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Russia Launches Aerial Assault Despite Large-Scale Prisoner Swap With Ukraine; Trump Delays 50 Percent Tariffs On E.U. Imports; Minneapolis Marks 5 Years Since George Floyd's Death; Civilians Face Danger Of Unexploded Munitions In Khartoum. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired May 26, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

BEN HUNTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello. Wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you here.

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Coming up on the show, Russia launching a deadly aerial attack on Ukraine, the largest of the war. It has Donald Trump issuing a strong rebuke to Vladimir Putin.

Tariffs delayed. The U.S. president says he's giving Europe more time to negotiate in the ongoing trade war.

And his death sparked protests across the U.S. How much has America changed since the murder of George Floyd? We're going to dig deeper.

Welcome. U.S. President Donald Trump is taking to social media with new criticism of Vladimir Putin after Russia launched its largest aerial assault of its three-year war on Ukraine. Mr. Trump said the Russian president has gone, quote, "absolutely crazy" just hours after saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm not happy with what Putin's doing. He's killing a lot of people, and I don't know what the hell happened to Putin. I've known him a long time. I've always gotten along with him. But he's sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don't like it at all. OK? We're in the middle of talking, and he's shooting rockets into Kyiv and other cities. I don't like it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Well, the U.S. president also critical of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who he said isn't doing his country favors by, quote, "talking the way he does."

Trump, clearly reacting to comments from the Ukrainian president, who blasted the silence from some around the world as the war drags on.

"The world may go on vacation, but the war continues despite weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored. America's silence and the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin." That's the reaction after Russia hit the capital and other regions

across Ukraine overnight on Sunday with missiles and drones, killing at least 12 people, including children. The assault coming despite the largest prisoner swap of the war being completed on Sunday.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is following all of the developments from Abu Dhabi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have seen a weekend of superlatives. At the same time as seeing the largest aerial assaults from the Russian military on Ukrainian cities, we're also seeing the largest prisoner exchange between the two countries.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Now, starting with the positive, we did see over three days -- Friday, Saturday, and Sunday -- a total of 2,000 prisoners being released: 1,000 Russian, 1,000 Ukrainian.

Now this did happen, as I say, over three days. We have been seeing some very emotional reunions, some very emotional images on the Ukrainian side as those coming off from busses, draped in the Ukrainian flag, are reunited with their loved ones.

In some cases, they have been held prisoner for a number of years.

HANCOCKS: Now, we did hear from the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, thanking everybody involved in this process.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The task is to bring home absolutely everyone who is currently held in Russia, and this is a joint task for our intelligence services, for our diplomats, for our entire state.

Clearly, it's not an easy task, but it must be accomplished. I'm grateful to everyone around the world who is helping us.

HANCOCKS: Now, according to the Ukrainian Prisoner of War Center, this is the sixth prisoner exchange that we have seen this year alone. And it is the 65th overall.

And yet, at the same time as seeing something as positive as this, we also saw a devastating weekend when it came to the aerial assaults on Ukraine. We saw from the Ukrainian air force saying that Saturday into Sunday --

HANCOCKS (voice-over): -- there were almost 70 missiles, almost 300 drones. Now, many of them, they claim, were intercepted, but those that got through were deadly. We know that children were among the dead and injured.

HANCOCKS: Now they say there were drones. There were cruise missiles, ballistic missiles fired from both ships and planes. According to the Ukrainian leader, rescuers were working in well over 30 cities and villages across the country.

Now there were some 13 different districts that were impacted --

HANCOCKS (voice-over): -- but certainly, what we saw in the capital, in Kyiv, in the early hours of Sunday morning was that the air raid sirens were blaring for hours.

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Residents were told to stay in shelters in the early hours of Sunday morning. And over the weekend, one Parliament member, speaking to CNN, said it felt like Armageddon.

HANCOCKS: So, a very devastating and deadly weekend in a number of Ukrainian cities.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton can tell us all about these latest Russian strikes and why they're so significant.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It shows that the Russians have the capacity to launch a considerable number of missiles and drones against Ukrainian targets.

Now, what is also interesting to me is the locations where these missiles and drones were launched from. A lot of them came from Russia border, the border areas near Ukraine.

But some of them also came from airborne platforms such as TU-95 and TU-160 bombers, as well as ships in the Black Sea.

Up until, you know, fairly recently, we were looking at the Black Sea as kind of a not quite a Ukrainian lake, but they basically had decimated the Black Sea navy. This may show the possibility that Russia has a -- at least a potential capacity to launch more attacks from the Black Sea, and that could be very dangerous for Ukraine.

So, from that standpoint, it's both statistically and locationally significant.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: In the latest instance of Donald Trump's tariff whiplash, the U.S. president has announced he's delaying a 50 percent tariff on European goods until July 9th. He says the decision came after a call with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We had a very nice call. Could we move it from June 1 to July 9? And I agreed to do that and that, she said, we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Von der Leyen also praised the call, saying Europe is ready to negotiate. But as recently as Friday, President Trump said he was not looking for a deal with the E.U. and that their tariff rate would go into effect next Sunday.

CNN's Kevin Liptak has more from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump made this decision to delay new tariffs on the European Union after a telephone call with the European Commission president, Ursula Von der Leyen.

LIPTAK (voice-over): And this was a significant phone call. Even amid all of these trade tensions between the United States and the European Union, this is the first time that these two leaders have spoken since Trump came into office.

And so, it was an important moment to get at some of the differences between the two sides on this very critical issue.

LIPTAK: And there are some significant differences. You know, European officials have been in Washington, trying to negotiate a trade deal for the last several weeks, but the process has been painstaking. There has been no real breakthrough.

From the European perspective, there has been a degree of confusion about what exactly President Trump and the White House are looking for from these talks.

LIPTAK (voice-over): White House officials, on the flip side, had been concerned that European officials were not coming to them with serious enough offers for a trade deal, and that is part of what led to President Trump on Friday saying that he would impose a 50 percent tariff on the E.U. starting on June 1st, saying that the talks were going nowhere, that the E.U., in his words, had been very difficult to deal with.

You also heard from the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, saying that the offers from the E.U. had not been, quote, "of the same quality as other nation's proposals." Essentially, in the words of one White House official, trying to light a fire under the E.U. to try and jumpstart these talks.

LIPTAK: And that is part of what led to this conversation on Sunday between President Trump and Ursula Von der Leyen, the European Commission president describing it as a good conversation --

LIPTAK (voice-over): -- saying, "The E.U. and U.S. share the world's most consequential and close trade relationship." She says that "Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively, but that in order to reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9th."

The president, agreeing to extend those talks. Now, we should say July 9th was the original deadline. You know, President Trump, you'll remember, announced these reciprocal tariffs on what he called Liberation Day.

He lifted those tariffs and put in place this 90-day period to negotiate new trade deals. That period is set to expire on July 9.

LIPTAK: Now President Trump essentially reverting to the original deadline as these talks with the E.U. proceed.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: An American citizen is charged with plotting to firebomb the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Justice Department unsealed the charges on Sunday.

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U.S. officials say the man spit on an embassy guard in Tel Aviv last week and then ran away. But they say he left behind a backpack containing three Molotov cocktails.

He was deported from Israel to the United States on Sunday and arrested.

U.S. officials say his social media accounts contained threats to burn down the embassy and to assassinate President Donald Trump.

Palestinian health officials say more people in Gaza are dying from malnutrition, as Israel keeps strict limits on the amount of aid entering the territory.

Israel blocked deliveries of humanitarian supplies in early March. The Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health says that since then, 58 people have died from malnutrition, and 242 died due to shortages of food and medicine.

Last week, Israel opened that blockade slightly. On Sunday, Israel says it let 107 trucks into Gaza, but the U.N. says it's not nearly enough.

Meanwhile, humanitarian groups are having difficulty delivering that limited aid to the people who desperately need it. The World Food Program saying it's stopping production of bread at bakeries at Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, citing the, quote, "deteriorating security situation and the high likelihood of staff being exposed to risk."

OK, still to come: five years after the police killing of George Floyd, supporters gather in Minnesota to remember him and to ensure his legacy is not forgotten.

Plus, an ancient Vietnamese throne is now in pieces. How a man broke the armrest of a national treasure, later this hour.

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HUNTE: Family, friends, and supporters of George Floyd are remembering his life and legacy five years after he was killed by a white police officer.

Crowds gathered Sunday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at a memorial marking the site where Floyd died. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of state murder charges in Floyd's death after he was caught on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest.

The murder sparked nationwide protests and efforts to implement policing reforms.

But last week, those initiatives came to a sudden stop as the Trump administration announced it was ending federal oversight of those reforms.

CNN's Sara Sidner visited George Floyd Square and spoke with his family about the impact this could have on racial justice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the scene five years after this community here in Minneapolis on 38th and Chicago saw George Floyd murdered in slow motion. The nine minutes they watched Derek Chauvin shove his knee into George Floyd's neck.

And that is where his body lay for those nine minutes, where he took his last breath after first asking to be able to breathe, then begging for his life and asking for his mother.

We were able to talk to some of the family members who came back here to Minneapolis, because they say they really feel the connection and love that this community has given them.

And you can see it reflected in the memorial itself. It has been kept pristine and clean in a place where you can pray and be peaceful.

Here's what the family had to say, five years on, as they come back to Minneapolis and are embraced by this community.

ANGELA HARRELSON, GEORGE FLOYD'S AUNT: There's so many people that have showed up, showed up out here. The kindness, the love, the support. You know, it brings a certain amount of peace and joy.

SIDNER: What do you all think about what's happening with the current administration rolling back all of these reforms?

SELWYN JONES, GEORGE FLOYD'S UNCLE: Really? He didn't do that. We are not politicians. We're humanitarians. So, all we could do is wish and hope that they do their job, you know, in making it equal for all races, you know, especially, you know, black and brown. SIDNER: Now there is another side to this. MAGA land has a lot to say

about what happened to George Floyd. A lot of it is lies. The jury decided that he was indeed murdered by then-Officer Derek Chauvin.

But you are seeing the vitriol from those who have the president's ear, like Laura Loomer, who posted this online on this very day, a day when a family is remembering and a community mourning what happened to a human being, a fellow American.

This is what she posted: "Congratulations to George Floyd for your five years being sober."

A really disgusting, vitriolic look at all of this, trying to intimate that he died from a drug overdose, which is not what the jury or judge found; nor did the appeals court.

But all in all, when you see what is happening in this community, it is about embracing the family, and hoping, and asking, and pushing for the changes they demanded back in 2020. And before that, police reform, though the Trump administration is rolling those reforms back.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Let's dig deeper with CNN legal affairs commentator and civil rights attorney Areva Martin and the award-winning civil rights activist Nupol Kiazolu.

Thank you so much, both of you, for being with me. There is so much to pack into this, so let's get straight into it.

Areva, after the tragedy of George Floyd's death, there was so much hope, especially in America. So, five years on, how are you feeling about being black in the USA today?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Ben, I have mixed emotions. Of course, I'm proud. I'm proud to be an African-American woman. I'm proud of the pioneers that have gone before me. The work, the contributions, the resilience.

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I'm also disappointed. I'm disappointed in those who said they stood with us, those of us who marched after George Floyd's murder, those of us who said that this country was ready to address systemic racism; those who said they were allies. Very disappointed in them.

But Ben, I'm also hopeful. I'm hopeful when I hear the comments of George Floyd's family. I'm hopeful when I see young people around this country still fighting for social justice and racial - racial justice.

So, even though Trump and the MAGA Republicans are trying to reverse all the progress that has been made since George Floyd's murder, I'm hopeful that the fight for racial justice will continue and that many will continue to be a part of that journey. HUNTE: Nupol, same question to you: what does it feel like being black

in America right now?

NUPOL KIAZOLU, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Thank you so much for having me on, Ben.

Like Areva said, I do have mixed emotions, but ultimately, I am proud to be black, because I understand that I am standing on the shoulders of giants that have fought for us to get to the point we are today.

And although we are living in a time where folks on the right and, honestly, the MAGA cult does not want to see us happy -- black people embracing black joy -- I will continue to embrace that. I will continue to show up, and I will continue to fight.

Because I know that we are in this fight for the long haul. And the movement has ebbs and flows, and there's going to be wins and losses. But at the end of the day, we will keep pushing.

And so, I encourage everyone, especially black people living in this country right now: continue to take pride in your skin, continue to take pride in your melanin, and continue, most importantly, to fight, because it's on us.

HUNTE: I want to stay with you, Nupol. The Trump administration has made so many changes in just a few months, including cutting DEI programs and affirmative action.

How have those cuts impacted the lives of people around you? Like your friends, your community, your colleagues?

KIAZOLU: Thank you for that question. So, black Americans are currently living through something called white-lash. And in short, white-lash is white supremacy pushing back on and trying to eliminate all the progress that we have made in this country: progress that we have quite literally shed blood, sweat and tears for.

So, when I think about the reversal of affirmative action, the attacks on DEI, quite frankly, I am not surprised. Because any resemblance of black progress in this country has always been a threat to the institutions of white supremacy.

The regressive policies that we are seeing right now coming out of the Trump administration is having a significant impact on the black community.

For example, within the federal workforce, black Americans make up a great deal of the federal workforce. And recently, Trump rescinded Executive Order 11246, which was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 to protect Americans from discrimination within the federal workforce.

And now, that is gone under the Trump administration.

When I think about the educational system and how the Trump administration is trying to force schools across this country to bend the knee to him and whitewash history, I understand that that is a serious threat to the progress in this country and truth-telling.

And if we don't address, if we do not address the horrors of the past, we will not be able to move forward.

And so, overall, to close, I think it's quite ironic that this country, and particularly Trump, I've never heard him say that I am against diversity, equity and inclusion, because that's what DEI stands for. And I believe that is intentional, because they understand that it is, quite frankly, absurd to say that you're against diversity, equity, and inclusion in a country that has disenfranchised black people for over 400 years.

So, to close, they are using this. They have turned DEI, which is something that is good, into a slur to discredit black Americans and our contributions.

And lastly, it's -- I want to tell you something that they don't want you to know, or anyone else around the world. White Americans, particularly white women, have been the biggest beneficiaries of DEI and affirmative action in this country.

So, it's quite frankly, disrespectful to spin this narrative when we know what it is. We know that they're trying to take us back to a time that we have fought to get past, and we will not let that happen. And it's on us to ensure that unqualified people like Donald Trump never hold the highest positions of power in this country again.

HUNTE: Yes. Areva, some U.S. politicians, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, have called for President Trump to pardon Derek Chauvin. Do you think that could actually happen? And what sort of a legal precedent would that set?

MARTIN: Well, Ben, before we saw the insurrectionists pardoned, I would have said it was an impossibility. But, given that Trump has already pardoned the hundreds of people who were involved in storming the Capitol, including people who were responsible for the death of police officers, it is not unthinkable that Derek Chauvin could be pardoned. Or at least that there could be a huge movement on the right to pardon him.

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It would set a horrific precedent. He was convicted by a jury of his peers. He was found guilty for the murder of George Floyd.

And to think that a president would use his executive powers to pardon a murderer would be antithetical to the rule of law in this country.

HUNTE: OK, I -- hopefully, we'll speak to you both again soon, because there's so much to talk about here. But for now, Areva Martin, Nupol Kiazolu, thanks so much for being with me.

KIAZOLU: Thank you for having me.

MARTIN: Thank you.

HUNTE: We'll be right back.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

U.S. President Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin has gone absolutely crazy after Russia launches its largest aerial attack on Ukraine.

Mr. Trump criticized the Russian president on social media and in front of reporters, as he made clear he is not happy with Putin. At least 12 people were killed in attacks across Ukraine this weekend.

President Trump has agreed to delay a 50 percent tariff on imports from the European Union until July 9th. He says he had a very nice call with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen.

She said, quote, "Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively."

Israel says it allowed 107 humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday. The United Nations says that is not nearly enough to fix the food crisis there.

For weeks, the U.N. has warned that starvation is already taking hold. Aid groups are pleading with Israel to allow more trucks to enter and to use safer routes.

The Sudanese army says it has full control of the country's capital, Khartoum, but the long-term fighting has left a lingering danger. Unexploded mines, weapons, and ammunition are all over civilian areas.

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HUNTE (voice-over): There are signs of war everywhere in Khartoum. The embattled city has been a major stronghold in a two-year civil war between Sudan's government forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces, or RSF.

Two years ago, the RSF captured Khartoum, and two months ago the army took it back.

But for the thousands of people returning to the city, many are shocked to see how much damage there is. But what may be most disturbing is what's hidden in the rubble.

ABDELAZIZ ALI, FORMER KHARTOUM SCHOOL EMPLOYEE (through translator): Why wouldn't I be afraid? Every day I find two containers filled with ammunition, and RPG rockets, and other explosives, all in here. And this is a school. A children's school.

HUNTE (voice-over): Sudanese and U.N. clearance teams are combing areas under government control, looking for ammunition and missiles that are scattered across streets, homes, schools and shops. Places that won't be safe to inhabit again until the ordnance is cleared.

AL-HELO ABDULLA, HEAD OF WAR REMNANTS COLLECTION INITIATIVE (through translator): We have received a lot of requests and worked on them. Every day we have around 10 to 15 requests. So, we try to remove as much as possible each day.

HUNTE (voice-over): According to Sudan's National Mine Action Center, more than 12,000 devices have been located and destroyed since the beginning of the war, with thousands more discovered in areas recently retaken by the army.

But there are still many places that haven't been cleared, and some funding for the demining efforts has been in jeopardy, especially after the disruption of U.S. foreign aid earlier this year.

So, many civilians have risked clearing their homes on their own. Dozens of people have reportedly been killed or injured by munitions explosions in recent weeks, including this man's 16-year-old nephew, who suffered severe wounds after a blast.

AL-NOURANY MAHMOUD, UNCLE OF 16-YEAR-OLD EXPLOSION VICTIM (through translator): We heard an explosion. It was a 23 mm anti-aircraft round. Since I am a soldier, I know these things. He was sitting on a chair, and suddenly, it exploded without warning.

HUNTE (voice-over): The dangers at home, only amplified by the ongoing fighting in other parts of the country, with the RSF still holding large parts of Western Sudan.

The fighting is far from over. But in Khartoum, each munition taken out of harm's way could make civilians feel a little safer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Much more ahead on CNN. Stay with us.

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HUNTE: A New York man has been arrested and accused of torture as part of an alleged plot to steal bitcoin.

Thirty-seven-year-old crypto investor John Woeltz is charged with kidnaping and several other related counts.

Police say he held the victim hostage for weeks in an upscale Manhattan apartment. The victim hasn't been identified, but he reportedly came to the U.S. from Italy earlier this month.

He told investigators he was drugged, shocked, and threatened with death if he didn't share his bitcoin password.

Prosecutors say he was able to escape on Friday and flagged down a city traffic officer for help.

A flight from Japan to Texas was diverted to Seattle on Saturday after a passenger tried to open a plane's exit doors during the flight.

Crew members and passengers restrained the person and the All Nippon Airways flight landed at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport.

The unruly passenger was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation.

The FBI says a second passenger, frustrated by the flight diversion, punched a bathroom door. That person was also removed from the flight.

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Police in Vietnam have detained a man who they say broke a national treasure. State media reports the man, who appeared drunk, entered a roped-off area of the Thai Hoa Palace in Hue.

He reportedly climbed onto the throne, shouted incoherently, and broke the armrest of the ceremonial chair.

The throne dates back to the last royal dynasty of Vietnam, which was in power from 1802 to 1945. The man has been sent for psychiatric evaluation, according to state media.

Well, all right. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. It's been very real. Let's do it all again in 20 minutes' time. WORLD SPORT is next. See you in a bit.

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