with this.

[08:25:02]

So, I just think this is a moment for us as a nation, and as industries, to step up and do your duty to increase supply.

KEILAR: Yeah. We've been telling these stories. If you're on a budget for gasoline, this is the difference for some people not taking a job out of town. You know, we're seeing that from people. We're telling the stories.

The administration, we've seen these reports, the administration is reaching out to Saudi Arabia and to Venezuela -- I think folks that many Americans might consider unsavory characters -- in this search for energy, to kind of fill this Russian energy void. How should Americans view this?

GRANHOLM: I think Americans should see the administration calling right now for an increase in supply as something that helps them. And that's what -- it's increased supply at home, and increased supply around the world so that we can reduce the costs at the pump.

But ultimately, the administration's goal is not to have us be so reliant on volatile sources of energy, like fossil fuels. Ultimately, you know, medium and long term, this is why the president has a goal of getting to, you know, 100 percent clean electricity and net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and that's a transition.

But we've got to invest in that so that as a nation -- this is what our European allies are doing, too, they're much more reliant upon Russia for natural gas and for oil. And they are really doubling down on becoming independent by going clean -- by using clean energy sources, and we should be doing the same.

KEILAR: All right. Secretary Granholm, really appreciate you being with us this morning, thanks.

GRANHOLM: You bet.

KEILAR: So, this morning, words that President Biden has not used before. He's called Vladimir Putin a war criminal. We'll tell you how the Kremlin responded to that charge just moments ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]