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U.S. Winter Storm Brings "Catastrophic" Ice, Snow, Extreme Cold; Protesters March to Demand ICE out of Minnesota; Russia Strikes Ukraine ahead of Second Day of Peace Talks; Allies Outraged over Trump's Comments on NATO Troops; FEMA Halts Disaster Worker Job Cuts ahead of Winter Storm; Skyscraper Climb Postponed Due to Bad Weather; Deejay Priest Has Massive Following. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired January 24, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

A dangerous winter storm is bringing ice and snow to more than two- thirds of the U.S. population. We'll have the latest on the potentially catastrophic storm.

Tensions are high in Minneapolis amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. We're on the scene speaking with residents and law enforcement.

Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. hold the first trilateral talks since Putin's invasion but now Russia has launched another major airstrike. We'll have details in a live report.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: We begin this hour with a crippling winter storm starting to make its way across the U.S. It's already hitting parts of the South and Midwest right now. At least 16 states and Washington, D.C., have declared a state of emergency.

From Texas to New England, millions of Americans are facing heavy snow, ice and extreme cold. Forecasters are warning of catastrophic impacts. Now some areas could see the heaviest snow in years. And widespread ice could lead to prolonged power outages for hundreds of thousands of people.

Officials are urging Americans to stay off the roads and stay at home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): This is going to be a catastrophic winter storm that's going to cause us to lose power.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): Make sure you got the things that you need at your house to stay warm and hunker down.

GOV. WES MOORE (D-MD): Our plea to the people of this state is, if you can, stay off the roads.

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NY), NYC: Once the snow begins to fall. I want to encourage New Yorkers to do something that we don't often have the luxury of doing, which is to take a breath and stay home.

GOV. NED LAMONT (D-CT): Within about 48 hours, everybody's talking about Greenland. Within about 48 hours, Connecticut is going to look like Greenland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Trump says he has been briefed on the potentially historic storm. He says his administration has been coordinating with local and state officials, adding that FEMA is fully prepared to respond.

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BRUNHUBER: Virginia is among the states under a state of emergency. CNN's Brian Todd shows you how crews there are preparing for the storm.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: By every measure, this is a very dangerous and multi-layered storm on its way to the East Coast. And that requires a complex set of operations to counter it.

That's where this place comes in. We're at a Virginia Department of Transportation facility in Alexandria, Virginia. This is nicknamed the Megadome. Take a look at this massive warehouse, 33,000-plus tons of rock salt are in there. You can fit a passenger jet in that facility.

This is one of 18 such facilities just in four counties in northern Virginia, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William Counties; 18 of these just in those four counties in this populous area of northern Virginia that are deploying rock salt.

But it's a multi-layered kind of cascading operation. The salt is just one part of it. The first part of it is that they lay down brine, this salt and water combination. Those chemicals are in these containers here. They were picked up earlier.

The brine has already been put down throughout areas of northern Virginia, the state of Virginia and other states where the storm is coming. And the brine looks like this when it's on your roadway. It's this kind of streaky material that you see all along your roadway and that's ahead of the storm. The brine has already been put down because the brine is pretty much

just a placeholder. A state official told me that the brine is there to kind of keep the snow from sticking to the roads for the first couple of hours of the storm.

And it's there, according to this official, to buy them time for when they can put down some other materials. So the brine is the first layer, then the rock salt gets put down and that's where the trucks come in here to get the salt.

The salt comes from that warehouse through that chute onto these massive trucks that have snowplows and their dump trucks as well, that comes onto the dump trucks there. And then they deploy out.

Now what they need to do is try to prioritize these roads like this one. This is the D.C. Beltway 495. The trucks will go right out to the beltway when the snow is starting and try to get the beltway and the major arteries cleared first.

They are the roads that have to be cleared first, then the other primary roads and then the secondary roads in the neighborhoods.

And one official told me that just in the northern Virginia area alone, these four counties that I'm talking about, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William, they have about 16,000 streets, secondary streets, neighborhood streets that they have to clear.

So it's all kind of this cascading, complex operation to try to counter the snow. And they won't even start to put the plows down until there're about two inches of snow on the ground because, according to one official, it's kind of pointless to do it before that.

The snow plows will just be grinding up the asphalt and the concrete of the roads, so they've got to wait until the snow gets to about two inches before they can put down the plows. That's the kind of complexity of an operation to counter this that is going on.

Also, officials telling us in this region that they're worried about power outages. The ice that's going to come at the tail end of the storm is going to probably accumulate on power lines, bring them down.

One D.C. official said he's worried about power lines being kind of covered up by the snow and still being energized. So that presents a danger as well.

Officials warning people, don't do this. Don't get out on the roads during the height of the storm or even afterward, because afterward, in the later stages of the storm, there's going to be a lot of ice on these roads, too. And again, they're going to be working to counter that and clear arteries like this one -- Brian Todd, CNN, Alexandria, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: To Minnesota now, where sources tell CNN that the FBI agent originally working with state authorities to investigate the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good has resigned.

The agent had opened a civil rights investigation but was ordered to reclassify to assault on an officer. The FBI blocked Minnesota from participating in the investigation. The county attorney, who oversees Minneapolis, says the agent's resignation suggests the investigation may have been stopped for political reasons.

Meanwhile, protesters are calling for ICE to end its operation in Minnesota. Thousands of people braved subzero temperatures to march in Minneapolis on Friday. Hundreds of businesses across the state were encouraged to close for the day to strike over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Now some Minnesota residents are taking action to help their neighbors in need, as tensions are high from the ongoing ICE operation. CNN's Omar Jimenez has our story from Minneapolis.

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OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The temperature's around negative 20 degrees right now, even colder with wind chill. Where this food is going is for the most part to people who are too scared to come outside right now because of the increased federal immigration enforcement presence here in Minneapolis.

SERGIO AMEZCUA, SENIOR PASTOR, DHH CHURCH: My assistant, kind of like pastor, a lot of people register. 2,010, 2,000 I'm like, why?

Wow, 2,000 --

JIMENEZ: Sergio Amezcua's Minneapolis church has a predominantly Latino congregation. He says, services don't look like they used to. How many people are we talking?

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AMEZCUA: We have around 500 to 600 people in the normal days. Right now we get 100 or 80, if we're lucky.

JIMENEZ: It's a sense of community that's been disrupted and one, he says, has been part of driving down violent crime in the city after spikes in 2021 and 2020.

AMEZCUA: If you look at the police department right now, it looks way different than 2020 they're really working with the people of Minneapolis and that that's making the difference.

JIMENEZ: Whatever the exact formula, Minneapolis has seen results.

Now even though homicide rates are still up in the city compared to pre pandemic levels, according to a recent study by the Council on Criminal Justice, murders and the number of gunshot wound victims both down more than 15 percent compared to 2024 and much lower than the 2021 peak.

And it's similar to nationwide decreases for what's expected to be the third year in a row, according to FBI data.

The Trump administration is already tying the trends to increased immigration enforcement, despite this Minneapolis operation not starting until December of 2025.

JD VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: We're enforcing the immigration laws and getting very violent criminals out of our country. And number two, because we're enforcing our criminal laws --

MARY MORIARTY, HENNEPIN COUNTY ATTORNEY: it has nothing to do with crime going down, because that was already happening.

JIMENEZ: Mary Moriarty is the Chief Prosecutor for Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis.

Your concern is this dynamic of fear is going to make it harder for you to prosecute cases?

Really?

MORIARTY: Yes, that's already happened. We've had witnesses who are immigrants, who are afraid to come to court because ICE is around this building the courthouse. That means that witnesses that we may need to prosecute a violent crime are not going to be available to us and have not been available to us.

JIMENEZ: The at times chaotic dynamic has even been criticized by police Chiefs in the area.

CHIEF AXEL HENRY, St. PAUL POLICE: Can we find a way to make sure that we can do these things without scaring the hell out of our community members?

JIMENEZ: And to start the year as Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara announced drops in crime, he worried about the increased presence of federal agents.

CHIEF BRIAN O'HARA, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: The greatest risk to me is that there would be unrest or that there would be a tragedy.

JIMENEZ: The next day, Renee Good was shot and killed during a confrontation with ICE agents. It led to even more agents deployed to Minnesota, more anger, more fear.

AMEZCUA: Sometimes when I get an Amazon package at home, my 12-year- old ran to me, Dad, dad, daddy, ice is here and I'm like, what?

So it was just an Amazon package.

JIMENEZ: He sees that fear as he delivers those meals.

AMEZCUA: I mean, most people need that. They're alone all day looking up in the window. So we get food but we also give them food for their soul and let them know that we're going to get through this.

JIMENEZ: And look, it's still too early to tell if this increased immigration enforcement is actually going to have a significant impact on these reductions in violent crime, either one way or the other.

But even these police chiefs and local officials have applauded some of the work that the federal government has done in taking dangerous people off the streets. It's more about the methods in which those tactics are being carried out that's created the issues.

And one interesting note is the Minneapolis Police Department has actually made a point to say that their enforcement efforts have stayed pretty consistent, even through all of this immigration enforcement, saying in particular that, over this period, gunshot wound victims citywide are down more than 30 percent in this time period.

And they've done so with a depleted police force, as they've said, 300 less than their full strength as opposed to, they pointed out, the thousands of federal agents here in the area -- Omar Jimenez, CNN, Minneapolis.

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BRUNHUBER: Ukrainian cities take fire from Russia just as Moscow talks peace at the negotiating table. Still ahead, drones and missiles rained down on Ukraine hours ahead of a new round of talks.

Plus, Denmark's prime minister projects unity with Greenland amid lingering questions about Donald Trump's deal on the island's future.

And later, the U.S. Emergency Management Agency pauses plans to cut hundreds of workers ahead of a powerful weekend of winter storms. And Homeland Security tells FEMA to focus on the phrase "freezing rain and storm warnings." We'll have details ahead. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Russia is set to resume peace talks with Ukraine and the U.S. in the coming hours, just as its war machine unleashed a new barrage of strikes overnight.

Ukraine says Kyiv was hit with drones and missiles, which left at least one person dead and four others wounded, while strikes on the second largest city, Kharkiv, damaged a maternity hospital and left at least 11 people wounded.

Now that came after negotiators began the first trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But Moscow hasn't sent its top negotiating team, which limits what can be discussed and accomplished. Nada Bashir is keeping an eye on those developments and she joins us now from London.

So Nada, before we get to those talks, bring us up to speed on what Ukraine is calling the biggest Russian airstrike so far this year.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We've seen another round of deadly overnight attacks carried out by the Russian armed forces, targeting Ukrainian territory overnight, again targeting the capital, Kyiv.

And we understand that civilian residential infrastructure has been damaged in the attack. A barrage of missiles and drones were used by the Russian armed forces, triggering Ukraine's air defenses.

But according to officials on the ground, this was a deadly attack. At least one person in Kyiv said to have been killed and four others injured.

And we've heard from local officials saying that debris, falling debris caused damage and fires to buildings in the city, that some areas of the city were having to go without water and electricity for some time, as we've seen in previous attacks by the Russian armed forces targeting the capital.

And as you mentioned, Kim, we also saw attacks targeting Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, in the northeast. And, of course, in this particular area, we have seen the attacks targeting and impacting a maternity hospital. At least 11 people said to have been wounded in those attacks overnight as well. And the timing, of course, is key here.

[04:20:00]

These attacks come as delegations from Ukraine and Russia, as well as the United States, gathered together to try to come to a peace agreement.

And President Zelenskyy has repeatedly insisted that, while Ukraine wants to achieve a peace agreement, there needs to be a firm commitment from Russia, showing that they are willing to meet at the negotiating table to reach a peace deal.

And, of course, this is a very clear indication of Russia's position, given the round of overnight attacks we've seen during these discussions. Take a listen to what President Zelenskyy had to say yesterday, following the first day of talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As for the substance of today's discussions, it is still too early to draw conclusions. We will see how the conversation develops tomorrow and what result it produces.

It is necessary that not only Ukraine has the desire to end this war and achieve full security but that a similar desire somehow emerges in Russia as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASHIR: Now it's understood that the focus of the talks will largely be focused on territory, ceding territory. Of course, there has been questions around the Donbas region. Russia has long pushed for Ukraine to cede the Donbas region, which is, of course, mineral rich.

And it's something that Russia has continually said that it is looking to secure in terms of territory gains in any peace agreement. Ukraine, of course, has been reluctant and has also called for reciprocal measures as well, has called for Russia to cede territory in parts of Ukraine as well. So there are still questions around where that stands.

The talks are expected to continue today. President Trump has continued to push for concessions to be made for a peace deal to be reached. There are fears that any peace agreement that is reached could favor Moscow.

But at this stage we don't have the key details on what exactly is being laid out at this stage. We have heard from Ukraine's top negotiator following that first day of talks in Abu Dhabi yesterday, saying that the meeting focused, in his words, on reaching a dignified and lasting peace.

He also thanked the U.S. for mediating those talks and we are expecting them to continue today. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll see if those talks get any further today. CNN's Nada Bashir, thank you so much.

There's growing outrage from U.S. allies over Donald Trump's comments, downplaying NATO's role in Afghanistan. The U.S. president claimed on Thursday coalition troops stayed away from the front lines during the 20-year war. Here's how president Trump put it.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We've never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them, you know, they'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan and they did. They stayed a little back, little off the front lines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: While the U.S. had the most casualties of any NATO member, about 1,000 troops from other countries also died, including more than 450 from the United Kingdom. Trump's comments didn't sit well with the British prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice that they made for their country. There are many also who were injured, some with life changing injuries and so I consider President Trump's remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Britain's Prince Harry, who served in Afghanistan, issued this statement. "Thousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect."

Now the White House is shrugging off the criticism. It says the U.S. has done more for NATO than any other country in the alliance.

Denmark's prime minister says her government and Greenland are standing together, as there appears to be a political and economic path for the future of the Danish territory.

Mette Frederiksen went to the island on Friday to meet the Greenlandic leader as questions linger about president Trump's so-called framework deal on Greenland's future. But details are vague. CNN's Nic Robertson has more on the leaders' meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They came out of their meeting this morning. They met for maybe half an hour, 45 minutes. Earlier on in the day. Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen in Brussels had met with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte.

And he had commented after that about Denmark's commitment to reinforcing, building security here in the Arctic region, along with NATO.

But here they are, walking the streets in Nuuk, here in Greenland; Danish prime minister in the tan jacket, the Greenland prime minister right next to her. Here they are, meeting some families. Neither of them has been able to indicate so far whether they've got more information about the deal that president Trump is talking about.

[04:25:08]

The agreement that he says is going to get everything but no cost. Denmark's prime minister has been clear. She said president Trump's Golden Dome, that's something that can be talked about. She's not taking that off the table. Everything is still on the table.

But with respect of Greenland's sovereignty, its territorial integrity, in many ways it feels as if the diplomatic position we're in is where we were more than a week ago now. But the Danish foreign minister, Greenland's foreign minister, met in Washington with the vice president, secretary of state.

Prime Minister, has it been good meetings?

What can you tell us about the deal, Prime Minister?

Well, the prime minister leaving now, peppered with questions and a wave there as they're going. Hugs with local people just coming up to greet her as she was leaving. But very few details we're getting now about the new deal president

Trump is talking about. But it's all smiles. The message here, one very clearly of unity -- Nic Robertson, CNN, Nuuk, Greenland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Air France is temporarily suspending flights to Dubai on Friday and Saturday, citing concerns over the current situation in the Middle East.

The move comes after president Trump said a flotilla of American military assets was headed to the region amid heightened tensions with Iran.

Germany's Lufthansa says it's canceling flights to Tehran until March 28th for operational reasons. The airline says it will also restrict flights to Tel Aviv and Amman, Jordan, to daytime operations for the rest of January.

All right, we're going to take a quick break. For our viewers here in North America, we'll have more news in a moment. For our international viewers, "CNN CREATORS" is next.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States and Canada. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Returning to our top story now, millions of people in the U.S. are grappling with a monster winter storm and frigid temperatures. The rain, snow and ice will cover more than 2,000 miles, moving eastward from Texas to New England through the weekend.

More than half of all Americans will experience subzero wind chills in the days ahead. In some areas, could get more than three feet of snow. The ice storm could knock down trees and cause power outages in parts of the South.

Video out of Texas shows empty store shelves as people rush to buy food and supplies. President Trump says he's been briefed on the potentially historic storm. He says his administration has been coordinating with local and state officials, adding that FEMA is fully prepared to respond.

CNN's Ivan Rodriguez has more on the dangerous conditions expected across so much of the country.

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IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Multiple crews prepping and treating runways at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta as the busiest airport in the world braces for a massive winter storm that could cripple travel for days.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are expecting that we'll have snow and ice that we'll have to deal with.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Close to 230 million people from New Mexico up to Maine are under weather alerts through Monday, as half the country prepares for catastrophic conditions, bringing heavy snow and dangerous ice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Downed trees and power lines could cause extended power outages and debris issues.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Multiple states and D.C. have declared a state of emergency. This monster storm could bring nearly an inch of ice or more to large sections of the Plains and South. Parts of the Midwest and northeast will be pounded with snow.

Some areas, like upstate New York, could see up to two feet. Even New York City could get more than a foot of accumulation.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): This is a very dangerous combination of heavy snow and extreme cold temperatures.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Ahead of this massive storm comes the bitter and extreme cold. Arctic air and wind chills will send feels like temperatures well below zero in some parts of the country. The mix of brutally cold temperatures and ice could be disastrous for places not equipped for these conditions, like Dallas.

KEVIN ODEN, DALLAS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND CRISIS RESPONSE: Additional resources are in the city of Dallas and they're ready to respond to outages or any disruptions that we experience.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Already, thousands of flights have been canceled nationwide ahead of this weekend's storm and many more are expected as this storm continues through Monday -- in Dallas, I'm Ivan Rodriguez, reporting.

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BRUNHUBER: The threat of the massive storm is already impacting air travel. Sunday is now the worst day for flight cancellations in the past year. More than 5,400 flights have been canceled for Sunday and that number continues to climb. The flight cancellation record was set hours earlier by Saturday's number, which was now more than 3,400.

That's according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration saying that it anticipates that airports will have to close because of the impending storm. CNN's spoke with travel expert Peter Greenberg about what advice he has for anyone who has a flight booked in the next few days. Here he is

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PETER GREENBERG, TRAVEL EXPERT: Chances are you've already been contacted by the airlines which you have been issuing preemptive waivers offering passengers the opportunity to rebook their flights at a later date without any cancelation or penalties.

Of course, that assumes there'll be seats available. Because remember, once you cancel a flight, I'm talking about if the airline cancels the flight and you have a system shut down, which could very well happen during the storm.

For every 24 hours you're down, it'll take the airline about 72 hours to get back up because their planes are out of sequence, their crews are out of schedule and they have to realign the entire schedule.

So if you're going to be rebooking, don't think you're going to be rebooking for Monday or Tuesday. If your flight is scheduled for Sunday, it'll be more likely Wednesday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: So as much of the U.S. prepares for what's expected to be a brutal round of winter weather, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is quietly pausing its plan to dismiss hundreds of disaster workers in the coming days.

This comes as Homeland Security officials are issuing an unusual directive to FEMA staffers who communicate with the media and the public. CNN's Gabe Cohen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security are already deep into their overhaul of FEMA but they have been ramping it up.

And just this month, they've been terminating just about every FEMA disaster worker whose employment contract is expiring. We're talking about roughly 300 staffers just in January.

[04:35:00]

And it's sparking a lot of concern that it's hurting the agency's ability to respond to disasters like the winter storm this weekend.

But on Thursday, something changed. Just hours after secretary Kristi Noem went to FEMA headquarters and was briefed on that storm, the agency abruptly halted those terminations, saying that they're going to stop offboarding all of these workers whose contracts are expiring, at least for now.

And sources tell me the storm was a major factor in that decision. We know FEMA has activated its National Response Coordination Center and it has deployed teams to areas across the country that are expected to get hit, along with generators and hundreds of thousands of meals and bottles of water. Meanwhile, Homeland Security officials have also told FEMA staff to

try to limit the use of the word "ice" in their social media posts and public warnings about the storm, given the controversial operations that are still being carried out in Minnesota and across the country by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, what's commonly known as ICE.

They're worried that posting something like "watch out for ice" could be misinterpreted or, more likely, that it could quickly turn into internet fodder or memes or public ridicule. And so instead, they're asking FEMA staff to use the term "freezing rain" -- Gabe Cohen, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Russia's pounding Ukrainian cities while holding talks that aim to end almost four years of fighting. Still ahead, we speak with a Ukrainian lawmaker in Kyiv on the heels of the latest Russian barrage on the capital. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Talking peace while waging a brutal war, that's what Russia was doing as its drones and missiles rained down on Ukraine's two largest cities overnight. Officials say at least one person is dead and 15 others injured after strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Now that's happening as Russian negotiators prepare for a second day of peace talks with Ukraine and the U.S. in the coming hours.

[04:40:06]

The negotiations in Abu Dhabi are aimed at ending the Kremlin's aggression. But Moscow hasn't sent its top negotiating team, which limits what can be discussed and accomplished. I want to go now to Kyiv, where we're joined by Inna Sovsun, a member of Ukraine's parliament.

Good to see you again. Thanks so much for being here with us. So as I mentioned, just hours after that first day of talks ended, Russia hit Kyiv and Kharkiv.

I mean, how do you interpret the timing of those attacks?

INNA SOVSUN, MEMBER, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Well, I think the interpretation is pretty obvious. The Russians are not really willing to negotiate for peace. They are planning to continue this terrifying war. They're planning to continue to attack the civilians.

They are planning to basically keep on lying to everybody that they are in the negotiations, while at the same time bringing on disaster to the people's lives. It's terrifying what Kyiv has been living through over the last two or three weeks.

Thousands of people, tens of thousands of people are living without electricity, without heating, without water. Our electricity is, even if it is available, it is available a couple of hours a day. And that is what they did. And they continue to do that while at the same time pretending that they want peace.

BRUNHUBER: I just want to ask you on those attacks on the power structure. Obviously, you can expect to see more and more of those.

I mean, if those attacks are hitting the same targets over and again, are people there asking, you know, could more be done to protect them?

SOVSUN: Well, frankly speaking, it is very difficult to protect sites like this. Those are big sites. You can't easily move them around. You can't build a proper protection, because there is basically no protection to, you know to help survive the direct missile hit that would be available.

So it's very difficult. What our people are doing, those working in energy companies on the, you know, on the government side, they are just trying to fix up, to repair the things that have been broken.

Unfortunately, some people who are doing the repairs have been killed themselves during those actions. So -- but it is very difficult to protect that. Just imagine that the energy system of the U.S. and trying to set up some shelters over all the sites that ensure that electricity and water and heating goes to people's homes.

It's close to impossible to do. Not a single country had ever have to do this. We built some protection that we could. But unfortunately, you can't take, you know, shelter the whole country.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And it obviously highlights the need for those anti- missile defense systems from the U.S. that Ukraine's been desperately asking for. I want to go to the talks themselves. I mean, this is the first time that we've seen Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. all together since Russia's full-scale invasion nearly four years ago.

I mean, what does it tell you that this meeting is happening now?

SOVSUN: I want to get back to the point that you made. Exactly. That is why Ukraine is asking for the proper air defense. Because air defense is the much better protection for the civilian population than any shelter that can be built and much cheaper as well.

So that is why it's so critical for the people to understand why we're asking for that so badly. Back to the talks. Well, the talks, I would like to say are encouraging. Frankly speaking, we are rather realistic about what can be achieved.

Unfortunately we are you know -- unfortunately, we are in a situation where we are being pressured to accept the conditions which are unacceptable to Ukraine, which would be unacceptable to any sovereign state in the world. And at the same time, we're not seeing the United States, the

strongest democracy in the world, putting enough pressure on Russia. That is why, you know, we are ready to negotiate. We are ready for a peace. But we can't simply be forced into peace, which will erupt in another war. We can't be forced to give up our territory.

And the people who are living there, because I think that is what is missing in many of those talks; it's not just the territory we are talking about, it's tens of thousands of people who are living in those territories. Their fate is being decided as well.

And I'm very concerned that the U.S. leadership right now is talking so easily about that. Let's move it there. Let's move it there. It's -- again, it's people's lives. They will end up either live in a democratic Ukrainian state or they will end up living under the authoritarian regime in Russia.

That is what is at stake there. And also the long-term, the long-term defense of the country, we are now holding the territories in Donbas, which Russians have been trying to capture for since 2014.

[04:45:00]

For 12 years now, they've been trying to capture them and they didn't manage to do that.

Why we would simply move out of those territories if Russia have shown no capability to capture them?

Why we would move into the territory, which is much worse protected than the territories that we are holding now?

That will basically create a situation where Ukraine will, you know, will get a piece for a couple of months but then Russia will attack again. And I don't want to wake up again in the middle of the night, not understanding what is happening and explosions all over the city.

BRUNHUBER: President Zelenskyy was cautious after Friday's talks. He said it was too early to draw conclusions, that we'll see what tomorrow -- meaning today -- brings. It sounds as though you are also sharing that sense of caution. And you want to hear more from the U.S. in terms of pressure on Russia.

I mean, what specifically would you want to hear from the U.S. negotiating team here?

SOVSUN: Well, there are basically two tools that the Americans can use to pressure Russia. One is sanctions. Two is promise to deliver stronger and weapons to Ukraine in a big quantity so that Ukraine will be able to fight back more efficiently if Russia doesn't agree to the terms that are acceptable to the world community.

So those are the two main tools that the U.S. has. But unfortunately, what the U.S. is doing, as of right now, is basically just pushing Ukraine. Let's make this deal, give up your territory and so on and so forth. And we're not seeing any signs of them trying to pressure Russia, even though the U.S. does have the tools to do that.

BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there. But I really appreciate getting your insights on this. Inna Sovsun, thank you so much for talking to us.

SOVSUN: Thank you for having me.

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll be right back here on CNN NEWSROOM with more. Please do stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Bad weather is disrupting plans for a daring feat in Taiwan. Climber Alex Honnold was set to scale one of the tallest buildings in the world without ropes. But rain put a damper on those plans, forcing him to postpone the attempt by 24 hours.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): This video shows Honnold on a test climb amid an overcast sky. Netflix now plans to stream the event live at 8 pm Eastern tonight in the U.S. That's 9 am Sunday in Taipei.

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BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, in Argentina, it's scorching hot. Forecasters say above normal temperatures are expected to last through the weekend in Buenos Aires. The heat wave could peak on Monday, with maximum temperatures of about 96 degrees Fahrenheit.

Meteorologists recommend people stay hydrated, avoid direct exposure to the sun, wear sunscreen, lightweight clothing and hats during the middle of the day.

Runners carried the Olympic flame through several historic towns in northern Italy yesterday on its way to the Winter Games opening ceremony. The torch relay went into Aquileia, one of the main centers of the ancient Roman Empire, before arriving in Trieste with the help of 29 torchbearers.

The flame is now just two weeks away from reaching its final destination in Milan.

A deejay is taking the Catholic world by storm. CNN's David Culver goes on tour with the 51-year-old priest who is using electronic music to spread the word of God.

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GUILHERME PEIXOTO, DEEJAY PRIEST: All right. It's show time. DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is, by the way, Guilherme Peixoto on tour and we're with him.

CULVER: There is a nun in the front row, which I've never seen at a concert, let alone an electronic music concert. Has it been a good experience?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Very happy.

CULVER: Yes?

PEIXOTO: (Speaking foreign language).

CULVER: Like a superstar. Well, he is a superstar. You see the crowd.

CULVER (voice-over): On to the next stop of the tour.

CULVER: I'm looking at the clock, because you're, what, two hours to show time.

CULVER (voice-over): We find a quiet place backstage to get to know more about this deejay priest.

PEIXOTO: Since I was born, I always wanted to be a priest.

CULVER: Really?

PEIXOTO: But since the first moment that I remember, I wanted to be a priest, priest or astronaut.

CULVER: Priest or astronaut.

CULVER (voice-over): He went with the path that kept him closer to Earth, with a hobby that at 51 years old still allows him to soar, even if just for a couple of hours.

PEIXOTO: At 19-20 years old, I started going to some clubs, listened to music. This is nice and I like the electronic music.

CULVER (voice-over): By the way, Guilherme says he began to use his passion to help lift his parish church out of debt by putting on small community music festivals.

PEIXOTO: And this was in 2006 that everything started.

CULVER: YouTube is how you learned how to deejay.

PEIXOTO: Yes, on the beginning,

CULVER (voice-over): In his 40s, he started taking deejay classes. The gigs got bigger and bigger, along with his following, even getting the attention of the Vatican. As we're talking, the crowd is already packed for the opener and eager for the headliner.

CULVER: This is the time that he also says, he starts to feel the crowd. He begins to feel the energy. And this is a moment that then it kicks in, he says.

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CULVER: There is a moment in every few songs where you hear a video message. This one from Pope Francis. And if you watch some of the faces in the crowd, they're just taking it in. And that's exactly the moment that Father Guilherme says he looks for throughout his performances.

PEIXOTO: I never imagined that was possible mix the church with electronic music. No one can look to this like a solution for the problems but it's important that you can use, I think, our talents to make Jesus be present on the society.

POPE LEO XIV, PONTIFF, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: May the blessing of the Almighty God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit come upon you and remain with you always.

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BRUNHUBER: A public family dispute has done what decades of pop and fashion fame couldn't. Victoria Beckham now has a number one single. Spice Girls fans have rallied behind Posh Spice after Brooklyn Peltz Beckham accused his famous parents of being controlling in an explosive Instagram post.

Well, her fans launched a tongue-in-cheek social media campaign that pushed her 2001 track, "I'm Not Such an Innocent Girl," to number one on iTunes and in the U.K. and Ireland.

Interesting.

Police in New York rushed to the scene of a bank robbery in progress, only to find that their suspect wasn't exactly the hardened criminal they were expecting. Have a look at this.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Well, body cam footage shows officers wrangling the wayward buck, who found himself trapped in the bank after smashing in through a window, setting off the bank's alarm system.

Police say the deer resisted arrest but was eventually lassoed and guided back outside, where he was released, glad to say, without charges.

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BRUNHUBER: All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.