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New Day

Russians Fire Missiles at City of Lviv, Miles From NATO Nation; How Vladimir Putin Hides His Fortune With No Paper Trail; Biden Calls Putin Murderous Dictator, Pure Thug. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 18, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEW DAY: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. It is Friday, March 18th.

And breaking overnight, the city of Lviv coming under fire. The mayor says an aircraft repair plant hit there by Russian missiles. According to Ukraine's military, a total of six missiles were fired toward this target in Lviv. Two of them were intercepted. And they say the missiles were likely fired from Russian warplanes quite a ways away in the Black Sea.

This happened just miles from Ukraine's border with Poland right on NATO's doorstep. And officials say the plant had been shut down and no one was hurt.

Lviv has largely been spared from Russian bombs and missiles. In the capital of Kyiv, though, another residential area targeted overnight. One person killed there, at least four others injured after the remnants of a downed Russian rocket hit a five-story building and set it on fire.

NATO officials say the Russian offensive to capture Kyiv has actually largely stalled but there's been no letup in Russian attacks on civilian targets.

This is just one of many tragic images that we're seeing from this war. That is a man crying next to the body of his mother after an attack in Kyiv.

And in Chernihiv, at least 53 people have been killed in attacks in just the last 24 hours. One of those victims is an American, James Hill, who was there helping his partner get medical care.

In Kharkiv, Russian forces shelled a giant market. They set off a series of fires that first responders are still trying to extinguish. One rescuer there killed and at least 21 were also killed in a neighboring city when a school and arts club was destroyed.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: President Biden calling Vladimir Putin a murderous dictator and pure thug, this is after previously calling him a war criminal. In just a couple of hours, President Biden will speak with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping. It will be the first time the two have spoken since Russia invaded Ukraine. Biden is expected to deliver a warning to Xi not to provide support for Russia's war efforts in Ukraine.

We want to go first, though, to the site of this overnight missile attack. It happened in Lviv, near the border with Poland. Scott McLean is there.

Scott, so people can see, this is Central Lviv right there. This is where the attack happened. The Polish border not all that far away. Why don't you tell us what went down.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Lviv today undoubtedly feels less safe than it did yesterday, but it seems like people here were expecting this as inevitable.

So, this city got a wakeup call shortly after 6:00 this morning. The air raid sirens went off. Shortly after that, you could hear an explosion from Central Lviv and then the thick black smoke on the horizon. Once we realized where those bombs have dropped, we came out toward here and were able to get to this top of this bridge earlier.

They're not letting us go there anymore. And we were able to see actually the airport runway, which is just beside the bridge, and we're able to see the smoke there rising from a building. And as you mentioned earlier, local officials say that was an aircraft repair facility.

The runway was not hit. Four missiles actually struck the target. Two were shot down. And it is important to point out that even when the air defense system works, as it appeared to in two cases, the danger is not over. We have seen in Kyiv for the last two days, remnants of missiles falling on civilians sites, falling on apartment buildings, both of them with deadly consequences.

Now, when I was here earlier, there were people still coming and going across the bridge. I spoke to some of the folks here, most of them older men, all whom who would be able to leave the country. And nobody seemed interested in going anywhere. One man asked me, where would I go? And when I suggested Poland, he said, it's not better there.

And so people are having to do this personal risk benefit calculation as to whether they stay, whether they go. There are more than 200,000 refugees in this city, according to the mayor's office. And the worry is that now that the bombs are falling within city limits for the first time, that there may well be a brand new exodus of people heading for the borders.

The governor said that one person was injured in that strike but not seriously. He also said that given Russia very likely knows that Lviv has become this humanitarian hub, this is proof that nothing is sacred for the Russians, not women, not children, not migrants, that Russia is not at war with the army but they are at war with the civilian population as well.

BERMAN: Yes, nothing is sacred. Scott McLean in Lviv, you and your team, please stay safe. KEILAR: As Russia's war in Ukraine intensifies and spreads into multiple cities, the human cost is escalating. Civilian casualties are mounting as innocent Ukrainian men, women and children die as a result of Russian shelling.

[07:05:02]

Here are just some of the sites that we know have been hit. A maternity and children's hospital, a theater being used as a civilian shelter that was clearly marked as having children inside, a swimming pool, apartment buildings, a market, neighborhoods, schools, so many schools, including two for the blind and visually impaired, another for people being treated for mental illness.

BERMAN: And arts club at a school, a bread line where one American was killed, residential areas, streets and sites in the following cities, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Mariupol, Hostomel, Irpin, Moschun, Borodyanka. This is far from an exhaustive list, the reality, many times longer.

So, one of the cities that has obviously been hardest hit is Mariupol right down here on the Sea of Azov. That is where that theater was destroyed.

I'm joined now by the editor in chief at Zaborona Media, Katerina Sergatskova. You have been watching and in contact with people in Mariupol. Do you have the latest from the situation at the theater, how many survivors?

KATERINA SERGATSKOVA, EDITOR IN CHIEF, ZABORONA-MEDIA: Actually, we still don't know what's the damage and how many victims we have because there was a very big problem in the city that Russians almost destroyed rescue units and their equipment. So, there are not so many people who can help those in the theater to escape from there. And --

BERMAN: Katerina, can you hear me?

SERGATSKOVA: Yes, do you hear me?

BERMAN: Okay, good to know. We lost your signal for a second there.

I know you've been in contact with people in the city. What do they tell you about how much has been destroyed?

SERGATSKOVA: I have official information from the city council of Mariupol. And they tell that 80 percent of the buildings in the city are destroyed, so almost everything. And still about 250,000 people live there. But it isn't life. I mean, you can imagine you have no water, no heating, no electricity, like nothing. And you have no connection. You cannot call your relatives and know what's going on there. So, every day, they try to evacuate people by cars. It is not safe because the Russians are shelling all the time. So, yes, but somebody managed to escape this hell.

I can say that Mariupol is the worst that happened in Ukraine since the invasion. And we don't know how to -- we tried -- I mean, officials tried to communicate with Russians to stop bombing at a certain time but they don't do it. They don't have green corridors for humanitarian help and people just dying from lack of water and food.

BERMAN: 80 percent of the city, as you say, almost everything. How are they surviving, those who are still there, some 250,000 people?

SERGATSKOVA: I know some people have something to eat. What can they do? They just live in their homes and they won't shell those. I mean, it is not life. They're just surviving and they try to hold on and waiting for the war to stop. And it is not stopping. And this is really horrible.

BERMAN: Katerina, thank you for telling their stories. We appreciate you being with us this morning.

SERGATSKOVA: Thank you.

KEILAR: Joining us now is retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt. He also served as assistant secretary of state for political military affairs under George W. Bush. Sir, thank you so much for taking us through this.

What we're looking at is this large package of aid that was announced by President Biden.

[07:10:00]

Can you tell us what's in it?

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Yes. What we have here is pretty much everything that's been provided. What is interesting about this latest package is the distinct items that they are bringing in for urban combat.

Earlier on, we saw a lot of Stingers, Javelins, patrol boats, helicopters. That was sort of for this outside larger conventional fight that they were going to have with the Russians initially. But what we are now seeing is some very interesting equipment that specifically says both the U.S. and Ukrainians are starting to focus urban combat.

These AT-4s right here, anti-armor systems, very short range, they are effective to about 300 meters, they kill tanks but 300 meters is pretty close. That tells me they are going to use those inside the cities. More grenades, huge amounts of small arms ammunition, shotguns and machine guns, that's the kind of equipment that you use in urban conflict, not in open warfare.

KEILAR: You're much farther away if you're out in a field or hiding in a grove of trees shooting a Stinger or a Javelin, right?

KIMMITT: The Stinger going against the aircraft, the Javelins going against the tanks at about one mile to a mile-and-a-half. But compare a Javelin, which is good to a mile, a mile-and-a-half, to an AT-4, 300 yards. KEILAR: Yes, it really does put it into perspective. And then I wonder, as you looked at what's being provided, what was missing to you?

KIMMITT: Yes, that's an interesting point. I was concerned over two issues. Yes, we have provided some counter-fire radars. These are the type of radars that will actually detect missile sites, detect artillery sites, detect rocket sites. When those artillery rounds and rockets take off, they leave a very, very distinct signature in the air that the radar can pick up, and you can backtrack it to those firing locations.

We would like to see them take that information, they, the Ukrainians, take that information and shoot back and destroy the sites because they are very vulnerable.

Anti-ballistic missile systems, there is controversy about sending in the American patriots for good reason, hard to train on, hard to take the risk of putting that kind of American equipment in there. It's good to know that the NATO countries, by contrast, are sending in their old Russian stocks, SA-4, SA-6, SA-8 and especially this device called the S-300. That will be pretty effective. If we can't put in a no-fly zone to stop the Russians from coming in, the Ukrainians can use that equipment to make sure they pay a heavy price.

KEILAR: For context, this strike in Lviv, the Ukrainians say there were six missiles but that they intercepted two.

KIMMITT: Yes, exactly.

KEILAR: So, the effort here, right, is to make sure they intercept maybe more than two.

KIMMITT: Yes. Every one they knock down is civilians being saved.

KEILAR: Take us through Kyiv, like if they are preparing for there to be urban combat here, what is this going to take assuming that Russia does grind its way into the capital? What is this going to look like?

KIMMITT: Well, it is not simply equipment. It's also people that will eventually have to fight inside and outside of Kyiv. And I think we seem to forget that Kyiv on a map kind of looks like a small little city. But let's put it into perspective. It's 325 square miles. You can put Chicago, D.C. and Manhattan inside of Kyiv and there will still be room. It will be the largest urban combat in history and it is just phenomenal the amount of warfare that would have to go on for days, weeks, probably months if the Russians are serious about taking Kyiv.

KEILAR: All right. General, thank you so much for walking us through all of that, I really appreciate it.

Kremlin critics say this billion dollar palace is a symbol of Vladimir Putin's legacy of corruption. We will show you just how tight of a grip he has on Russian oligarchs, next.

BERMAN: Ukrainian officials say 300,000 Ukrainians have returned to fight against Russia since the invasion began.

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[07:15:00]

BERMAN: Russian President Vladimir Putin may be one of the richest people on the planet, his money hidden behind multiple levels of assets.

CNN's Drew Griffin investigates how Putin hides his fortune.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On the shore of the Black Sea, it can only be described as a palace, 190,000 square feet. From the air, you can see the church, tea house and amphitheater, and, reportedly, an underground hockey rink with a no-fly zone and a no boat zone, this according to an investigation last year, by the jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's group. They claim that this gilded, luxurious palace fit for a king was built for Vladimir Putin.

MARIA PEVCHIKH, HEAD OF INVESTIGATION, ANTI-CORRUPTION FOUNDATION: This palace is very much a symbol and a miniature of Putin's Russia, that he no longer sees himself as a government employee, as an elected figure. He sees himself as czar, a king of some sort, and that the Russian czar, of course, deserves a palace.

GRIFFIN: CNN can't independently verify Putin's connection to the palace and Putin's spokesman denies the Russian leader owns it or any palace.

Maria Pevchikh from Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation says they have proof. But their sources and documents all point to the palace as an example of how the oligarchs corruptly enrich Russia's president.

[07:20:05]

PEVCHIKH: It has been paid by Russian oligarchs, by Russian state- owned companies, money from Russian people, from regular people, that was stolen and diverted into building this horrendous thing on the Black Sea.

GRIFFIN: According to the investigation and a whistleblower who came forward, the money for the palace came from a Russian investment fund company that solicited charity donations from the Russian oligarchs.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: There are these rumors about Putin being the richest man in the world, and he may be. It's very, very hard to try to understand what his wealth is and what where it's held.

GRIFFIN: Rumored to be worth more than $100 billion officially, Putin claims an 800-squarefoot apartment, a few cars and a modest salary in 2020, valued at about $140,000. But his official income is irrelevant. Russia watchers say Putin controls Russia by determining who gets money and who doesn't, who gets to run business, who skims profit and how the wealth is passed. He doesn't need any assets listed in his name, says Journalist Tom Burgis. It's all his when he asks.

TOM BURGIS, AUTHOR, KLEPTOPIA: It's closer to something like a godfather. But, ultimately, they owe everything they have to the boss. And with the click of a finger, as he has shown in the past, Putin can take everything from an oligarch. However rich and however influential they may seem, they are ultimately dependent on him.

GRIFFIN: Fight the system, interfere in politics and face his wrath. Exiled Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was convicted of tax evasion and fraud, spent ten years in a Russian prison, he says, for not playing Putin's game. He claims Putin is paranoid, dangerous and must be stopped.

MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, FORMER RUSSIAN OLIGARCH AND OIL TYCOON: All the accounts of all the oligarchs who function as Putin's wallet must be stopped. They must all feel the pain right now and it must continue until the war ends.

GRIFFIN: Newly imposed sanctions from the west have now made it hard for many of the Russian billionaires to do business outside of Russia, yachts, bank accounts frozen.

Inside Russia, the economy shows signs of crumbling. But chipping away at Putin's brutal hold on power through economics will take time. From his actions, observers believe Putin's strategy is far beyond personal riches.

DOUGHERTY: He wants to rebuild Russia as a great power. And you almost have to go back to the czarist days to understand that.

GRIFFIN: Just at the gates of Putin's purported palace, a golden two- headed ground eagle, a symbol of Russia similar to the two-headed crowned eagle that is at top the gates of the winter palace that belonged to Russia's last czar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN (on camera): John and Brianna, the fact is financially getting to Putin may be impossible and even getting to his oligarchs through seizures and sanctions is tremendously difficult. They have created multiple levels of shell companies to hide their assets safely in western countries like the United States. One expert telling CNN, there is literally no paper trail.

Brianna, John?

KEILAR: Fascinating report, Drew Griffin.

The breaking news overnight, the western city of Lviv just miles from the Polish border hit by Russian missiles. The war is now within miles of the border with NATO.

BERMAN: Reports that Russia's advance on the capital city of Kyiv are stalling. We are live on the ground there with the former president of Ukraine.

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[07:25:00]

BERMAN: new overnight, at least one dead and four injured at a residential building in Kyiv after remnants of a downed rocket hit the five-story building. The daily attacks on the capital city continue despite reports that Russia's advance is stalling.

Joining me now, the former president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, who is in Kyiv and has joined the territorial defense forces in the fight against Russia.

Here is Kyiv right here, Mr. President, and we do have these reports that the Russian offensive has stalled. What does it feel like to you in the city?

PETRO POROSHENKO, FORMER UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: This is a city in a state of war. We have the continuous shelling by artillery, we have a cruise missile attack and there is no safe place throughout the capital of Ukraine, 3 million city, one of the best city in Europe and maybe in the world.

Only this night, we have 12 attacks by cruise missiles. Seven of them reach the residential building. And with this situation, we have -- this is the disastrous way how Putin provide the war against Ukraine.

And I am definitely confident that Ukraine do a miracle. And the battalions and troops and Ukraine armed forces do a miracle to stop Russian forces on their way to reach Kyiv, to surround and to attack Kyiv. And this is what I doubt that the world expected from their armed forces, which was created in year 2014-2015 under my presidency.

And we now demonstrate how effective was the cooperation with the NATO members, to increasing the combat capability of Ukrainian Armed Forces, of Ukrainian anti-aircraft forces, of Ukrainian forces on the ground. And with that situation, definitely, this move Putin to cross the red line.

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