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Russians Fire Missiles at City of Lviv, Miles From NATO Nation; Biden Calls Putin "Murderous Dictator, Pure Thug". Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired March 18, 2022 - 08:00   ET

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

JOHN, CNN NEW DAY: Plant near the Lviv airport.

[08:00:02]

Let me give you a sense of where this took place. You can see Lviv right near the Russian border, fired, these missiles were from the Black Sea. This is likely how they traveled right there. As you can see Lviv right on the border with Poland, that is NATO's doorstep. The plan had stopped before the missiles hit. We are told that one person was injured, not seriously.

In the capital of Kyiv, another residential area struck overnight. One person killed, at least four others injured after the remnants of a downed Russian rocket hit a five-story building there.

NATO officials say the Russian offensive to capture Kyiv has largely stalled. Still, though, the human costs from Russian attacks keeps mounting.

Heart-wrenching images there, a man crying next to the body of his mother after an attack in Kyiv.

In Chernihiv, at least 53 people have been killed in attacks in just the last 24 hours. One of the victims, American, James Hill, he was killed while waiting in a bread line. He was there in that city helping his partner get medical care.

In Kharkiv, Russian forces shelled a giant market setting off a series of intense fires. The first responders still trying to extinguish those fires there. One rescuer, we're told, was killed.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEW DAY: And President Biden calling Vladimir Putin a murderous dictator, and pure thug after calling him a war criminal. An hour from now, Biden will be speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and this is going to be the first time that the two have spoken since Russia invaded Ukraine. The president is expected to warn Xi not to provide support for Russian war efforts.

CNN reporters are covering the latest on Ukraine.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Scott McLean in Lviv, Ukraine, where the first bombs dropped within city limits hours ago. The air raid sirens went off early this morning shortly after explosions were heard from the city center, and then thick black smoke was seen on the horizon.

According to Ukrainian officials, the bombs were dropped on an aircraft repair facility, which was near the airfield, which we were able to see from the top of this bridge.

The governor says that Russia should know that Lviv has become a humanitarian hub for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing violence elsewhere and this strike is proof that, to Russia, nothing is sacred.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I'm Natasha Bertrand in Brussels. U.S. and NATO intelligence officials tell CNN that the number of Russian forces that have been killed in combat in Ukraine over the last month are in the thousands. One intelligence assessment places that number of Russian troops killed at about 7,000 forces. Others place it between 3,000 and 10,000 forces. It is a very difficult number to quantify exactly.

But the bottom line is that thousands of forces have been killed in combat over the last time, and that is something that Russian President Vladimir Putin, they say, did not anticipate.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kylie Atwood at the State Department. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed an American died yesterday in Ukraine, not providing many more details. But CNN has confirmed that it was James Whitney Hill, a man from Minnesota, and his sister spoke with CNN last night describing that he was in Ukraine because his partner was there receiving treatment at a hospital for multiple sclerosis.

And she told CNN that he was the one going out from the hospital to get food and treats to bring back to those who were working at the hospital. She described him as a helper in a crisis.

KEILAR: As Russia continues its assault on Ukrainian cities, the Biden administration and NATO have once again rejected calls for a no- fly zone over Ukraine. President Biden did, however, sign an $80 million military aid package that includes a variety of weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian military.

Joining us now is Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Mustafa Nayyem. Sir, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

I first want --- you're joining us from Kyiv, but I want to get your reaction to these strikes that we saw in Lviv. Obviously, this is a place where we haven't seen many strikes. What can you tell us?

Mustafa, can you unmute the mic because I think we're having a hard time hearing you? Can you unmute the mic on your computer?

MUSTAFA NAYYEM, UKRAINE DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFRASTRUCTURE: Thank you very much, first of all, for having me, and, of course, we were shocked by these shellings today on Lviv because it's one of the cities where many refugees and the IDPs are moved there. And, first of all, the under attack was airport in Lviv, which is an international airport, and the second was one of our defense factories, which was focused on repair of our aircrafts. [08:05:07]

So, of those two shellings are critical for our country and very critical for our defense system today. But it's not the only one. I have information about what happened in Ukraine last three weeks, and for now, the infrastructure was damaged very fully, and I'm talking about more than 15,000 kilometers of roads, more than 300 bridges, 15 airports and also 5,000 kilometers of railways, 47 railway stations. And the hospitals, 36 hospitals for now were shelled and destroyed, demolished to zero. And we are talking about more than 300 schools, which also were shelled around the country.

And, therefore, you need to understand, it also is about 1,600 residential areas in different cities. And it's not just shelling, these residential areas were totally demolished. So, they do not exist anymore.

And 45 factories, which was shelled by Russian occupation army, and also it is about defense objects and defense factories, administrative buildings, and which is very, for us, shocking is that more than 124 kindergartens also was shelled these days, and we know that more than 100 children were killed. So, basically, the result of the shelling --

KEILAR: And I will tell you, we are telling the story of that because it's very clear that this is indiscriminate and that civilians are being targeted.

I do want to ask you, you were in charge of infrastructure, is the military aid getting in? Are you able to get it across the country? How is it going?

NAYYEM: For this moment, of course, we have big problems with the supply chains because our cargoes were by harbors, for example, or our agriculture was through harbors. Now, all harbors are cut. Second issue, we have second problem with railways because we understand that, day-by-day, they are destroying our railway stations and railways. And it causes big problem to deliver goods and deliver medicines to the rural villages, and, of course, we have problem that some of our area territory is not controlled and are under shelling and under attack, like Mariupol, this famous city of our country, and all of our people now are focused on that and pay attention to this problem. But we cannot deliver there, nothing. I mean, we cannot deliver even food or medicines.

And we understand that for other -- all humanitarian corridors, which was done last days were somehow was shelled would and we don't have kind of good cooperation with Russian Federation from that and with their army. And for the last 18 days of March, our railways was able to deliver almost 15,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the affected regions. We're transporting it by both freight and passenger train cars. But, of course, we have this problem.

And I think that for next two, three weeks, we'll have big problem with the food because the roads are destroyed and we don't have enough trucks and some of our -- many of our drivers were mobilized now and they're fighting. So, this is a big problem. But, still, we have what we have instead. We have united civil society, and we feel very big support of private business, which are now developing harbors and developing hubs of humanitarian aid, not only in Ukraine but also in Poland, in Romania, in Slovakia. So, they're helping us with the food and humanitarian aids. And also they are helping with the delivering issues. When I say that more than 40 percent of all of our deliveries is done by private business and civil volunteers, so that's helped us a lot.

KEILAR: You were in the cabinet. Are the Ukrainians winning this war?

NAYYEM: We don't have another option. We will win this war. The question is what will be the price of this victory. Because, for now, we understand that thousands of our people have died, and children have died, our cities are demolished. And, of course, the courage of our people help us win that. But we need more weapons. We need no-fly zone. We need more assistance and support from our western partners.

[08:10:02]

We are grateful what is done by United States, by Germany, by other countries, but it's not enough. And we feel that some countries, like, for example, Germany, said our president, they hesitate, they don't have very clear position that Russian should be cut from all financial system and for all transport also. For example, you know United States and Great Britain, they have closed their harbors for Russian ships, but Europe still did not, have not, so they are not doing that.

And we understand that the position of Germany is very crucial for that. Unfortunately, they don't support that, which is very weird for us, understanding of all history of Germany.

So, for now, of course, we will win. I mean, I repeat again, we don't have an option. But from the other side, we don't want to pay this price. Even more I would say, if all of these cargo shipments and deliveries, and all these assistance we have now, if we had them half a year ago, one year ago, and we asked for them, maybe today we will not have this situation. Maybe today, we will not lose all the children and people in our country.

So, I think, for now, it is very good moment, and very decisive moment for all countries to understand that any hesitation today costs lives of Ukrainian citizens who will die on the front tomorrow.

KEILAR: I think, Mustafa, you bring up a very important point that in time is something many nations will be reflecting upon. Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Mustafa Nayyem, thank you for being with us.

NAYYEM: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. Less than an hour from now, a crucial phone call, President Biden will speak with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, amid concerns that China could provide assistance to Russia, including military assistance. But look at this, this is video of Russia's attack on Ukraine, and it aired on Chinese state television, and it talked about Ukrainian civilian casualties.

Joining me now is CNN Senior Global Affairs Analyst Bianna Golodryga. And, Bianna, you saw that video. It catches the attention if the Chinese are allowing that to get out.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, the timing was interesting, right, just a day before this very important phone call, which I think is a good phone call, that it's good that we're having this between President Biden and Xi Jinping, but, yes, clearly, sending a message, because, thus far, China has been, as one analyst said, pro-Kremlin neutral.

And it's very difficult to maintain that stance when you continue to see images like this, of civilians being bombarded at the hands of Russians. Remember, that was that Chernihiv bread line where as many as ten civilians died.

BERMAN: Look, Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, had tough words for China yesterday. Do you think there's any chance that Biden could somehow change the direction that China is headed?

GOLODRYGA: Well, listen, getting China to conform with your demands is much more difficult than getting Russia in line, right? One thing that the U.S. does have in its favor is that those sanctions and all the threats that led up to this war that Biden publicly announced against Russia together with European allies came through, right? Vladimir Putin didn't think that that would actually happen and we saw the worst case scenario in terms of repercussions for Russia. So, maybe this is a way that Xi Jinping can say, listen, the U.S. is not bluffing.

One thing that is worth noting is that, unlike Russia, it's not clear where the Europeans stand in terms of how far they're willing to go to sanction China.

BERMAN: So, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, just did a press conference, and one of the things he said, and we know this because you speak Russian, one of your many skills, is you can translate the Russian foreign minister for us, he said that any cargo carrying military equipment into Ukraine would be a fair target. There's a lot of cargo coming from NATO nations that includes military equipment there. So, is this an escalation?

GOLODRYGA: Well, we saw his deputy make the same announcement last weekend. And just a day later we saw that military facility targeted and bombed in Lviv. So, clearly, A, this is one way where Russia is stepping up and ratcheting up the pressure, right, and showing that we will actually go after your weaponry that you're sending in. I think it's also another sign that they are facing a deficit in terms weaponry, right, and why they may be turning to China now to ask for economic and military aid, because they simply are running out.

BERMAN: Yes. Look, the real question is, going after the cargo here inside the borders of Ukraine is very different than if they targeting it on Poland or Slovakia or on the way in. That is something that does bear watching. That would be a huge escalation.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And the timing, right, after the announcement, right, of nearly $1 billion worth of aid, military aid going into Ukraine.

BERMAN: Bianna Golodryga, great to have you here. Thank you so much.

The breaking news this morning, the Ukrainian city of Lviv in the western part of that country, just miles from the Polish border, hit by Russian missiles, that is so close to NATO at this point.

[08:15:04]

That is so close to NATO at this point.

KEILAR: Plus, President Biden ramping up the rhetoric against Vladimir Putin, calling him a murderous dictator and pure thug. The Kremlin firing back this morning.

We're joined next by the Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: Personally, I agree. Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime. After all the destruction of the past three weeks, I find it difficult to conclude that the Russians are doing otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoing President Biden's remarks and calling Russian president Vladimir Putin a war criminal.

Joining me now is the Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

Thank you so much for being with us.

So, what's the difference between a personal feeling shared by the secretary of state and president of the United States that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, and an official American position that states that?

WENDY SHERMAN, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: Good to be with you this morning, John.

Look, I think there's virtually no one, maybe Vladimir Putin is the exception, who can look at all of the photographs, all of the video coming from Ukraine, and not believe that Putin is intentionally targeting civilians, and intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime.

[08:20:00] Now, I think we all feel it personally, but in terms of international law, you have to have evidence. You have to have a body of proof that, in fact, there was intentionality. We are helping to pool that evidence together, present it to international justice parties, and then have a legal threshold that is met.

But there's no doubt terrible things are going on in Ukraine.

BERMAN: We see them every day with our own eyes and reporters on the ground see them as well.

Does the feeling that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal or thug, as the president said, how does that change the relationship going forward? Does that preclude a phone call? Do you have a phone call with a thug? Do you have a summit a year or two from now with a thug or war criminal?

SHERMAN: John, I don't want to get ahead of the horrible situation that we are in. We have dealt with all kinds of difficult people over the years.

What's critical now is for every nation all over the world to call on Vladimir Putin to end this horrendous war of choice, this war of carnage, that's where we are, and that's what we have to be focused on today, every day Ukrainian people -- women, men, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandparents are losing their lives, an American citizen yesterday, as you have reported, who was there helping out someone that he loved.

So, it is a time where we need to be focused on ending this war. We'll get to the future. Let's get there.

BERMAN: Does the United States support regime change in Russia?

SHERMAN: That is not what we are about. We are not -- this is a decision for the people of Russia. You know, one of the things that is so critical here is we believe in what is in the U.N. charter and the principles of the international rules of order, and that means that we respect sovereignty, territorial integrity, the right of people to make their own political and policy choices for their own country.

These are things that the entire world has subscribed to. Vladimir Putin has taken a step back from what we have all believed for so very long, and intentionally invaded another country, unprovoked, unjust, and premeditated.

BERMAN: You just told me it's incumbent on every nation in the world to stand up and say, speak out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. China hasn't done that exactly, have they? China has declared neutrality. China has said it regrets that this type of action is happening, that this conflict is happening.

President Biden is about to speak with the Chinese Leader Xi Jinping. What is the ask this morning?

SHERMAN: The ask is the one that I think you heard from Secretary Blinken yesterday, which is that China needs to stand on the right side of history. It needs to ensure it does not backfill financially or in any other way sanctions that have been imposed upon Russia, that China not supply military weapons to Russia.

And if they do, as Secretary Blinken said yesterday, we are ready to impose costs on China.

Now, we don't want to do that. We want the PRC, which is a very important power in the world, very consequential to understand that their future is with the United States, with Europe, with other developed and developing countries around the world. Their future is not to stand with Vladimir Putin.

BERMAN: Who's we, though, in this case? The secretary said the United States would, you know, impose sanctions and issue penalties. Do you have a commitment from Europe to do the same?

SHERMAN: I think what you have seen over the past weeks, it feels like years, but it's just been weeks, is that we are in complete solidarity with Europe and, quite frankly, with many countries in Asia and other parts of the world, 141 countries called out what Putin is doing in a U.N. General Assembly resolution.

So there is immense solidarity around the world that anyone who is helping Vladimir Putin is going to have costs imposed upon them. We have sanctioned Belarus, for instance, which is standing with Vladimir Putin. So it is critical that the PRC, the People's Republic of China understand the choice here.

BERMAN: Belarus is different than China, though. Do you have an implicit --

SHERMAN: Indeed.

BERMAN: -- do you have an explicit promise from Europe --

SHERMAN: We have --

BERMAN: -- and other nations to impose sanctions on China if they support Russia?

SHERMAN: Again, I don't want to get ahead of the president, I don't want to get ahead of what decisions Xi Jinping will make. I think it's quite clear where the United States stands and we'll work with our allies and partners as we have done at every step of this process to move forward in solidarity.

BERMAN: So, we heard Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, not long ago, say that cargo-carrying military equipment into Ukraine, he believes, is a legitimate target.

[08:25:01]

How do you read that?

SHERMAN: He has said that before today as well. And the president of the United States has said that if the Russians target a convoy in a NATO country under our obligation, our solemn obligation as a NATO ally, we will defend every inch of that NATO country and the people in them.

BERMAN: Where do you see the conflict standing this morning? We've heard from some Ukrainian officials who say they are doing counterstrikes against the Russian forces there. Do you feel as if the Ukrainians have turned the tide?

SHERMAN: I'm not a military specialist, but one thing that is really clear is that the Ukrainian people are extraordinary. I think everyone around the world is inspired not only by President Zelenskyy who is just a remarkable, remarkable, brave leader of his country, but the Ukrainian people who have pushed back the largest conventional military in Europe and stood their ground.

So we stand with Ukraine, and we hope we're supplying them. As you know, the president announced a billion dollars in security assistance just this week. That brings to $2 billion the amount of weapons that we have tried to, and are moving into Ukraine. Other countries around the world are doing likewise.

We want to do everything we can to help the Ukrainian people. They are just remarkable.

BERMAN: Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

SHERMAN: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: Russian tennis star and number one player in the world Daniil Medvedev may have to denounce Vladimir Putin if he wants to complete at Wimbledon this year.

KEILAR: Plus, American basketball star Brittney Griner now being detained in Russia for another two months at least. What is being done now to secure her release?

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