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First Move with Julia Chatterley
CNN Visits Easternmost Town Under Ukrainian Control; Shanghai Reported 95 Percent of new cases in China Thursday; Ashurkov: New Waves of Anti-War Protests Likely in Russia; Young Woman Recalls Harrowing Experience in Mariupol; CARE Hosts Teacher Hiring Events in Poland; Elon Musk Makes a $43B Bid to take Twitter Private. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired April 15, 2022 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST, FIRST MOVE: You're watching CNN; I'm Julia Chatterley in New York. Russian retaliation a cruise missiles striking a
military facility near Kyiv just hours after Russia's prized warship, the Moskva sinks to the bottom of the Black Sea.
The Ukrainians taking credit, the Kremlin still adamant fire detonated stored ammunition the Ukrainian said it was damaged by their anti-ship
missiles. The Pentagon says there's no reason to dispute Ukraine's claims, and Russia seems to move other vessels further south.
In the East Russian forces continue to build fighting reported in Izium and the shelling in Kharkiv, as Russian troops advanced towards their main
target in the East, the Donbas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: During the 50 days the full scale invasion of the Russian Federation, they showed that Donbas is the main
target for Russia. It is Donbas that Russia wants to destroy it in the first place. It is the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that Russian troops are
destroying as if they only want stones to be left and no people to be left at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Ben Wedeman has the latest from the East of Ukraine.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Julia overnight, there was Russian bombardment on the Capital Kyiv. The first time there's been
such a bombardment since Russian forces pulled out of the north central part of Ukraine and it comes at a time when life was sort of getting back
to what passes for normal in Kyiv.
Now the Russians say that the bombardment of Kyiv was in retaliation for Ukrainian artillery fire on a Russian village just over the border.
Meanwhile, here in Eastern Ukraine, the military is preparing for what many fear will be a massive Russian offensive to try to seize the entire eastern
part of the country.
We were able to go to the eastern most cities under Ukrainian government control and found a city very much on edge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN (voice over): Denise (ph) loads food in his car for delivery run. The supplies sorted by volunteers in this old warehouse were donated from
around Ukraine and abroad. Denise was a musician before the war.
This is the city furthest East under Ukrainian government control and under constant bombardment from Russian forces nearby. The supplies Denise and
other volunteers deliver are what keep this city alive. Two missiles landed outside - as decrepit Soviet era apartment building the strain of living
under the shelling more than she can take.
It's hard she says I can't stay in this room. I'm so afraid I want it to be quiet and calm again. With Russian forces massing in the east there will be
no quiet. There will be no calm. Sitting on a hospital bed - recounts the night her house was hit.
I was in the kitchen and it started she says her home is now in ruins. More than 20 corpses lie scattered in the hospital's morgue, wrapped in sheets
and blankets awaiting burial. On the outskirts of the city more evidence of the toll war has taken.
WEDEMAN (on camera): This is a hastily dug graveyard that was started since the war began. Just look at the dates 7th of April 9th of April, 3rd of
April 4th of April it goes on and on and on. And more graves will soon be filled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: And Thursday Ukrainian officials say that two evacuation buses trying to get people out of areas under bombardment were shot upon by
Russian forces killing seven people wounding 27. Now when we were in - Donetsk, I spoke to the head of the hospital there. And I asked him about
these so called humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians.
And he told me if he looks at the experience of his city, that these humanitarian corridors are a myth. The Russians simply don't respect them,
Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Ben Wedeman there.
[09:05:00]
CHATTERLEY: And onto a sobering warning from the CIA Director William Burns. He says Russia's potential to use tactical or low yield nuclear
weapons in Ukraine cannot be taken lightly. And "The Washington Post" reports Moscow has sent a formal diplomatic note to the United States,
saying shipments of "Sensitive Weapons" to Ukraine are adding fuel to the conflict. And there could be, "Unpredictable Consequences".
Jeremy diamond is in Washington, Jeremy I think we all remember Ukraine's Foreign Ministers message to the west, which was weapons, weapons and
weapons, the United States announcing they're responding. I don't think anybody would be surprised that the Russians are alarmed by what they're
seeing and hearing here.
The question is how concerned is the U.S. government by Russia's threats if this report is correct?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well listen Julia, what's most interesting here is the timing of this. The U.S. has now provided more
than $3 billion of military assistance to the Ukrainians and recently, just this week, President Biden approving an additional $800 million.
But this latest package included much heavier weaponry than previously we saw several MI-17 helicopters going the Ukrainians way 155 millimeter
Howitzer guns are, which is powerful artillery to match the Russian power of artillery as well, radar, defense systems, coastal drones, et cetera.
So the U.S. is really stepping up the types of weaponry not only the quantity but the types of weaponry that it is providing to the Ukrainians.
And it was just as those reports were emerging about what the U.S. was going to provide the Ukrainians that apparently, according to "The
Washington Post", Russia sent this formal diplomatic letter to the United States warning the U.S. of unintended consequences and saying that the U.S.
is adding fuel to this already very, very hot conflict.
Now, will the question here is will this change anything from the U.S. perspective in terms of what kind of security assistance they're providing
to the Ukrainians? And I think what's becoming increasingly clear is that while the U.S. has been cautious in terms of the types of weapons, and how
it is providing those weapons to the Ukrainians still resisting, for example, sending any fighter jets directly to the Ukrainians, or even
participating in a transfer of fighter jets, from another NATO country, to the Ukrainians.
The U.S. is growing bolder in terms of the types of assistance is providing, like I said, those heavier weapon systems, and they're growing
less concerned about how Russians will interpret that? Earlier this week, the Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby was asked about the risk of Russia
interpreting these heavier weapon systems as some kind of escalation.
And he said we'll leave that to Putin. We'll leave that to the Kremlin to decide how they're going to respond, but we're going to continue to help
the Ukrainians and that's exactly what the U.S. is doing right now Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Jeremy and the Press Secretary at the Pentagon were asked this again yesterday. And he said, look, I'm not going to provide details of
timing or how these weapons are entering Ukraine for obvious reasons. But you have to assume and he was asked this, too, that these lines are now a
target; these supply lines were a target for Russian forces too.
DIAMOND: Yes, it's certainly a risk here, that the Russians as they issue this diplomatic warning could also be considering hitting those supply
lines of weapons, perhaps even on NATO territory, because remember, most of these weapons transfers, many of them at least, are happening at the Poland
Ukrainian border.
But one thing that the White House has been unmistakable about throughout this conflict is that the U.S. will defend every inch of NATO territory and
so you have to assume that if there is some kind of a Russian strike on NATO territory on those supply lines, that that would be met by a forceful
NATO response and of course, the risk of escalation, the risk of this growing into a world war heightened should something like that happen?
CHATTERLEY: Jeremy Diamond great to have you with us. Thank you for that. To China now, where thousands more COVID cases are being reported following
an alarming spike on Thursday. That's when 23,000 new infections recorded in Shanghai accounting for 95 percent of all cases in China that day, and
with more than 40 cities under lockdown.
Officials are grappling with the growing economic impact of the virus. David Culver is in Shanghai for us. The impact on the economy and the
social consequences of that inextricably linked David unemployment, small business in particular, what are we hearing about their concerns and the
level of that concerns?
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, especially when you look at the map Julia and you look at where these more than 40 cities are located with
either full or partial lockdowns; you're talking about most of them along the coast.
And so talking about major ports, including here in Shanghai, and that's going to affect shipping, which in turn is going to continue to strain the
global supply chain. But as the cases continue to climb up here it feels as though they're trying to balance the stopping of the rapid spread, and at
the same time, trying to give people the hope or at some perceive it the illusion that this lockdown is going to end anytime soon.
[09:10:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER (voice over): A few steps of freedom granted to some Shanghai residents strolling their own neighborhoods as if taken in some strange new
world.
CULVER (on camera): But where are you going to go? There's nowhere to go.
CULVER (voice over): Most shops still closed and public transportation halted. Still, this woman can't hold back her joy recording as she and her
neighbors roam the empty streets. After 1425 plus million people and two weeks of harsh lockdown, government officials facing mounting pressure
lifted some restrictions for communities like mine without a positive case in the last seven days.
That meant we could actually step outside our apartments. My neighbors is enjoying the taste of relative freedom and so to our pets, eager to stretch
their legs, still keeping within the confines of our compound.
The extent of my freedom is all the way to here, the compound gate, still double locked. It's been like that for about a month. In recent weeks, we
had to get community permission to leave our homes, mostly for COVID test of which there were many.
We could also step outside to pick up the occasional government distribution.
CULVER (on camera): Today's delivery a backer price.
CULVER (voice over): But even with heavy restrictions still in place, we have a good for now at least. The majority of this city remains it hard
locked down, kept to their homes, some hungry and suffering.
This woman heard begging in the middle of the night pleading for fever medicine for her child. And this man is recording his dwindling food
supply. Then there were those who have tested positive.
Tens of thousands being sent to cramped government quarantine centers, whose residents have described a host of problems facilities that were
quickly and apparently poorly constructed. Outside of Shanghai panic spreading quicker than the virus.
The horror stories from China's financial hub have residents in other Chinese cities stocking up from Suzhou to Guangzhou, online sales for
prepackaged foods surging.
This as China's National Health Commission warns of more cases, and publicly calls out Shanghai for not effectively containing the virus
shifting blame to local officials for allowing it to spread to other places.
China's strict zero COVID approach forcing dozens of cities into week's long full or partial lockdowns. Residents in Jilin banging on pots to
protest, most of the 24 million people in the northern Chinese province confined to their homes for more than a month now.
Back in Shanghai, the joys of freedom for some might last only a few hours, as it takes just one new case nearby to send them back inside, resetting
the clock for their community, another 14 day sentence and lock down a seemingly endless cycle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Incredible report. David, I could ask you 40 questions off the back of that, just the sound of people screaming in their apartment
buildings. They're made the hair rise on my arm. But my primary question, I think is just how sick are people getting those that do get COVID?
The hospitalizations that the really sick people. Do you have a sense of the stats on this? Because as we try and learn to live with COVID, this is
for many in the west the critical question, what's your sense there?
CULVER: Yes, so a lot of the times you have to rely on anecdotal evidence of all of this, because as you will know, even if we go back a little over
two years ago, when you and I were talking about the Wuhan outbreak, something that wasn't as forthcoming was the most accurate data from the
National Health Commission to Chinese government.
So what we've looked at here is they're saying that there have been since the start of this most recent outbreak, more than 200,000 infections,
positive cases here in Shanghai alone.
Of that the official count is nine of them are serious or severe critical cases, it seems quite low, a lot of folks who are looking at that are
certainly skeptical and questioning it.
And then anecdotally, we're hearing from people online who have told us from multiple different accounts that they have lost loved ones due to the
lockdown. Now is that directly because of contracting COVID?
Some say yes, others say no, it's just as collateral damage, if you will, because of just the extreme measures of this lockdown. That said that has
not been put forward by the central government or the National Health Commission.
As of now there were zero deaths in connection with his most recent outbreak. So trying to get those numbers Julia is really tough. And we have
to rely heavily on what we're seeing coming out of social media and the people we're talking to on the ground here.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and you do a brilliant job and make that 0.0045 percent, severe nine out of 200,000.
CULVER: Yes.
CHATTERLEY: David Culver, thank you for that. OK, straight ahead. The conflict in Ukraine has two fronts a physical wall that is cost the lives
of thousands of innocent citizens and an information war.
[09:15:00]
CHATTERLEY: President Putin's fiercest critic Alexey Navalny is out with an ambitious plan to provide the truth to Russian citizen fed a steady stream
of government propaganda. How? Well that story ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. The highest profile critic of the Putin regime inside Russia is jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny now from his
prison cell. Navalny is calling on the west to launch an unprecedented social media advertising campaign.
On popular platforms used by Russians like YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, he believes targeted ads would pierce the Russian information
bubble, and perhaps turn citizens against the wall.
In a series of tweets, Navalny says one shot from a javelin cost $230,000. For the same money, we would get 200 million ad views in different formats,
and provide at least 300,000 link clicks or at least 8 million views on a video with the truth about what's happening in Ukraine.
He likens the effort to a political campaign with two competing candidates saying, "Our candidate peace versus Putin's candidate war, and peace must
win. We can't allow any other outcome.
Now, Vladimir Ashurkov is a Russian dissident who is now based in London. He's the Executive Director of Alexey Navalny's anti-corruption foundation,
Vladimir, great to have you on the show.
A critically important message I think from Alexey Navalny. And we can discuss the personal cost to him later. But what do you and he believe,
could be the consequence of this campaign, the ultimate consequence?
VLADIMIR ASHURKOV, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ANTI-CORRUPTION FOUNDATION: Well, the internet has been really the backbone of how Alexey Navalny spread his
message and gained recognition. So it's natural that he now calls for use of social media to try to change the perception of Russians, the perception
of this war, because unfortunately, most Russians are fed information from state TV and other state media.
And they are, you know, they just pumping out propaganda about how Ukraine is a Nazi state. And at the same time they don't say anything about Russian
losses and the cost real, cost of this war.
[09:20:00]
CHATTERLEY: We've had a guest on in the past week or so, talking about Vladimir Putin's approval rating being above 80 percent. You say there are
far fewer people that are core supporters, but most are silent because they're frightened.
And I think those of us outside Russia would understand that. How strong do you think his support really is? Or those that would oppose them on what
does it take for them to no longer be silent?
ASHURKOV: Well, it's difficult for to expect people to voice their concerns about the war, where you can get a detained for liking an antiwar post, or
you can get be detained for going out to the streets with - to a protest with just a blank piece of paper.
So I think there's about 10 percent of hardcore supporters of Putin, there are 30 percent of people who, who actively oppose this war, even though
it's hard for them to voice, their protest.
And there are 70 percent of people who can be swayed by this social media campaign who are not usually interested in politics, and unfortunately,
quite fed this state propaganda.
So I think a massive social media campaign would be quite effective at spreading the words of truth to Russian people.
CHATTERLEY: Wow, you're saying 70 percent of Russian people; if only they knew the truth about what was going on would no longer be silent.
ASHURKOV: That would be the maximum amount, I don't know if they will be silent or not. But at least they will be better, I think, with--
CHATTERLEY: No.
ASHURKOV: --atrocities that Russia is committing in Ukraine, about the Russian soldiers who are lost in this war and about the international
condemnation of this war.
CHATTERLEY: Vladimir, you, and I originally got you on the show to discuss a way that you believe that there is to remove Putin from within, but it
requires some nuance in how sanctions are applied.
And what you want to see is some kind of off ramp, perhaps for those people, those Russians that have been sanctioned. If they decide to condemn
the war in Ukraine, if they decide to condemn, or put they at least in opposition with this regime, then perhaps there should be a way back and
see a removal of the sanctions. But you have three conditions. What are those three conditions?
ASHURKOV: Over the last two months, we've seen an avalanche of sanctions against people who matter in Russia, businessman, members of political and
economic elite.
I think the menace of Putin's regime is so great that we will need to try to seduce this people to decide the antiwar side to the western side and
offering them an off ramp in this situation out of sanctions would be rational.
It would be a compromise. But I think it's a good way forward. So my three conditions were that we shouldn't use the sanctions for those who have been
directly involved in war crimes and human rights abuse.
Second, was that they contribute to the restoration of Ukraine. And third was that they actively they publicly condemned this war and those people
who started it.
CHATTERLEY: What about someone like Roman Abramovich, that Chelsea Football Club owner, he put that into separate hands, admittedly, someone who's now
I believe, been sanctioned.
But he did say that the net proceeds of that sale of the football club would go into a fund to help the reconstruction of Ukraine to someone like
him. Does he qualify in your mind, perhaps for a way out to sanctions?
ASHURKOV: If he is instrumental in ending Putin's regime, if he actually condemns the war, and if he contributes to restoration of Ukraine, I think
a gradual easing of sanctions should be considered at least people who are sanctions should have some motivation to end this regime because only after
Putin's reign ends, they can expect the sanctions to be lifted.
CHATTERLEY: Vladimir, you and I were talking about the fear at the start of this conversation, the fear of this regime and the consequences you know
better than most.
[09:25:00]
CHATTERLEY: Just this week, an individual who remains in Russia who spoke to CNN and talked about the regime, he criticized it, and then was arrested
and has been jailed for 15 days. His name is Vladimir Kara-Murza, what do you think happens to him if he is allowed out of prison when those 15 days
is up? He's already been poisoned twice.
ASHURKOV: Vladimir Kara-Murza is a good friend and ally. And he's an incredibly brave person. He has been poisoned two times by Russian security
agents in Russia. And still he remains there now.
He was quite adamant and speaking about the war and he got this 15 day sentence. Nobody knows what's going to happen after he is released. But I
sincerely hope that he is free and he's safe.
CHATTERLEY: I think we all do, what Alexey Navalny will, Alexey Navalny, also a close friend of yours. Do you think he'll be punished even for
sending these messages via social media via his lawyers admittedly, calling for this campaign where he'd be punished in prison as a consequence?
ASHURKOV: Well, Alexey Navalny was published for his brave stance and his uncompromising position against Putin's regime with just recently with a
nine year sentence in prison. There's not that much more than Russian authorities can do against him.
And he is just since the start of this brutal and unprovoked war he has been saying words of peace and calling Russians to protest and not to be
silent in this world.
CHATTERLEY: Vladimir, there are those that would say there is more that Russia could do his family. He remains alive. There is worse.
ASHURKOV: Well, you know, the story of Alexei Navalny is almost epic. He was poisoned. He miraculously recuperated him, even though his
investigation, arranged a call with one of his assassins.
He returned to Russia despite all the threats and he is now sending the words of truth to Russian people and inspires his team, everybody with his
voice. I think we've seen a number of miracles in his in, in his story, and I think this miracle will keep him safe and alive.
CHATTERLEY: We hope that too, Vladimir, great to get your insights today. Thank you and you stay safe too, please. Vladimir Ashurkov there, the
Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation.
ASHURKOV: Thank you for having me.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you. Still to come how our humanitarian organization is helping refugees in Poland, find jobs and helping children get educated,
stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. Help wanted in Poland. The refugee crisis is starting to shift from where we can go to where to where can we go to where
can we work care. A global humanitarian aid agency working to end poverty is recruiting teachers in Poland.
Over the past two weeks, Kerr and its partners have hosted events to hire Ukrainian speaking teachers. So far, they've hired 190. The organization is
also raising funds for families in Ukraine with a goal of reaching 4 million people with food, water and hygiene kits, among other essentials.
CARE President and CEO Michelle Nunn join us now, Michelle, great to have you with us. I know CARE has been at work since the aftermath of World War
Two, I believe. And you've been involved in many crises and doing what you can to help.
Just if you can compare and contrast what you're seeing today to other situations where you've provided support? Oh, I think we're having some
problem with her sound. Yes, we have. OK, we're going to try and re- establish sound with Michelle if we can.
I was literally just speaking during the break, so I know it's all working. Nope. OK. We're going to struggle with that for a while and we'll try and
get back to her as soon as possible.
In the meantime, as harrowing accounts of destruction emerge from Ukraine, so details of courage and also survival. CNN's Ed Lavandera speaks to one
resident of Mariupol, who tried her best to deliver aid and offer support to citizens in hiding while she was running for her life. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When the first bomb struck Mariupol, Katya Erskaya thought her most effective weapon would be a gentle
smile and the ability to calm terrified families. She lived in an underground shelter, coordinating relief supplies for the trapped civilians
of this besieged city.
LAVANDERA (on camera): So you're watching your city get bombed and destroyed. People are being killed. You decide not to leave but to help.
KATYA ERSKAYA, MARIUPOL RESIDENT: It's horrible; its animus didn't allow even children to go out from the city.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Day by day, the video Katya captured showed life in Mariupol unraveling. She lost touch with the outside world. None of her
family and friends outside the city knew if she was alive or dead. Life here was falling into an abyss.
ERSKAYA: It was like middle age.
LAVANDERA (on camera): It's like the middle Ages.
ERSKAYA: Yes.
LAVANDERA (on camera): It's almost like you could feel yourself running out of time. There was only so much longer you could stay in Mariupol.
ERSKAYA: I thought I will never go from Mariupol until the end.
LAVANDERA (voice over): On March 16, Katya evacuated, she recorded two short videos on her way out just before seeing a family walking on the side
of the road, a mother, grandmother and two young girls.
ERSKAYA: We had two, three places in our car, and we saw this family and we decided to help them.
LAVANDERA (voice over): One of the Russian military checkpoints they stopped in front of a soldier.
ERSKAYA: And he's show us go out and read gun to tone on our car. And after that he began to shoot.
LAVANDERA (on camera): One of the bullets pierced the car over her head. But in the backseat was 11 year old - shot in the face, the Russians
realizing their mistake sent the girl to a hospital. Katya now separated, traveled on without knowing if the young girl survived until.
LAVANDERA (voice over): CNN found - in the basement of a children's hospital in eastern Ukraine after surviving lifesaving surgery.
[09:35:00]
LAVANDERA (voice over): for Katya the relief is overwhelmed by the horrors of what she witnessed.
ERSKAYA: I saw a lot of dead people a lot of common grace on the street for example in - and I started to believe that they're crazy because they were
like maniacs.
LAVANDERA (on camera): They were maniacs to you.
ERSKAYA: Yes, they're really crazy, like Nazis in the Second World War.
LAVANDERA (voice over): After escaping, Katya remembered the videos she recorded before the Russians ravaged Mariupol. Ukrainians is protesting
outside the now famous theatre that in a matter of weeks would be the site of one of the most grotesque bombings in this war.
The theater still intact, the city's buildings unscathed, she sees the peaceful faces of families and children. The video is hard to watch. Are
these people alive or left in makeshift graves around the city? Katya Erskaya doesn't know. And for her, there's only one way to deal with this
haunting reality.
ERSKAYA: I decided that I will cry only once the Ukrainian gets victory.
LAVANDERA (voice over): Ed Lavandera CNN, Odessa, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Powerful woman, powerful people, we're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. And I do believe the technology goals are shining on us today because Michelle Nunn is the President and CEO of Global
Humanitarian Aid Agency Care. And I do believe she's back and I do believe we can hear. Michelle, just speak to me to let me know we can hear you.
MICHELLE NUNN, PRESIDENT & CEO, CARE USA: Yes, I can hear you and hopefully --me.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, perfect, yes, we can. That's fantastic. I asked you before and I knew you had the question. But just to compare, given the decades of
work CARE has been doing in humanitarian crises all over the world, just how you compare what you're seeing in the Ukraine refugee crisis today.
NUNN: Yes, Well CARE started 76 years ago actually in post-World War Two Europe delivering CARE packages to those who are hungry and in need.
[09:40:00]
NUNN: I don't think we could have imagined those 75 years later, we would be responding to the kind of threshold and scale of humanitarian crisis
that we see here today.
Over 4 million people have crossed the border in the last six plus weeks; 7 million people are internally displaced in Ukraine. I'm actually here
standing at the border of Ukraine and Poland. And just we're greeting a group of Ukrainian refugees; several 1000 a day are coming through this
station alone.
And they're coming with, with just suitcases on their back maybe their cats or their dogs. We're providing them through polish, humanitarian action and
other organizations who are partnered with just basics.
By behind me, you can see diapers, we have food, we have drink, we have just as, as the volunteers told me today, love and peace that we're
greeting them with. And then we're helping them and supporting them along their journey, which, which is how do they get accommodation?
How do they get some cash to get through? The next days ahead, how do they have a SIM card? And there are humanitarian actors and amazing support from
volunteers here in Poland that is providing some degree of solace to those who have lost everything.
CHATTERLEY: I know, the people there, and in many other countries as well, just incredible in the speed of the response and the support they're
providing. Michelle, has the conversation evolved from? What can we do in the immediacy of this crisis to?
OK, we were hoping this was going to be perhaps several weeks, a number of months, and now, there's a recognition that these people might be displaced
might have to build new lives, and be there for perhaps years, rather than months.
NUNN: That's right. That's right. I mean, I think we have no certainty about any end in sight. And so people as they're crossing the border, at
first are simply saying, I just have to find safety, right? I mean, literally, the house that I was living in was bombed, I had no choice but
to leave.
But now they're also trying to think about how am I going to support my family? What kind of job am I going to be able to find? And keep in mind
that you're crossing over to other countries where you likely may not speak the language? And, and so they're also thinking about how do they educate
their children?
How do they get their get their kids back in school from an interrupted education? And that's also where CARE and other organizations are starting
to support so that people can start to think about how did they get through the coming months? And how do they rebuild their lives to go forward.
CHATTERLEY: This is why what you're doing in Poland is so important. We had the Founder of Chobani on this week. And he said you don't stop being a
refugee just because you get somewhere safe.
You stop being a refugee when you start building a life when you have a job, when your children are being educated. And what you're trying to do in
Poland is recruit Ukrainian teachers that have been displaced that can perhaps help children who've been traumatized integrate into Polish
schools.
So it helps the Polish teachers, it helps the Polish children who are now surrounded by other children, but also it helps the grownups the teachers
that have lost their jobs in Ukraine also get work and start building their lives too.
NUNN: Yes, I mean, you've just described what a fairly simple solution to an enormous problem is. So first of all, I have to think about over 700,000
children that have crossed over to Poland alone.
I was just in Warsaw yesterday and saw and met with administrators, imagine you're an administrator who has just gotten through COVID, and takes a psi
and then have 15,000.
And there are 70,000 kids in Warsaw, only 15,000 of them are back in the school system, but they don't speak Polish. And so we're hiring those
refugees that were teachers already that need a job that are ready to have some stability.'
And they're going to be the bridge, they're going to be the support, they're going to help ensure that these kids can get back to a little bit
of normalcy by speaking their own language and integrating into the polar school system. So that's the kind of work that lies ahead for us.
CHATTERLEY: What are these - what are these people tell you? Because it's obviously predominantly women who are leaving, what did these women say to
you, when you say, hi, we're going to recruit you, we're going to give you a job, we're going to pay you a salary, to do the thing that you've
probably love.
NUNN: So much gratitude, if you could see those teachers and them as they start the start the process and being a sign up at the desk. And by the end
of the process in which they're leaving with their certificate to go and support and teach for the next three months is just the different kind of
attitude.
One of the teachers I talked to her she's a fifth grade civics and history teacher.
She talked about the fact that she's still doing zoom calls with her class. They are all around the spread of all around Europe.
Some of them are still in Ukraine, and she's just trying to provide them some psychosocial support. And she was so grateful for the opportunity to
now teach to be able to support her own family, her 13 year old daughter who moved very reluctantly who left everything that she knew and is now
here in a different country.
[09:45:00]
NUNN: And she talked about the fact that she is, this is really going to make a difference for the Ukrainian children, which she feels like are her
broader classroom. And she also described what she hoped for, which was such a normal wish, she said, I'm hoping for peace.
And I'm hoping for the opportunity to have a barbecue with sausages with my children that 35 told them from her classroom.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, yes, it's a beautiful story. And the fact that she's still doing the Zoom calls with, with children back in Ukraine as well.
It's some degree of stability for all these children that are being provided.
I know women, and the protection of women from the initial stages, the trauma, as you said, the diapers or in my well that the nappies behind you.
But it goes on from that to try and tackle things like exploitation, abuse, and when you've got so many people displaced, going off into different
areas.
Michelle, how do you protect against some of those kinds of risks? And what's your primary concern today?
NUNN: Yes, well, as I said, 90 percent of those who are leaving are women and, and children. And so they are particularly vulnerable in any crisis in
any humanitarian situation. You just think about the fact that there are by our CARES estimates about 80,000 women right now that are going to give
birth that are in Ukraine, or leaving Ukraine in the next three months.
So think about the extra vulnerability of what that means. Think about gender based violence, which increases during times of conflict. Think
about the fact that people are fleeing with nothing but suitcases many wonderful good people are helping and supporting them and bringing them
into their homes.
But that can sometimes mean that there is their incidence of exploitation. So we care and other organizations are really hoping to ensure that we have
that we register people appropriately, that we provide them the right kind of information so they can be safe, so that we don't take a crisis that is
already made them vulnerable and have that vulnerability be exploited.
And it's just really important that we are very focused on the specific needs of women and children in this crisis.
CHATTERLEY: Michelle, if people want to provide support, if they want to donate, where do they go? How do they help?
NUNN: Yes, I mean, there are ways of both lifting up your voices and also providing resources. So if you go to care.org, you can learn about what
CARE is doing. You can learn about the crisis itself, and you can you can stand up and stand in solidarity.
It means so much as I talked to one of the teachers yesterday, who broke down crying and she told me, I never knew that people that I never knew
would do so much for me and, and you can all be a part of that.
CHATTERLEY: cat.org will tweet that out too, Michelle, thank you to you and your team for your work, great to have you on.
NUNN: Thank you so much.
CHATTERLEY: Michelle Nunn, President in --USA, thank you. OK, let me bring you up to speed with some of the other stories making headlines around the
world. There are now more than 130 confirmed deaths from Tropical Storm Megi in the Philippines.
More than 300,000 people have been forced from their homes by the storm; it's the first major storm to strike the Philippines this year. Friday
morning, violent clashes between rock phone Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces around the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said that more than 150 Palestinians were injured as Israeli forces fired rubber bullets. The fighting comes during
the rare conjunction of Easter, Passover and Ramadan this weekend.
South Korea says it will ease most of its COVID restrictions as infections continue to fall. Starting Monday officials will no longer enforce curfews
on businesses are limits on crowd sizes.
For now though a mask mandate will remain in place but it could be lifted if this situation continues to improve. OK, coming up, Elon Musk says his
takeover bid for Twitter is not about the money. He says it's important for all of humanity.
The latest on Musk's multibillion dollar deal, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:50:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. NASA people even a tweet from Twitter's board of directors on Elon Musk's audacious multibillion dollar takeover bid. Musk
says yesterday that he can line up the cash.
But he admits that his latest moonshot may not succeed, investors not all that sure either. Twitter shares finishing Thursday session down more than
one and a half percent well below. Musk's offering price of more than $54 a share as you can see there.
Clare Sebastian joins me now. I do feel like the ball is in Twitter's court here. Either they can say look, get lost. We're good. We've got our own
plans here. They can engage with him and negotiate the price. Or they can perhaps find a better bidder. But it's interesting that even Elon is like.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
CHATTERLEY: This one isn't in the bag.
SEBASTIAN: Yes, he says he's not sure this is going to succeed. And certainly, as you say, we have not heard anything from the board yet. We
know there was a companywide meeting on Thursday, were reportedly the CEO Parag Agarwal faced some pretty direct questions from staff.
That was one that Reuters reported that they heard a portion of that meeting when someone said that we just going to start inviting any and all
billionaires to the board to which he responded that they are going to act in the best interest of shareholders.
And that people who are critical of the service, he said, that's who they really need to listen to. So they can learn but Elon Musk, he is very clear
in his resolve that he wants to buy this company has very lofty goals for what he thinks its purpose is.
And he, he described this, these sort of lofty goals in a TED interview that he gave on Thursday, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, CEO, TELSA: This is not a way to sort of make money. You know, I think this is it's just that I think this is this could - my strong
intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted, and, and broadly inclusive, is extremely important to the future of
civilization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: So when that is an extremely lofty goal, and look, he has a point, we are at a moment in the world where information is critical. And
Twitter certainly has had to act, certainly throughout the war in Ukraine to try to police that and play its role in maintaining safety online.
In terms of Musk's actual plans, that they're pretty broad, he seems to be fairly Laissez Faire in terms of policing content. He says people should
have timeouts rather than being permanently deleted from the platform.
He says if there's a gray area of controversy, he would err on the side of letting the tweet exist. But certainly the issue is very complicated. And
that's that would not be all that he would have to come up with in terms of plans.
SEBASTIAN: He's also got a great point. And this might not be about the money either at that price, because there's no guarantee that actually he
could ultimately make money, particularly if he kills the advertising revenue stream, I think which is possibly why some of the biggest
shareholders the likes of Vanguard, I believe they are increasing their shareholding.
This talk of a poison pill isn't though perhaps, to try and allow the existing shareholders to dilute him away from the 9 percent he's got. So I
can only imagine those discussions going on in the boardroom right now.
CHATTERLEY: Surely there's an incentive Clare to try and keep it friendly. I mean, if you want to buy this and Musk could do with getting his hands on
the numbers for the company and doing the due diligence.
And on their part, they want to try and prevent him dumping his stock the other side of this if he doesn't get what he wants.
SEBASTIAN: Yes, I mean, I think this is a delicate balancing act. Certainly we got that sense when we heard from the CEO about his decision to invite
Elon to join the board where he said, look, we're aware of the risks.
But we feel like you know, this is - the benefits of having someone like Elon on the board outweigh those risks. Precisely - you're right there. All
people who are worried about this offer and the value of this offer Prince AlWaleed bin Talal the prominent Saudi billionaire investor who owns over 5
percent on Twitter.
[09:55:00]
SEBASTIAN: He said in a tweet, I don't believe that the proposed offer by Elon Musk comes close to the intrinsic value of Twitter, given its growth
prospects, he said being one of the largest and longtime shareholders of Twitter, I reject this offer.
Elon Musk, as I said, very clear in his resolve, continues to be very active himself on Twitter.
Responded to that Julia, he said, interesting, just two questions, if I may, how much of Twitter the kingdom own does directly. And indirectly,
what are the kingdom's views on journalistic freedom of speech, so he is on the offensive, he's not backing down.
But as you say, he himself has a very high value. Tweeter, he gets, you know, instant attention for anything he posts on Twitter, so again, because
of that someone that the company wants to keep onside.
CHATTERLEY: I wonder if he demands more money than Musk will have to go to $64.20 to keep that 4.20 in there. And they're sort of limited himself on
his willing price level. Yes, Clare Sebastian, enough for me, thank you for that. And that's it for the show, stay with CNN. "Connect the World" with
Becky Anderson is up next. We'll see you on Monday.
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END