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Russian Strike on Kramatorsk; Paris Suburban Teen Shot Dead by Police; Millions of Americans under Air Quality Alerts; Putin Claims Security Forces Stopped "Civil War"; Wagner Group's Yevgeny Prigozhin Now in Belarus; Israeli Foreign Minister Strongly Condemns Settler Violence; South Koreans Age One Year Overnight. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired June 28, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): I'm Becky Anderson, live for you from Abu Dhabi. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD.
A deadly Russian missile strike hits a crowded restaurant in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron calls a fatal shooting of a teen during a police traffic stop "unjustified."
Smoke from Canada is lowering air quality across the U.S.
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ANDERSON: Ukraine is counting the dead after another Russian missile strike. Police in Kramatorsk say at least 10 people were killed, including
14-year-old twin sisters, when the missile smashed into the crowded city center. More than 60 are injured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling the strike "a manifestation of terror."
And new today, "The New York Times" reporting that U.S. officials learned a Russian general knew about the Wagner chief's plans to rebel against
military leaders before his aborted march on Moscow. Ben Wedeman connecting us from Eastern Ukraine.
This attack in Kramatorsk providing memories of that awful strike on the train station there in the first weeks of the war. Just describe what you
have seen and heard.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, within the last hour, we have seen rescue workers carry out a black body bag. So it
appears that the death toll is now at least 11.
We watched as relatives watched this body being brought out; they're very distraught. He was one of the workers in the restaurant. It appears, in
fact, that the missile hit directly in the kitchen itself, because we are told that they found the body under a refrigerator that had been knocked
over.
So this really has been a devastating attack for a city that already has suffered so much since this war began.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Utter destruction, two missiles striking Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, one slamming into the city center.
WEDEMAN: The strike took place at precisely 7:32 in the evening. We don't know what it was that struck but it was clearly a very large missile by the
given level of damage here.
Now right behind me was a very popular restaurant. And given the time of the strike, there were probably many people inside.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): The witness inside the restaurant says it was crammed with people when the missile struck. He saw rescuers pulling dozens
of people out.
Slabs of concrete collapsing at the center of the restaurant. Medics and firefighters continuing to pull people out hours after the strike and
removing damaged cars from surrounding streets --
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WEDEMAN (voice-over): -- clearing the way for more rescue work.
Air raid sirens warning of another strike, pausing the search and rescue and moving along crowds looking for loved ones.
The blast knocking this woman off her feet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I was in the middle of my apartment. Then I heard a sudden explosion and was knocked off my feet by
the wave. The windows were blowing out on the first floor. I was very frightened.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Kramatorsk is not far from the front lines. As the war trenches on Russia continues striking seemingly random targets and
civilians are paying the ultimate price.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I just want peace for everyone, peace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: We understand that there are still several workers from the restaurant who have not been accounted for. As I mentioned before, we saw
that black body bag coming out. There's still people here, waiting for news of their loved ones. It has been a very difficult 24 hours for them.
As far as what hit the restaurant, yesterday we heard in his nightly address President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that it was an S-300 surface
to air missile.
Now it appears in fact that it was an Iskander missile, which is a hypersonic ballistic missile, that has a much bigger payload than the S-
300, which would account for the level of destruction here. And it is much more accurate, Becky.
ANDERSON: And I'm sure our viewers will be touched and moved by some of the scenes in your reporting there, one young girl clearly traumatized by
what she has seen. Lest we forget the people of Ukraine and how we they are being impacted by this war.
Ben, over the past weekend, obviously we have been reporting at length this planned insurrection as it were by the head of the Wagner Group, who we now
believe to be in Belarus. There is "The New York Times" reporting today that is raising some eyebrows about who knew what, when.
What details do we have at this point?
WEDEMAN: Yes, according to this report that "The New York Times" that CNN has not yet verified, General Sergei Surovikin was a senior general, who
they believe may have been in touch with Prigozhin as he launched this 36- hour mutiny, so to speak.
That general actually did make a video statement, calling on the troops not to rise up, to stay loyal to the state.
But it is widely believed that the fact that Prigozhin was able to take over Rostov-on-Don, which is the headquarters of Russia's southern military
district and is also a strategic command center for the war effort in Ukraine and also then that Prigozhin troops were able to get basically
within 200 kilometers of Moscow itself.
Really raises questions about whether there was prior knowledge, prior coordination between Prigozhin and other generals, like this general we are
talking about, who, it is believed, were unhappy with Vladimir Putin and the defense ministry's management of the war in Ukraine -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman, on the story for you there in Eastern Ukraine.
Ben, thank you.
Anger running high in a Paris suburb and the French president is calling for calm after a police shooting that killed a 17 year-old boy. The teen,
identified only as Nahel, was shot during a traffic stop on Tuesday. One police officer is being obtained on suspicion of culpable homicide.
Hundreds of officers have been mobilized to contain the unrest that broke out overnight. President Emmanuel Macron called the incident
"unjustifiable" but he appealed to the public to let justice take its course.
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EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): I would like to express the emotion of the entire nation at the death of young Nahel and
give this family our solidarity and the affection of the nation.
We need calm for justice to carry out its work. And we need calm everywhere because the situation, we can't allow the situation to worsen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Clearly concerned about the aftermath and the potential for violence. Melissa Bell joining us from Paris.
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ANDERSON: And an investigation now launched. Is it clear exactly what happened at this traffic stop?
Walk us through what we are understand to be the events of Tuesday, Melissa.
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was just after 8 am in a suburb of Paris when this tragic incident took place. Now initially what we
had were police reports, police sources speaking to French media.
They painted a very different picture than the one that was to emerge later from that video that has now caused such controversy. You see it very
clearly, the car in which he was traveling with two other passengers being stopped, you hear someone say they are going to shoot someone in the head.
Seconds later, that gunshot ringing out, a very different picture than initially the police had tried to paint. Of course, that goes to the heart
of the controversy. Here in France there have been, over the years, so many examples of either police brutality or fatal police interventions at
traffic stops or random identity checks.
There is also in this country a history of one version of events being given by police only through video or eyewitness testimonies to come and
contradict that. This appears to be one of those cases.
There is also the age of the young man involved. Just 17 years old, his mother has called for a march in his name tomorrow. You heard the French
president urge calm. Calm is clearly not what French officials are expecting.
Last night, those images which came very suddenly, those outbursts of violence, because of that context that I mentioned, the sense that, at
times, the police act with impunity. There is very little then in the way of justice for victims.
And these kinds of instances have happened all too often, with unarmed citizens involved. What they did last night was to put 350 police officers
to try to bring calm to streets.
What they're doing tonight, Becky, is deploying more than 2,000 police officers, not just here but to other neighborhoods that are considered to
be at risk of seeing this kind of violence, this kind of disturbance again. They're trying to keep the peace.
The fact that deployment tonight, the fact that you are hearing politicians speaking out, the French prime minister speaking out just a few moments
ago, saying that she understands that the official version given and what we saw in that video simply didn't correspond to what should have happened,
how the law should have been applied.
All of that tells you that authorities are extremely worried about what this might lead to and how far and wide and angry this controversy might
go.
ANDERSON: Melissa Bell is in Paris for you.
Melissa, thank you.
More than 18 million people from the United States Midwest to the East Coast are on air quality alerts as Canadian wildfire smoke continues to
sweep across the border. A Facebook user from Ontario, Canada, posting this video to social media, saying, that is smoke that you are seeing, not fog.
And another video posted to social from the U.S. state of Wisconsin showing the smoke is so bad they can't even see the sun. Canadian authorities say
more than 200 wildfires are still burning out of control, making it Canada's worst fire season ever.
Chicago and Detroit have the worst air quality in the world throughout the day on Tuesday, according to air officials, urging citizens to stay
indoors. Adrienne Broaddus has more for you now from Chicago.
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ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, it's not something Chicago will brag about, having the most unhealthy air quality in the world. Today,
it is a little better than what we saw yesterday. But we are still not in the clear. The air quality alert expires midnight local time.
That is for Chicago and across the Great Lakes region. If you step outside and take a look, these are some of the images we saw yesterday, thick smoke
and really hazy. This is all because of the Canadian wildfires that have been burning. But folks here in town are taking it gracefully. Listen in.
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TONY PAPRECK, CHICAGO RESIDENT: It's shocking but it's caused by nature right now. So it's not a long-term impact. And I was out here yesterday; it
wasn't nearly the same. So I'm imagining that this is a short-term impact.
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BROADDUS: As you can imagine, it is really challenging for people who are in sensitive groups. We are talking about folks who have respiratory
conditions like asthma. Experts suggest and city leaders are telling people to stay inside if it all possible and limit outdoor activity.
If they need to take a walk, that is OK but the guidance is to avoid long bike rides and runs -- Becky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. Ahead, Donald Trump responds to the bombshell recording that has become a key
piece of evidence in what is his classified documents probe that is ongoing.
And later, actor Kevin Spacey on trial in London. We will have a long report on the charges that he faces. That is after this.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. You are watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.
The day after CNN obtained an audio recording of Donald Trump discussing classified documents, the former U.S. president insists that he has done
nothing wrong. That recording is a key piece of evidence in the U.S. Justice Department's indictment against the former president. Here is what
he told FOX News Digital on Tuesday.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I had a whole desk full of lots of papers and mostly newspaper articles, copies of magazines, copies of
different plans, copies of stories, having to do with many, many subjects. And what was said was absolutely fine and very perfectly (sic). We did
nothing wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not concerned then with your own voice on those recordings?
TRUMP: My voice was fine.
What did I say wrong in those recordings?
I didn't even see the recording. All I know is I did nothing wrong. We had a lot of papers, a lot of papers stacked up. In fact, you could hear the
rustle of the paper.
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ANDERSON: In the past, Donald Trump has denied holding onto any classified documents after he left office. He has now repeating those denials now. He
does say he doesn't know if there are any other recordings of him out there and he blames what he calls a whole hoax and Trump's former attorneys
backing him up.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly, you can hear the rustling of papers there. But as to what he is specifically holding, the tape is, in my opinion, is
unclear and you can, when you hear the sound of his voice, he does seem to be acting with a bit of bravado and playing to the crowd.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Trump has pleaded not guilty to 37 criminal counts, including conspiracy to hide classified documents from the U.S. government.
The trial against Kevin Spacey for alleged sex offenses has adjourned for the day in London. He was on hand today for the proceedings which dealt
with jury selection. And the judge said familiarity with his work is not a reason for disqualification.
The trial is expected to last as much as four weeks. The Oscar winner is facing 12 charges, including sexual assault. Spacey denies all of those
charges. Joining me now from London is CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, who will be following this trial.
What can we expect at this stage, Salma?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today, it was really just procedural, Becky. The court was in session for only just two hours. The 12 jurors were
sworn in and the charges. I know you just play those images of Kevin Spacey strolling into court. He looks very relaxed.
Our producer in the crowd said he carried that demeanor inside as well, appearing at ease, thanking those who brought him water at one stage. But
despite his tenacity to defend his innocence, as he says, these are extremely serious charges, Becky.
Again, 12 charges of sexual assault brought forward by four separate individuals, four men. They include indecent assault and causing a person
to engage in sexual activity without consent. The instances take place between 2001 and 2013.
Why is this all happening in London?
Kevin Spacey was the artistic director of the Old Vic Theater here in this city for many years, from 2004 to 2015; so many of those charges taking
place around that time. Victims alleging that he took advantage of his position as a successful actor.
But this is for Kevin Spacey and his lawyers, he says, an opportunity to vindicate himself, to prove his innocence for the crown prosecution. It is
now an opportunity to present why those charges have been brought forward.
Again, this case is going to take almost four weeks possibly. It will be a while before we hear an outcome as you can expect. High interest in this
case. And Kevin Spacey believes that he can get his career back, despite the #MeToo allegations we're looking at here, if he is vindicated.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Salma.
The Kremlin is now admitting that it was the source of funded Wagner mercenaries. Now officials want to know how did Wagner really spend more
than $1 billion earmarked for salaries and bonuses.
And Israel's prime minister has a lot on his diplomatic plate, including tense relations with Kyiv. What Benjamin Netanyahu may be doing to try to
fix that. That is just ahead.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back, I'm Becky Anderson and you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD, just before half past 6 in the evening. Here
are your headlines.
French authorities are appealing for calm after a night of violent protests in the Paris suburbs and the crowds took to the streets after a video
emerged of a police shooting at a traffic stop that left a 17-year old boy dead. President Emmanuel Macron calls the killing "unjustifiable."
Rescuers in Ukraine are searching for survivors after a Russian missile strike at a busy restaurant in the eastern city of Kramatorsk. At least 11
people have been killed and dozens have been injured.
Europe's top diplomat calls Tuesday's attack another demonstration of Russian terror on civilians.
"The New York Times" reports that U.S. officials learned that a Russian general knew about the Wagner chief's plans to rebel against military
leaders before his aborted march on Moscow at the weekend.
The president of Belarus says Yevgeny Prigozhin is now in Belarus. He has not been seen in public since that brief rebellion.
ANDERSON: Russian president Vladimir Putin is doing his part to move past the Wagner Group insurrection. He is praising security forces for
preventing a civil war and promising to investigate the group's, the Wagner Group's financing. CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance
with the story.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Kremlin damage control in full swing. Using the trappings of the Russian
presidency to patch up Putin's battered image and to portray a deal ending the armed Wagner rebellion here as a feat not of weakness but of national
unity.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): You have defended the constitutional order, the life, security and freedom of our citizens,
saved our motherland from upheavals and actually stopped the Civil War.
The Kremlin insists Putin's biggest challenge in 23 years of power is actually bringing Russia closer together.
The problem is that's not entirely true. Images of Russians cheering Wagner forces would have sent chills through the Kremlin. All Russians welcomed to
the mutiny but few turned back to resist it either despite what the Kremlin says.
And what of the man who exposed this serious crack in Kremlin authority?
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CHANCE (voice-over): Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner leader has now arrived in neighboring Belarus according to its officials after charges of
insurrection against him and his fighters in Russia were dropped.
It's possible Wagner fighters could now work alongside the Belarusian military, suggests Aleksandr Lukashenko the country's leader, though he
said no camps for them had yet been built.
The Russian defense ministry says the mercenary group must first surrender its heavy weapons.
The Kremlin which now admits fully funding Wagner says it will investigate at more than a billion recently paid for salaries and bonuses was really
spent.
Back to Kremlin, a minute's silence for the Russian pilots killed in Prigozhin's uprising. Putin may find it hard to forgive a man who shattered
his image of control and who he says stabbed Russia in the back -- Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: CNN has learned that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the early stages of planning a visit to Kyiv. That word from the
Ukrainian ambassador to Israel.
Ukrainian-Israeli relations have been feeling the strain somewhat recently, especially after Kyiv accused Israel of taking a neutral stance on the
Russian invasion. Closer to home, Netanyahu and his foreign minister have both been critical of the recent settler violence in the West Bank. CNN's
Hadas Gold joining us live from Jerusalem.
Let's start with this situation with Kyiv. Israeli-Ukrainian relations have not been good of late.
What do we know about this potential visit and when?
HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I spoke with the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel yesterday, who told me about the early stages of this
possible visit by the prime minister to Kyiv.
The foreign minister has already been Kyiv but of course, Netanyahu has not visited since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The prime minister's office
said that no decision has been made.
But the fact that it is being made public, that there are discussions being had about a possible visit, that is seen as an important step, at least on
behalf of the Ukrainian ambassador. This is coming as tensions between Ukraine and Israel are back at a new high.
There has long been tensions between the two countries, mostly because of what Ukraine sees as Israel's, they call it, neutral stance on the
invasion. Israel will defer; they say that it's actually voted against Russia in the United Nations. They accept humanitarian assistance. But
they often cite their own security concerns.
Russia's presence in Syria on the northern border about why they don't want to get more involved in the invasion. But there was a very, very strongly
worded statement from the Ukraine embassy in Israel just a few days ago, where they essentially say that, this is their words here.
"The so-called neutrality of Israeli government is considered as a clear pro Russian decision."
The statement also cites some diplomatic negotiations between Israel and Russia, especially it cites statements made by prime minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.
In a recent interview with the "Jerusalem Post," where he says, one of the reasons why Israel is not sending weapons to Ukraine is because of, his
words, "concerns that any system we give to Ukraine could be used against us. It could fall into Iranian hands."
He is even saying that this has actually happened, that Western anti-tank weapons are now being found at Israel's border. When I spoke to the
Ukrainian ambassador, he took specific issue with especially that statement.
Now the Ukrainian ambassador has actually been summoned to the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs next week for a meeting over this scathing
statement. And when I asked the Ukrainian ambassador about this summoning, he sort of chuckled, really even said clearly they're not that concerned
because it is not an urgent summoning.
It is for next week. He says by next week he hopes that tensions and emotions on both sides calm down. But he says he's going to ask the
Israelis for specific evidence about the assertion, about weapons in Ukraine ending up on Israel's borders.
He did say however that he feels a visit by Netanyahu to Kyiv will be an important step in what he called repairing the relations. What is really
interesting is the comment he made to me.
He said, Netanyahu wants to be invited to the White House and he believes that the fastest way to the White House is actually through Kyiv -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Very briefly, the significance of these comments on settlers, about sellers by Netanyahu; just explain what he said and why this is
significant.
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GOLD: It is really interesting because you have very, very pro settler ministers in power and, on the other hand, you have the more typical right-
wing strand in this Israeli government.
So Netanyahu is trying to balance this. He said in a statement, calling on people to not try to grab land illegally in the West Bank, telling them to
go through the proper government channels.
And actually just the last few minutes on that settler violence, we have learned four Israeli settlers who've been placed on what is known as
administrative detention. This is being imprisoned without charge. It is actually a tactic we often see used against Palestinians.
But the minister of defense has issued this order for this administrative detention against the Israeli settlers, which is a unique step, essentially
saying that these people have committed violent acts in the past. They say that they were involved in the attacks we saw last week.
And they're placing them on this administrative detention before they can carry out further attacks. So you are hearing sort of different strains
from the Israeli government, from the defense minister, from the foreign minister, who recently spoke with Antony Blinken about the settler
violence, condemning it.
And the strongest message we actually saw was from the Israeli security (INAUDIBLE) and from the IDF, who equated settler violence with terrorism,
Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
Millions of South Koreans are now a year or even two years younger. It has nothing to do with Korean beauty products. It is because of a new law. We
are going to explain more on this.
And will the sixth time be a charm for a Women's World Cup legend?
More on that after this.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): That is the moment a chimpanzee named Vanilla saw blue skies for the first time in her life. The other chimps at this Florida
chimpanzee sanctuary seemed to want to share in the moment with her. Save the Chimps says Vanilla spent most of life inside a small cage in a now
defunct research lab in New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: As crazy it sounds, millions of South Koreans woke up a year or two younger on Wednesday. It is because the country put an end to the
traditional Korean age. It is now adopting the international age system. CNN's Paula Hancocks explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Asking someone in South Korea how old they are is a far more complicated question than you might think. You may
well get three different answers.
First of all, there is Korean age, where you are considered a year old on the day you're born. And you become a year older every January 1st.
Second, the calendar age: you take the current year, 2023, minus your birth year and that is your age.
Third, international age: this is the most countries use around the world, where you start at zero.
[10:40:00]
HANCOCKS: And you become a year older on your first birthday. South Korea has been using a mixture of all three systems for decades. That all changes
today, making international age the standard. Most people woke up this morning one or even two years younger.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't feel like my age changed overnight. But talking to my friends, we all felt good about getting
younger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): On the one hand, I feel good about being younger and on the other hand, I'm wondering if this will make
things more complicated on paper.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: This change is to avoid the, quote, "unnecessary social and economic costs." The president has been pushing for this change and surveys
show that the majority of Koreans actually agree that there should be a standardization of age counting.
There are some exceptions, though. For example, going into elementary school, military conscription will still keep to the traditional system.
CHO HEE-KYOUNG, PROFESSOR OF LAW, HONGIK UNIVERSITY: So the change is symbolic because the things that matter to people, like when you can vote,
when you buy alcohol, when you can buy cigarettes, when you can watch N-17 movies, et cetera, they actually remain exactly the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: It is a change that has been talked about for years and it is a change that could well confuse for years to come -- Paula Hancocks, CNN,
Seoul.
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