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Shopping Center in Kyiv Bombed by Air Strike; Ukraine Rejects Russia Offer to Surrender City of Mariupol; U.S., NATO Struggle to Evaluate Russia-Ukraine Talks; U.S. Officials: Russia Used Hypersonic Missiles Against Ukraine; UNICEF: 1.5M Refugee Children at Risk of Human Trafficking. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 21, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[05:5927]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. It is Monday, March 21. I'm John Berman in Lviv in western Ukraine. Brianna Keilar is in Washington.

We begin with Ukraine rejecting an ultimatum from Russia for the city of Mariupol to surrender. That city has just been decimated. More than 7,000 people did manage to evacuate over the weekend. But so many remain trapped. Perhaps hundreds of thousands.

The Russians bombed an art school where as many as 400 might have been taking shelter. At this moment, funerals not even possible there. Instead, residents are digging graves in the streets. This was a bustling port city just one month ago, one month ago.

Now the streets are lined with burned-out buildings. In Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, CNN teams on the ground report hearing several explosions overnight. One person was reportedly killed in an attack on a large shopping center.

Firefighters running toward the blast, pulling victims from the rubble alive. Sixty-three firefighters were at the scene. And officials say flames reached as high as the third and fourth floors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: That is the sound of anti-aircraft fire erupting last night over Kyiv. The fight for the capital appears to be at a stalemate. Kremlin forces dug in around the city with most analysts expressing doubts about their ability to capture it. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is calling for peace talks with the Russians before the unthinkable happens.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I'm ready for negotiations with him. I was ready over the last two years. And I think that -- I think that without negotiations, we cannot end this war. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third world war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Three point three million have now fled their country. Ten million people have been forced from their homes. And today, President Biden will hold calls with the leaders of Germany, Italy, France, and the U.K., and they will be traveling soon to Brussels. He will be there on Wednesday to meet with NATO and European leaders through the rest of the week.

BERMAN: We're going to begin our reporting this morning in Kyiv. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen standing by in the Retroville shopping center, which was hit so hard. Fred, give us a sense of what you're seeing.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, John.

Yes, the authorities, they've kind of moved us away a little bit from that mall. But I want to ask for our photo journalist, Byron Blunt (ph). He's going to come forward. And you can see over there the extensive damage that was done by this massive air strike that took place last night. Again, we're sort of on the northeastern outskirts of the capital of Kyiv.

And you can see that explosion just caused immense damage to the shopping mall. I think you were mentioning it before, that the flames apparently went all the way up to the third and fourth floors of that building.

If you look down, you can see some soldiers who are actually walking through the wreckage right now in front of the building.

The latest update I have for you, John, and this just came out a couple of minutes ago as we're going to air, is that the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, he now says that eight people were killed at this site here.

He also says that six to eight buildings were also damaged aside from the mall. So we're talking about residential buildings. He says some of those residential buildings now are not safe to move in them anymore.

If you look at the fronts of some of the houses, actually, even the one that I'm standing on right now, there is also extensive damage to those, as well.

So you can see here the capital, Kyiv, further being targeted by this Russian air campaign. We were reporting from here last night, John. And you could really hear a lot of air sirens going off. You could hear a lot of anti-aircraft fire, as well.

We saw anti-air missiles that were also being launched. It certainly was an extremely busy night. The Russians obviously -- you know, obviously firing a lot here towards the city and hitting this area. One of the things that -- that's questionable, obviously, is what exactly they might have been trying to hit here. Really not clear that there's any sort of military installation close to here. We did hear some outgoing rocket fire just a couple of minutes ago. But it was pretty far way from our location here.

So not clear exactly what they might have been trying to hit. But certainly, from what the Ukrainians are saying, what the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, for instance, is saying, this is certainly not a military installation. But it was a shopping center that actually was just recently opened. I think it was just opened last year. But that has now completely been destroyed.

And some of the surveillance camera video that we saw from last night as the strike took place certainly seemed like a gigantic explosion. The damage that we're seeing right now there, with pretty much everything in between the buildings destroyed and the buildings themselves also completely destroyed, as well.

That certainly seemed to be some pretty heavy munitions that were dropped here on the capital of Kyiv. And John, obviously. a place that was very much under aerial attack throughout the course of the entire night last night, John.

BERMAN: It seems possible, given the Russian record, that they were trying to hit a shopping mall. We keep trying to guess what the military targets might be.

But so often it seems that the Russians are choosing not even to hit military targets but hit clearly civilian targets like a mall. We'll wait for confirmation on that.

Fred, there obviously, over the last few weeks, we've seen this Russian intention to take -- to take Kyiv, the capital city where you are. It stalled on the outskirts of the city. The Russians unable to move as far in as they'd like.

Now, there's a sense they may be digging in in some of these areas, creating almost defensive positions there, preparing for a siege. What's the sense of that in the city?

[06:05:09]

PLEITGEN: Well, I think you're absolutely right. I think that certainly seems to be what the authorities believe here, as well. In fat, as I talk about this, I'm going to let Byron come forward a little bit again so that we can sort of see some of the damage that was caused. Because I think it's very significant because one of the things the U.S. is saying and the U.S.'s allies is saying is that the Russians so far have failed to get into the city.

In fact, you look straight ahead, and you can see rescue crews working there. They failed to get into the city, and they failed to advance towards the city. They say that, in some areas, the Russian offensive was not only halted but actually pushed back. And so therefore, the Russians now, as the U.S. believes, are using

what's called stand-off aerial weapons. Air-dropped bombs, air-dropped missiles to hit the city from further away, which might be what we're looking at right now.

But certainly, if you talk to the defenders here of this city, they will tell you that they are much more confident now than maybe they were two weeks ago. They believe that in certain areas, they have the upper hand. They obviously have managed to really hit the Russians hard in certain places and actually push them back.

And on top of that, the Russians apparently are also facing another big problem, in that there's massive flooding in the Irpin River basin, which is also north of here, which could further bog them down. It will make them a lot more difficult for them to make, for instance, pontoon bridges to cross the river here, a massive river than the upper river.

And then also, of course, the ground gets really soggy. It's -- it's this very rich, agricultural land. That makes it even more difficult for the Russians to advance as they quite literally get bogged down.

So by all accounts, what we're hearing from the authorities here, things are not going well for the Russian offensive. And as a result of that, they're using more air power to hit the city here. No doubt the result of which you're probably seeing right here.

But you know, as you stated, John, it's -- it's very difficult here from where we are right now to see that there could have been any sort of military objective to all this. Also, if you look at the surveillance video that came out right before the explosion, it looked like there were a couple of cars on the parking lot.

So not clear that there was any sort of military objective to this. We certainly haven't heard from the Russians yet that they really believe that they would have hit anything with any military significance here in the outskirts of Kyiv, John.

BERMAN: Yes. They're putting their bombs there, because they can't put their feet there at this moment. Frederik Pleitgen at the site of this Retroville shopping mall, you and your team stay safe, Fred. Thank you so much.

As we say, putting their bombs there because they can't put their feet there, that very much seems to be the situation with incredibly tragic consequences in Mariupol this morning. The city under siege on the Sea of Azov completely surrounded the city with hundreds of thousands of the people perhaps trapped inside.

Joining me now here in Lviv, CNN's Phil Black. Phil, you've been watching the situation, the plight in that city very closely.

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're talking about, essentially, one strike in Kyiv. But a military officer on the ground in Mariupol in Ukraine tells us it's been bombed every 10 minutes or so. From the air, Russian forces and naval forces as well. So it's an extraordinary situation. Overnight, we've had this offer.

You might say ultimatum from Russia to essentially hand over the city. It was written, eight pages. But the short version goes, put down your weapons, stop fighting. We'll let everyone leave safely. We'll start sending aid in.

It was rejected pretty quickly. The Mariupol city council said we don't need to wait for your 4 a.m. local time deadline. Here's your answer. Effectively, a colorful expletive.

Now, with that off the table, it means that Russia still has the same decision to make. Does it move in on foot, try to take this street to street in a costly, difficult way, or does it continue the siege?

And I think we know what seems more likely at the moment. That involves applying horrendous pressure and suffering onto the people there.

And we got another really distressing example of that over the weekend. Another large shelter where a big group of people were staying was hit and destroyed. This is an art school. About 400 people were estimated to be staying there.

Men -- sorry, well, largely, men, women and the elderly. And we don't know what's happened to them. We don't know if anyone survived. The authorities on the ground simply lost the ability to help and mount any sort of rescue when these -- when these attacks happened.

So it means that the situation on the ground continues more broadly pretty much as it is. Hundreds of thousands of people under regular bombardment with very little food, no heat, very little water.

We're talking about Kyiv is the primary military goal here. But I think the operations in Mariupol, the bombardment, the blockade, give a real sense of what Russia might be prepared to do in order to achieve that in the coming days (ph).

BERMAN: Yes, let's be clear. The consequences for the people inside, whether the Russians go in and try to take it street to street, or continue to bomb it and starve it, devastating for the people there, no matter which option the Russians take.

Phil, thank you so much for being here.

So U.S. and NATO officials struggling to determine exactly where Russia and Ukraine stand on peace talks. The Ukrainian president, Zelenskyy, says he's ready and willing to negotiate with Vladimir Putin but warns a collapse of talks could have dire global consequences.

[0610:06]

CNN's Natasha Bertrand, live in Brussels with the very latest on this -- Natasha.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. So U.S., European and NATO officials are telling us that they have

very little visibility into the status of these talks between the Ukrainian and the Russian delegations, about four rounds of which have already taken place since Russia invaded Ukraine.

But some of the positions that have been out there, have been made clear publicly, too. We know that the Ukrainians have been demanding, for example, a complete cease-fire, the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, as well as security guarantees from the West.

But the Russians, as well, have been putting out demands that the U.S. and Europe see as really, really difficult to reconcile with what the Ukrainians might be willing to accept. So things like the full recognition of Crimea and the territories in the Donbas region that -- that pro-Russian soldiers have occupied over the last several years, as well as the demilitarization of Ukraine.

All of these things, the European and U.S. officials that we speak to say don't inspire a lot of optimism about the potential for Ukraine and Russia to come to an agreement any time soon. Even though Ukraine has signaled that it might be willing to forgo its NATO membership in, in exchange for peace.

Now, the U.S. and European officials that we have been speaking to, again, don't see a lot of space for optimism, not only because they don't have a lot of visibility into the state of the talks but also because Russia is continuing to go bombard cities across Ukraine.

And according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, they have resorted to these, quote, "disgusting tactics," targeting civilian infrastructure and civilian targets, because their campaign on the ground has largely stalled.

and so while President Biden is expected to come here this week, and he's expected to meet with the NATO leaders and European officials to discuss the war in Ukraine. And of course, it will be touched upon, the fact that they will continue to be sending Ukraine weapons and systems to defend themselves.

What is likely not going to be announced is any kind of effort by NATO directly to close those skies over Ukraine, to close that airspace where so much of the destruction by Russian forces have -- has been wrought against Ukraine -- John.

BERMAN: It will be so interesting to see what comes out of the meeting on Thursday. Such an unusual, rapidly called meeting. Something of that consequence, you would think they would have to produce something more than words. But what that would be, I suppose, remains to be seen.

Natasha Bertrand in Brussels, where it will all take place, thank you so much for being with us.

KEILAR: U.S. officials have confirmed that Russia launched hypersonic missiles against Ukraine last week. And this is the first known use of those weapons in combat. The speed of these missiles, their maneuverability that makes them difficult for defense systems to detect and to intercept.

So let's talk more about this now with retired Army Major General James "Spider" Marks.

OK. Hypersonic missiles, hypersonic weapons, what are they and why would Russia use them?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, the fact that they have them, they have been under development for probably a couple of decades. And the United States is still trying to get hypersonics. The great advantage of a hypersonic is its speed, maneuverability, and the height above the ground. It's really a map of earth. It kind of tracks.

Let me show you what this -- this is the description of that capability. This is the video that we just saw. This is called a glide vehicle. It drops from an aircraft. Then it ignites, and it goes after its target.

Let me take you back to this map, Brianna. What's important is that what we just saw was a launch from either from the Caspian Sea into Ukraine or from the Black Sea.

Now, certainly, it could have come from Russia. But those were probably launched from here from a ship, from there from a ship and then from Russia from an aircraft like we saw.

The speed and maneuverability is what makes it so deadly. It may have a conventional warhead on the end of it. And it may be inert. And the only damage it does is significant. But it's going so fast it really can blast something apart.

KEILAR: Does it make sense that Russia is using those at this point in time? Or we heard Lloyd Austin, the defense secretary, say perhaps they're running low on precision-guided ammunition. Do you think that's possible?

MARKS: Very much so. What we don't know is the inventory that they have, how many hypersonics do we have. Have they already completely eliminated what's in development or what they have available, stockpiled to be used.

But it makes perfect sense. Because they haven't been able to achieve any success in Kyiv, or Kharkiv, obviously in Mariupol. They're rubbling Mariupol. But Odessa still remains untouched. Mykolaiv right there, still is essentially untouched. Because they can't maneuver into those, Brianna.

What they're doing is they're stepping back and using weapons systems like this where they can fire them from sanctuary. This is a sanctuary. Nobody is bugging them here. Nobody is bothering them there.

And then down here, nobody is challenging the naval forces there. So they are -- they're completely immune from the damage that they're doing. And they don't have to face Ukrainian forces. [06:15:21]

KEILAR: What's clear is Putin has used more missiles than he initially intended to, for sure. You pointed to the Black Sea here. Talk to us a little bit about what you're seeing there.

MARKS: Yes. What's really important, again, is that the Russians are trying to create, as we have been describing, this land bridge that connects Russia to all of this.

And not exclusively. There's a bridge across the Straits of Azov right here. So what Russia wants to be able to do is reach all the way down to the far western tip of Ukraine and create this land bridge.

So they're attacking Mariupol and they're rubbling it. They're reducing it to nothing. That's kind of like an annihilation attack.

The next target will be Mykolaiv, because they have to control that if they want to go to Odessa, which is the key objective. It's the largest port in Ukraine. Most of their imports come there. Exports go across land.

But this is the life line for the Ukrainians. And if the Russians are going to own Ukraine, they have to have this port. They're going to rubble that, and they're going to do what they can here to protect their flank. Before they go after this, they've got to have this flank protected.

KEILAR: It's why we're seeing the siege of Mariupol, where you have military leaders refusing to surrender that to the Russians.

Sir, thank you so much for taking us through that. Really appreciate it.

MARKS: Thanks, Brianna.

KEILAR: More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, and UNICEF estimates half of those are children. So we're going to speak to the UNICEF spokesman about the growing crisis at the border, next.

Plus, the mayor of Lviv tweeting this image over the weekend of 109 strollers representing the number of children killed in Ukraine. That number is likely higher now. We're going to hear from that mayor ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:21:19]

BERMAN: John Berman here in Lviv, in Western Ukraine. And as of this morning, more than three million refugees have fled this country, and UNICEF estimates half -- half of those refugees -- are children.

Joining me now is UNICEF spokesman Joe English. Joe, thanks so much for being here with us. Half. I mean, that's more than 1.5 million children who are refugees in just the last month.

JOE ENGLISH, UNICEF SPOKESMAN: Indeed. You know, and the scale and speed of this crisis is demonstrated by the fact that we now think it's almost 1.7 million children who have fled the violence here. In addition to 3.3 children who are displaced within the country.

So we're talking almost 5 million children forced from their homes. And as we've seen from the images this morning, with the destruction in civilian areas, these aren't just children being forced from their homes. They're children who have no homes left to go to.

BERMAN: So what kind of need does that create? I know you spend your time going between children's hospitals and the border where the refugees are massed up before they get to cross. What does that mean for you?

ENGLISH: Yes. I mean, it's -- it's slightly overwhelming. But you know, our immediate priority is obviously keeping children safe. We know that more than 50 children -- I think 75 children now who have been killed and 98 children injured.

And these are just the numbers that the U.N. has been able to verify. So the true total is likely to be far higher.

Ensuring that schools, hospitals and, you know, homes, places where children are meant to be kept safe are not coming under attack. So we need a ceasefire. We need peace.

But in the meantime, we're doing what we can to reach children and families in need with critical supplies. Just yesterday -- I'm sorry, on Friday -- we had a humanitarian convoy getting to Sumy in the north of the country.

Today, we had a train loaded up with more than 100 tons of supplies reach Kharkiv. And it's not just those life-saving supplies: water, food, shelter, warm clothes, but also toys. Kids who spent three weeks in subway systems in Kharkiv. To provide them with that sense of -- I mean, it's not even approaching a normal childhood, but a sense of help for the future.

BERMAN: What kind of risks are you seeing with children maybe getting to the border or being forced to move at least part of the way alone?

ENGLISH: Yes, certainly. I mean, when we see the speed and scale, these types of numbers of people on the move, there's always a risk of children being separated from their parents. And then, when that happens, there's a huge risk of exploitation, trafficking, abuse.

So UNICEF is working with UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, and local municipalities in the surrounding countries to create blue dot centers, which are effectively a one-stop shop where children can come and have that safe space to play, be kids. Draw, color in. Their parents can come, safe in the knowledge that kids there are safe. And also, we have child protection experts, psychosocial specialists, legal experts to provide those services that these family need.

BERMAN: How much of that are you seeing right now?

ENGLISH: It's huge. I mean, honestly, the protection risks for children as they're fleeing are massive, absolutely massive. But one story that stuck with me, from my time here is on the first day I was here in Lviv, I went to the children's hospital and met two little girls. One called Anna, 10 weeks old. One called Nina, who is, I think, 12 weeks old.

Anna had a heart defect, and her mother felt sadly she could not care for her any longer, so left her at the presenting hospital in Kyiv. She's now been transported here. Nina has HIV and renal failure. Nine, thankfully, today is getting

out. She's being transported to Germany, where she's going to get that care that she needs. Anna is not, you know, because they can't trace her parents. She's stuck here for the time being.

And thankfully, she's had the surgery that she needs. And that will -- she's stabilized. But what hope is there, you know, for these kids whilst the bombs continue to fall and the bullets continue to fly?

BERMAN: Well, people like you are finding the hope and guaranteeing that there is hope. And thank you so much for giving us their names. Anna and Nina. Because I think it puts faces, in a way, on some of these numbers here.

[06:25:09]

Thank you so much for what you do. Joe English --

ENGLISH: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: -- appreciate it.

So a mother in Kyiv using her body to shield her 1-month-old baby during the shelling. She recounts the horrifying moments next.

Plus, we do have breaking news from Washington. Supreme Court Justice Justice Clarence Thomas hospitalized. New details on his condition.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas rushed to the hospital after experiencing flu-like systems. This as the justices are expected to take the bench this morning for arguments. And Thomas will not be participating remotely, we have learned.

CNN's Joan Biskupic is with us now on this. What is the latest on -- on his condition? What do we know?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT CORRESPONDENT: Well, we really don't know much more than what we knew last night. And we know now he's into his fourth day in the hospital.

[06:30:00]