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Russia's War on Ukraine; Without U.S. Support, Ukraine Will Lose Fight with Russia, Zelenskyy Says; Trump Privately Said He Would Pressure Ukraine into Giving Up Some of Its Territory in Exchange for Peace, According to WAPO; Leading Republican Issues Warning Against Individuals in Own Party Parroting Russian Propaganda; Basketball Champion UConn Wins Consecutive NCAA Titles; Ratings for Women's Collegiate Basketball Broken by South Carolina-Iowa Championship Game; South at Risk of Flooding and Tornadoes Due to Strong Storms. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 09, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: As the fate of Ukraine funding remains in limbo up on Capitol Hill, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is issuing a dire warning. Not only will his country lose its war against Russia, he says, without more USA, but that other countries in Europe could be next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If Congress does not help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war. And we need to find a public format for this. If Ukraine loses the war, other states will be attacked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: For more on this, retired Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman joins me now from Kyiv. Colonel Vindman, great to see you. As always, what do you make of what President Zelenskyy had to say there?

LT. COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN, US ARMY (RET.): Thanks, Jim. I'm -- I definitely want to spend a little bit of time talking about the advantages that the Russians have in the war, but let's start with the big picture. I think that President Zelenskyy is exactly right. It's not just about Ukraine. It's not a war between Russia and Ukraine. It's actually part of a system systemic war.

[10:35:00]

The president -- the prime minister of Poland referred to this as we are already in a state of war with Russia. We just haven't fired shots. We are in a political war. We are an informational war, in an economic war, in certain regards, a hybrid war, whether it's cyber- attacks, attacks on elections, information operations. We're there already. So, the question is, when does this spillover? Does Russia get a brush back? Does Russia lose and decide to lick its wounds and not provoke a military confrontation, or does this advance? And I think we're, right now, we're headed towards an advancement. And it's not just an advancement with regards to Russia and Ukraine. It's not just Russia and NATO. It's actually China also.

China is becoming much, much more aggressive. This -- there's a reality to China providing a lot more military capability to Russia. They're seeing it, the Ukrainians are seeing it on the ground, more pouring in. And so, we're seeing a general, kind of, danger with China being emboldened, Iran being emboldened. That's why in part -- we have this confrontation in the Middle East.

ACOSTA: Right.

VINDMAN: Our adversaries, them being -- we need to do what we can to help win this battle because it's going to influence everything else.

ACOSTA: And Colonel Vindman, as you know, Trump has claimed he has a plan to end the war in Ukraine. Just over the last couple of days "The Washington Post" reported that Trump has privately said that he would pressure Ukraine into giving up some of its territory in exchange for peace, Crimea and the Donbas region, according to "The Post." What's your reaction to that?

VINDMAN: So, I wrote an article in my Substack just recently about the fact that victory is within reach. It's us. It's the West providing material support. So, like this, we don't have to have troops on the ground. Having Donald Trump call the shots, having Donald Trump as president is a recipe for spillover.

Donald Trump's only role would be to -- because we don't have any leverage. Right now, we don't -- we're not providing aid, so we can't pull back aid. What leverage does Donald Trump have to influence Ukraine at all? What we would end up seeing is Donald Trump withdraw from Europe in general, embolden Russia, probably all those restraints that we're seeing with regards to the Baltics and Poland would start to ease and we could see those troops pour into Ukraine because the fact is that these countries would much rather fight on Ukraine's territory, stop Russia there than on their own.

So, there is no path. It is an absurdity. Frankly, somebody who would say this would come -- sound like a fool. But Donald Trump makes these pronouncements that mean nothing because there's no leverage, no influence to do this. And if anything, he would be advancing the interests of war and direct U.S. involvement in the region because of his bad policies.

ACOSTA: Yes, and I do want to ask you -- I mean, it's not just Trump, who might play into Russia's hands. I mean, Republican Congressman Mike Turner recently said to CNN that Russian propaganda is being echoed by some within his own party. Let's listen to a bit of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH), CHAIR, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We see directly coming from Russia, attempts to mask communications that are anti0Ukraine and pro-Russia messages. Some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor. I mean, there are members of Congress today who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over NATO, which of course it is not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I mean, Colonel Vindman, that is the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee saying that.

VINDMAN: Yes. Well, it's very true. I -- this is a topic I've tackled multiple times, whether it's the thread or the pretext of Ukraine as corrupt. It has its deficiencies, but that it's entirely corrupt or that Ukraine is filled with Nazis. These are Russian themes that have permeated, have infiltrated the Republican narrative to block support to Ukraine. I -- you know, I make it a point to knock down these with logic and reason. But there is no logic and -- or reason that's going to be able to penetrate these far-right Republicans because for them it's all about the pretext.

Donald Trump does not want support to Ukraine. Those henchmen understand it and they're going to do what they can. And what is the result? The result is that Ukraine has been -- in a lot of ways, the Europeans have stepped up in a huge way. Provided significant additional resources. But there is nothing that could plug the hole of the U.S. absence.

So, Ukrainians have had to do this more on their own than before. They have limited budgets to implement the programs that they need to pay soldier salaries. And, frankly, they don't have the artillery or the military materiel to attack letter -- defending is a little bit easier, but certainly not attack. And that the best they could do is blunt the Russians attacks.

The problem is that the Russians have settled on a recipe for success. They did it in Avdiivka. What do they -- what did they do? They used glide bombs, these massive 1,500 kilogram glide bombs launched from 70 kilometers away that glide to target and obliterate everything. And then once everything is completely pulverized, the Russians can move in in advance.

[10:40:00]

They're doing this at Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city before the war is 1. 5 million. There is no solution to this problem right now for the Ukrainians because the air defense missiles have basically -- their supplies have been eroded as Ukraine has defended itself. And these F-16s have taken way too long to get there.

We need to pass this Ukrainian bill now and we need to resource the Ukrainians to be able to defend themselves and therefore defend democracy as a whole. That is not an inflation. That is a fact. We need to get this done. ACOSTA: All right. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, as always, not mincing words. Really appreciate your time this morning. Good luck on your trip there in Ukraine. Thanks a lot.

All right. We'll be right back.

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[10:45:00]

ACOSTA: They did it. National champs for the second year in a row, UConn's men's basketball team crushed Purdue in the title game last night, 75 to 60. The Huskies are now the first team to win back-to- back championships since the University of Florida's streak back in '06 and '07.

Joining me now to discuss as Rachel Nichols, the host of "Headliners with Rachel Nichols" on Showtime and Paramount+. Rachel, great to see you again. You know, at the beginning of that game, I thought Purdue was going to give UConn a run for their money. Zach Edey was looking good and it was just -- UConn is just too tough. They just wear everybody down.

RACHEL NICHOLS, HOST OF SHOWTIME'S "HEADLINERS WITH RACHEL NICHOLS": Yes. I mean, they've been so dominant all season through the tournament. They came into the game with a point differential of 18 points per game. I mean, that's just bonkers. So, Purdue know -- knew what to expect. Getting out to a hot start was really -- it's only a shot, but it certainly wasn't going to guarantee anything.

Connecticut just overwhelms teams because not only are they incredibly deep and talented, it's just all the little things we always hear about in sports, right? They play like a team. They have great chemistry. They're really all out aggressive defensively. And just -- there's no mistakes. They're a very intelligent team.

ACOSTA: Yes.

NICHOLS: And I think that overwhelms other teams. And even a group as good as Purdue, it just as -- they were too much like they have been too much for every other team in the entire country this year.

ACOSTA: Yes. And I'm kind of wondering about a threepeat. I mean, they just look dominant out there. It's really amazing to watch. And there's no doubt -- I mean, the sport really changed, I feel like this time around because of so much interest in the women's tournament, Rachel.

Let's look at these latest ratings from the women's championship game between Iowa and South Carolina. Viewership peaked at 24 million, drew an average of 18.7 million viewers. Caitlin Clark, I mean, this is just a paradigm shift in the sport, isn't it?

NICHOLS: Yes. I mean, we've been building toward this, women's sports, of course, they're becoming more popular, bigger TV contracts and sort of the perfect storm of increased interest along with Caitlin Clark, who is just so exceptional, not only as a person and ambassador for her sport. But just she can flat out ball and she hits these three pointers that remind --

ACOSTA: It's incredible.

NICHOLS: -- everyone of Steph Curry, you know. The broadcaster broadcasting the final the other night had a great line when she was way back, almost at the logo. And he said, Caitlin Clark from the future. And that's what it really feels like.

ACOSTA: That's so true.

NICHOLS: It feels like not only is she going from such a distance that she's hitting these shots, that she is bringing us into another era. It's just sort of a brilliant idea, and that's what's happening. Not only is the interest in college women's basketball just absolutely skyrocketed, you're going to see that carry over into the WNBA.

The Indiana Fever have the number one overall draft pick this coming summer. They are expected to nab, of course, Caitlin Clark. And the Las Vegas Aces, who have, up until now, been really the most dominant and popular team in the last few years knew there would be such interest when the Aces team played Caitlin's fever team this coming summer.

Caitlin Clark was still playing for Iowa last week when the Las Vegas Aces booked a 20,000 seat arena for their matchup later this summer. She hasn't even gotten there yet. She hasn't even been drafted, and opponents are already knowing she's going to sell out buildings all over the country.

ACOSTA: I was going to say, I mean, you watch those games towards the end. I mean, they are selling out those arenas. The fans are going crazy. And she just looks like something -- I mean, I've never seen before. She is just a force. Amazing. How did this -- where did she come from? I mean, she's -- is it -- am I just blind to this and people have been following her career all the way up until this point, or is -- did something -- like did something go off and she just became this amazing dominant talent in the last couple of years.

NICHOLS: No, she's been building toward this. And as I said, it's just a combination of a lot of different things that created this moment. You were just talking about the men's game, right? And we've had so many conversations about the idea that so many of these players are one and done, they go straight on to the NBA after barely a year at college. You don't have the time to form rivalries, the things we love so much about sports in this NCAA tournament. You don't have the time for stars to then mentor other players.

And so, you don't have these teams that made us so happy maybe 20 years ago when we were watching this stuff. Well, the women still have all of that because especially of the name, image and licensing money that is now coming into the sport. For some of these women, it is more profitable for them to stay in college longer than it is to go to the WNBA where they might get a salary. And I think that creates, you know, times where, say, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese of LSU, we were all waiting with bated breath to see what would happen when they faced each other again, because they had that great game last year.

So, we're getting these moments in women's college basketball. You just don't get any more on the men's side. We're all conditioned to want them, right? We all want that magic March Madness feeling. And these women are delivering over and over and over again.

ACOSTA: Totally.

NICHOLS: And it's of course, not just Caitlin Clark, Dawn Staley and that South Carolina team, they stomped everyone --

ACOSTA: Amazing.

NICHOLS: -- all through this season. And they're great story, too.

[10:50:00]

ACOSTA: It's so true. I was on the edge of my seat during every one of those games with Caitlin Clark, turning the end of all this. And when UConn was on last night, I was like, yes. Yes. I'm sitting back. Yes, they're going to win.

NICHOLS: It's --

ACOSTA: Their win. I mean, you know.

NICHOLS: It's a very different feeling, right?

ACOSTA: I'm sorry, but yes. Totally. And it's great for the sport. Rachel Nichols, great to see you. Thanks a lot.

NICHOLS: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Flooding, tornadoes and large hail are threatening residents in the south and parts of the Mississippi Valley today as another round of severe weather batters the region. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us now. Alison, this looks a pretty threatening. What can you tell us?

[10:55:00]

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right, we've got two different areas that we're watching. We've got that first, it's over across the corner -- or the panhandle of Texas and Oklahoma. The secondary area is the one that's over into eastern Texas and it's really starting to spread that moisture into areas of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.

We already have several flash floodings underway as we speak. More are likely to be added as we go through the day today because a lot of these areas are just going to keep getting rain in the same spots. So, you have a pretty wide swath of a flood potential throughout the day today. The target point, obviously, going to be across Eastern Texas, Northern Louisiana and Western Mississippi.

But it's not just flooding. We have other threats as well. The potential for a very large hail. Yesterday, we had reports of baseball size hail that again is possible today, but also damaging winds and the potential for tornadoes. Tomorrow, the same threats exist, but we start to see that shift a little bit farther to the east. Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. We'll be watching. We know you will as well. Allison Chinchar, thank you very much.

And, thank you very much for joining us this morning. I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of NEWSROOM with Wolf Blitzer starts after a short break. Have a great day, everybody.

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