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CNN International: U.S. Officials: Ukraine Used U.S.-Provided Missiles To Strike Inside Russia; President Biden Touts Climate Action In Final Summit Speech; Biden Meets With G20 Leaders As Trump's Second Term Looms. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired November 19, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

And ahead on CNN Newsroom, Ukraine makes good on a promise right after getting the green light to use U.S. weapons to strike deeper into Russia. It has done just that. We're going to take a look at what this means, as Ukraine marks a grim milestone of 1,000 days of war. Plus, President Biden wraps up his visit to the G20 summit with a message to world leaders on fighting climate change, as a second Trump term looms. And President-elect Donald Trump doubling down on one of his most controversial cabinet picks, personally calling senators to get them to confirm Matt Gaetz as Attorney General.

We begin with a major escalation in Russia's war on Ukraine. U.S. officials are now confirming that Ukraine used American-provided longer-range weapons to strike inside of Russia for the first time. The officials say that they were used to hit a weapons arsenal. It comes just two days after U.S. President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the green light to strike targets inside Russia with longer-range American-made weapons. After the reported missile attack early Tuesday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin updated his country's nuclear doctrine. Under the updated doctrine, Moscow will consider aggression from any non-nuclear state, but with the participation of a nuclear country, a joint attack on Russia.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is marking a bleak anniversary of 1,000 days of war. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy marking the occasion by pushing back on the Russian President, as he addressed a special session of European Parliament.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Now, Putin has brought 11,000 North Korean troops to Ukraine's borders. This contingent may grow to 100,000. While some European leaders think about some elections or something like this at Ukraine's expense, Putin is focused on winning this war. He will not stop on his own.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SOLOMON: All right. Let's go to Nathan Hodge in London. Nathan, good to have you. What more can you share with us first about this attack in the Bryansk region?

NATHAN HODGE, CNN FORMER MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, Rahel. The initial details that we first got about this were from the Russian state media quoting the Russian Defense Ministry saying or claiming that they had downed five out of six of these ATACMS missiles that were directed at the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, and one of those missiles, they said, fragments of which had hit the ground and caused the fire at a military facility, that was subsequently put out.

But, it's important to point out that this is not the first time Ukraine has actually managed to pull off long-range strike inside of Russia proper, in addition to getting the green light to use these longer-range U.S. weapons. Ukraine has had its own indigenous drone program, for instance, that's been able to strike deep inside of Russia.

So, this has been, I think, a pattern that, in part, has been part of this effort, I think, to push and pull that's between Washington and Kyiv about what kind of permissions can be given for U.S.-made weapons systems, where there has been a lot of concern about what you'd call escalation management, making sure that any sort of new weaponry that's given to the Ukrainians doesn't particularly cross a dangerous red line that would be perceived by Moscow, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And I think that is the question this morning, Nathan, I mean, how much of a red line was this? I mean, how significant of an escalation could this be?

HODGE: Well, it's important to also point out that escalation has been happening as well on the Russian side. Just in the past few days, before these strikes, Russia has blanketed Ukrainian cities with drone and missile attacks. President Zelenskyy talking today about the thousands of North Korean troops believed to be in the Kursk region, where the Ukrainians have staged their own incursion into Russian territory.

But, sort of the real serious question here is about how Russia wants the rest of the world to perceive this. Russia has long been signaling that any kind of weaponry that is provided to Ukraine, whether it be F-16 fighters, Patriot air defense systems to protect Ukrainian skies, advanced Western tanks would be considered a provocation, as a crossing of a line, as something that would dangerously escalate the conflict.

But, the interesting or sort of the new development today is that Russia has formalized changes to its nuclear doctrine that would seem to sort of widen the definition of when it would be permissible, essentially, for Russia to take action with nuclear weaponry, Rahel.

[11:05:00]

SOLOMON: Yeah. The timing of that revision is certainly raising a lot of eyebrows today. Nathan Hodge, thank you.

And joining me now from Odessa, Ukraine is Oleksiy, excuse me, Goncharenko. He is an independent member of the Ukrainian parliament. So good to have you, Oleksiy. Let me just start with --

OLEKSIY GONCHARENKO, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Hello. Oleksiy Goncharenko. Yeah.

SOLOMON: One more time.

GONCHARENKO: Goncharenko.

SOLOMON: Goncharenko. I appreciate that. As someone whose name is mispronounced, I certainly would like to get that correct. So, talk to me first about what more you can share with us about this reporting of the Ukrainian missile attack inside Russia with these American-made long-range missiles.

GONCHARENKO: I don't have much to add. We really hear the reports from Russian Ministry of Defense that Russian military object in k region, near 100 kilometer from the border between Russia and Ukraine, official border, was struck this night by ATACMS that was said by Russian Ministry of Defense. Six ATACMS, they said, attacked the base. Five were intercepted. One was damaged. But, the footage, the video, shows that the attack was very, very successful, and this depot of shells and missiles was blown up. So, that's what Russia is saying, and I don't have reasons not to believe them. So, if they say it is ATACMS, probably it is ATACMS.

SOLOMON: Do you believe, Oleksiy, that this new U.S. position on long- range missiles will be enough for Ukraine to hold on to Kursk?

GONCHARENKO: It depends about how many missiles we will receive, because the permission is great, but for permission, we also need number of missiles, because just yesterday morning, one morning, Russia used 120 missiles against Ukraine. It's not every day, but that exactly morning it was like this. So, the question is, how many missiles will we receive? If we will receive sufficient number, it will make a difference. If not, probably the effect will be less.

SOLOMON: And to that point, I mean, a lot has been said about the incoming Trump administration, but Biden still has two months where he is in office. What more would you like to see from the Biden administration in that time?

GONCHARENKO: First of all, I want to show you that Russia, again, was bluffing. Really in the morning, they were speaking about nuclear doctrine, but already it was near one hour ago, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in Rio de Janeiro at G20 said, Oh no, no, we're not going to nukes. And so, there was one more Russian bluffing. So, don't follow their bluffing. That's the lesson to Trump administration from Biden administration.

What else can be made by Biden administration? I think it's about sanctions against Russia. There are many loopholes which can be closed, especially in oil and gas industry. Financial sanctions. There are special condition for gas and oil which still can be financed, Russian gas and oil, according to decision of U.S. government. I hope U.S. administration, under President Biden, will close this loopholes now, will -- also will impose secondary sanctions on Russian oil and gas industry. That can have a really very significant effect. That's what I'm looking for.

SOLOMON: And what about from the Trump administration? And what would you say the mood is within parliament about the incoming administration and some of his cabinet picks that we know of so far?

GONCHARENKO: Yeah. A lot of people are talking with one another. People are worrying, but also people are hoping. There are a lot of hopes. One source of hopes are the fact that Trump said that he will drop the oil prices, that he will drill, drill, drill, which will be very important, because Russian war chest is filled by oil money.

Second thing is, we hope -- we know that Donald Trump likes to be winner. So, I hope he will try to achieve victory in Ukraine, both for himself, for United States, and for Ukraine and for the free world. We don't know exactly what Donald Trump will do, but I'm sure that he will act in the best interest of the United States, which means that he should support Ukraine as an ally of the United States and as a part of responsibility of the United States after Budapest Memorandum 1994 when Ukraine, under American pressure, voluntarily gave up its nukes to Russia.

SOLOMON: Last thing I just wanted to ask is, how encouraged, if that's the right word, are you, not just by the U.S. decision to allow these longer-range missiles to strike inside of the Kursk region, but the response that we're seeing from some of the allies, whether it's the UK, whether it's France, and the sort of indirect sort of consequences of that, or implications of that?

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GONCHARENKO: We hope that all our lives will continue to rally around us, because what Ukraine is fighting for is not about Ukraine, just about Ukraine. It's about international law. It's about international order. If we will lose now, that will mean that the whole world will go to massacre, because in many parts of the planet, some dictators will decide to change the borders, and that will be the end. So, all this axis of cause (ph) and Russia is not alone, like you showed. Zelenskyy said North Korean troops are already in Europe. North Korean troops are in Europe. So, Russia, North Korea, Iran and China standing behind them, should be stopped.

SOLOMON: OK. We're going to leave it here. Oleksiy Goncharenko, thank you for the time today.

GONCHARENKO: Thank you.

SOLOMON: OK. Now, let's go to Brazil, where it is the final day of the G20 Summit. President Joe Biden is touting America's steps in fighting climate change. Mr. Biden announced a $325 million contribution to a clean energy fund at the World Bank, money considered safe from an incoming Donald Trump administration in January. The President told world leaders that history is watching, as they make decisions on tackling climate change. He has used his final G20 Summit urging other leaders to continue working on a range of issues, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, even after he leaves the world stage.

Let's go to CNN's Kevin Liptak, who joins us from Rio with more. A beautiful Rio there Kevin, talk to us about what we heard President Biden say.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. Really trying to underscore the importance of continuing the steps that he has taken in office to try and invest in clean energy, green manufacturing, really encouraging countries to pick up the baton from him and keep it going with the recognition that the incoming administration under Donald Trump will have a very different view of climate change than he did while he was in office, and really trying to sort of up the stakes of what this battle is all about. Listen to Biden in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: History is watching us. History is watching. I urge us to keep faith and keep going. This is the single greatest existential threat to humanity if we do not deal with climate change. Our children, our great-grandchildren, our great-great-grandchildren, their future is going to be determined by what we do in the next four to six years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, the investments that Biden was announcing today, according to American officials, are largely protected from the Trump administration. They're already being deposited essentially in the World Bank for use on some green initiatives in developing countries. But, they make no doubt that Trump will attempt to reverse a lot of what President Biden did. When it comes to climate, he has already named oil and gas executives to key roles in his administration, and what Biden is trying to do here is encourage world leaders to make their own steps going forward to ensure that this fight isn't over, Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And Kevin, talk to us just about the sort of mood hanging over the summit among Biden, among his aides, and what closing message they're looking to leave allies with as Trump prepares to take power.

LIPTAK: Yeah. There is no question that Trump has cast a very long shadow over the G20 Summit. And I think at one point, President Biden might have hoped that this would be something of a valid victory trip through South America, both here and at the APEC Summit in Peru. That was a few days ago. I think when Democrats lost in November, this turned into a very different trip. As world leaders start to look past Joe Biden and toward the incoming Trump administration, this has really been something of a quiet trip for the President.

The longest stretch that we've heard him speak was only for seven minutes in the Amazon on Sunday. He hasn't taken questions from reporters, which is unlike every previous G20 trip that he has taken as President. It's really as if he is fading from public view, from his foreign policy stature as he tries to burnish his legacy. There is no sort of missing the impression that world leaders are just starting to move on.

He has had a number of bilateral meetings, including in Peru, including yesterday, with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, the neighboring countries to the United States. But, you don't see him sort of sitting down for these rapid fire bilateral meetings that are sometimes a presence on these trips. Instead, it is a much quieter trip for the President. He is looking towards his legacy. But, there is no question that this is sort of the end of his presence on the world stage.

SOLOMON: OK. Kevin Liptak live for us from Rio. Kevin, thank you.

And coming up, just how far is Donald Trump willing to go to secure his pick for Attorney General, his behind-the-scenes pressure campaign to get Republicans on the Hill to back Matt Gaetz, and why some senators may not be ready to support that controversial choice.

[11:15:00]

Plus, he was found guilty of 34 felony counts of business fraud, but now the judge in Donald Trump's New York case is considering whether to toss out the President-elect's conviction.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Just minutes ago, CNN learned that Donald Trump is expected to name Howard Lutnick as his Secretary of Commerce. Lutnick is the co-chair of the Trump transition team and CEO of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald. The President-elect also busy right now calling senators behind the scenes, urging them to support Matt Gaetz as the nation's next Attorney General, but some senators say that they want to see a House Ethics report on allegations of sexual misconduct by Gaetz before making any decisions. On Wednesday, House lawmakers will discuss whether or not to release their findings.

And a lawyer for two of the women who testified for that report shared this with CNN on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL LEPPARD, LAWYER FOR WOMAN WHO TESTIFIED AGAINST GAETZ ABOUT SEX ALLEGATIONS: He testified to the House that Representative Gaetz did not know her friend's age at the time they had sexual intercourse, and when he found out about her age that Representative Gaetz stopped having sexual intercourse with her, and he only started the sexual intercourse interactions later on when she turned 18. The testimony before the House was yesterday, Representative Gaetz paid my client -- both of my clients, for sexual favors throughout the summer of 2017, all the way to the beginning of 2019.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And Trump has named another Fox TV host to join his cabinet. Former congressman and reality star, Sean Duffy, is his pick to be Transportation Secretary. And in the days ahead, the President-elect could reveal his choices to lead departments such as Treasury, Housing, Labor and Education.

For more on all of this, let's bring in CNN's Alayna Treene. Alayna, first, let's start with this new news about Lutnick. It's interesting because he had been, apparently a contender for the Treasury Department. What are you learning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: That's right. So, Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, he has actually been running the transition process, really, at Mar-a-Lago, him and Linda McMahon, who -- Howard Lutnick has been really doing the personnel side. McMahon has been doing more of the policy side. But, it was very clear and he had been kind of gunning for the role of Treasury Secretary. And we kind of saw some of this play out behind the scenes last week. There has been this kind of contentious battle over who would be selected for the Treasury Department.

It was seen for a long time that it would potentially between -- be between Lutnick as well as hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, both obviously big names in the business world. However, behind the scenes again, there was some contention going on there. I'm told that really Lutnick had frustrated a lot of people close to Donald Trump. People thought that he has a big ego that he has been leaking to the media. And so, as we can see, he was kind of passed over for the role of Treasury Secretary, but now is slated to run the Commerce Department.

[11:20:00]

Now, the interesting thing about that is that there were some other names that had been floated to lead the Commerce Department. That included Linda McMahon, his co-chair of the transition, but also Robert Lighthizer, his former -- Donald Trump's former Trade Representative. All to say there is a lot going on at Mar-a-Lago behind the scenes about a number of these people. I think there is some frustration that we are picking up in our reporting on McMahon's part, because she had thought that she would be up for that role of Secretary of Commerce, but now it was given to Lutnick.

So, also, just to add that we still don't know who Donald Trump's Treasury Department pick is going to be. We know that he has more interviews set up this week with some other candidates. There are some other business leaders and some senators that he is weighing, we're told, but still kind of waiting to see who he ultimately goes with for that.

SOLOMON: Yeah. I think the markets are sort of holding their breath, waiting to see who he chooses for that too.

Talk to us about his pick for DoJ, Matt Gaetz, as we learn that Trump is standing by him, controversy and all. TREENE: That's right. And I find this fascinating. I mean, first of

all, I can't understate the importance of the attorney general role for Donald Trump and in Donald Trump's eyes. He believes that whoever his secretary -- or excuse me, his attorney general is going to be, is the most important role.

Now, one thing to keep in mind as well is that Donald Trump hand- selected Matt Gaetz. He wants someone who would disrupt the Department of Justice, and that's why he really went with him. And as of now, despite everything that is going on around Gaetz, the controversy, everyone holding their breath on whether or not they are going to release the House Ethics report that details some of these allegations, including from a number of women who have said that he paid them or paid -- who said that Matt Gaetz, excuse me, had paid them for sexual favors, or that he had sex with underage girls, all to say, all of that aside, Donald Trump is still digging in on Gaetz. He has been calling up senators privately over the last 24 hours or so and really pressuring them to fall in line behind him.

Now, another thing that's interesting about this as well is that we're told that even though there is some other controversial picks that Donald Trump has appointed, that he wants to be his nominees for different cabinet positions, people like Pete Hegseth for the Department of Defense, or Tulsi Gabbard to lead the office of -- or be his Director of National Intelligence, Donald Trump says he would rather sacrifice other potential cabinet picks than to sacrifice Matt Gaetz.

So, again, cannot understate how much Donald Trump wants Gaetz in this role, and how important this role is to him and his overall agenda come next January.

SOLOMON: Yeah. We'll see how senators ultimately decide.

Alayna Treene live for us in Washington. Alayna, thank you.

And at any moment, a judge could decide whether to overturn the conviction against Donald Trump in his New York hush money case. Last spring, Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts for trying to falsify business records in order to conceal a sex scandal that was made public before the 2016 election.

Prosecutors called it a case of election interference. But this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Presidents are entitled to some immunity under certain circumstances, and of course, Trump is now the President-elect. So, that brings us to a decision today from the judge you see on your screen there, Juan Merchan.

Let's bring in CNN Senior Crime and Justice Reporter Katelyn Polantz, who has been following this case from the very beginning. Katelyn, we've been expecting this decision for the last hour or so. It really could come any moment now. What's the latest here?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yeah, Rahel. Even before we get to the decision from Judge Juan Merchan here on what to do with Donald Trump, who has been convicted of crimes in the state of New York related to falsification of business records in 2016-2017, we have to see what the prosecutors want to do.

That's what we are still waiting to see first this morning, the District Attorney's Office in Manhattan, what do they want to do with Donald Trump's sentencing? That's the last thing left essentially in this case. There is also a decision from Judge Merchan where he has to apply the Supreme Court's immunity ruling around the presidency to this case. Do parts of the case get cut out? Could it be overturned?

But, set that aside, the big question today, Rahel, is, does Donald Trump face a criminal sentencing for these convictions before he takes office or not? And a lot of what Judge Merchan will have to do is weigh what the District Attorney's Office, the prosecutors who won this case against Trump, what they want.

What we heard from them last was that they wanted to make some sort of indication in court where they balanced the interests of the office of the presidency on one hand, the unprecedented circumstances of Trump being the President-elect, returning to the presidency in January, and having some sort of respect to protection around that office, balance that with the decision of the jury in this criminal case, the finding of guilt following a lengthy trial against Donald Trump.

[11:25:00]

So, we're waiting to see what the DA's Office says on paper in court, what they ask Judge Merchan to do, and then ultimately, if a sentencing stays on the calendar or not for Donald Trump.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And it's interesting because the sentencing has moved several times before. So, it will be obviously really interesting to see what comes of this.

Katelyn, what does this mean? I mean, what does this mean for incoming President Trump?

POLANTZ: Well, Rahel, this is the case that went the furthest in the court system against Donald Trump, of those four cases that he faced, criminal cases, and as far as we are tracking the federal criminal cases against him related to January 6, related to classified documents in Florida, those are being essentially wiped out of the court system right now.

They're on hold, and there is different procedural things that can happen there, but they're just not going forward. They're not getting to a trial anytime soon, very likely not at all. In Georgia, that's the other state case that Trump faces. That essentially is on hold right now as well, with nothing in the future for it to be moving forward, at least against Trump himself.

And so, we are seeing in this situation how far the protections around the presidency really can go. Trump's lawyers famously once argued in court that, yeah, he should have protection as President, even if he shoots someone on Fifth Avenue. That was in an appeal, and we are seeing some level of that play out right now. He is convicted of crimes, and will he even be sentenced?

SOLOMON: OK. We shall soon see. Katelyn Polantz, thank you.

All right. Coming up for us, a glimmer of hope for ending the fighting in Lebanon. After the break, we're going to take a look at what a U.S. envoy is doing to help advance a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Plus, the fight for democracy in Hong Kong lands dozens of activists in jail. Coming up, how the rest of the world is reacting to their lengthy sentences.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.

We're tracking fast-moving developments in Russia and Ukraine. According to two U.S. officials, Ukraine has used U.S.-provided long- range missiles to strike inside of Russia for the first time to hit a Russian weapons arsenal. Earlier, Russia's Defense Ministry said that Ukraine had fired U.S.-made ATACMS missiles into Russia's Bryansk region. This comes two days after U.S. President Joe Biden granted Ukraine permission to strike targets inside Russia with American-made weapons.

[11:30:00]

Following the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin updated his country's nuclear doctrine. The updated doctrine now says that Moscow will consider aggression from any non-nuclear state, but with the participation of a nuclear country, a joint attack on Russia.

Today also marks 1,000 days since Russia's full-scale invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been marking the somber milestone by addressing a special session of European Parliament from Kyiv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: Thank you for ensuring that not a single one of the 1,000 days of this terrible war became a day of betrayal of our shared European values. We've proven that these values are not just words, not something abstract. European values and the European way of life, when transformed into action, protect the lives of real people. Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And joining me now is CNN Political and National Security Analyst at David Sanger. He is also the author of "New Cold Wars: China's rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West." David, always good to have you. Thanks for being here. Talk to me first just about your reaction to the timing of this revised nuclear doctrine out of Russia. What do you see here?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Rahel, the Russians had signaled back in September that they were going to make this change, and obviously, it's made to fit into their greatest anxiety here, which is, what do you do about non-nuclear attacks into your country that you can't stop, and that's been essentially what the Ukrainians have been doing with the attacks into Kursk, with the drones that have occasionally gotten as far as Moscow. And while none of them have presented a threat to the existence of the Russian state, they've been a huge embarrassment.

And so, here what I think you're seeing is Vladimir Putin just trying to remind them that not only does he have his nuclear weapons, but that he might use them for something short of a nuclear attack on Russia. And so, it's another sort of gradual loosening of these restraints on nuclear use.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Do you think, though, David, that the fears around this are overblown? I mean, some might look at this and say, why would Putin make such a move with Trump coming back in office and the situation on the ground seemingly going his way?

SANGER: Well, very, very good question. A couple of reasons. First of all, we view Putin's threats differently now than we did three years ago. You may remember that in the opening weeks of the war, he gathered his defense cabinet. He asked them to put his nuclear weapons on high alert. It was a front page story all around the country. The next year, in 2022, the administration believed that Putin might be getting ready to use nuclear weapon against Ukraine, a tactical weapon. And that set up a lot of concern. I think now Putin has sort of overused, overplayed this card.

So, yeah, I can understand why it is that people kind of shrug and move on. But, remember, Rahel, this is not what this era was supposed to be about. It was 16 years ago -- 15 years ago, Barack Obama gave his first speeches about trying to eliminate nuclear arsenals. This was his first year as President, and certainly reducing their role in American strategy. And others seem to be going along with that now. And now, instead, what we've learned from the Ukraine war is even if you never use a nuclear weapon, the threat of its use can be of significant utility.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Talk to me, David, about this change in position from the U.S. on the long-range missiles, and the impact of that change, both in the short term in terms of on the battlefield, but even in a longer term in terms of any negotiation that may ultimately come about.

SANGER: I think it's more about the negotiation than anything else. Now, President Biden had opposed this because he feared escalation that could lead to exactly the kind of nuclear confrontation we've been discussing this morning. But, I think over time, he came to realize that the threshold for that was significantly higher. And the White House says what changed his mind was the introduction of North Korean troops coming in to help the Russians in Kursk, and that this would be a way for the Ukrainians to both respond to that and the U.S. to signal its displeasure at the widening of the war.

[11:35:00] But, the first uses, as you've described, weren't against North Koreans. They were against weapons stores, which I find to be interesting.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And what about just sort of the conversations that you think might be having -- might be taking place at G20? I mean, we know that the UK and France have indicated their willingness to also greenlight similar decisions after the U.S. made this decision. I mean, to be a fly on the wall in some of those conversations, I mean, how do you think Biden is addressing this issue with some of his fellow leaders at the G20?

SANGER: My guess is that the behind-the-scenes conversation is, how do you move this to the negotiating table, that Trump's arrival and the fear that he might simply give Russia 20 percent of Ukraine is probably prompting both President Zelenskyy and the European leaders to think about whether or not it's time to go to negotiations, even if Ukraine doesn't have the upper hand.

And of course, they only wanted to go to negotiations at that moment when the war was going well for the Ukrainians. They're not going to have that luxury. But, the fact of the matter is, this issue is done for President Biden. At this point, it's going to be handed off to a Trump administration whose support for Ukraine is significantly in doubt.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And then you also have to think about some of his cabinet picks as well, and sort of where they stand on this issue.

David Sanger, good to have you. Thank you.

SANGER: Great to be with you, Rahel.

SOLOMON: OK. And some European governments are warning of possible hybrid warfare involving Russia after two cables carrying internet data deep in the Baltic Sea were damaged.

Let's get straight to CNN's Anna Stewart, who joins us live in London. Anna, walk us through these attacks, first of all, as far as what we know.

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, now we know that we have two different cables that have been damaged in recent days. On Sunday, it was the first. It was the cable between Lithuania and Sweden. And then yesterday, Monday, a different cable between Finland and Germany was damaged. You can see where those are on the map in the Baltic Sea.

These underwater cables are a critical bit of infrastructure. Something like 95 percent of all the world's online traffic runs through these cables. Clearly then there is something of a target. The good news is, few countries would rely too heavily on any one single link, and they can be repaired. But, quite quickly, the question is moving on from what's going to happen with these cables and what its disruption, and how did the damage happen, and who may be responsible. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. And what reaction have we seen so far, Anna, from officials?

STEWART: So, investigations are now underway in Sweden and Lithuania to try and find the root cause of all of this. But, we've also heard from the German Defense Minister, who said it was likely sabotage, and we had this from the German Foreign Minister earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNALENA BAERBOCK, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (Interpreted): We are now also experiencing this in Germany, geographically, at the heart of the European Union, so to speak, with cyberattacks, observation and spying on critical infrastructure. Suddenly, parcels that are supposed to be transported in airplanes are exploding. And yesterday, as you mentioned, a data cable between Finland and Germany, and probably also affecting Sweden, broke down. None of this can just be a coincidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: No coincidence, but as of yet, no direct or explicit accusations that Russia may be behind this. Russia has been accused of threatening undersea cables in the past. We've also had European security officials accusing Russia many times, even this year, of waging a so-called hybrid warfare against Europe.

We've had NATO officials warning the West about Russia's unconventional attacks on things like espionage, cyberattacks, electoral interference, disinformation, you name it. And the problem with hybrid warfare is, A, it's so broad. You don't know where will be attacked next, and also it's very hard to prove who is behind it. Rahel.

SOLOMON: OK. Anna Stewart live for us in London. Anna, thank you.

And countries around the world have condemned the sentences of 45 pro- democracy leaders in Hong Kong. They are lengthy sentences, up to 10 years for subversion. Among those sentenced is student leader Joshua Wong, who will serve nearly five years in prison. China calls the global condemnation of the court's ruling interfering with its laws.

Here is CNN's Ivan Watson with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Judges in Hong Kong handed down a combined prison sentence of more than two centuries behind bars, in fact, more than 245 years to 45 defendants who have been convicted of the crime of conspiracy to commit subversion. The defendants, the judges, ruled, if their scheme had been carried out to the end, the adverse consequences would have been no less serious than, quote, "overthrowing the government".

[11:40:00]

Now, the defendants, they organized an unofficial primary election back in 2020 to prepare candidates to compete in elections for the city legislature, and that is essentially their crime, their plot that they were convicted of. This has all but killed off the once vibrant pro-democracy movement that thrived in the city until a crackdown that began four to five years ago with the imposition of a controversial National Security Law, part of a broader crackdown that has killed off independent newspapers in the city, and the protests and demonstrations that were once tolerated and in fact allowed to participate in the streets of the city.

Outside the courtroom on Tuesday, a single woman tried to hold up a protest sign, and she was quickly carried away by police to a police van. That is symbolic of how dramatic the shift in political culture has been over the last four to five years. Critics of the crackdown and of this sentencing include human rights groups as well as the U.S. Consulate here, which has condemned the sentencing and added the statement, quote, "We call on China and the Hong Kong authorities to cease politically motivated prosecutions of Hong Kong citizens and to immediately release all political prisoners."

The Hong Kong government and the Chinese national government have rejected this kind of criticism, arguing that this is meddling in Hong Kong's internal affairs. They contest that this court case has helped bring back stability to Hong Kong, which went through nearly a year of anti-government protests in 2019 that had grown increasingly violent.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

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SOLOMON: OK. Now to the Middle East, where U.S. Amos Hochstein is in Beirut, raising hopes for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Hochstein told reporters that a ceasefire deal is achievable.

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AMOS HOCHSTEIN, U.S. MIDDLE EAST ENVOY: We've had very good discussions to narrow the gaps over the last several days and weeks, and that trend continued today in the meeting.

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SOLOMON: For now, though, the heart of Beirut is under attack for a second straight day. At least five people were killed by an Israeli strike just a few 100 meters from the Prime Minister's Office and parliament. In Gaza, the Health Ministry reports that at least 50 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours, including one incident in which 17 members of the same family died.

Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson, who joins us from Jerusalem. Nic, Hochstein says that a deal is, quote, "within our grasp". What are the chances of getting a ceasefire?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. He is describing this as a moment of opportunity, a window of opportunity that the talks have been constructive, and he met early on today with the Prime minister in Lebanon, Najib Mikati. They had discussions. But, it was with the next meeting that he went on to with Nabih Berri, the parliamentary speaker of the Amal party, which is closely aligned with Hezbollah, and he has been the main interlocutor taking the U.S. proposal to Hezbollah, and he also said that sort of the initial phases were going well, but he did sort of seem to give a degree of skepticism when talking to local media. He said that there were areas, it appeared to him, where Israel was sort of not keeping up with its commitments.

Now, we don't know the details, and we don't understand which areas are precisely those areas where the gaps are being narrowed, which is what Amos Hochstein is doing. But, we do know from an Israeli perspective, they want full operational freedom, the right to strike back if Hezbollah abrogates a ceasefire deal, and the broad terms of the ceasefire deal are 60 days ceasefire, Hezbollah back to an agreement with the 2006 UN Security Council Resolution 1701, so they don't have any firepower near the border. They're not firing on Israel.

But, it's the language around this right to respond back. And is this written, formalized language, or is it an understanding that's supposed to be shared by both parties? This is what it appears. Hochstein is trying to sort of close the gap on. We don't know how big the gap is. Is it realistic to think that this can be done? Look, we've been here before. Hezbollah continues to fire into Israel. The IDF continues to strike Hezbollah targets. They killed a medium range missile commander yesterday. They said it fired over 300 -- responsible for firing over 300 missiles into Israel. So, the tempo may be picking up at the moment, in some respects, but a tempo of military actions, if you will.

[11:45:00]

But, often you get that around a time of negotiations that it doesn't necessarily mean the negotiations will finally reach a positive conclusion.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Nic, as you make the point that as the conversations continue, so does military action. I mean, what is the latest on the strikes both in Lebanon and in Gaza?

ROBERTSON: Yeah. Yesterday, there was a deadly strike by Hezbollah into northern Israel. A woman was killed, a number of other people injured there, and missile debris after a missile was intercepted very close to Tel Aviv, landed on a shopping mall there, one person seriously injured, two others lightly injured. About this time last night, a huge fire broke out there as well.

And the IDF continues its targeting inside of Lebanon. Just yesterday, as you mentioned, targeting right in the center of Beirut. That's the sixth time that they've targeted in the center of Beirut since 2006. Three of those incidences have come in the last couple of days. And the IDF also saying that today -- announcing today that another of their soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon.

So, the war is still going on. The fight is absolutely still continuing. But, I think the fact that Amos Hochstein is in Beirut is indicative that there is a potential, as he says at this moment, but he has also said today that it's up to the parties. The opportunity is there, but it's up to the parties to come to agreement on it.

SOLOMON: Yeah. OK. Nic Robertson live for us there. Nic, thank you.

And still ahead, we'll take a look at U.S. markets, plus Donald Trump's potential economic impact in his next term. We're going to have a live report when we come back.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. The U.S. markets have seen a post-election bump since Donald Trump was elected. But, there are questions about what impact his policies may have during his second term. Let's take a look at where the markets stand. It is currently a mixed day on the market, but the Dow Jones is off about one third of a percent, or 140 points. Not the case necessarily with some of the other averages. The S&P and the NASDAQ are up, S&P slightly fractionally. The NASDAQ is up about half a percentage point.

Let's bring in CNN's Matt Egan to help us understand what investors are reacting to right now.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Rahel, markets are battling back from some early selling this morning. For the first time in a long time, investors this morning were displaying some concern about the Russia- Ukraine war and these mounting tensions between the United States and Russia. So, we did see the Dow fall 450 points at the outstart (ph). But, look at that. The market really bouncing back in a big way. The Dow only down a bit, and as you mentioned, the S&P and the NASDAQ turning higher.

[11:50:00]

It was noteworthy to me that I was on the phone with a number of different analysts this morning who were pointing out these concerns about the situation between Washington and Moscow, of course, the Biden administration giving Ukraine permission to use those long-range weapons within Russia's territory for the first time, and then we had Moscow updating their nuclear doctrine. So, none of that was sitting well with investors. We actually saw gold prices move higher. But, for now, it seems like those concerns were being shrugged off. As you can see, gold up about a half a percentage point. So, not a massive level of concern, and markets are kind of coming down after some early selling this morning. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. It's interesting, though. We know Donald Trump, one area of concern for him is always the markets, and I thought you had a really interesting analysis piece today when discussing whether and what guardrails there will be for his next term, how important the market might be as acting as a guardrail. Talk to us about that.

EGAN: Yeah, Rahel. I mean, the market could be very important. Listen, it's been said a lot that Trump is not going to have some of the same guardrails that he had during the first term, when you think about some of the anti-tariff voices like Gary Cohn, who are unlikely to be in this White House, when you think about some of the Never-Trump Republicans that were in Congress and are not anymore. But, we know that Donald Trump, during his first term, I mean, he was kind of obsessed with what the stock market was doing. He was often tweeting out even the most minor of market milestones, and at times he would react when there were market sell-offs.

And so, I've talked to some analysts who said, look, this could be a factor again. Isaac Boltansky over at BTIG, he told me, I don't see Congress or the courts limiting the President's authority. Ultimately, the only entity that has real power over the President's thinking about his agenda is the stock market. And I don't think it's hard to imagine a scenario where early next year Trump is putting out messages on social media about big tariffs on China or Mexico or another country, and having the market go down, perhaps so much that it could cause him to sort of moderate some of those tariff proposals.

Same thing with the Fed. I mean, he has talked a lot about influencing Federal Reserve decisions. Possibly, there was some speculation that he could try to demote a Fed official. We know Jerome Powell says that he wouldn't step down. But, I could see a scenario where any sort of influencing of the Fed could not sit well with investors, and I think it's something that the President would take notice of if you have the market down because of it. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yeah. Interesting. As he watches the markets, the markets are watching to see who he chooses for Treasury Secretary.

Matt Egan, we'll leave it here. Thank you.

EGAN: Thanks, Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right. Still ahead, a special guest will be on hand for today's SpaceX launch. So, that's in today's one more thing. We'll be right back.

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SOLOMON: And before we go, one more thing. It's a big launch for SpaceX today with a special guest on hand.

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SOLOMON: That's a previous launch from last year. Donald Trump will reportedly join Elon Musk in Texas later today for the Starship Flight 6 launch. It's the most powerful rocket ever built, and is on its sixth test flight. This is the first SpaceX launch since its historic booster catch with the chopsticks arms on the launch pad.

All right. Well, thank you for being with us today. We know your time is money. So, thanks for spending a little time with us. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.

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