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One World with Zain Asher
Alexei Navalny's Mother Demands The Release Of Her Son's Body; Speaker Johnson Privately Tells Republicans That There Is No Rush To Address Issue On Ukraine Aid Issue; U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Calling For Immediate Ceasefire In Gaza; Washington Signals Intention To Block Algerian Resolution; Nikki Haley Stays In The Presidential Race; Presidential Election Looms In Venezuela; Yulia Navalnaya Vows To Continue Her Late Husband's Legacy; Speaker Johnson Meet's With Donald Trump In Mar-a-Lago On President's Day; Jailed WikiLeaks Founder Makes A Last-Ditch Attempt To Avoid Extradition From Britain To The United States; CNN's Bill Weir Discusses The Growing Field Of Orbital Debris Removal. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired February 20, 2024 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:28]
BRIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Let me see my son. Alexei Navalny's mother has a message for Vladimir Putin. "One World" starts right
now. It has been four days since his death and his family has no idea where his remains are. Alexei Navalny's team says they've been told it'll be at
least two weeks before the body is released.
Also ahead, she's spending millions, she's way behind in the polls and she says she's staying in the race no matter what. This hour, Nikki Haley makes
her case to South Carolina voters. And later, ever wonder what it's like to live on Mars? Well, if so, soon you might not have to. Details on NASA's
latest mission ahead.
Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Goldryga. Zain is off today. You are watching "One World". We have just learned that the White
House is going to announce what it says are major sanctions against Russia. Now, they come as the war in Ukraine hits the two year mark and follows the
death of Alexei Navalny, a tough Kremlin critic.
Now, despite a desperate plea from his mother, Russia has still not handed over Navalny's body. Lyudmila Navalny showed up earlier today outside of
the prison where he died on Friday. She recorded a message to Vladimir Putin asking to be allowed to bury her son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LYUDMILA NAVALNY, MOTHER OF PUTIN CRITIC ALEXEI NAVALNY (through translator): I haven't been able to see him for five days. They won't give
me his body. They don't even tell me where he is. I'm addressing you, Vladimir Putin. The solution to the issue depends only on you. Let me
finally see my son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's White House Correspondent Arlette Saenz joins us live from Washington and the White House with more. So, Arlette, it was interesting
because on Friday, President Biden was asked about comments he'd made a few years ago when he met at a summit with Vladimir Putin before the war in
Ukraine, when he warned that there would be a strong response from the United States if something had happened to Alexei Navalny.
Now, President Biden answered that question by saying a lot has happened since. We've leveled a lot of sanctions against Russia since its illegal
war in Ukraine. And that seemed to be it. Now, we're getting word that there will, in fact, be a strong response, an additional round of
sanctions. What more are we learning?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHOTE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Bianna, the White House today said that President Biden will be announcing new sanctions against
Russia on Friday, and this will be a direct response to the death of Alexei Navalny, who passed away, who was died in a Russian prison.
The President has been quite frank and blunt in assigning blame for Navalny's death directly to Vladimir Putin. He told reporters yesterday
that he was considering whether they could implement additional sanctions against Russia in the wake of Navalny's death.
And today, the White House said that they are moving forward with that. But of course, a big question right now is how much bite these sanctions will
carry. As you mentioned, the President had warned Putin directly that there would be devastating consequences if Navalny were to die in prison.
But there have been wave after wave of sanctions already implemented against Russia in the wake of the war in Ukraine. So, there is a question
about what exactly, how much further this new round of sanctions could go in the wake of Navalny's death.
Now, this is also playing out as Ukraine is approaching the two-year mark of its battle against Russia. The President really this week has been
leaning in to really try to pressure House Republicans here in Washington to get on board with additional assistance to Ukraine.
The President and his advisers arguing that not providing this military assistance to Ukraine will not only severely hurt Ukrainian soldiers on the
battlefield, but also would be playing into Putin's hands directly by not having those soldiers fully equipped, fully armed to be able to wage their
fight.
And it really comes as the President has been pushing this message, trying to ramp up this pressure campaign against House Republicans, expressing his
shock that so far they have yet to act. But the President is also running up against the political reality that so far House Speaker Mike Johnson,
the Republican in charge in the House, has yet to budge on this idea of bringing up Ukraine aid for a vote.
So, it's unclear how much the President's pressure campaign will, in fact, work on these House Republicans. But at the very least, the President says
that they want to find a way to respond to Putin not just for his war in Ukraine, but also specifically for the death of Alexei Navalny.
[12:05:00]
And on Friday, they're set to roll out what that response will look like. Of course, it's likely that sanctions could also be followed by action from
allies. We've seen the U.S. often partnering up, timing their sanction releases to things that allies are also announcing.
And we also know that there's been some pressure at this time within the European Union to also implement additional sanctions to take some action
against Putin and Russia.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, we've seen harsh condemnation from U.S. allies across the world, Europe in particular, to the death of Alexei Navalny. But we haven't
seen any sanctions rolled out. We'll see if that follows, following what we're expected to see Friday from the White House. Arlette Saenz, thank
you.
Well, CNN Senior International Correspondent Melissa Bell is covering the latest on the death of Alexei Navalny and joins us live from Paris. Quite
an emotional four days, even the past 24 hours, Melissa. We've seen his mother pleading for his body, saying they have no access to his body now.
New charges have been raised and filed against his brother.
And just hours ago, Yulia Navalny, Alexei Navalny's wife, had been deactivated from Twitter or X, only to be reactivated. What is the latest
in the fallout from Alexei Navalny's death?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the good news, Bianna, is that her account is back up and running. And what X says is that
this was a mistake on the part of its defense mechanism aimed at weeding out spam and manipulation.
So, she was -- her account, which was only created yesterday, was down for a couple of hours. Many questions about why it might have disappeared or
been deactivated or been suspended. We now understand that that was a mistake.
This is an account that she created yesterday in order to tweet out part of that nine-minute video message in which, for the first time, Bianna, she
really looked like she intended to carry on and pick up where her husband had left off, really taking center stage in a way that she hadn't before,
and asking, urging Russians to share her fury.
Now, we know that she is now set to continue being outspoken. In fact, she was in Brussels yesterday urging lawmakers not to recognize next month's
election in Russia, where Vladimir Putin is expected to win a fifth term.
We've also been hearing, and perhaps even more remarkably from his mother, as you say, and that's a sure sign that courage is something that runs in
the Navalny family. She's standing outside that Polar Wolf penal colony, which is nearly 2000 kilometers northeast of Moscow. It's frigidly cold.
It's extremely dangerous for her to be out and about and making such demands of Russian authorities at a time when what we've seen over the
course of the last few days are Russian authorities really clamping down on any of the outpourings of grief or of support that there have been for the
Navalny family across the country.
There have been hundreds of arrests, and yet there she is, nearly 70 years old, standing outside the penal colony where she knows, she says, well, we
now know that her son died at the end of last week, calling, demanding that his body be released to her.
Now, as you say, we've also seen on the part of the Kremlin on-going denials of any wrongdoing. We heard again from Dmitry Peskov today, and
we've seen that this campaign against the family continues in the shape this time of an arrest warrant for the brother of Alexei Navalny, Oleg.
Now, he'd already served time in a Russian jail back in 2014, Bianna, and he was accused at the time of fraud. Now, those charges largely believed to
have been part of a campaign to put pressure on his brother. But he's done time already and now is in exile. And again, Russian authorities trying to
get their hands on him are certainly putting out an arrest warrant.
So, the suggestion is that even as on one hand we have the Navalny family that appears intent on standing firm and speaking loudly, even from within
Russia, we also have strong signals on the part of Russian authorities that they're going to keep up their pressure on the family to try and prevent
that. Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, as you've been speaking, Melissa, we've been showing viewers at home images of workers -- government workers in Russia, removing
any sort of flowers that had been placed over the weekend. And there you see it in commemoration of Navalny in solidarity with his family to mark
his death.
And you see how the Kremlin was quick to respond. Not even flowers are acceptable to be laid following his death, quickly removed. That is
Vladimir Putin's Russia today. Melissa Bell, thank you.
Well, the death of Alexei Navalny is putting a bigger spotlight on Russia's on-going war on Ukraine. Ukraine's military says that its troops have taken
up new defensive positions in the east and have successfully stopped a renewed Russian offensive, this time in Zaporizhzhia, repelling 11 Russian
attacks in the region overnight into Tuesday.
[12:10:00]
Now, this comes after Ukrainian troops withdrew over the weekend from the key town of Avdiivka, which is now under Russian control. Meanwhile,
Ukraine's prime minister is calling on the European Union and others to impose fresh sanctions on Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENYS SHMYHAL, UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER: Ukraine is fighting not only for our lives and homes and families. We are fighting for democratic values of
all democratic world.
GOLODRYGA: Russia's invasion of Ukraine now enters its third year this week. And as Moscow's army gains traction on the battlefield, U.S. aid that
is desperately needed by Kyiv remains hanging in the balance. But some Western countries are trying to fill the gap.
Today, Sweden announced $683 million more assistance to Ukraine, its largest package, so far. And Canada is donating 800 drones to Kyiv to help
hold back Russian troops.
But in the U.S., the question of additional aid to Ukraine is just that, still a question as Republican hardliners continue to block it. A very
frustrated President Biden calls the move by American lawmakers shocking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: We are making a big mistake not responding. Look, the way they're walking away from the threat of Russia, the way
they're walking away from NATO, the way they're walking away from meeting our obligations, it's just shocking. I've been here a while. I've never
seen anything like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Melanie Zanona joins me now live on Capitol Hill with more.
So, Melanie, CNN is reporting that Speaker Johnson privately told Republicans during a closed door meeting last week that there is, quote, no
rush to address this issue. Now Congress, having left town for a nearly two-week recess, that's not the Ukrainians' view on this. They have no more
time.
They are saying that they need these weapons, this assistance, not today, not tomorrow, but yesterday. So, has the Speaker's position changed in the
last few days?
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPTIOL HILL REPORTER: It's not clear that it has changed. He did put out a statement over the weekend after the death of
Alexei Navalny and said that Putin is a vicious dictator who must be met with opposition.
But he did not outline how he or the Congress plans to do that. And in fact, right now he is in Florida for this annual leadership retreat. And he
met with Donald Trump, the former President last night at his resort in Mar-a-Lago.
And remind you here that Trump has said that no more additional aid should go to Ukraine. Donald Trump already successfully scuttled the Senate
bipartisan border security deal. And so, he does have a big influence in how members act over here.
And you also have this hardline group of members on the far right who have threatened Mike Johnson's job and his speakership if he were to put a
Senate-passed Ukraine bill on the House floor.
But at the same time, we are told that Speaker Mike Johnson has said in private meetings that he does understand the gravity of this situation,
especially now that he is a Speaker.
As a rank-and-file member, he did vote against Ukraine aid. But he understands that he is not speaking just for himself now. And he has
signaled privately that he wants to address the issue somehow.
Now, the question is how he plans to do that. There is some talk in the GOP leadership team right now about potentially changing that Senate package to
either offset the cost for Ukraine funding or to turn it into more of a loan structure, something Trump has also floated in the past.
But as of right now, no decisions have been made. And right now, both the House and the Senate are on recess. They're not scheduled to return until
next week. But certainly, this is going to be an issue that Johnson is immediately confronted with. Because right now, the fate of Ukraine aid and
potentially the fate of the entire war itself now rests entirely in his hands, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Melanie Zanona, thank you so much. The United States has just vetoed a U.N. resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Washington had already signaled its intention to block the Algerian resolution, saying that it would impact sensitive negotiations.
Instead, it has proposed its own Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. There's increasingly
widespread concern about the conduct of Israel's ground and bombing campaign in Gaza. The U.S. has also grown more critical of Israel's action
in Gaza.
CNN's Richard Roth is at the U.N. So, Richard, what is the fallout from this move by the United States, largely expected but also the
counterproposal that the U.S. has laid out?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: The frustration grows on the Arab side and those countries that believe the United Nations
Security Council should speak up.
The council was founded under the guise of protecting international peace and security. But you also have the right to veto from the five permanent
countries.
So, for the third time since the war started on October 7th, the U.S. issued a veto. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield put her hand up in the
air. The U.S. has its own resolution, but it's not ready to produce it.
[12:15:00]
The U.S. believes that the Algerian-backed draft resolution vetoed today does run a threat to ongoing sensitive negotiations in the region for the
release of hostages. That's what the U.S. is really pinning everything on. This proposed resolution did not even mention Hamas.
The Algerian-backed proposal said they wanted an immediate ceasefire. The U.S. so far will only go with a temporary ceasefire in its own resolution.
It will be a few days, and we'll find out if the U.S. is ready to put its own draft, which could also be vetoed by Russia or one of the other
permanent members. China said it was disappointed and dissatisfied with the U.S. veto. Brianna. Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, a reminder that among the 130-plus hostages remaining, six are American citizens. Richard Roth, thank you. Well, Israeli attacks have
killed more than 100 Palestinians in Gaza over the past 24 hours, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
As Israel threatens to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, many Palestinians are fleeing the southern Gaza City. But they say nowhere in
Gaza is safe now. One doctor who left Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis made this tearful plea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMAD MOGHRABI, NASSER HOSPITAL, HEAD OF PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY: What is the humanity? Why this is happening to us? Why?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The situation is especially dire for children. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has the story. But a warning, his report contains very disturbing
images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One after another, after another. The victims of the latest Israeli airstrike flood into this
hospital in central Gaza. They're mostly children. Some of them still clinging to life, others bloodied and limp. Without a pulse, the life gone
from their eyes. Here, children comfort children, even as they are still trembling from the shock.
UNKNOWN (through translator): I was on the rooftop and suddenly I heard an explosion. I flew away and fell down. My back hurts. I saw smoke and stones
falling. Then I heard people screaming.
DIAMOND (voice-over): A hospital spokesman said at least 18 people were killed and dozens of others injured Sunday in an Israeli airstrike on a
home in Deir el-Balah. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment about the strike.
Witnesses say many of the victims had just arrived from Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city where fear and confusion have set in as Israel threatens
a coming military offensive.
But central Gaza is no haven, a reality revealed in the cruelest of ways.
UNKNOWN (through translator): I can't speak. Innocent children were received. They killed them all. They didn't leave a child alive.
DIAMOND: In the ruins of the al-Baraqa family home, the target of Sunday's airstrike, the desperate search for survivors is underway. As one man dives
into the rubble, another shouts, get out of there, you'll die down there. We could only pull two alive from under the rubble and the rest are all
missing.
We don't see safety in a mosque or in an UNRRA school or in a hospital. The word safety is not something that exists anymore. They evacuated us from
place to place claiming it's safe. There is nowhere safe.
Shouts praising God rise as a girl is pulled from the rubble, but her body is lifeless, added to the list of more than 12,000 children killed in Gaza.
Bystanders try and cover her body, but the man carrying her throws the blanket off. He wants the world to see what this war has wrought. Jeremy
Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Everybody's telling me, why don't you just get out?
(END VIDEO CLIP)\
GOLODRYGA: With just days to go until the South Carolina primary, Nikki Haley is vowing to continue challenging Donald Trump. Haley is campaigning
on the campus of Clemson University right now as she tries to convince voters that Trump cannot win.
She says no matter how this weekend's primary in her home state goes, she will stay in the race. And she says America needs a fresh perspective in
the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HALEY: Do we really need to say the best we can do are two 80-year-old candidates? Because we need someone who can serve eight years, fully
disciplined, no drama, no vendettas, just results and getting work done for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Turning now to South America as a presidential election looms in Venezuela. Human rights activists accuse the Maduro regime of reverting to
repressive policies against its people, including the detention of a high- profile activist. Stefano Pozzebon has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yahara Cabrejo learned on social media that her son had been detained. In the video she saw, taken
from the security cameras of a shop nearby, her son, Juan Freites, is manhandled into a car by two men and driven away. She hasn't seen him
since.
YAHARA CABREJO, MOTHER OF POLITICAL PRISONER JUAN FREITES: Today is 25 days that I don't know anything about him. Why was he detained? I don't know.
What he's accused of, I don't know. What I know is from the media that he is supposedly involved in some conspiracy, but I have no idea what that is
about. We're left in the dark.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Three days after the detention, Venezuela's attorney general confirmed that Freites had been arrested as part of an
investigation into an alleged plot to kill President Nicolas Maduro.
Cabrejo and her lawyer deny Freites was involved in any plot, and so far, no proof has been presented by Venezuelan authorities. Freites is a member
of opposition party Vente Venezuela, and he and two other party members were detained in January.
The party leader, Maria Corina Machado, who is the front-runner opposition candidate to challenge Maduro, has been barred by the Supreme Court from
running in this year's presidential election.
In total, 19 people have been arrested, including Rocio San Miguel, a Spanish-Venezuelan citizen and security analyst who was picked up by the
intelligence service as she was trying to leave the country.
San Miguel is also accused of participating in a conspiracy, again, without any evidence. And when the U.N. human rights team protested her detention
last week, Venezuela expelled the local staff.
The Venezuelan government claims to have uncovered several plots to murder Maduro and blames the U.S. and the U.N. of colonialism. Maduro himself
vowed to unleash a campaign of Bolivarian fury against his opponents, and someone wrote exactly those words, Bolivarian fury, on the wall of
Cabrejo's house shortly after her son's arrest.
The United States has threatened to reimpose oil sanctions in retaliation for Venezuela's authoritarian actions. But less than six months ago, the
two countries had reached an agreement that included free and fair elections in Venezuela this year.
JUANITA GOEBERTUS, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Those of us who are Democrats understand that that's how elections take place and that you face elections
knowing that you could potentially lose.
[12:25:00]
But when you are an autocrat, there's huge existential threats in losing power.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Renewed tensions between Washington and Caracas could also have consequences in the U.S. Venezuelans are one of the largest
migrant groups at the U.S. southern border, and activists fear migration will continue as long as they don't feel safe in their home country.
Cabrejo has already seen a daughter leave her country to look for better opportunities. Now her son behind bars, she pleads for justice, as well as
safety. Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks, Stefano, for that report. Coming up, out of the shadows and into what could be the eye of the storm, Alexei Navalny's widow
makes her intentions clear. She is not giving up the fight for democracy in Russia.
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GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World", I'm Bianna Golodryga.
Although we've seen her many times before, Alexei Navalny's wife has always kept a relatively low profile, standing by his side, but showing little
interest in entering politics herself.
But now, just days after her husband's death, Yulia Navalnaya is stepping out of the shadows and vowing to continue her late husband's legacy. And
she's doing it with a steely determination that is likely not being ignored at the Kremlin.
As Brian Todd reports, the world is watching to see if Russia has a prominent new opposition leader.
[12:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's been through it all with him, from marching in the streets, getting arrested herself, to his final
seconds of freedom three years ago before he was taken into custody for the final time. But she has never been out front until now.
YULIA NAVALNAYA, WIDOW OF ALEXEI NAVALNY: By killing Alexei, Putin killed half of me, half of my heart, and half of my soul. But I still have the
other half, and it tells me that I have no right to give up. I will continue Alexei Navalny's cause.
TODD (voice-over): Forty-seven-year-old Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny's widow. Can she now effectively lead Russia's opposition?
JULIA IOFFE, FOUNDING PARTNER AND WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "PUCK": Now that he is gone, I think the only person who could potentially carry on his
legacy is his wife.
TODD (voice-over): She has long avoided the spotlight, supporting her husband's campaigns, but not leading rallies or making videos.
IOFEE: The fact that she has now affirmatively picked up the mantle is a remarkable turnaround from where she has stood for the last 15 years.
TODD (voice-over): In the days since his death, she has recorded the video address, made public appearances, and met with world leaders in Europe.
SUSAN GLASSER, CO-AUTHOR, "KREMLIN RISING": She was intimately involved in her husband's work. She was a very close partner with him. I think she
understands what it was that Alexei Navalny did as well, if not better than anyone.
TODD (voice-over): She certainly knows the dangers of the job, enduring her husband being poisoned and almost killed in 2020, getting him flown out of
the country for treatment, at his bedside during their 20th anniversary, and flying back with him to Russia, knowing that he would surely face
arrest or worse.
CROWD: Yulia. Yulia.
TODD (voice-over): After police took him away in 2021, with the crowd chanting her name, she was defiant.
NAVALNAYA: I am not afraid. And I call on you to not be afraid.
TODD (voice-over): Shortly after that, at a court hearing, Alexei Navalny looked at his wife and drew the shape of a heart on the glass of the dock.
When her husband died, she hadn't seen him in two years.
His last message to the world was this Valentine to her, quote, "I feel that you are with me every second." Her first post after his death, "I love
you." But after years of living in Europe, would she dare go back to Putin's Russia?
ALEXEI LEVINSON, RUSSIAN POLLSTER, LEVADA CENTER (through translator): If she does this in Russia, she will have a high chance of ending up where her
late husband ended up.
TODD (voice-over): Others say Putin could come after her even if she stays abroad.
GLASSER: Look, I think if you are going to be a strong voice of opposition to the Kremlin right now, you have to consider yourself a target.
TODD: Yulia Navalnaya is already seemingly taking up some of her husband's calculations on how to pressure Vladimir Putin. According to "The
Washington Post", she asked European leaders to sanction hundreds of Russian oligarchs who support Putin's re-election and to help prevent
Russia's elites from evading sanctions. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Time now for The Exchange and my conversation with Susan Glasser, who you just saw in that piece. She is the co-author of "Kremlin
Rising" and a writer for "The New Yorker". And she joins me now live in Washington. Susan, it's really good to see you.
You know, it was interesting because part of the calculation that went into Alexei Navalny going back to Russia, knowing all of the risks that he faced
when asked time and time again was that if he were to be an effective leader, an effective opposition leader and politician in Russia, he
believed you had to do it inside the country, not outside in exile.
And I'm curious to get your thoughts with Yulia now thrown into this position. She has clearly decided to pick up the mantle here, shown a very
brave face when in Munich, and she continues to now four days after her husband's death. Do you think she can continue to show so much force and
continue to carry her husband's message from outside?
GLASSER: Look, there's no question. Her courage in the face of this terrible tragedy for her family and for Russia has been remarkable to see.
Her poise, her clarity of vision, her resolution, that has all come through very clearly.
But it also speaks, unfortunately, to the tragedy of what has happened inside Russia since Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He has
used the cover of that military operation to undertake a stifling of the remaining possibilities for civil society and for political disagreement
inside of Russia itself.
He has basically, in a way, the death of Navalny announces both to Russians and to the world that the possibilities for full-throated opposition inside
of Russia are now dead.
And so, that's why you see this, in effect, exiled opposition for the moment, very likely to be the only meaningful opposition. Unfortunately,
that's the message that Russians are meant to receive by this death, I think.
[12:35:00]
GOLODRYGA: There's a fascinating piece in "The New York Times" over the weekend as to how Alexei spent his time while he was thousands of miles
away in Siberia in prison, he remained in touch with the current politics in both Russia and internationally. And he exchanged a lot of letters, was
able to read a lot of books.
And I was really interested in one exchange that he had with a Russian friend of his in which he brought up former President Trump. And he called
the idea of him becoming President again really scary. Here's what he said. "Trump will become president should Biden's health suffer. Doesn't this
obvious thing concern the Democrats?
I raise this because we've heard from leaders, from President Biden and Western leaders around the world expressing condemnation for the death of
Navalny, support for his family, and laying blame with Vladimir Putin. And juxtapose that from what we saw former President Trump do when he finally
acknowledged Navalny's death yesterday on Truth Social.
He wrote this. "The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more aware of what is happening in our country." Then he went on to say Navalny's,
yeah, he called him " -- crooked, radical left politicians, prosecutors and judges leading us down a path to destruction."
So, he turns it to himself as usual. What is your response to this? And you are speaking with a lot of very hawkish Democrats who in the past pre-
Donald Trump would have been just as aggressive against Vladimir Putin in the death of his opponent as President Biden and the Democrats are. And yet
the situation is quite different now.
GLASSER: Well, that's right. Trump has made the vast bulk of Republican elected officials, even those who profess to be tough on Putin, he has
somehow, you know, turned the party into his personal fiefdom.
And you have the spectacle of many Senate Republicans who voted for continued assistance to Ukraine, very hypocritically at the same time
endorsing Donald Trump for another term in office.
Trump not only turned it to himself, but he seemed to both amplify Russian propaganda using the same phrase that the Russians have used for Navalny's
death, which, by the way, is anything but sudden.
He has essentially been tortured and systematically denied the conditions to continue living while being in Russian prison for the last couple of
years in unbearably horrible conditions, first of all.
Second of all, Trump refused to blame -- lay blame where it must be laid, which is directly at Vladimir Putin and his government. And most
importantly, he perpetrated another lie on the American people.
Let's be real. Donald Trump's situation in no way bears any resemblance to that of Alexei Navalny, a political dissident who was imprisoned and
ultimately died, you know, for basic principles of freedom inside Russia that he has been denied.
Donald Trump is on trial, multiple trials, faced of attacking our system of constitutional government. That's what he's on trial for. It's really a
remarkable, remarkable statement, once again, from Trump. In the meantime, we're seeing the real life consequence of Congress' delay in passing any
legislation for more aid to Ukraine.
We've heard from the foreign minister today saying that that is part of the reason why Ukrainians have to retreat from another city that Russia has
just gained control over. And that is in large part because they say they don't have enough ammunition right now. And obviously you have to figure in
the time to procure more weapons.
Even when this legislation, if it is passed, it will take time for a concrete response and the real life consequences of that to help
Ukrainians. But Speaker Johnson doesn't seem to view it that way. I mean, even last week he just said that they have more time. What are you hearing?
Do you think that this legislation in the next few weeks will be passed?
GLASSER: Well, first of all, there's a very simple explanation for why Speaker Johnson has not brought this to a vote on the floor of the House.
And the reason is Donald Trump. So, let's be clear on that. Trump is the reason why.
And I thought it was very notable that Speaker Johnson spent his President's Day while he has put the House on a two-week vacation, not
doing something to further passage of support for Ukraine, but meeting with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the optics are clear there.
And so, I'm very doubtful, unfortunately, that the vote is going to come to the floor any time soon. Johnson was never, even before he became a very
unlikely Speaker of the House, he was actually never voted in favor of assistance to Ukraine, even last year when there was much more bipartisan
support and much more Republican support for this kind of military assistance.
[12:40:00]
Johnson was already voting against it. And, you know, this has become one of those dividing lines in American politics.
And I think the reason, shockingly enough, is one man. I don't think Republicans would be undermining Ukraine in this way if they had not
decided to go once again with Donald Trump as their standard bearer.
GOLODRYGA: And yet here we are, Vladimir Putin's number one opponent and nemesis -- dead. New sanctions are expected to be leveled and announced
this week. But other than that, the U.S. really can't do anything until Congress gets its act together.
And that's one of the reasons why it appears that Vladimir Putin has an extra pep in his step. Susan Glasser, thank you so much. And we'll be right
back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Well, the jailed WikiLeaks founder is making a last-ditch attempt to avoid extradition from Britain to the United States. A two-day
hearing is underway at the High Court in London on whether Julian Assange has the right to appeal his extradition.
The U.S. wants him to face espionage charges for publishing a massive trove of leaked documents in 2010. Assange's lawyers, as well as his wife Stella,
argue that the prosecution is politically motivated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STELLA ASSANGE, LAWYER, WIFE OF JULIAN ASSANGE: It's an attack on all journalists all over the world. It's an attack on the truth and it's an
attack on the public's right to know. Julian is a political prisoner and his life is at risk. What happened to Navalny can happen to Julian. He has
to be released. This farce has to end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Max Foster has the details.
MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. has been fighting for years to have Julian Assange extradited from the U.K. to the United States. It's
gone from the High Court to the Supreme Court, right up to the British government that signed off on this extradition.
What these two days' worth of hearings are discussing is whether or not the government was right to sign off. Did it breach Julian Assange's human
rights? He argues that he's in an unfit mental state.
He could take his own life if he's sent to the United States. He says he's just a journalist and that the move is politically motivated.
[12:45:00]
The British government is politically motivated to sign off on this extradition warrant. Another extraordinary allegation coming from Julian
Assange's lawyer is that they have compelling evidence of a CIA plot to kidnap or assassinate the WikiLeaks founder during his time when he was
holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, which is from 2012 to 2019, where he was effectively hiding from the British judicial process.
These claims haven't been verified. If the judges think there is something in them, then they could have further hearings. If they don't think there's
anything in them, then the extradition process does begin and Julian Assange could be sent to the U.S. in a matter of days or probably weeks.
There is a chance he could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, but we're not sure how that process would work at this point. At the
moment, it's just hearing about those human rights and whether or not they were breached by the British government by allowing Julian Assange to be
extradited to the U.S. Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Coming up for us, man-made garbage isn't just an earthly problem anymore. Some 100 million pieces of debris are in orbit around the globe,
but there's no simple solution to get rid of it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Outer space is increasingly becoming littered with trash, everything from spatulas to dead satellites. The question now, how do we
get rid of all the junk floating around up there? CNN's Bill Weir reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): We all drop things around the house.
PIERS SELLERS, NASA ASTRONAUT: Guys, I got to tell you, I think my spatula's escaped. So, when astronaut Piers Sellers dropped a spatula while
spreading putty on the space shuttle, it was relatable news.
SELLERS: I don't see it on me.
UNKNOWN: Okay, we'll take a look.
WEIR (voice-over): But while a spatula in space was still novel in 2006, it seems quaint now, because nearly 70 years after Sputnik, the moon holds
tons of human trash and the final frontier is filthy with rocket fumes and orbiting junk.
Check out this NASA time-lapse, each dot a man-made object bigger than a softball flying 10 times faster than a bullet. The website Orbiting Now is
tracking over 8300 satellites, most of them put there by private companies like SpaceX.
[12:50:00]
And over time, they will only add to the 100 million tiny pieces of man- made debris in orbit.
WEIR: So, behind us is the National Air and Space Museum. Do they have an exhibit on space junk? Is it time we started paying attention?
RON LOPEZ, HEAD, ASTROSCALE: There's been discussion about it, and it is time that we pay attention to the issue.
WEIR (voice-over): Ron Lopez heads the American branch of Astroscale, a Japanese entry into the growing field of orbital debris removal.
LOPEZ: The interesting metric is that over the next 10 years, we're going to launch three times as much into space as we have launched since Sputnik,
since the beginning of the space age, three times as much in just the next 10 years.
WEIR (voice-over): Well, they're a long way from flying garbage trucks. Astroscale just launched a second test mission, and funded only by private
investment, recently proved that they can use magnets to catch and potentially extend the lives of dying satellites.
In 2018, a team from the U.K. proved that space junk can be snared with a net, which helps with traffic control up there, but does nothing to stop
dead satellites from burning into countless pieces of metal, throwing off remnants that can stay in our skies for years.
WEIR: Launches are almost a weekly or daily occurrence. Is that having an effect on the stratosphere?
TROY THOMBERRY, RESEARCH PHYSICIST, NOAA CHEMICAL SCIENCES LABORATORY: Yes. So, as we see this increase in space traffic, we see significantly
increased emissions. And something we've been talking about is adding a lot of material to the stratosphere that was never there before.
All of the sort of the massive material that we put into space doesn't all just stay there. And when it's deorbited, it basically acts in the same way
that a meteorite does.
WEIR (voice-over): With special high-flying jets, a team from NOAA recently discovered that 10 percent of the particles in the stratosphere contain
bits of rocket and satellite metal.
And in the next few decades, it could be 50 percent, matching the amount created naturally by meteorites. Scientists worry that this could
eventually alter Earth's climate. So this summer, Japan and NASA aim to launch the world's first biodegradable satellite made mostly from wood.
WEIR: Last year, the U.S. Senate passed the Orbits Act unanimously. It has yet to go through the House. This would charge NASA with coming up with new
technology to clean up the mess and puts the whole mess under the responsibility of the Commerce Department.
But of course, the U.S. is just one of many space-going nations these days. And we got word this week that Russia may be working on a weapon in space
that could wipe out thousands of those satellites in one attack.
And we've seen here on Earth, policing or regulating the high seas is so difficult because no one owns them. That lesson now moving to outer space.
Bill Weir, CNN New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Bill, for that. And keeping our space theme, calling all Martians. NASA is looking for applicants to take part in its
next simulated one-year Mars surface mission. A four-person crew will live and work inside a 1700-square-foot habitat in Texas beginning in spring of
2025.
NASA says they'll be forced to deal with challenges similar to what humans might experience on the Red Planet, everything from equipment failures to
communication delays.
They'll also be asked to perform tasks like simulated spacewalks, growing crops, and even exercise. CNN's Tom Foreman is covering the story for us
from Washington. So, Tom, my first question, who can even apply for this?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, not just anybody. That's for starters here. You have to be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident somewhere
between 30 and 55 years of age.
You can't be a smoker. You have to have a master's degree in the STEM field or at least two years of professional experience or a thousand hours
piloting an aircraft. And once they get them all together, what we're going to have is a four-person volunteer crew.
They will live and work for a year inside that 1700-foot habitat you saw being built there. It's at Johnson Space Center in Texas, and it looks kind
of like an extended dorm room, really. And the mission will start in the spring of 2025, and they'll be in there for about a year.
And during that time, Bianna, they won't be able to have normal communications with people back on Earth, just as if you were on Mars now
and you had even the most favorable circumstances, and you said good morning to Earth. It'll take about five minutes for the message to get
here. By the time they say good morning back, another five minutes has passed.
The only real-time communication they will have is with doctors who will keep track of their health. And one of the real keys here, whether or not
they're going a little loopy by being all locked up together, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: I'm still stuck on the fact that they'll be exercising, as well.
And when I think of you, Tom, I think of marathon training, and who knows? One day, marathons on Mars could be in our future.
[12:55:00]
FOREMAN: Yeah. I mean, I think they have to. Well, they have to if you think about it. In being in a microgravity environment, you're going to
have to do something to keep your bone structure built up, to keep your health up, right? They're going to have to do that. But one of the real
challenges here is they'll have tasks to do, robotic things.
They have to try to grow things in the ground there. They will have what are effectively like walks on Mars that will be done in a controlled
environment there. But the real thing here is to look at the sociological part of it.
How well can people get along all that well? And, you know, honestly, we all had our own mini test of that during COVID. So we'll see how it works
out and who gets selected. Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Another sign of a booming jobs market, I guess.
FOREMAN: There you go.
GOLODRYGA: Tom Foreman, thank you. Well, that does it for this hour of "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thank you so much for watching. Amanpour is
up next.
END
