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One World with Zain Asher
President Zelenskyy Seeks More Funding For Ukraine; Kerem Shalom Crossing Opens For Israel To Inspect Aid Trucks For Gaza; There Is Growing Concern About Alexey Navalny's Whereabouts; Claudine Gay And Other University Presidents Under Fire Their Answers At A Congressional Hearing On Anti-Semitism On American College Campuses; "The Boy And The Heron" Becomes The First Anime Film To Ever Finish In The Top Spot. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired December 12, 2023 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:22]
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: If we lose, Putin wins. The warning from Ukraine's President to the United States. "One World" starts right now.
Between a rock and a hard place, right now Zelenskyy is on Capitol Hill desperately pleading for aid. Squabbling lawmakers aren't making it easy.
Also ahead, where is jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny? His team says a prison employee says he's no longer at a penal colony, but
could not confirm where he has gone. And later, it's official. All of the members of BTS are now on hiatus. How fans are coping and what's next for
the super group.
Hello everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. This is "One World". It is a crucial day for President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian President is in Washington trying to make sure his country and its fight against Russia remain on the U.S. agenda. This, as
support for the nearly two-year war, is now waning. Mr. Zelenskyy hopes to show U.S. lawmakers the benefit of the proposed $60 billion in new aid to
the country. The Senate Majority Leader laid out what's at stake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK SCHUMER, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER: If he gets the help he needs, he will win. On the other hand, he made it clear, and we all made it clear,
that if we lose, Putin wins. And this will be very, very dangerous for the United States. So, we cannot let Putin influence through any surrogate what
is what we need to do for Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: As he seeks more funding, President Zelenskyy finds himself right in the middle of U.S. partisan politics, with Republicans pushing to
tie the aid to U.S. immigration at the southern border.
After presenting his case to senators and House leaders, he's now headed to the White House to meet with President Biden. Time is not on his side.
Lawmakers may leave this week for the Christmas holiday without voting on the aid package.
Let's bring in CNN Capitol Hill Reporter Melanie Zanona. Melanie, yesterday some Republicans, senators, including Rand Paul and Josh Hawley indicated
to you that they would not attend today's meeting with Zelenskyy. What do we know about the actual turnout?
I believe we have lost Melanie's live shot. We will go back to her when it comes back. In the meantime, we want to go to Democratic Congressman Seth
Moulton, who is a member of the House Armed Services Committee. He joins me now from Washington.
Congressman, thank you so much for joining us. I believe we have the Congressman, do we?
SETH MOULTON, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Yes. How are you?
GOLODRYGA: Okay, hi. We can't see you, so I can hear you. Apologies. Melanie sort of threw us off. There you are. Thank you so much for joining
us. So, as I had asked Melanie, there had been at least a couple of Republican senators yesterday who were suggesting that they weren't willing
or really desiring to meet with and hear from President Zelenskyy today.
Yet, we hear now from North Carolina Republican Senator Tom Tillis, who said that he thinks Zelenskyy successfully disabused Senators of concerns
over corruption. I thought the issue was the southern border. What do you make of all of this and the likelihood that any aid package can be agreed
upon this week?
MOULTON: Well, the reality for months in Congress has been that Republicans are supportive of Ukraine behind closed doors because they know how
important it is, not just for the Ukrainian people who are literally fighting for their lives, fighting for freedom and democracy every single
day, but also critical for our national security.
Because we all know that if Putin is able to continue his march, that he started in Georgia, that he went to Crimea, that he went to the Donbas, his
next stop after Ukraine, after Kyiv will be a NATO country, and that means our Western allies and American troops are in the fight.
For all those reasons, Republicans have always been supportive of Ukraine funding behind closed doors. But as they get political pressure from their
base, from the far right of their party, the isolationist wing of the Republican Party, they have been much less willing to support Zelenskyy in
public. And that's why they're trying to avoid his meetings.
GOLODRYGA: It hasn't helped that the war this year and Ukraine's counteroffensive hasn't gone according to plan, at least how they had
touted it in the initial months. Obviously, we saw some surprising developments last year and a real effort being made for Ukrainians. Things
look a bit different now. Concerns about a possible stalemate. What did you hear and what do you need to hear more from made for Ukrainians?
[12:05:00]
Things look a bit different now. Concerns about a possible stalemate. What did you hear and what do you need to hear more from the Ukrainian President
about maybe a shift in planning on their part in terms of convincing more of your fellow lawmakers there that more aid is warranted and it will be
effective?
MOULTON: No, it's a great question because we are definitely in a stalemate at the moment. A lot of Ukrainians aren't willing to use that term, but
that's the military reality on the ground. Now, that doesn't mean that we should let Putin win. And if we fail to fund Ukraine, Putin will win.
But it does mean that as we use taxpayer dollars to ensure that Ukraine doesn't lose, we want to see a change in strategy. We want to see them get
out of this stalemate. That means they have to admit some mistakes. They must admit that the counteroffensive didn't go as planned. And they should
examine other approaches here -- other strategic approaches to the Western defense to see if they have a better chance of breaking through.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, we have even heard of internal squabbling from the President of Ukraine and his top general -- his top general saying publicly
that he believes that they are at a stalemate. President Zelenskyy is saying things are not that dire at this point.
It was interesting to see the U.S. intelligence assessment today release information that the Ukrainian army had said Russia is military
modernization by 18 years back. Russia is suffering 315,000 dead, injured troops, nearly 80 percent of military personnel5, as well.
Do you think the timing of this comes, you know, obviously, as Zelenskyy is here, do you think that this can sway some Republicans who are on the fence
now about whether all of the money that has thus far been sent and invested in Ukraine was worthwhile?
MOULTON: Well, it should. It should, because we haven't lost a single American life, and yet Russia's military is significantly degraded. And
that means that it's harder for Putin to attack the West, to go into NATO territory, as we know there's a risk that he does if he's able to
successfully conquer Ukraine.
So, that is a good news story, and I do think the administration could do a better job of telling that story because we all know that Vladimir Putin is
a threat to the West, a threat to NATO, a threat to the United States of America. And we significantly degraded that threat by helping Ukraine.
By the way, even if we are in a stalemate, we continue to degrade the Russian military as they run up against this wall of Ukrainian and Western
defenses. So, you know, that is not all bad. It is not a terrible story that there is a stalemate. We just cannot fund it indefinitely, and that is
why we need some strategic changes to give the Ukrainians a better chance of breaking through.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, it was notable to hear from President Zelenskyy today say that the Ukrainian economy has grown five percent this year. This after now
its second year in brutal war with Russia, that obviously, sending a message to lawmakers here that their help has been effective and warranted
and welcomed.
You know, we talk a lot about Republicans not wanting to continue funding Ukraine, at least without getting something in return. The President making
clear last week that he is willing to negotiate on border security and take that issue seriously with more investments. How is that sitting with some
members of your own party who may be worried, as has been reported, that he's conceding too much on this front?
MOULTON: Well, here's the concern. I think there are a lot of members of my Democratic Party that recognize we have to do more on the border, that we
need to strengthen the border. But we don't want to scuttle what we fundamentally need when it comes to immigration policy in the United
States, which is a full immigration deal, a deal that not only includes what Republicans want, which is increased border security, but also what
Democrats want, which is a pathway to citizenship.
Some hope for all the kids, for example who were brought here years ago by their parents and yet are sitting in legal limbo through no fault of their
own. They go to American schools, they participate in the American economy, and yet they're not technically legal citizens.
The vast majority of Americans, Republicans and Democrats, want a fix for that problem as well. But Republicans in Congress aren't willing to do it
unless it's paired with border security.
So, the concern is that if the President bargains away what the Republicans want, they're not on border security just to get aid on Ukraine, then it
imperils the chances of what we really need on immigration, which is full comprehensive reforms.
GOLODRYGA: And a reminder for our viewers, this isn't just about aid to Ukraine, obviously, this bill includes funding for Israel and Taiwan, as
well all critical matters for U.S. national security.
[12:10:00]
Congressman Seth Moulton, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
MOULTON: Thank you. Well, let's bring back in Capitol Hill Reporter Melanie Zanona. We worked out the kinks there technologically. Yesterday, as I was
intro-ing you, I was noting that some Republican senators publicly, like Rand Paul and Josh Hawley, suggested that they would not be attending
today's meeting with Zelenskyy, that they knew ahead of time what he would be talking about. And thus, it wasn't something that they'd really want to
focus on. At the end of the day, who actually came to meet with him?
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, there were a handful of Republicans who did skip the meeting today. And even those Republicans who
did attend said that their minds were not changed and that they are still demanding stricter border security provisions be attached to any additional
Ukraine aid. And this is despite the direct and urgent pleas from Zelenskyy himself.
During the briefing, he told lawmakers that he is counting on them to deliver and warned that if they don't get more money, Ukraine is going to
fall. Really framing this as a life or death situation.
Now, he also assured lawmakers that the money would be spent appropriately, trying to assuage some of those concerns that Republicans have had over
corruption. But Zelenskyy did not dive into this very complicated debate over immigration and the border, which is really what's holding up a
broader deal over aid for Ukraine and Israel.
And the reality is, that is a negotiation that is entirely out of Zelenskyy's hands, which is why this is just such a complicated dynamic
that Zelenskyy was walking into, and why it appears that he has not been able to move the needle here on Capitol Hill.
So, we will see whether they can try to come in agreement on the border before the end of this week. There's growing doubts even among Lee
negotiators that they're going to be able to get that done. So, at this point, Bianna, it looks like Congress is poised to leave for the holidays
without passing critical aid to both Ukraine and Israel, essentially kicking this high-stakes debate into early next year. Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, quite a change from what we saw not even a year ago, where President Zelenskyy addressed a joint session of Congress. I think that was
two speakers ago, not even one, but we've had two since then. Lots changed in the nation's capital. Melanie Zanona, thank you.
Well, it may be a little bit easier today to get food, fuel and desperately needed aid into Gaza. Israel has re-opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing
for inspections at least. Trucks that are inspected there can then quickly move on to the nearby Rafah border crossing to get into Gaza. CNN's Alex
Marquardt was the only reporter at the crossing as it opened for inspections just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRSPONDENT: This Kerem Shalom crossing opened earlier on Tuesday for Israel to inspect aid trucks for
Gaza. You can see here trucks coming in from the Egyptian side to be inspected by the Israelis.
Now, this will in effect double the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, but it does not necessarily mean that more aid will actually get into Gaza. Israel
has been very strict about inspecting all of the aid that goes into the Gaza Strip.
Until now, there has been only one inspection point. This is now the second one. Once these trucks are done being inspected, they will then go back out
to Egypt and go up to the Rafah crossing, which is where all of the aid has been crossing into Gaza since this war began. But there is no guarantee
that all the trucks can actually get in because of the bottleneck at the Rafah crossing.
That crossing is not built for a huge number of trucks. And then we've seen a real catastrophe on the humanitarian level in the southern part of Gaza
with hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced desperate for aid with no shelter, no food and the heavy fighting that has made aid
distribution so difficult.
A major question now is when will Israel allow aid to flow directly from Israel through this crossing into Gaza? For now, I'm told that is not on
the table, that it is a decision that the Israeli government has to make and for now they have not approved that. Alex Marquardt, CNN, at the Kerem
Shalom Crossing in Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Alex for that report. Well, the aid that Alex was talking about cannot get to desperate Gazans quickly enough. Shortages of
food and water and dire sanitary conditions have turned Gaza into a breeding ground for disease.
The World Health Organization says chickenpox, meningitis and respiratory infections are spreading rapidly. And more than 160,000 under five have
diarrhea. UNICEF says weeks of bombing have left countless orphans, as well.
JAMES ELDER, UNICEF CHIEF SPOKESPERSON: It's so difficult to get a sense of just how many children are orphans, but we know it's happening just because
there are so, so many children who've lost both parents, but worse than that, they've lost entire families. So, I had met children usually in
hospitals because they had been hit, you know, excuse me, they'd been injured when their home was hit.
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They lost their mother and their father and grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings, everyone. Broadly speaking, Gaza is a society where families will
try and absorb children as best they can, but when a child is the last surviving family member, then you have a real problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Ten-year-old Rozin Shabaab is just one of scores of children who've lost their closest family. When she arrived at a hospital, staff did
not even know her name because her parents were dead. Doctors only identified Rozin when her uncle recognized her days later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJAA AL-JAROU, RAZAN'S AUNT (through translator): The house where they were staying was hit, so her mother came, along with her father, sister,
brother, her nephew. These were the three buildings. The house was hit, and she doesn't know that she lost her family. This girl doesn't know that she
lost her family, and we're responsible for her now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Well, against the backdrop of the spiraling humanitarian situation, the U.N. is again debating whether to demand a ceasefire on
Gaza. CNN's Nic Robertson is tracking that story for us. Nic, so, the U.N. General Assembly appears set to demand a vote for an immediate ceasefire.
This, days after the Security Council failed to agree on a similar call because of a U.S. veto. Walk us through what this vote may mean.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, immediate ceasefire and immediate unconditional humanitarian access into Gaza, as
well. Those will be the same two demands expected as were pushed on Friday, rejected by that veto by the United States.
The Security Council -- so this is the General Assembly, 193 nations able to vote. And I think a lot of people will be watching to see how the needle
has shifted in opinion about Israel because this is a non-binding vote. It needs a two-third majority to pass and it may well pass, but it doesn't
mean it's going to come into effect. There's no enforcement.
So, this really becomes a measure of trying to the U.N. General Assembly, if you will, trying to send an even stronger message to Israel. Back in
October, there was a vote along broadly similar terms, but 121 voted for, 14 against, 44 abstentions.
So, if the number of votes for this immediate ceasefire and immediate humanitarian access goes up, then that shows that the dial is shifting in
pressure on Israel. Will it make a difference to Israel? Potentially not, but there's a real desperate effort on the way to try to find ways
internationally now to signal to Israel that this cannot continue in Gaza.
The high civilian casualty toll, the desperate and worsening humanitarian situation cannot continue and that's -- that is in essence what this vote
will be about because it cannot enforce anything. And that's expected to begin in the next couple of hours.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, the U.S. once again expected to veto, but as our reporting suggests, the U.S. has behind closed doors told the Israelis that they have
weeks left to continue the operation at the pace and magnitude at which it's being conducted now in Gaza. Nic Robertson, thank you as always.
Well, coming up, whereabouts unknown. Once again, Russia's jailed opposition leader, Alexey Navalny, is a no-show in court. His spokesperson
now fearing that his life may be on the line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRA YARMYSH, ALEXEY NAVALNY'S SPOKESPERSON: Right now, he is completely alone and he is literally in the hands of people who once tried to kill
him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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GOLODRYGA: For the second day in a row, one of Vladimir Putin's fiercest critics failed to make a remote court appearance, adding to the concerns
about his safety. The latest trial of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny has now been postponed.
On Monday, his team said that he has been missing for six days. The Kremlin, meanwhile, says that it doesn't know where Navalny is and doesn't
particularly care. The anti-corruption activist has been behind bars ever since returning to Moscow from Germany nearly three years ago. Russian
courts have convicted him of several offenses, all on charges his supporters describe as politically motivated.
His disappearance comes just days after Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced that he would run for re-election early next year. That will
likely solidify his grip on power for years to come. Navalny spokesperson says that she fears for his life and that time may be running out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YARMYSH: The main thing for us is to find him as soon as possible, because right now he is completely alone, and he is literally in the hands of
people who once tried to kill him. So, we don't know what they will do again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Time now for The Exchange and joining me today, Vladimir Ashurkov. He's a Russian dissident living in London and has been working
closely with Alexey Navalny for years now. Vladimir, thank you so much for taking the time.
So, as we mentioned, there is growing concern about his safety, about Navalny's whereabouts. The United States saying today that the Kremlin is
responsible for what happens to him. As you heard, very difficult to believe the Kremlin's answer to that, which is they don't about him and
they don't care. What do you make of all of this and how worried are you about your colleague?
VLADIMIR ASHURKOV, LONG-TERM ASSOCIATE OF ALEXEY NAVALNY: Indeed, a lawyer who has been visiting Navalny almost every weekday, last Wednesday was
denied a visit and we haven't -- so not the lawyer or nobody from our -- has seen with Navalny for a week.
I think there are three options. He is either being moved to another penal colony, and in Russia it can take weeks, during which time nobody knows
where he is. Second is that he may be summoned to Moscow in connection with investigation of some other politically motivated criminal case against
him. We don't know the details, or his health deteriorated so badly that the Russian authorities are afraid to let outsiders see him.
GOLODRYGA: All of this, once again, just an example of lawlessness, because given the rights that Russian prisoners have, he should indeed have access
to his lawyers and doctors. What are his lawyers saying their number one concerns are now?
ASHURKOV: We don't know the details, but we've heard that last week he collapsed and he was put on IV in his prison cell. So, obviously against
the background of assassination of Navalny by Russian security services, poisoning him with military-grade poison in 2020 and his severe medical
problems in the beginning of his incarceration when he was denied access to medical help and it required the attention of the whole global public
opinion to change that, we are quite worried about his health.
GOLODRYGA: You mentioned the likely scenarios. According to at least Russia's Baza's Telegram, they're suggesting that Navalny, according to
their reporting, has been taken to Moscow as part of a quote, "investigative actions relating to new charge of vandalism".
[12:25:00]
He faces over two decades behind bars on what many, including your organization, say are trumped-up charges.
What, if anything, do you make about the timing of this disappearance just days after Vladimir Putin surprised no one really when he announced that he
would be seeking another term as president?
ASHURKOV: It's very plausible that this situation is connected to the coming presidential elections in March of next year. And Vladimir Putin
would like to silence his most prominent opponent, Alexey Navalny, during this time. It also coincides with the time when Navalny's team has started
the campaign focused on encouraging Russian voters to vote for anybody but Vladimir Putin in these elections.
GOLODRYGA: And it comes at a time when it does seem like the advantage is in Putin's court in terms of the diversion now of another war in the Middle
East. We have President Zelenskyy in Washington, really desperate for additional aid from the United States. Many in the Republican Party
suggesting that they're hesitant about giving more aid.
Europe is closely watching, obviously, what the United States does. Navalny has been a long-time critic of this war. How closely do you think Russians
are following Navalny at this point when Putin has really turned the country into a wartime footing?
ASHURKOV: It's hard to say polls in an autocratic country like Russia don't mean much. Navalny, we can judge only by the numbers, pre-war numbers.
Navalny had tens of millions of supporters. He had a network of offices in 40 cities. I don't think people forget Navalny, who challenged Vladimir
Putin for the last 15 years of his political life.
GOLODRYGA: There was a time not so long ago, pre-war, where the idea of Vladimir Putin actually seeing Navalny die in prison would have been too
big of a risk for him to take. We remember the summit in Finland, you know, between the presidents. At this point, has Putin crossed so many red lines
that the idea that Navalny could die in prison is something that you take seriously?
I definitely take it seriously, especially in light of the fact that he was poisoned by Russian security services just three years ago. So yes, I think
Putin is emboldened with the backdrop of the brutal invasion in Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands of people have died or have been injured. The
conflict in Middle East, I think he may be emboldened by all of this.
But I also think that they think that Navalny in Russian prison is an asset, and it's not -- it's a valuable asset and it would have a real cost
for Putin and for Russian regime to make another assassination attempt. That's my thinking.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah and your organization has really been pushing for the United States to impose continued sanctions on companies in Russia and
those in other countries that continue to do business with Russia just today. The U.S. hit companies in Turkey, the UAE in China with the fresh -
-round of sanctions part of its efforts to stop Russia obtaining sensitive technology. So, that does continue. Vladimir Ashurkov, please keep us
posted on Alexey Navalny, on anything that you're hearing from him, and obviously we'll continue to cover this closely, as well. Thank you for the
time today, we appreciate it.
ASHURKOV: Thank you for having me.
GOLODRYGA: Well, coming up for us. As Ukraine's President pushes for more aid for his nation in Washington, we have an update on the war from our
reporter on the ground in Kyiv.
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[12:33:17]
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga. Well, as U.S. lawmakers say, the Ukrainian President is making it clear that if Kyiv
loses the war, Vladimir Putin wins. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Washington, D.C., making a desperate push for more war funding. Congress is divided on
an aid package, with Republicans saying they'll only pass one if it's tied to U.S. border security changes.
Russia says that it will closely monitor the meeting between President Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
downplayed its significance, saying tens of billions of dollars pumped into Ukraine didn't bring it victory on the battlefield. Military front lines
haven't changed much in recent months, despite a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Meanwhile, the war grinds on. Russia is pounding Ukraine's southern region of Kherson and also targeting other areas, as well. Nick Paton Walsh is in
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, and joins us now live.
So, Nick, obviously a lot of attention there on this meeting between President Biden and President Zelenskyy and his visit to Washington. But of
course, the focus really in the country is on the ongoing war. Tell us what you're seeing in Zaporizhzhia and how the city and the region are adapting,
if at all.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNTIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on- camera): Yeah, the political equations in Washington are a world away from the bleak world, frankly, Ukrainians are facing only today. That shelling
in Kherson, you talked about continuing dead and injured there nationwide. A cyber attack has hit one of the main cell phone providers, Kyivstar here,
and knock on other providers, as well.
Ukraine security service is saying that they are thinking Russia may have had a hand in that. Not much guesswork required. But the impact is
profound. Even in the city here behind me, the streetlights are going to have to be turned off manually, cell phone service enabled that before and
some of the air raids are required but the impact is profound even in the city here behind me.
[12:35:00]
The streetlights are going to have to be turned off manually. Cell phone service enabled that before and some of the air raid sirens and the apps
that give people air alerts, they're impacted some parts of the country, as well, including the capital.
So, another sign frankly of the damage potentially Russia will begin to pick up doing during this winter on Ukraine's infrastructure, making
ordinary civilian life pretty miserable. But recently, we spent some days on the front lines near Kherson with some of the Ukrainian soldiers with
their palpable sense of anger, U.S. stalling over a fight that the West seemed to believe is existential and vital.
Just a matter of months ago, they're doing what they can with ingenuity to make up the gap. They seem to be having some success on the front lines
around Kherson. But that hasn't stopped the Russians from making us on something of a ghost city for the civilians still there. Here's our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Out of Kherson City, past the bridge, the Russians invaded and left on, you reach a new phase of hope and anxiety in
this war. Down on the edge of the Dnipro River on whose isolated right bank lone groups of Ukrainians are making rare advances into Russian occupied
land. But its tiny tools, hand-rigged donated drones and small gains.
The U.S. is stalling on the big money Ukraine needs to make the breakthrough the West wants. And you can feel the anger at that here. It is
relentless work. I think it will be very difficult without American help, he says. Our supplies are also ending, so we need theirs.
We've had days so busy we launched 15 to 20 and I got 10 minutes rest between flights the pilot says. I never imagined this would be my war. It's
the PlayStation generation headsets directing cheap single use drones on a one-way flight into Russian lines.
PATON WALSH: He's just saying that the weather's cleared up, the fog was just settled over the river and the Russians are very aware of this threat
and you can see them now trying to find a target.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): This keeps the Russians off the roads by day and helps Ukraine take ground. Now, they maneuver towards a Russian checkpoint,
killing here somehow remote, yet also intimate. Another prize target emerges, their Russian equivalent drone unit hiding in a red-roofed house
worth sending two drones at.
The first, as it closes in, taken out by jamming. The second picks it up. At night, another unit elsewhere near the city takes over. Thermal imaging
help them find Russians hiding in the woods across the river near Krenki, a village where Ukraine has a valuable foothold. This, unit, too, were hunted
and use a cheap device to spot the frequency used by a Russian drone passing above. This operator dons a new cloak as he launches a drone off
the roof. See how it reduces his heat signature, probably invisible to the Russians above.
The night in battered Kherson City is no respite for civilians. Sirens, yes, but also a series of Shahid Russian attack drones.
UNKNOWN: Lights off, lights off.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): They close on us. The motor wind lower as it passes over our heads. Anti-aircraft guns pierce the blackout. There really
is little life to be enjoyed here. And what's left to rush is that the news, there are rare food handouts. They're fast gone. The shelling is
relentless. A woman injured here the night before, her neighbor knocked off her feet.
UNKNOWN (through translator): I don't drink, but yesterday I drank a bottle of wine. We all have our guardian angels. We women here are resilient.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Kherson, liberated last year, is still in the grip of the war. And unless they push the Russians back, a dark and bloody
normal awaits.
PATON WALSH: In the summer we saw kids out here playing and it's not just the bitter winter that's forced them indoors, it's the fear of artillery
strikes at any time with a protective wall now built around the children's playground. The sense really of a city getting ready for a bit more of life
underground, some of it in bomb shelters.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Especially here at the maternity hospital still open for tiny miracles and readying this basement to be their new ward.
[12:40:00]
Built by the Soviets for a nuclear war, it's now a shelter because the floors above have been hit again and again. But there are sparks of life
here, even if this is the view Yevgenia had when she gave birth just seven hours earlier.
YEVGENIA (through translator): It's not scary. We've got used to the shelling. I've been here since the start of the war and occupation. We'll
only leave if the heating goes off.
PATON WALSH (voice-over): Kira conceived in spring when an end to the war was imaginable, but born into a city lost to Russia's slow grind to
nothing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PATON WALSH (on-camera): Now, the scenes we saw in Kherson, they kind of give you a picture really as to when Ukrainians hear the notion they should
just sort of accept the front lines, enter into peace negotiations, will may be more than just a notion if U.S. money doesn't keep flowing.
Remember, they could be out of money for Ukrainian military salaries by the end of January, say some assessments.
The kind of world we'd be asking Ukrainians to live with is that which we see in Kherson. Relentless Russian shelling, unoccupied simply won't let
them be. And so, the negotiations happening in Washington, if indeed they are negotiations and just not a political deal that simply failed to
materialize, are matters of life and death. You saw there for the soldiers.
And if they say they will fight on, regardless, but I think all of them know, without American, European, NATO money, it's a distinctly different
conflict, potentially in a matter of weeks, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, that report that you just outlined so thoroughly, Nick, and= even more sobering, given the fact that Washington could leave for the
holidays and for the rest of the year without an agreement on more supplemental funding as well. Nick Paton-Walsh, always incredibly important
reporting on your end. We appreciate it.
Well, Harvard University's top governing body has issued a unanimous statement of support for its embattled president. Claudine Gay and other
university presidents came under fire, you'll recall, over their answers at a congressional hearing on anti-Semitism on American college campuses last
week.
Gay was widely criticized after she struggled to answer a question about whether calls for genocide against Jews would violate Harvard's Code of
Conduct. Gay later apologized, and the Harvard Corporation acknowledged that she should have been more firm in her response.
Well, more than two months after the deadly Hamas terror attacks on Israel, another prominent voice is speaking out against the sexual violence
allegedly committed on October 7th. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says the attacks need to be fully investigated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLKER TURK, UNITED NATIONS, HIGH-COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (through translator): As more information emerges on serious allegations of sexual
violence perpetrated by members of armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas, during their attacks on 7th and 8th October, it is painfully clear
that these attacks need to be fully investigated to ensure justice for the victims. It is crucial that there are rigorous investigations and
accountability for all breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: There have been many people waiting to hear those words uttered by him. Hamas has denied that its fighters committed sexual violence during
the attacks on October 7th, as Israeli authorities say that they have been gathering evidence that proves otherwise and are conducting their own
investigation. CNN will, of course, continue to follow up on this very important story.
Well, still to come for us, a draft agreement that has climate activists up in arms. We look at why there's outrage and disappointment at the COP28
climate talks. Plus, how BTS fans are saying goodbye as the remaining members of the K-pop group are now in the military.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:46:31]
GOLODRYGA: A Turkish football club president has resigned after he attacked the referee at a match. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: You can see the referee fall to the ground Monday night, reeling from the punch. He says the attacker threatened to kill him. The referee is
expected to be discharged from hospital today or Wednesday. The Turkish Football Federation has indefinitely postponed matches in all of the
country's leagues following this attack. Wow.
Well, after two days and a deadline that has come and gone, the COP28 Summit doesn't appear anywhere near wrapping up. Negotiators are scrambling
to finalize a statement on the path to mitigating climate change, but they're amid bitter decisions continuing on how to move forward. CNN's
Eleni Giokos spoke to a top leader with the World Wildlife Fund about the fossil fuel controversy surrounding the summit. Here's part of their
conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've got Fernando Carvalho, Climate and Energy Policy Head at WWF. Great to have you with us. Look, this is always
going to be, you know, a big ambition, right? The phasing out of fossil fuels. How are you feeling today knowing that it's probably not going to
make it in the draft, in the final communique?
FERNANDA CARVALHO, GLOBAL POLICY LEAD, CLIMATE AND ENERGY, WWF: It's disappointing that -- because we saw this discussion coming up very
strongly and some countries clearly asking for that, and that didn't make it into the text -- the last version of the text that we are working with.
But we are still hopeful that in these last hours of discussion we can get a more ambitious outcome. Phasing out fossil fuels is what's going to
really determine the success or not of this COP.
GIOKOS: So, you're still feeling optimistic that we could see a complete phase out of fossil fuels?
CARVALHO: Well, I would say, you know, cautious optimism because I think that if the agreement was we would stick with the language of yesterday, we
wouldn't be continued discussions.
And I think that there are very strong voices in this discussion, such as the small island states and the association of small island -- the island
countries. They're all saying this is a death sentence for them. So, they won't accept any weak outcome.
There are some forces in play against the forces that they don't want to see an outcome on facing now fossil fuels.
GIOKOS: In your mind -- because you're having a lot of these discussions, why is there complete fear of making that commitment of completely phasing
out of fossil fuels? According to a specific timeline, what is that scenario that is causing so much concern?
CARVALHO: I think there's two things there. I think, first of all, there is the economic factor. Of course, there -- we are in a country in which the
economy is fossil fuel based, and this is the reality for this area, and that implies a lot of money and a lot of transformation and really a
societal change.
And I think people need to understand what fossil fuel phase out is about. We are not saying, you know, tomorrow no fossil fuels available, no one can
use that. We are saying you have 27 years to transition to avoid the impacts that we are seeing everywhere in the world -- floods, heat, cold,
et cetera.
I think it hit every corner of the world this year. So -- and fossil fuel is the main cause of the climate change that we are seeing now. Eighty
percent of emissions are from fossil fuel.
[12:50:00]
So, there is no way that we are going to keep the temperature to 1.5 global warming if we don't tackle fossil fuel and it's phasing out, it's not just
reducing. This signal is already out there since the last COP from the G20 and it's not doing it. So, we need stronger word.
GIOKOS: There's been another big thing of criticism and point of criticism is that the conversations that are being had and the action that is, you
know, going to be taken does not match the emergency that we're experiencing right now. And that is one of the big concerns.
And while people will say, listen, you know, the environmentalists can scream and shout all they want, but we have to be pragmatic and realistic
about the realities of what phasing out will completely do.
CARVALHO: Yeah, I think we have seen this before and it's the reality for a long time that this process is very, very good at discussing what we should
do in the near future or in the short-term future, but we need action now. The fact that we've been delaying action and implementation is making
things really, really worse, but things change.
They take more time than we are able to afford. One example is the renewable energy, the affordability, and the availability of renewable
sources. Twenty years ago, who would talk about renewable energy? For developing countries it was a no-go and nowadays it's rapidly scaling up
and it's affordable.
GIOKOS: Fernanda, great to have you with us thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Eleni Giokos for that report and we'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Well, it is an emotional day for fans of the K-pop super group BTS as all seven members are now serving in the military.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The last two members are expected to begin their 18-month mandatory military service in South Korea. A little backstory, BTS has
dominated the global music market for the past 10 years, harnessing a fiercely loyal fan base.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Meantime, car is believed to be carrying the remaining two group members, were seen at the military training center yesterday, where fans were eager
to show them support.
In Seoul, the pop star fans gathered at a BTS-themed cafe to mourn the absence of the group while they are serving their country.
[12:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (through translator): I choked up and felt sad this morning, so I considered not opening my cafe today. But after seeing messages from BTS
members, I decided to open the cafe today with a renewed determination. I must wait diligently, and I need to work even harder. As I opened the cafe
today, many armies, BTS fans visited here and talked about BTS a lot, listened to their music together, and it makes them feel strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Fans are vowing to wait until 2025 to see them perform once again together as a group. And our thoughts are with all BTS fans. It's a
very difficult time.
And finally for us, two giants of Japanese cinema are setting records at the U.S. box office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"THE BOY AND THE HERON" FILM: A lot of strange things happen in this place.
GOLODRYGA: The latest film from legendary animation director Hayao Miyazaki led the weekend box office race in the U.S. and Canada. "The Boy and the
Heron" became the first anime film to ever finish in the top spot.
Well, just a little behind it was a literal giant. The film "Godzilla Minus One" finished third and is already the most successful live action Japanese
film in U.S. box office history. Both movies have been lauded by critics as masterpieces in the animation and action genres.
And that does it for this hour of "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thank you so much for watching. Amanpour is next and I'll see you right here
tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
