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Zelenskyy Hosts World Leaders On Invasion Anniversary; Confusion Over Elon Musk's Supposed Ultimatum To Government Workers; Vatican Holds First Nightly Prayer Service For Pope Francis; Marking Three Years Since Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine; Marking 3 Years Since Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine; China's Xi Stresses Strength Of Russia Ties In Putin Call. Aired 12-12:45a ET
Aired February 25, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: While Europe stands with Ukraine at the U.N., the United States votes with Russia and China.
Hello, I'm John Vause. Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My administration is making a decisive break with the foreign policy failures of the past administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: How change in White House policy towards Ukraine could have global implications for decades to come.
So what did Elon Musk do last week?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think everyone thought it was a pretty ingenious idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But in practice, though, the e-mail to federal workers was contradicted, rescinded and resent after causing mass confusion, and it seemed very inefficient.
Doctors report Pope Francis showing a slight improvement.
As nightly prayer services begin in St. Peters Square at the Vatican.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.
VAUSE: The real world implications of a stunning change in U.S. policy on Ukraine played out in real time at the United Nations and at the White House on Monday.
For more than three years, Ukraine has received billions of dollars in military and financial assistance from Washington, but now not in the Trump White House, which is also trying to rewrite history. On the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion, the U.S. voted with Russia against a U.N. General Assembly resolution which blamed Russia for starting the war and condemned Russia's actions since, while at the Security Council, the U.S. pushed through its own resolution, making no mention of Russian aggression or which country is to blame. Five European countries, all U.S. allies, abstained, including the U.K.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WOODRUFF, U.K. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: There can be no equivalence between Russia and Ukraine in how this council refers to this war. If we are to find a path to sustainable peace, the council must be clear on the war's origins.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And at the White House, French President Emmanuel Macron urged President Trump to deal with Vladimir Putin from a position of strength, adding any peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine must be checked and verified. That advice seemed to go unheard with the U.S. president again greatly exaggerating the amount of U.S. financial support Ukraine has received. He also blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the war and, for good measure, refused to call President Putin a dictator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You called Zelenskyy a dictator. Would you use the same words regarding Putin?
TRUMP: Uh, I don't use those words lightly. I think that we're going to see how it all works out. Let's see what happens. I think we have a chance of a really good settlement between various countries. And, you know, you're talking about Europe and you're talking about Ukraine as part of that whole situation. The other side has a lot of support also.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: According to the Reuters News Agency, right now all of Ukraine is under air raid alerts. That was the last hour or so with warnings of Russian missile attacks. This all comes just a day after a dozen European leaders, also from Canada, were in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of the Russia's invasion.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They came to honor, mourn, in unity, with the hope the war could stop in this, its fourth year.
But in truth, the past week has elevated Ukraine's bitter conflict, where Russia is still advancing into an unprecedented crisis for all of them. Europe and beyond.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's also about having skin in the game.
PATON WALSH: The words, the pledges of aid and sanctions were familiar.
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: We need to make sure that might no longer makes right.
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The U.K. is ready and willing to support this with troops on the ground.
PATON WALSH: A show of solidarity, but really key here is the absence of senior figures in the Trump administration. The change in that alliance hanging over this key show of unity.
(Voice-over): But then the whiplash that's left U.S.-Ukraine relations in free fall suddenly got a reprieve. Perhaps due to this man, siding up to President Donald Trump during a G7 video call.
TRUDEAU: There he is. Emmanuel is on his --
WALSH: French President Emmanuel Macron seeking to bring Trump onto Ukraine's side.
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TRUDEAU: Olaf, good to have you here. I know it was a tough day yesterday.
WALSH: A lot of change here. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaving Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz voted out, too. But this is day-by-day for Ukraine, who welcomed the chance.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I mean, that's what Donald Trump, now we had a conversation, it was a very good conversation. Thank you very much, Justin, for organizing this meeting.
PATON WALSH: Some minutes later, the world seemed to change again. The key U.S.-Ukraine resources deal close to done.
TRUMP: I think we're very close. Do you have something to say about that, Scott?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are very close. One yard run.
TRUMP: I will be meeting with President Zelenskyy. In fact, he may come in this week or next week to sign the agreement.
PATON WALSH: Just add Macron to Trump, results in minutes.
TRUMP: He's a smart customer, I will tell you that.
PATON WALSH: Ukraine urgently needed good news in a brutal fight. A source telling CNN a final draft of the resources deal left the tough stuff to later talks, removed the worst parts for Kyiv, but also the security guarantees they needed. That might be something for the presidents to discuss later.
Yet, the madness has one winner, the Kremlin head surely seeing a telenovela plot of a week, leaving the West in panic, trading dictator insults, but not at him, and then suddenly healed. Next week could well be different again.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Steven Pifer has more than 25 years' experience as a foreign service officer for the U.S. State Department, including a posting in Kyiv as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
Mr. Ambassador, thank you for being with us.
Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: I want you to listen to the U.S. president explaining this dramatic shift by his administration in policy towards Ukraine. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: My administration is making a decisive break with the foreign policy failures of the past administration. And frankly, the past. I ran against a very foolish foreign policy establishment and their recklessness has led to the death of many, many people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And to that end, the U.S. voted against a U.N. resolution demanding Russia withdraw from Ukraine and then pushed through a Security Council resolution which did not place blame on Russia for starting the war or make any mention of Russian aggression. This comes on the same day that leaders from Europe and Canada, literally standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainians in Kyiv.
All this seems to be a lot more than just simply, you know, a new White House policy coming in towards Ukraine with much larger consequences here.
STEVEN PIFER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Well, first of all, it would have been nice to see the Americans standing there with the other European leaders in Kyiv. But I worry that President Trump is making some serious mistakes. He says he would like to broker a just and lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine. And that's the right objective. But in the steps he's taken in the last two weeks, he's made some errors.
So he talks about Ukraine cannot recover all its territory. Ukraine cannot join NATO. He's making concessions right off the bat to the Russians. He agrees to meet with President Putin, even though for the last three years, Western leaders have had a position that they would not meet with Putin. And then today, the United States joins with Russia in the U.N. General Assembly voting against a resolution proposed by the Europeans and Ukraine that calls for a lasting peace. And the reason the Americans voted against it because it said the Russians were the aggressors.
The whole world saw three years ago that the Russians are the aggressors. And my fear is that in the eyes of Moscow, in Putin's eyes now, Trump looks weak. And that's not going to encourage Putin to be more accommodating. He's going to just sit back and see if he can elicit more concessions from the Americans. This is not the way to deal with the Kremlin. It's a mistake.
VAUSE: And one of the reasons why Donald Trump wants a quick end to this war is the cost. U.S. support for Ukraine has been hundreds of billions of dollars. And now Donald Trump actually wants some kind of refund. He's arguing that European countries received a far better arrangement with Kyiv when it comes to financial assistance.
Here is Donald Trump at the White House with the French president. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine. They get their money back.
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: No, in fact, to be to be frank, we paid. We paid 60 percent of the total effort. And it was through -- like the U.S. loans guaranteed grants. And we provided real money, to be clear. It is my wish.
TRUMP: If you believe that, it's OK with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: It was an incredible moment. But that retort at the end, if you believe that, it's OK. Does that indicate that maybe President Trump is making these decisions based on inaccurate information, which, regardless of how people try to correct it, just doesn't seem to be getting through?
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PIFER: It's embarrassing for the White House when the president has to be corrected by a foreign leader. But President Macron was right. The bulk of the European assistance going to Ukraine over the last three years, which is actually more than the United States has provided, were simply grants. And in the American case, Mr. Trump talks about $350 billion. It's more like $120 billion. That's a lot of money. But most of that money was spent in the United States, either buying weapons from the Ukrainians or buying weapons, new weapons for the U.S. Military to replace all the weapons that have been taken out of our existing stocks and sent to Ukraine.
So I do have to wonder where Mr. Trump is getting his information. It's not accurate. And all too often, particularly when he calls Zelenskyy a dictator, it really sounds like a Kremlin talking point. VAUSE: According to a Kremlin readout of a phone call Monday between
President Xi and Putin, the Chinese side expressed support for the dialogue that has begun between Russia and the United States, as well as readiness to assist in finding ways to peacefully resolve the Ukrainian conflict.
Traditional U.S. allies like Europe may be outraged after losing U.S. support at the U.N., but Beijing seems happy, which goes to this whole sort of new world order, if you like.
PIFER: Right. Well, I think the Chinese say that, but I'm not sure the Chinese are prepared to be a very helpful player in trying to resolve this war. You know, two and a half years ago, the Chinese put out a statement of principles, but there's been no real Chinese effort to follow up and actually try to broker a solution. And I guess my other point would be is, nobody in the world has more influence with Vladimir Putin than President Xi.
Why is he not using that influence? He could put a lot of significant pressure on Putin to end this war, and there's simply no evidence of that.
VAUSE: Ambassador Pifer, thanks so much for being with us. We really appreciate your insights and your experience. Thank you.
PIFER: Thank you.
VAUSE: The man likely to be Germany's next chancellor is looking to move quickly to form a coalition government and appears ready to turn to his party's longtime rival to try and make that happen.
Frederik Merz and the center-right bloc came out on top in Sunday's snap election, followed by a strong second place showing by the far- right AfD party. The center-left social Democrats came in third. That gives the two centrist blocs enough seats in parliament to govern on their own without a third coalition partner.
Merz says he'll do his best to keep up positive relations with the United States, but expressed concern over ties between Europe and Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRIEDRICH MERZ, LEADER, CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC UNION (through translator): I would never have believed that I would ever have to think something like this, let alone say it, but all the signals we are getting from the U.S. indicate that their interest in Europe is clearly waning, and the willingness to get involved in Europe is decreasing. Nevertheless, I hope that we can convince the Americans that it is in our mutual interest that we continue to have good Trans- Atlantic relations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany Party, told CNN she wants the Trump administration to be very good partners. She said she missed calls from the U.S., including one from Elon Musk, congratulating her on AfD's strong election showing.
It seems Elon Musk, though, was busy doubling down on an ultimatum to federal employees demanding they submit detailed logs of their work or face termination. On Monday, the Office of Personnel Management claimed it would be voluntary for government workers to respond to a mass e-mail from Musk about justifying their jobs. But a short time later, Musk tweeted this, "Subject to the discretion of the president, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination."
This back and forth has left many federal workers confused and angry. Court challenges are also underway.
More details now from CNN's Rene Marsh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Office of Personnel Management formally notified agencies Monday afternoon that the so- called what did you do last week e-mail sent over the weekend is voluntary and failure to respond will not equate to a resignation.
Now that guidance runs counter to what Elon Musk said over the weekend. On X, he posted, quote, "Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation." And the president on Monday afternoon said that anyone who didn't respond to the e-mail was, quote, "semi-fired or fired." All of this creating a lot of confusion within federal agencies. A Department of Veterans Affairs employee putting it this way, quote, "No one knows who is in charge or who to listen to."
Now, this e-mail also appeared to reveal a rift between Trump appointed agency heads and Elon Musk. Now keep in mind Musk is unelected and not Senate confirmed to run any federal agency, and he was essentially telling employees to report outside of their chain of command to him. We did see that seven agencies, including the Department of Defense, the State Department and FBI told employees not to comply.
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But Trump is downplaying any rift between his cabinet secretaries and Elon Musk, and the power that Musk is wielding in his capacity outside of government. But leading this effort to shrink the federal workforce.
Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come, 11 days in hospital, now Pope Francis showing a slight improvement as he continues to battle double pneumonia. More on that in a moment.
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[00:20:00] VAUSE: Catholics filled St. Peters Square Monday for the first nightly prayer service for Pope Francis, who remains in hospital with double pneumonia. The Vatican says the holy father is showing slight improvement. He's able to move around, he's eating well and is in good humor.
CNN Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb has the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, reports of an improvement in Pope Francis's condition tonight from the Vatican. They say that the Pope has been doing better. He has been able to call the parish in Gaza and also to do some work activities. We're told that the potential kidney failure that the Pope might have had is now no longer a concern. He's still receiving oxygen, but at a slightly lower rate.
Clearly, it's a complex medical picture for Francis, and we are told he is still in a critical condition. It could go either way. Francis has been in hospital since February 14th. It's the longest hospital stay of his pontificate, and there is obviously concern here in Rome and at the Vatican, behind me in St. Peters Square. There was a prayer service this evening led by Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Other cardinals from Rome were gathered in the square to pray for Pope Francis.
There's been an outpouring of prayer and well-wishes for the pontiff as he struggles with this health condition, this health crisis. He has pneumonia in both lungs. We're hearing of prayers being said for the Pope across the globe and by non-Catholics. The grand imam of Al- Azhar, the leader of Sunni Islam in Egypt, has been praying for the Pope. We are expecting further updates from the Vatican in the coming hours.
Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The largest ever child abuse trial in France is now underway with many details of this case already leaving the nation deeply shocked and horrified. Prosecutors have accused a 74-year-old former surgeon of sexually assaulting 299 children in his practice over the past 25 years. The defendant is already serving a 15-year sentence for abusing his nieces and a neighbor. Prosecutors say the surgeon worked in both private and public medical institutions despite convictions for possessing child abuse imagery. They say he targeted patients as young as 2 years old.
The prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo says 7,000 people have been killed in the fighting there since January. She also told the Human Rights Council that hundreds of thousands of people are now without shelter, as this long running conflict in eastern Congo accelerates. The rebel group M23 has advanced, capturing territory in the east. Rwanda has rejected allegations it supports the rebels with both arms and troops. The prime minister, though, is now urging the world to act. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDITH SUMINWA TULUKA, PRIME MINISTER, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (through translator): It is impossible to describe the screams and cries of millions of victims of this conflict. Women, girls, raped, children forcibly enrolled, displaced people, orphans. In addition, human rights defenders, journalists, artists witnessing this tragedy in the east does not have the right to tell the story. We call on the international community to strengthen its humanitarian support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Criticism is growing of the military's strategy of the DRC after back to back losses in two provinces since the year began.
In a moment, as the fighting in Ukraine enters a fourth year, we'll take a look at Russians and Ukrainians, both marking this milestone in very different ways.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
It's been three years now since the Russian tanks and troops rolled into Ukraine. What we now know was meant to be a three-day dash to the capital Kyiv to topple the government of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But Russia's invasion stalled in the face of an unexpected defiance by Ukrainians, which their president praised as absolute heroism.
And in Russia, despite strict media controls and harsh punishment for anyone who speaks out against the conflict, three years on there are some signs of dissent. Rare images Monday of Russians leaving flowers at Ukrainian monuments. Almost as quickly as the flowers were placed during the day, they were cleared away.
Also, a demonstration calling for the very nonspecific, quote, "peaceful resolution of conflicts." And three years on, as the staggering cost to Russia continues to mount, CNN's Matthew Chance reports on how a new U.S. president is bringing a sense of optimism that a peace deal might actually happen.
A warning this report from Matthew contains images you may find disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three years into this bloodshed and the front lines remain hellish and brutal. There may be talk of peace, but every day in the warzone, the ultimate sacrifice is being paid.
Across Russia, cemeteries are now burgeoning with fresh graves. The grim reality of the Ukrainian meat grinder can no longer be hidden or denied.
This monument was put up so people would know there is a war going on, says Viktor, the head of a local veterans' organization. It's not just some kind of operation, he says. People are dying.
It wasn't meant to be this way.
These are Russian forces. You can tell they're Russian. I've spoken to them already.
(Voice-over): Back in 2022, as the full-scale invasion began, CNN encountered Russian troops sent on what became a suicide mission to capture the Ukrainian capital.
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CHANCE: What the Kremlin still calls its special military operation was meant to be over in a few days.
Instead, Russian troops were forced to withdraw, leaving behind them a trail of devastation. And in places like Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, allegations of human rights abuses, too, all denied by the Kremlin.
Now, President Putin is still pinning medals on veterans before toasting their fallen comrades at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. "How many unknown soldiers there have been, no one even knows," Putin says. "But thanks to their efforts, courage and extreme hard work at the front, we have Russia today," he adds.
And after three years of fighting, Russia also has the Ukrainian territories it's captured and occupied, like the ruins of pisky and countless others, where former residents are now returning to their destroyed homes and trying to claim compensation from the Russian authorities now in charge.
"I don't think there'll ever be a peace agreement," Katarina (ph) says. "How can they agree on who will fix all of this?" she asks.
Three years on, and there are doubts buildings or lives can ever be rebuilt.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The presidents of Russia and China spoke by phone Monday. Lots of talk of enduring friendships and close ties.
Xi Jinping, in particular, wants the West to know that Beijing's relationship with Moscow cannot be shaken.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout live for us in Hong Kong with more details.
So, if we look at the big picture here, we've got Donald Trump moving in there with Vladimir Putin, sort of making a play there for the friendship role, moving a bit closer. We've got this very close relationship between Putin and Xi Jinping.
Is that likely to be impacted in any way by Donald Trump? And what else did they talk about on the phone call?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: You know, Xi and Putin are doubling down on their relationship. But it's interesting to note, at least according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs's readout, that the call was initiated by Vladimir Putin.
Now, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, they pledged their long-term strategic ties in this phone call on Monday, their first phone call ever since U.S. President Donald Trump made that significant pivot toward Russia as he pushes for peace in Ukraine.
The phone call took place on Monday, on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and according to a MOFA readout of the call, it said this. Let's bring it up to you.
This is what Xi Jinping said, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Our bilateral relationship has a strong internal driving force and unique strategic value. It is neither targeted at any third party nor affected by any third party," unquote.
Now, the Kremlin, for its part, described the call as warm, as friendly. And we also got additional details from the Russian side in the Kremlin's readout.
Their interpretation of the phone call -- let's bring it up for you here -- saying this: quote, "The two leaders emphasized that the Russian-Chinese political ties are an essential stabilizing factor in global affairs. This relationship is strategic in nature. It's not subject to political bias and not aimed against anyone," unquote.
Look, this call comes at a very interesting time, as both China and Russia navigate a very new American foreign policy. And that was definitely put in focus on Monday when the United States, in a significant shift, a stunning one, joined Russia in that vote at the U.N. against a U.N. General Assembly resolution that would condemn Russia's invasion against Ukraine.
China, for its part, abstained during that vote. Now, China has long said it's a neutral party in these matters. But China has not been a neutral party during Russia's invasion, its ongoing campaign in Ukraine.
It has supported Russia economically by buying Russian energy, thus softening the blow of Western sanctions. It has also supported Russia politically by parroting Kremlin talking points, even also refusing to condemn Russia's invasion in Ukraine.
A lot of observers are wondering to see if Donald Trump can succeed in driving a wedge between Russia and China. But we did hear recently from Wang Yi, the foreign minister, who spoke to his counterparts at the G-20, suggesting, no, that's not the case. And he also said this, saying that it's a window for peace that is opening here -- John. VAUSE: Well, can two become three? I guess that's the question. Is
three a crowd? Who knows?
Kristie, thank you. Talk to you soon.
In a moment, a record-setting cryptocurrency heist, and security experts say the North Koreans did it.
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VAUSE: North Korean hackers believed responsible for the theft of more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency in one heist.
The largest crypto theft on record, according to security experts, took just minutes and was stolen from the crypto exchange ByBit on Friday.
And by the weekend, the hackers reportedly had laundered about $160 million of it.
North Korea's hacking operation is seen as a key source of revenue for Pyongyang.
An historic moment overshadowed by controversy. Karla Sofia Gascon, one of the stars of the Oscar-nominated film, "Emilia Perez," will attend this year's ceremony after controversial social media posts have emerged from her past.
Gascon made history last month as the first transgender woman to be nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
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But since then, the film's director has distanced himself from Gascon over those posts, despite her apology to everyone who's been hurt along the way.
She did tell CNN, though, she cannot step down from the Oscar race.
John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But please stay with us. WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. See you back here in 20 minutes.
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