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Isa Soares Tonight
Russian Strikes On Infrastructure Kills Power Across Much Of Ukraine; One Iranian Protester Tells CNN About Regime's Disregard For Human Rights; Portugal Controversially Win Against Ghana At World Cup; Russia's State Duma Approves Bill To Ban "LGBT Propaganda"; Investigators Search For Motive In Walmart Shooting; Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloons, Floats, Bands. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired November 24, 2022 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, Russian strikes on infrastructure have
killed power across much of Ukraine. I'll ask one Kyiv resident how he's surviving in the dark and cold. Then --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Going out and protesting, you could go to jail or get killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not just that. It literally could be worst. We wish they would kill us on the street rather than they arrest us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Referring death in the streets to jail in Iran's terrifying prisons. One protester story. And then, later, a Russian dissent accuses
Russian -- Putin's regime of forcing her into house arrest as her daughter died alone. Her story now the subject of a new documentary.
But first, Ukraine is urging the world to help stop what it calls Russia's formula of terror, insisting it will not be frozen into submission.
Authorities are scrambling to turn the heat and lights back on after a massive wave of Russian missile strike targeted critical infrastructure,
triggering really the worst nationwide power outages yet.
Electricity is being gradually restored in many areas, but others remain dark in a very bone-chilling temperatures. These night-time satellite
images you can see there showed just how much of Ukraine was plunged into darkness. The attacks disconnected all four of the nation's nuclear power
plants from the grad.
What we can't see in those pictures from space is how -- just how incredibly difficult life has become on the ground. Imagine this, trying to
stay warm with no heat. Trying to cook for your children with no working stove, or trying to do your job in the darkness. Ukrainians are adapting in
creative ways. Like these doctors, performing, I kid you not, heart surgery by torch light.
A medical services director in Kyiv shared this video with us, showing doctors wearing head-lamps as they operated on a child. The Ukrainian
Health Ministry posted a defiant message on Facebook, saying the lack of light will not stop us from saving lives. I want to talk more about really
how Ukrainians in general are coping with these hardships.
We're joined now by familiar face, Peter Zalmayev, who is a director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative, he has been sheltering much of the day in a
cafe in Kyiv because he has no power at home. I believe Peter, you're no longer there. But you have electricity, but is this generator at this
stage?
PETER ZALMAYEV, DIRECTOR, EURASIA DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE: Yes, I'm on the 24th floor of the building where my TV studio, where I actually, you know,
broadcast, I'm your colleague and I work on Ukraine TV. No, the whole building runs on powerful generators and some of these critically important
buildings that have TV studios and business offices, they have that.
You know, others have gone dark. There's -- you know, a kind of a situation where half the street, let's say would be completely dark, and the other
side is you know -- has restaurants open, shops, et cetera. So it's a very uneven situation today. We started having water restored to most places,
even though, I think half of us still don't have access to water.
But like you said, you know, we are adapting, and one trick of adaptation I've learned is, you get to -- you have to get into that cafe early to get
your spot because for the rest of the day, if you're not early enough, you won't be able to have a, you know, a comfortable seat.
SOARES: And I don't know if you heard just before we came to you, we gave you as a sense really of what we've been hearing and seeing in hospitals.
You know, operations taking place with torch light. Just talk to us really about the impact this is having on medical infrastructure, on day-to-day
life because we have seen, of course, a devastating wave of Russian missile strikes in Ukraine for the past several days now.
ZALMAYEV: Well, it's a very good question. So far, you know, we have had, you know, several heroic stories where doctors have been able to perform
their surgeries under very difficult conditions with flashlights, et cetera. So far, you know, this system is holding, so far we are coping. But
you know, don't forget, this is only November the 24th --
SOARES: Yes --
[14:05:00]
ZALMAYEV: It's zero Celsius, the worst hasn't happened yet. It's -- you know, we've learned that Russians, it takes them about a week to ten days
to, you know, get that rockets, the missile arrangement in order and to strike again. I think, you know, we can expect more of those in. So senior
authorities in Kyiv and throughout the country are considering plans for partial or even, you know, full evacuations of cities if, you know, we, you
know, enter a situation of a total blackout, which you cannot rule out.
SOARES: Right, and where would people -- but where would people go? I mean, we heard the mayor of Kyiv saying yesterday that the city was bracing
fo the worst Winter since the second World War. I mean, what is the plan? If we're talking evacuation, where are they going?
ZALMAYEV: Well, first of all, the folks who will remain in cities, you know, Zelenskyy has mentioned that there are plans for these sort of warm
up spots, places where you can go and have access to the internet and be warm. And there are hundreds of those being prepared around the city. Those
who will have to be evacuated, and those -- the children with the elderly or small children will have to go elsewhere in Ukraine where the situation
is better.
Where it's not an obvious target for Russian missile strikes. There are those places being prepared right now, and some will have to -- I'm afraid,
once again leave Ukraine. And that is exactly what Vladimir Putin is counting on. That --
SOARES: Yes --
ZALMAYEV: There will be another few million Ukrainians fleeing the country and becoming a burden on those societies in Europe, so that Europeans
start, you know, pressing Ukrainians to come to the negotiating table on Russia's conditions.
SOARES: Peter Zalmayev, do stay safe, thank you very much for taking the time to speak --
ZALMAYEV: Yes --
SOARES: To us. Thanks Peter. I want to take you out now of Kyiv and take you to Zaporizhzhia, further east, and closer of course to the frontline.
That's where we find CNN's senior international correspondent Sam Kiley. And Sam, you know, the picture we just heard there from Peter Zalmayev in
Kyiv, it just shows what a huge test it will be this Winter of Ukrainian resilience as that temperatures drop.
And Russia clearly continuing to pound Ukraine. How does this dark and cold Winter, you think, impact those on the front lines? That offensive that you
and I have been talking about for so long now.
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's going to be very much harder, and this is the view of many soldiers I've
spoken on the Ukrainian side. They believe that the Russians are going to be worse off in terms of the Winter, Isa, because they don't have the
Winterized equipment, they don't have the top quality jackets, boots, and so on, that the Ukrainians have got.
Partly, through their own supply lines, and partly because of the money that's been donated from the West with $19.7 billion promised from the
United States alone, another 400 million coming in, announced relatively recently. But it's all about resilience, it's about motivation. And one of
the striking things here is how highly motivated even very young men and women are, even those who are living or forced to live as partisans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
KILEY (voice-over): Archie(ph) killed twice while he was still a teenager.
(on camera): If I'm the guy, he stops to pee, so I'm having a pee, and then what do you do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boom.
KILEY: Oh, God, I got a chill then.
(voice-over): He says he left his victims to bleed on the grass in the pitch dark. Archie(ph) struck again moments later, another drunk Russian
soldier. Another throat cut. He acted alone, but now he is one of Kherson's resistance fighters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They're wasted. It had only been a few days since they entered the city. I finished the first one immediately
and then caught up with the other one and killed him on the spot. I threw away the knife and the jacket covered with blood and just left.
KILEY: Archie(ph) was only 19 when the Russians captured his city in March. With a friend, he says he drove around the city, gathering
Intelligence to send to Ukraine's armed forces.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): At least, ten Russians were slaughtered every night. I wasn't the only one in Kherson. There are a lot
of athletic and clever partisan guys.
KILEY: For eight months, Ukrainian partisans waged a psychological war against the occupiers and their collaborators, targeting Ukrainians who
took top post, handed out by Russia.
KINL STREMOUSOV, RUSSIAN-APPOINTED DEPUTY HEAD OF KHERSON REGION (through translator): As a result of a sneaky terrorist attack today, our
colleague, my friend Dmitry Salvucchenko(ph) has died.
KILEY: Stremousov himself would die in the final days of Russia's occupation of Kherson city which ended three weeks ago.
[14:10:00]
(GUNFIRE)
Kherson was the only regional capital to fall to Russia, but its population made sure that the invaders were unwelcome from the start.
(on camera): That's incoming. Within the last hour or so that we've been here in Kherson, there's been a constant shelling back -- within forward.
Almost all of that shelling will ultimately rely on somebody on the ground, telling the gunner where to drop those bombs.
(voice-over): Iva(ph) was a young father, this warehouses is wrecked because of him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Russian military kept here around 20 to 30 vehicles. There were armored trucks, APCs, and the Russians
lived here. I was passing by this place and I saw all the vehicles.
KILEY: He whole communicated on his phone app with his handler, code name, The Smoke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I turned on the camera and pointed it at the building, and I was just walking and talking on the phone and the
camera was filming. I deleted the video of course, because if they stop me somewhere and check my videos and pictures, there would be questions.
KILEY: Less than a day later, he says Russian vehicles were a mangled mess, as Ukraine rained missiles down on the newly identified target. It
was a crucial step in destroying Russia's capacity to hold on to the city. With the Russians now amassed on the eastern side of Dnipro River, they're
close and still control 60 percent of the province, which they claim is now part of Russia.
No doubt, there are many Ukrainians among them who will also prepare to prove them wrong and to kill.
(on camera): Do you feel sorry for the guys you killed at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KILEY: Now, Isa, as you know, the campaigns continue in the east of the country, very bloody and bitter fighting in just in the last 45 minutes or
so, the sirens here in Zaporizhzhia have been going off again. And we've heard three substantial detonations, mercifully, some distance from where
we are now. But just a sign that if anybody ever thought that things were letting up in the Ukraine, they'd be very wrong. Isa?
SOARES: Sam Kiley for us there in Zaporizhzhia, thanks very much, Sam. Well, we've taken you from Kyiv to Zaporizhzhia. Now, I want to take you to
Odessa in the southern Ukraine because Matthew Chance was there, was seeing many people who were suffering after the power outages, really and they
gained back to -- getting basic supplies. This is what he reported back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): All right, well, all over Ukraine, people, because of the Russian missile
strikes are being forced to abandon their towns and villages and their homes. And come to receptions like services like this one in Odessa, to try
and get some basic supplies. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) What kind of things do you have here I'm asking her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE: What's that? All right, OK, sanitizer --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE: Yes, soap, yes, they're told there's food as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE: It's flower. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE: Reba(ph), you know, fish, it's tin fish. So all sorts of things, some of it of course, given by private donors, you can see some of it from
USAID, from U.S. aid organizations, the government aid organization. And it is really just scratching the surface when it comes to the humanitarian
needs.
Right, well, we've come inside the reception center, and you can see there are people sort of crowded in here, giving their details so they can
receive some of this aid distribution. I'm going to speak to one of the organizers. Victoria(ph), hi. You got a -- have you got a minute?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi -- hello --
CHANCE: Yes, hi, how many -- thank you. How many people do you look after every day here in this center?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day, we have from 5 to 700 families.
CHANCE: Families?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A day, yes.
CHANCE: So that's how many people?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot count how many people --
CHANCE: It's more than a thousand --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes --
CHANCE: Right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes --
CHANCE: Yes, is a lot. And is that number increasing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It goes up. The quantity goes up. I don't know, it's very hard because these three days, we had no light.
CHANCE: Yes --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, a lot of houses are totally -- depends on light. So --
CHANCE: Yes, so people have got no electricity?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we have no warmth, we have no --
CHANCE: No heating?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, so --
CHANCE: No heating. And people can't cook food and keep warm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes --
CHANCE: All right, well, just outside the reception center we found this food kitchen that's been set up here in the center of Odessa. Which is
obviously giving people perhaps the only hot meal they can get in these very difficult times of power cuts, food shortages. It's been here, this
facility for some years before the war.
But in the past few months, the situation has got a lot worse, refugees, displaced people from around Ukraine are highly depended on this.
[14:15:00]
And the humanitarian situation in the country, because of the Russian missile strikes and the ongoing conflict, is getting a lot worse. Matthew
Chance, CNN, in the center of Odessa, in southern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: The reality on the ground there. Now, the U.N. Human Rights Council has now voted to investigate Iran's deadly crackdown. Iranian
authorities are accused of committing abuses as they try to repress the protest movement that started more than two months ago. The death of 22-
year-old Mahsa Amini, who was in morality police custody back in September is what started it all, if you remember.
The vote passed by a comfortable margin, 25 countries voted in favor, while 6 voted against, and 16 abstained. Here's what U.N.'s Human Rights chief
had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLKER TURK, HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, UNITED NATIONS: The unnecessary and disproportionate use of force must come to an end. The old
methods and the fortress mentality of those who wield power simply don't work. In fact, they only aggravate the situation. We are now in a full-
fledged human rights crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And Jomana Karadsheh has been covering the protests for us, really from day one, and she joins us now. And so, that strong line from Volker
says it all. We are now in a full-fledged human rights crisis. So, what concrete steps can we expect to see from the U.N. here, Jomana?
KARADSHEH: Well, you know, Isa, this vote today, the decision to establish a fact-finding mission. This is seen as a huge victory for so many Iranians
around the world, human rights advocates and organizations that for years have been pushing the international community to establish an independent
investigative and accountability mechanism to try and hold the perpetrators of human rights violations in Iran accountable.
And so, this is seen right now as a historic, landmark moment as it's being described, this decision. I spoke with Gizu Nia (ph), human rights lawyer,
Iranian-American human rights lawyer, who I know you've spoken with, Isa, recently. She's in Geneva, and she and others have been working very hard
over the past few days and for a very long time to try and secure this yes vote.
In what she says will happen right now is we should expect in the coming weeks, the United Nations to establish this fact-finding mission and what
it would do is collect, preserve and analyze evidence that will be used to hold the violators of human rights accountable and the perpetrators of
these atrocities in Iran to account.
And while many would tell you, Isa, this is long overdue, this should have happened a long time ago, and this is just about these current protests,
it's still such an important time to do this because of what you mentioned earlier. That it has gotten to a critical point now, being described as a
human rights crisis. The numbers say it all.
These staggering figures we have been seeing, according to the U.N., more than 300 people killed in this intensifying crackdown. More than 14,000
people have been arrested, including children. And at least, six people have been sentenced to death in what's been described as these sham trials.
And there's a lot of concern that this is only going to get worse because as we have seen, and as we have discussed, these protesters are saying they
are not backing down, and they are going to continue fighting for change. Take a listen to what one protester told us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(GUNFIRE)
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Iranians have been risking it all for freedom. To break free of the shackles of a repressive regime, that's brutality and
bullets only fueling the anger of those on the streets, making them more defiant than ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know as long as the Islamic Republic is ruling the country, I couldn't do my duty.
KARADSHEH: This doctor we're not identifying for safety reasons, was one of hundreds of medical professionals who gathered in Tehran last month for
a demonstration organized by their council and it was violently broken up. Doctors tell CNN at least, one person was killed, many injured including
one shot in the eyes and blinded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as I arrived there, the area was full of all kinds of forces, plain clothes forces were too much, and they literally
shoot everyone that was walking down the sidewalk of the street. I have bruises, multiple bruises in front of my body and back, and all of them are
above my waist, but I saw injuries that were with bottles, and they beat a lot with electric shock.
KARADSHEH: Just for going out and protesting you could go to jail or get killed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not just that. It literally could be worse. We wish they kill us on the streets rather than they arrest us.
[14:20:00]
KARADSHEH: Because of all the horrors in detention facilities, all these risks, the threats to you and to your family, that's not stopping you and
others?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course not. They killed more than 1,500 in three days in less than a week about two years ago. We know it could happen and
all of us will continue. There is no other way. We came from a long journey and we realize that the Islamic Republic cannot change and don't want to
change. It is our duty to our next generation to fight it and hopefully to change it.
KARADSHEH: Only Iranians can change it, as protesters and others say, but they believe the international community can do more than just watch,
condemn and announce symbolic sanctions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They could close Islamic Republic ambassadors, United Nations, UNICEF, pay more attention. We need actual action. The most
important question is, are they willing to do that or not? To stand in the right side of history or not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KARADSHEH: And Isa, that protester reacting to the U.N. vote today, saying, well, let's hope it's more than just talk that there will be action
coming. And I have to mention, you know, this is remarkable bravery, not just going out, risking their lives protesting on the streets, even
speaking --
SOARES: Yes --
KARADSHEH: With CNN, talking to journalists, this is such a huge risk that they are taking, Isa. But they say, it is very important, they want us to
get their voices to the world, they want the world, they say, to hear the voices of the real Iran, and that is the voice of these Iranians.
SOARES: A very powerful interview, indeed, thanks very much, Jomana Karadsheh there for us in Istanbul. And still to come right here on the
show tonight, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal make their start at the World Cup, we'll go to Doha for a round up of all the day's actions. Don Riddell
joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, right now, Brazil are on the pitch in Qatar, the World Cup favorites making their debut at this year's tournament. They are playing
Serbia in the final match of a very packed day. Earlier, following a week in which he was in the news off the pitch, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo
finally got into some action and didn't disappoint.
[14:25:00]
The now ex Manchester United star scoring a penalty as Portugal edged Ghana 3-2. A lot going on, as per usual, we've got "WORLD SPORTS" Don Riddell in
Doha to break it all down. Don, good to see you. I think I was the only person supporting Portugal here in the office. But the Brits love a good
underdog. And I got a message from my boss, and all he said was, "lucky escape". What did you make of it?
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, it was close, wasn't it? Really close, yes, another great game, lots of drama and it went right to the end,
Isa, and historic too. Cristiano Ronaldo, we know about the build-up he's had with Manchester United, letting him go, he was pretty emotional during
the anthem at the start of the game.
One can only imagine what was going through his mind. Maybe it was that he knew he was about to make history. He was about to become the first male
player to score in five different World Cup tournaments, he did it with a penalty. And in this moment, he became simultaneously the youngest and
oldest ever Portuguese player ever to score at a World Cup.
He was 21 when he first got a penalty, 37 now. Ghana equalized through Andre Ayew, that made it interesting, but Portugal quickly got back in
front through their young superstar, Joao Felix, many think, he's pretty much the next Ronaldo. And then they got another goal with Rafael Leao.
So Portugal in a good position, but it ended being 3-2, and Ghana actually could have equalized right at the death, the goalkeeper with a really bad
mistake there, Portugal just getting away with it. So great win for them, disappointment for Ghana, although their fans, as you can see were in great
voice and in great color.
All five African teams have now played at the World Cup, none of them have won, only one team has scored any goals, and that was Ghana, tonight, they
got a couple. As we speak, as you say, Brazil are in action, so much is expected of this team. They've won the World Cup five times, now, they
haven't won it though for 20 years, they do historically struggle against European teams.
People are expecting a lot of Serbia in this tournament, Isa, you may well know this time last year, Serbia beat Portugal in the last --
SOARES: Oh, I do --
RIDDELL: Qualification game --
SOARES: Don't --
RIDDELL: Which means that Portugal would have to go through the agony of their playoffs to get to the World Cup. So, they're -- no much, Serbia,
they could give Brazil a run for their money.
SOARES: Talk about rubbing it in, thanks, Don, yes, I do remember that very clearly, but thank you. Look, let's focus on what's happening off the
pitch. We've seen some European clubs, I believe, considering legal action -- legal options against FIFA over this armband dispute. What more are you
hearing about this, how real is this?
RIDDELL: Yes, it's not going away, is it? If FIFA had just let these teams -- we're talking about seven European teams, their captains wanted to wear
these armbands, "one love" rainbow logo promoting inclusivity. It's a campaign against discrimination of any kind. But FIFA, at the 11th hour
shut it down. And I think these European countries felt that FIFA was just making it worse by doing that.
And it's not going away. So we saw, for example, the German players against Japan yesterday doing the gesture in the photo before the match where they
all put their hands over their mouths, basically saying that FIFA is muzzling us, it's denying us a freedom of expression.
Now, you have these countries saying they're considering their legal options. So we'll see where that leads. And we also now have the absolutely
bizarre scene of the armbands been banned for the players, but prominent politicians in the stands wearing them. So we've already seen the German
Interior Minister wearing it yesterday.
This is the Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister clearly wearing the "one love" armband, actually chatting to the FIFA President Gianni Infantino. It's
just an extraordinary situation that FIFA have created. And it is not going away. This is just going to keep being a talker as some of these teams,
some of these captains, they really want to express what they stand for. It's more than football for these guys, and they're going to do it in any
way that they can.
SOARES: Don Riddell, I know you'll stay on top of this for us, thanks very much as well as on top of the game that's taking place right now. Thanks,
Don, good to see you. And still to come tonight, I'll be speaking to Anastasia Shevchenko; the Russian activist whose house arrest kept her from
being at her dying daughter's bedside. Her remarkable story is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:32:40]
SOARES: Welcome back to the show everyone. Now the lower house of Russia's parliament has passed a bill which bans so called LGBT propaganda among
adults. Once it goes into law, that will mean that anyone who promotes or praises homosexuality could end up with a heavy fine. Up until this point
the law only applied to children. Let's get more now from CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Hi there, Isa. Well, this was a third reading of the so called LGBT propaganda
law and passed to the Russian State Duma. And essentially gay activists say that it could criminalize being openly gay here in this country.
Now, the wording of the law says that it bans praising non-traditional sexual relationships or suggesting they are normal. Now, this is an
expansion of an existing law that pertained to minors, and now essentially moves all of that to all age groups here in Russia.
There's some pretty steep fines for all this, it ranges from thousands of dollars for individuals to tens of thousands of dollars for legal entities
or companies. Also foreigners who are being found to be in breach of all this could face up to 15 days in jail and deportation.
We were watching some of the proceedings that were going on in Russian Parliament and the Speaker of Russian Parliament said that they are doing
this to combat the West to trying to spread homosexuality here in Russia. In fact, they call this law the answer to Blinken. Of course, referring to
the U.S. Secretary of State. I want to listen to what some of the speaker of Russian Parliament had to say.
VYACHESLAV VOLODIN, CHAIRMAN OF RUSSIAN'S STATE DUMA (through translator): It is the best answer to the United States Secretary of State Blinken stop
imposing on us foreign values. You destroyed your values. We'll see how it ends. But that is sad for sure. Because it is sodomy. I can't say it in any
other way. The United States of America has become the global center of this sodomy, let them live there. Do not touch us.
PLEITGEN: Now all this has already had a chilling effect on the gay community here in Russia and certainly also on gay activists as well.
There's several that we've been in touch with who are telling us right now they wants to lay low they don't really want to talk about this in public.
[14:35:07]
There's others who are openly saying that they might want to leave the country. One of the things that we need to point out, though, is that this
law is not in effect yet. It's gone through the lower house of Russian parliament, the State Duma, it still has to go through the upper house of
parliament, which is essentially Russia Senate, called the Federation Council. And then of course, last but not least, it has to also be signed
by Vladimir Putin into law.
Nevertheless, once again, for the LGBTQ community here in Russia, another blow as it's already been under a lot of pressure over the past couple of
years. Isa.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
SOARES: Thanks very much, Fred. Well, Russian citizens are not unfamiliar with tough Kremlin laws. Anastasia Shevchenko is a Russian activist, who
spent two years under house arrest for speaking out against the government. In those two years, she had to deal with something no parent really should
have to face her daughter passing away, and house arrest kept her from being by her daughter's side in those last moments.
I'm going to be speaking to Anastasia but first I want to show this short clip, it's of a new documentary from MTV Films, which tells a story in
Russian but with English subtitles, have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The court has given a conditional sentence to activist of "Open Russia" Anastasia Shevchenko. Shevchenko was accused of
participating in a movement which poses a threat to the security of the state.
ANASTASIA SHEVCHENKO, RUSSIAN DISSIDENT: They put me in a handcuffs. Put me in a cage and decided to put me under house arrest for two years. I
couldn't perform my maternal duties, especially for Alina.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her eldest daughter Alina lived in the hospital for people with disabilities. When Shevchenko who was under house arrest, found
out Alina's condition worsened. her attorneys appealed to the investigators to allow the mother to visit her daughter.
SHEVCHENKO: (INAUDIBLE). They didn't believe that her mother needed to be with her. And they said it was my fault that my child died alone.
(ND VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And Anastasia Shevchenko joins me now. Anastasia, thank you very much for joining us. That was a very powerful documentary that I saw today.
And I just wondering if you could tell our viewers around the world what that moment when you were told you cannot leave. You cannot be with your
daughter in those final moments what that did to you.
SHEVCHENKO: Well, thank you for invitation. That was one of the worst periods of my life when I was arrested. And they said you cannot see your
daughter. My daughter was in the hospital. And I was like standing in front of judge explaining. My daughter is ill she needs my help. She needs my
assistant, I need to feed her to be next to her to hold her hand, you know. And the judge just smiled. And that was the end. Her heart stopped twice.
And during my interrogation, and then she died and I couldn't be with her that moment. And that was irrational cruelty.
And I still think that what's going on in Russia is irrational cruelty. Putin is extremely cruel. And sometimes it is too much when you don't need
to be that much cruel. Like I'm arrested already. OK, I've been protesting against your regime. I've been protesting against the war with Ukraine
since 2014. But why my daughter? Why does the children need to suffer. And there's so many, so many children's suffering now, not only in Russia,
inside my country, but everywhere in Ukraine, and Belarus everywhere. It's all because of this dictatorship.
SOARES: It's cruel. And as we saw in that clip there, and as I saw in your documentary, they blamed you. They said you were to blame for your
daughter's death.
SHEVCHENKO: Because I'm a mother. And in a traditional Russian family, mothers should just take care of her children. And when I was protesting,
it means I'm not a good mom. That choice for an activist. You need to be a good mom, but not take care of what's going on in your country. Just keep
silence. I'm not that kind of mommy. No, I really care about my children about future. That's why actually I was protesting. I'm still speaking out
against Putin and his regime.
[14:40:00]
SOARES: And you continue to speak out. And your documentary, in many ways, takes us on a journey, a physical journey, an emotional journey of you
leaving, leaving Russia. Just to explain why you felt it was important for you to leave Russia, given everything you've gone through, why did you
think it was important to leave at that time?
SHEVCHENKO: Well, you know, that was really hard for me to share my story, because it's so private. It's such a private moment when you scatter the
ashes of your own daughter with your children. But after the war began, I realized it's not like my city anymore. And it's not my country anymore.
Because everywhere, disease and, you know, propaganda everywhere, even at school where my children go. So there was a point, I just couldn't be a
part of this regime anymore. I've never been, but that time, it was too much.
And then I had relatives in Ukraine, who left the country because of this war in this invasion. And I actually felt like kind of responsibility. I
couldn't be there just couldn't be there.
SOARES: Do you feel guilty?
SHEVCHENKO: I do feel guilty. Maybe I haven't done that much, maybe I haven't tried that much, maybe I haven't taken so serious. And I think like
many, many of Russians feel guilty now. But that doesn't mean that we stop resisting. That's why I feel that it's very important to share the story
with everyone that we are resisting. And I'm just one of many, many activists in Russia who keep protesting and resistant. I have so many
friends in jail.
SOARES: Yes.
SHEVCHENKO: They are separated with their families, with their children for many years, for 20, foe 30 years, sometimes, in which is insane for just a
protest, peaceful protest.
SOARES: And we saw those protests at the beginning of the war, we saw protests on the streets of Russia, many very quickly silenced. Now we're
seeing mothers, like you like me, like many others losing their children, this war, they did not support mothers who have not heard from their
children. Just talk to us about the climate right now in Putin, and whether you feel that it puts him in a difficult situation, the climate in Russia,
and whether Putin this is a change, this is a game changer for Putin this war.
SHEVCHENKO: You know, this insane law taken in Russia, and what's going on in Ukraine. How poor he is, it's like, I feel like he's really desperate.
And he's doing all possible to silence people, to silence people inside the country. And I feel that not that many support this regime, not even a man
activist, but among journalists taking part in propaganda as well who are fleeing the country, among military man, everyone. Just -- you cannot
explain to your people that war is good. The country that I don't know, we sacrificed a lot during the World War the second and you can explain now,
OK, it's now that war is good. So I think that he's losing that support. And I really hope it's some final stage.
SOARES: I think your children will be incredibly proud of you and everything you stand for. Anastasia, thank you very much for coming in to
the show. Really appreciate it. And of course, the documentary, Anastasia has already been screened in film, in festivals around the world and
releases I believe, everywhere next week on November 29. Be back after this short break. Thank you very much.
SHEVCHENKO: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:46:32]
SOARES: Now police survivors and grieving families are the victims of chooses mass shooting at a Walmart store in Virginia all have the same
question and that is why. The night shift was just beginning when a store manager suddenly began shooting at fellow employees. He killed six people.
The youngest was just 16 years old. One survivor began working at that Walmart just a few days ago. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSIE WILCZEWSKI, WALMART SHOOTING SURIVVOR: From out underneath the table and I'm shaking and I probably look like a chihuahua at that point. And he
just had the gun up to my forehead and yes, it's really hard. He told me to go home. And I took the gun away from my forehand. He was aiming at the
ceiling. He suggest you go home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, another survivor told CNN the shooter had a blank stare as people fell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIANA TAYLOR, WALMART SHOOTING SURVIVOR: He shot near my head and it was about inches away. But in that moment, it still hadn't really kicked in
that it was real because I was thinking it was like a simulation type of thing. Like this is what we do if we have an active shooter and the reason
why I think it was that was because I recognized his face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: CNN's Dianne Gallagher joins me now from Chesapeake, Virginia where that horrific shooting happened. And Dianne, this is just absolutely
terrifying. I know you've been hearing from survivors. What else have you been hearing? What else have been saying?
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Isa, each one of these survivors, the employees, former employees that we spoke with, knew
the shooter 31-year-old Andre Bing. He was the team lead for the overnights, a supervisor, a manager of sorts. And, look, they all said that
he essentially exhibited these either odd or even threatening at time traits. These personality traits. They described him as aloof, a loner,
sometimes mean or condescending, somebody who enjoyed his position of power and exerting it over other people.
But all of those same people said that they never thought that it would ever come to this. He wasn't someone they thought would actually come in
and do what police say that he did. He was armed with a handgun and several magazines. He killed himself afterward, according to police, shooting with
more than 50 people inside this Walmart at the time, of course, killing six injuring several others. The mother of one of those survivors who was
injured in the hospital, spoke about what her son experienced in those brief moments of that shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTOINETTE DELBEL, MOTHER OF GUNSHOT VICTIM JALON JONES: He then noticed his manager was looking kind of different. He just didn't understand what
was going on. Everybody kind of thought maybe he was just in a mood or something. But suddenly it changed the transition from the look to now as
you see in a gun. He got a gunshot wound grazes here. If he knew he was being shot, he made it to the front of the store. And then when he made it
to the front store, he was shot again by the same person and at that moment, that's when he received help from another co-worker that took him
outside her vehicle until the man who showed up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: Now, law enforcement here says they are still working to determine a motive in this shooting.
[14:50:00]
The governor of Virginia sent out a tweet today telling people on this Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States to hold the families of the
mass shooting in their prayers, but he was referring to two of them that this state alone has experienced in just the past two weeks. This one here
in Chesapeake, Virginia at the Walmart and one at the University of Virginia, again less than two weeks ago.
SOARES: Yes, more than 600 mass shootings this year in United States. Dianne Gallagher, really appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Now we have been seeing violent protests at the world's largest iPhone assembly factory in China, and to make them stop the supply is now offering
employees money to quit. The protests started after new recruits found out that Foxconn will delay bonus payments. The company blames a technical
error and says the workers will get what was promised.
But for those who don't want to stay, Foxconn is offering a $1,400 payment to leave. CNN has spoken to a worker who was there as protesters clashed
with police. We are protecting his identity out of fear of retribution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They hit workers heavily and ruthlessly. The same turned into a river of blood. Foxconn changed its
policies such that workers had to work more days to get the bonus they were promised. So they feel cheated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Or say of course on top of that story for you. It's still to come this hour. An important holiday in the United States and a big celebration
millions gather New York City for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. That story just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Now where can you find Snoopy, Big Bird and Santa all in one place? Well, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. Of course you can see
that's one of the biggest events of the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States, millions lining the streets as you can see there in New York
City today to see the giant balloons, the floats and the marching bands and our Brynn Gingras was that too.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We are in the thick of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. We got the floats going by, it is
beautiful weather out here which has just broad, the crowds, it's broad, the excitement. We've been talking to people all across this country who
have come here to watch this festive event.
Guys, where are you guys from?
[14:55:00]
Is this your first time at the break?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're with him because of the band.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I loved it.
GINGRAS: How much fun are you having? Tell me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So much fun.
GINGRAS: What's your favorite part?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The confetti.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The confetti.
GINGRAS: There's going to a lot of confetti. I think I have some of my hair to. You guys, I'm so glad you can make it. The weather's awesome, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
GINGRAS: Not California but we're getting there. We're close. This is of course the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season. Everybody now just
waiting for Santa to come along to absolutely make it official. But this festive event obviously everyone here enjoying it. I'm Brynn Gingras, CNN,
New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
SOARES: And of course for those in the United States or outside, Thanksgiving is a chance of course to celebrate and give thanks for what
they have. And there's a lot to give thanks to this year, of course. But of course, no Thanksgiving is complete without the famous turkey dinner.
We thought Stephen Colbert on his late show monologue summed up pretty perfectly. Have a look at what he said. It is a special time, he said, when
we gather with family and friends to share our gratitude through America's traditional expression of love, and that is the food coma. You should find
out from our producers later if that's exactly how they feel.
For those who are celebrating wherever you are in the world, we wishing you of course a very happy Thanksgiving. Thanks very much for your company.
"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" next, Tuesday right here. I shall see you tomorrow. Bye-bye.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
