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Isa Soares Tonight

Antony Blinken Continues Diplomatic Mission To The Middle East; German Football Legend Franz Beckenbauer Dies At Age 78; Alaska Airlines Lost Missing Piece Found; Alaska Airlines Missing Door Plug Found In Backyard; Biden: Trump "A Loser" For Not Accepting 2020 Defeat; Ukrainian Officials: 4 Civilians Killed In Russian Strikes. 2-3p ET

Aired January 08, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:04:52]

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken

continues his diplomatic mission, next, heading to Israel. This, as the situation in Gaza becomes more dire by the minute. I'll speak to a surgeon

who's just left one of the few remaining hospitals there.

[14:05:13]

Then President Joe Biden makes an impassioned campaign speech in South Carolina as the 2024 race for the White House picks up speed. Plus, German

football legend, Franz Beckenbauer has died at the age of 78. We'll look back on his life as well as his legacy.

But first, this evening, U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken is heading to Israel this hour for urging talks on a war that he warns could easily

spread. It will be his third stop of the day after visits in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Blinken is trying to enlist regional help in containing the

Israel-Hamas war to Gaza.

But for all the high-level talk events on the ground are only heightening fears of an all-out regional war. A senior Hezbollah commander was killed

in Lebanon today. A Lebanese source says an Israeli drone fired on his car. Israel hasn't commented, but its Defense Minister says the country is

fighting in access, not a single enemy. Blinken spoke about the situation in Lebanon just moments ago. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: It's clearly not in the interest of anyone. Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah for that matter, to see this

-- to see this escalate, and to see an actual conflict. And the Israelis have been very clear with us that they want to find a diplomatic way

forward, a diplomatic way forward that creates the kind of security that allows Israelis to return home.

Nearly a 100,000 Israelis have been forced to leave their homes in northern Israel because of the threat coming from Hezbollah and Lebanon. But also

allows Lebanese to return to their homes in southern Lebanon, and we're working intensively on that effort.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, the commander targeted in Lebanon was the most senior Hezbollah member killed so far in months of cross-border fire as you all

know, by Israel and Hezbollah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops stationed near the Lebanese border, issuing yet another

stark warning.

He says Hezbollah is underestimating Israel, adding, quote, "we have given it an example of what is happening to its friends in the south. This is

what will have here in the north. We will do everything to restore security."

And let's get more on all these threats for you from our Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv and Nada Bashir in Beirut. Nada, to you first, just tell us a bit

more what we know about the senior Hezbollah militant -- any reaction really there's been from Hezbollah? Because as our viewers will remember,

only last week, we heard Hassan Nasrallah threatening what he called limitless war with Israel.

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Yes, absolutely. And this is a significant escalation. Of course, it comes as those tensions on the southern border of

Lebanon continue to escalate. You said with the most senior member of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon to have been targeted

and killed in what is an apparent Israeli strike according to a Lebanese security source.

He was targeted, his car targeted by an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon, an area of course, where Hezbollah is known to operate, but also

the focal point of those escalating skirmishes. And of course, we have seen that exchange of fire from the outset of the war in Gaza.

That has continued to escalate, and while we have reached out to the Israeli military, no official comment just yet on the killing of -- so we

have just in the last hour or so heard from Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, confirming that the IDF did carry out a number of strikes

around the border region in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

Those strikes said to have continued into today. The focus, according to Hagari, on trying to push Hezbollah out of the border region and to

establish what is being described by Israeli military officials as a new security reality along the border. Now, we have continued to see that

exchange of fire, just on Saturday, Hezbollah launched 62 rockets targeting military assets.

The IDF as well saying it is focusing on significant military assets belonging to Hezbollah. But of course, there is mounting concern over the

potential for this to escalate, particularly, of course, as we see senior members of Hezbollah being targeted.

That initial -- that firing of rockets on Saturday has been described by Hezbollah as a preliminary reaction to last week's strike in the southern

suburbs of Beirut, which of course, targeted and killed a senior member of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri.

We have, of course, heard those warnings from Hezbollah that there will be a response, a firm response from Hezbollah. We heard last week as you

mentioned, Isa, from the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, he described the response as being limitless. He said that Hezbollah is not

afraid of war.

[14:10:00]

But of course, that stands in contrast to the message that we are hearing from the Lebanese government, which is trying to stay, well, for further

escalation of this conflict. The Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has accused Israel of trying to pull Lebanon into what he is describing as a

new phase of confrontation with Israel.

The Lebanese Foreign Minister also saying that the government is working to convince Hezbollah not to wage war with Israel, but of course, Hezbollah

has been clear in its messaging focused towards Israel, that if Israel continues to push --

SOARES: Yes --

BASHIR: Towards an escalation, then that response will be severe and regrettable, in the words of Hezbollah officials.

SOARES: Exactly. Let's bring in Nic, and Nic, just add some context here, because as Nadia was saying, you know, we have heard Hezbollah, we have

heard Iran in the past week, also hinting, really, that they want to avoid a wider war.

But Israel seems to be testing that very position. And that raises the fears Nada was hinting out there of escalation, but potentially also here,

miscalculation, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There is a potential for miscalculation. And I think the calculation in Israel is that what

they've done so far, and, again they haven't taken responsibility for it. In the strike today, the IDF spokesman, Rear Admiral Hagari, was asked

specifically that question, just in the last few minutes actually, about whether or not they targeted the senior Hezbollah commander.

And he said he wasn't going to respond to claims that have been made in foreign media. So that's not exactly a denial. And it certainly bears the

hallmarks of Israel strikes in the past. And it was notable here that within a couple of hours of that becoming sort of current news, the killing

of this commander, Hezbollah commander, six rockets were fired from Gaza towards the southern suburb of Tel Aviv, coming from two different origins

of fire.

They came from two different directions, which shows some command and control there. The last time rockets were fired towards Tel Aviv from Gaza

was right at midnight, coming into the new year. It indicates that Hezbollah, whoever fired them, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, chooses a time

and moment to fire.

Did they choose this time and moment as their own minor without incident? No injuries here, reaction to show Hezbollah that they're in support of

them. Because certainly, Hamas has been desperate for Hezbollah to do more to support their fight in the south. So the potential for escalation and

for misreading for potentially for Israel to misread what's tolerable to Hezbollah for Hezbollah to misread Israel's calculations as well, that's

what concerns everyone at the moment.

Both sides seem to think that they're operating below the threshold of the other's escalated responds. But it's a concern. And Israel did say that,

that strike by Hezbollah over the weekend did actually hit and damage using accurate and destructive rockets. Part of their air defense and air

monetary -- air surveillance system in the north of -- in the north of Israel. They say that it's still working, but it's a concern for them.

SOARES: And that makes, of course, Secretary Blinken's job even tougher, Nic. Of course, he's visiting the region, next stop is going to be Israel.

And I'm guessing some of the discussions of Prime Minister Netanyahu may be somewhat uncomfortable. I'm keen to get your thoughts though, Nic, on a

piece I read for the "Washington Post".

And in the article, I'm going to read out part of the article. It states U.S. officials are concerned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

may see an expanded fight in Lebanon as key to his political survival. And you'll see secret assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency, the DIA.

Founder, it will be difficult for the Israel Defense Forces to succeed, because its military assets and resources will be spread too thin, given

the conflict in Gaza.

Now, it's important to point out for our viewers, CNN does not have this reporting over this Defense Intelligence Agency. So this is important

secret assessment. But I'm keen to get your thoughts on how the strategy here from Netanyahu, domestically, how is he being seen?

ROBERTSON: The reason that some people are analyzing Prime Minister Netanyahu's situation and concluding that he may want to increase the fight

with Hezbollah in the north is to extend his political life. Because once the war diminishes more in Gaza, the questions will be asked about how it

happened, and his popularity in the polls is really plummeted.

And the assessment is that once the war cabinet collapses, there will be -- there will need to be elections and Netanyahu will be out of government and

then can face criminal charges. There's also the assessment that haunts within the military-belief that now is the time to have that fight with

Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has much more long -- many more long-range, more powerful, more direct, more precise missiles than Hamas does, and presents a long-term

threat to Israel.

[14:15:00]

And this is the time to neutralize that threat. And this is what Secretary Blinken is walking into. But there's also an assessment that says contrary

to what their defense intelligence agency has quoted as saying there, is that Israel has -- still maintains a large Air Force capability,

specifically for going after targets across the border inside Lebanon. But there would be a massive --

SOARES: Yes --

ROBERTSON: Infrastructure, economic, psychological and physical damage in Israel if that -- if Hezbollah was to -- it was to go to speed and respond

at strength. But also there's that part of the calculation that says Iran really calls the shots for Hezbollah. They don't want that escalation

because they may need Hezbollah's military power at another point in the future.

And that's a valuable deterrent going forward. There are so many pieces in this puzzle, but it's going to be Gaza, is going to be the primary, real

primary --

SOARES: Yes --

ROBERTSON: Focus where Secretary Blinken is going to want to see change --

SOARES: And we -- and we can talk about this for hours, you and I, Nic. So, I'm sure there will be plenty for us to discuss tomorrow once we know that

Secretary Blinken is in the country. Nic Robertson for us in Tel Aviv, and Nada Bashir, thank you very much.

Well, a shocking new statistic from Palestinian officials, roughly one out of every hundred people in Gaza has been killed since the Hamas attacks on

October the 7th. Jordan's King Abdullah says the war is creating, quote, "an entire generation of orphans. The continuing violence makes functioning

medical facilities like Al-Aqsa Hospital all the more vital."

We want to warn you about the images we're about to show you. They are indeed disturbing. Recent photos from the hospital show us just what we've

been dealing -- what people there have been dealing with. So many patients that are being treated on the floor, and to make matters even more dire, at

least, two groups helping to provide care at that hospital say they have no choice but to withdraw in light of the increasing Israeli military

activity.

Nick Maynard is a surgeon who's been a critical lead -- a clinical lead of an emergency medical team working in that hospital for the last two weeks.

He's just left Gaza today and he joins us from Cairo. Doctor, thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us. You have been working there

at Al-Aqsa for two weeks, as we said. This decision to leave, I can't imagine it's been an easy one. Explain to our viewers why you had to leave.

NICK MAYNARD, SURGEON: So we have to get an agreement every day from the Israeli Defense Force that it will be deconflicted to allow us to go to the

hospital. And we've been going there daily for two weeks. We were there on Friday, I was operating all day, I'm a surgeon.

And there was an attack on the intensive care unit. And we were due to leave it about that time anyway. But the following morning, the whole area

was taken out of the deconfliction, and we were told by the Israeli Defense Force that we would not be able to go. So we left.

I was there with an organization called Medical Aid Palestinians, and MSF were there as well, and both all sets of doctors, foreign doctors had to

leave.

SOARES: You left basically for your safety, because obviously, the threat of attacks. So when you hear the IDF say they don't target hospitals, what

do you say to that?

MAYNARD: Well, it's simply not true. I've been going to Gaza for nearly 15 years now. I have many friends who work in hospitals there. And there are

many examples of hospitals being attacked. In the last two days since I left Al-Aqsa Hospital, there have been attacks on the hospital. So it is

absolutely not the case that they do not attack hospitals.

SOARES: Do you have a sense of the number of staff that have left or are leaving Al-Aqsa, and the impact crucially here that it is going to have on

those who desperately, of course, need surgery and medical support here?

MAYNARD: So, for the last two or three days, we were there until Friday. They were admitting several hundred patients a day. There was one local

doctor in the emergency department, and that was supplemented by two people from the team I was in. In the surgery department, on one of the days last

week, there was one local surgeon and two of us.

And we hear, subsequently, that the majority of those have gone. So I fear there are -- there are not enough staff to run the hospital in any form at

all now.

SOARES: And just before we came to you, we saw -- we showed our viewers some pretty horrific and graphic images from inside Al-Aqsa. From the last

24 hours or so, doctor, I mean, you are a surgeon, a surgeon, clinical lead as well for the emergency(ph) medical team. Can you talk to the number of

injuries and types of injuries that you've been seeing in your time there?

[14:20:00]

MAYNARD: Yes, I think it's fair to say, I've never seen anything like this. And I never expected in my life, I would see such an appalling situation.

Multiple children being brought in as -- some only a few months old with horrific burns. Many of them dead. And we see a large number of bomb

victims affecting predominantly the limbs, many amputations, but also many thoracic and many abdominal injuries.

And the numbers of children who are being killed and severely injured is really quite frightening. So I've certainly never seen anything like this.

And although, over the last few months since the beginning of this conflict, I have been in touch with my Gazan friends and colleagues every

single day, what I have seen over the last two weeks was far worse than I could ever imagine.

SOARES: And on the children, we've heard from Save the Children, that say that more than ten children on average have lost one or both of their legs

every day in Gaza -- on average, every day in Gaza since October the 7th. While many of the amputations are conducted without anesthetic. And this is

something I'm getting that you have seen in your time there.

MAYNARD: Yes, I mean, the drug, the anesthetics have run out on many occasions. It's quite remarkable how they -- how they manage to treat some

of these patients without the normal medications we're used to using. But yes, there have been multiple traumatic amputations of children -- and as I

said, horrific burns, the like that which I have never seen before.

And often in the emergency department, there's no pain relief to give to these patients at all. And it is -- it is -- it is beyond any doubt, the

worst thing I have ever seen in my career in medicine.

SOARES: Given what you've just said, the worst thing you've ever -- beyond the worst thing you've ever seen in your time in medicine. How hard -- how

angry are you that you even had to leave. Do you have -- do you feel a sense of abandoning, just abandoning a whole population? How do you feel

right now?

MAYNARD: So we have been replaced by -- I'm going with an agency called Medical Aid for Palestinians, a U.K.-based charity. We're being replaced by

another team. I will be coming -- I have a full-time job in England, but I will be coming back in about six or eight weeks time. So we will always

have a permanent team on the ground now for the future. So, yes -- I mean, I have very mixed views. I felt it very difficult leaving today.

SOARES: Nick Maynard, I really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Once you go back in, do get in touch and let us know. We'd love to

speak to you again. I appreciate it --

MAYNARD: I certainly will.

SOARES: Thank you very much.

MAYNARD: Thank you --

SOARES: Thank you, doctor, appreciate it, thank you.

MAYNARD: Bye-bye --

SOARES: Well, the U.N. says it's very concerned by the number of media members who have been killed in Gaza. The statement was made on Monday,

just one day after two "Al Jazeera" journalists were killed. Among those killed was Hamza Dahdouh, the son of "Al Jazeera's" Gaza bureau chief, Wael

Dahdouh, he's the fifth family member of Wael Dahdouh to be killed by airstrikes.

The Israeli military says some days airstrike was targeting a terrorist and not journalists. Israel denies targeting journalists in its war against

Hamas. The committee to protect journalists says 72 Palestinian journalists, three Lebanese media workers and four Israeli media workers

have been killed since October the 7th.

And still to come tonight, a barrage of Russian missiles hit civilians across Ukraine. What that tells us about the state of the war later this

hour. Plus, a terrifying ordeal. How and why passengers made it to safety after a chunk of their aircraft fell to the ground. That story after this

short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:26:02]

SOARES: Well, federal investigators are trying to figure out what caused a section of an Alaska Airlines plane to blow out mid-flight. These dramatic

pictures were shot by a passenger on board, that Boeing 737 Max 9 jet. The door plug blew off just after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, on Friday.

It has since been found in someone's backyard. Well, shares in Boeing have been dropping heavily as much as 8.6 percent in pre-market value. Right

now, as you can see, it's down 6.5 percent. So, still quite steep loss for Boeing right now. CNN's Richard Quest joins me now from Geneva,

Switzerland, with more on this.

So, Richard, good to see you. They now have this missing piece they were looking for, for that door plug. What does that mean? How will that help

investigators?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Oh, it's going to help hugely, because the first thing they're going to do is compare that door plug on

the left side of the aircraft, or the side that blew out with the other side. So they can see exactly which bit may have failed.

And then they will send it to the NTSB main testing labs, where they will then look at the metallurgy of it, they will look at the operation of it,

and also they will be trying to establish whether these three pressurization warning lights that had happened in previous days, had any -

-

SOARES: Yes --

QUEST: Connection to it. Because this plane was known to have one or two problems with pressurization. What we don't know, of course, is whether

that's related to the fact this door blew out. The fact it did in the circumstances under which had happened, Isa, is unbelievably serious.

Because the plane had just taken off, so people still had their seatbelts fastened. But if this had happened any later, and people would be walking

around the cabin. We know from the sheer force of the decompression, the cockpit door was blown off, headsets were -- the back of seats were ripped

off, even one child had his shirt ripped off. So if people had been moving around the cabin, well, you can imagine.

SOARES: The stuff of nightmares. On that failed light, Richard, I mean, you mentioned there had been illuminated three times in the past month. Alaska

Airlines had made a decision that the plane should not be flying over the ocean. Just explain why allow it to fly at all?

QUEST: That's going to be the interesting question. You know, I suppose one pressure light coming on is unfortunate, and well, it could be a mistake.

Number two, and you start to think, hang on, this is something going on. And to quote Oscar Wild(ph), number three, it starts to look like

carelessness or something seriously wrong.

And that's going to be very much the issue. Why wasn't that plane taken out of commission to investigate. They knew they had to. They knew they were

going to have to investigate the fact that this light had come on three times. And indeed, they'd stopped it flying on long distance over oceans,

for example, to Hawaii.

The investigation, as the head of the NTSB said, if this happened to your car, you'd want to know what was going on inside the vehicle. A chapter --

you know, you and I have often talked about these things before. And I've always said --

SOARES: Yes --

QUEST: It's never one cause. There's always a series of incidents. Well, the picture is starting to come together. This pressurization light may be

completely irrelevant. We don't know. But the fact that it's there, and the door blew off, and the planes are now grounded, pending further

investigations, both United and Alaska, canceling doubles, if not hundreds of flights a day.

SOARES: As the pictures starts getting, you know -- starting to get better sense to the picture, Richard, just put --

QUEST: Yes --

SOARES: This into context for us here. I mean, clearly, it thrusts Boeing back in the spotlight -- we just showed viewers the shares, down 6.5

percent. What will this mean for the manufacturer, just add some context on this.

QUEST: Right. So we're not talking about all 737 Maxs. Let's be absolutely clear about that. The majority of them flying in Europe are not of the same

model and they don't have that door plug. That door plug is only there because some people shove more seats in, therefore you need an extra

emergency exit.

[14:30:15]

However, for Boeing, this is another bad blow for the 737 MAX. Having had the '19 and '20 crashes, having had it grounded for several years, this is

the one thing they big -- for one reason, they make a bunch load of money on it. It's one of their best-selling aircraft. There are two companies to

keeping watch on. Boeing, which will be down by six percent, and Spirit Aerospace, which at no relation to the airline per se, which will -- which

actually makes the bid. I suspect it's going to take some time before Boeing's price recovers because there'll have to be clarity before

investors raised the price.

SOARES: Yes, and right now, it's down 6.5 percent. I know you'll stay across it for us, Richard. Good to see you, Richard live for us there in

Geneva.

QUEST: Thank you. Thank you.

SOARES: And still to come tonight, Donald Trump's Republican rivals are racing to make up ground in Iowa just one week before the first contest of

2024. Now they're facing a new obstacle that could make it even more difficult to reach voters. That story after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. U.S. President Joe Biden is trying to jumpstart his re-election campaign today, and he's taking aim at his likely

opponent, Donald Trump. He visited a historic Black Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where a white supremacist killed nine Black parishioners in

2015. That's where he told the crowd that the former president and his supporters tried to steal the 2020 election, and now they're trying to

steal history. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Once again, there's some in this country trying to turn a loss into a lie, a lie which, if allowed to live, will once again

bring terrible damage to this country. This time, the lie is about the 2020 election. The election which you made, your voice has heard, and your power

known.

Just two days ago, we marked the third anniversary of the dark -- one of the darkest days in American history, January the 6th, the day in which

insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol, trying, for the first time in American history, to stop the peaceful transfer of power in the

country.

[14:35:02]

We all saw with our own eyes the truth of what happened. That violent mob was whipped up by lies from a defeated former president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, Biden was briefly interrupted by demonstrators who called for a ceasefire in Gaza, as you can hear there. He said he understood the

passion of the protesters and said he's working closely with the Israeli government to try to put an end to the fighting.

CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us now from the White House with much more. So, Kevin, this was an important message here from President Biden's central

cause to his election campaign, the fight, as we heard on Friday, to fight for democracy, I should say. But he was heckled during that. I mean, what

can you tell us about what he said and how he reacted to those protesters?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I think that episode really does kind of underscore the headwinds that President Biden is facing as he

enters next year's election because there are a lot of progressive voters, a lot of young voters who disagree with him very vehemently in how he is

handling the conflict in Gaza. And this wasn't the first time that he was interrupted, but it was, you know, among the most public protests of his

speech. And what he has said and what he said today is that he is working quietly behind the scenes to apply pressure on the Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu to scale back the intensity of the conflict in Gaza.

And when you talk to officials here at the White House, they do say that they feel like they are having some effect on that front. But certainly it

does underscore the challenges that President Biden will face over the coming year as he works to re-gather this coalition that fueled him to the

White House in 2020. And part of that is also Black voters who -- the constituency that he was in South Carolina to speak to today. And really

the fear among Biden's aides is not that these groups of voters will go ahead and vote for President Trump. It's that they will not vote at all.

And what you hear President Biden doing is really trying to underscore the stakes of this election and really trying to convince people that this is

about nothing less than the future of American democracy. He began that last week in Pennsylvania in Valley Forge with that very passionate speech

marking the anniversary of January 6. What you heard him do today is really try and tailor that message around Black voters specifically trying to tell

them that, you know, the January 6 and what President Trump was doing on January 6 was not simply just an insurrection attempt, but it was an

attempt to deny them their votes, to disenfranchise them.

And that, of course, is very resonant with this particular group of voters that he's trying to convince. You also heard him talk about, you know, not

a racing history trying to acknowledge history and embrace history and certainly the hope is that that will convince these voters to vote for him

again in November.

SOARES: Kevin Liptak there for us. Good to see you, Kevin. Thanks very much.

There's now just one week to go before the Iowa caucuses, the first contest of the 2024 election year in the United States. Republicans Nikki Haley and

Ron DeSantis are making their final pushes across the state. And based on poll numbers, they're likely battling it out for second place behind Donald

Trump. Despite a massive lead at the polls, the former president reminded supporters over the weekend that they still have to get out and vote.

We'll turn into Ukraine. Officials there say the death toll is rising after a wave of Russian missile strikes across the country on Monday. At least

four civilians are now confirmed dead with 38 others wounded. Residents in Kyiv had to shelter inside a subway station as the missiles flew overhead.

Russia has ramped up attacks on population sentence in recent weeks, of course, as the war approaches the two-year mark in February.

Our Frederik Pleitgen is there and he joins us now live from Kyiv. And Fred, as we have seen as of late, you and I have been discussing, and as

promised I should say by President Putin really ramping up Russia attacks on population centers. Talk to this escalating air attacks and the

challenge right here for Ukraine.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly is a big challenge, you're absolutely right. It's one of the

things that we've been talking about for an extended period of time of when that big aerial campaign by the Russians that so many people were

expecting, when the weather gets colder here in Ukraine against infrastructure but also against other targets as well, when that would

begin.

I think right now, it's clear that that campaign is indeed in full swing. We've seen over the past couple of days a flurry of missile attacks and

there was no exception this morning, we were woken up very early by a wave of air raid alerts and attacks that happened across Ukraine.

And you're absolutely right. It's a huge challenge for Ukraine's missile defense and air defense systems. It's one that they're trying to meet but

certainly difficult for them also because the Russians are using a lot of drones and missiles, but also extremely powerful ones. Here's what we're

learning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): An interception that probably saved lives on the ground.

[14:40:00]

Ukrainian anti-aircraft guns at work as Russia has drastically escalated its aerial assault. We meet with a mobile air defense unit currently

working overtime around Ukraine's capital. "It all depends on the weather conditions," the soldier says. "If the weather is good, then, of course,

it's much easier to shoot down a drone. At night, especially in fog, it's harder. We react very quickly."

The mobile teams don't only use guns. They also have American-made shoulder launched surface-to-air missiles taking aim at both Iranian-made Shahed

drones and low-flying cruise missiles. The teams move out fast and can set up and fire within minutes.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

PLEITGEN: This gun might not look like much but it is very important for the air defenses not just here in Kyiv, but across the cross. And when they

get the call, they have to be ready in minutes to move out.

(END VIDEO)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): "The Russians are constantly changing tactics trying to make their attacks more lethal, making air defense like a chess match,"

the commander tells me. "They used to fly in a single trajectory," he says, "but now there's zigzagging. A drone can fly then circle, hover, go down

completely then rise about half a kilometer then fly sharply down. They are now very maneuverable and must be seen and destroyed."

Now, another massive drone and missile attack killed and wounded scores in various areas of Ukraine. Russia used some of its deadliest and most

advanced ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles, Kyiv says. Of the 51 missiles launched, they were able to intercept 18, the Air Force says

because they simply don't have enough high-powered western surface-to-air batteries to cover the whole country.

"There were a lot of ballistic missiles today," the spokesman says. "Such missiles may only be shot down by means such as Patriot systems that's why

the result is such." The mobile air defense units celebrate every missile and drone they manage to hit while understanding the ones they cannot take

down often cause catastrophic carnage. "They are trying to hit our energy infrastructure and military infrastructure," the soldier says. "But the

most painful thing is when they're hitting civilians, houses, kindergartens. This is not in line with the customs of war and not in line

with human morality. It is immoral."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: So, you can see they're a very important job that these teams are doing. We saw there on our screens as our report was on that the death toll

right now is -- stands at four from this latest wave of attacks, but again dozens of people also wounded as well. And tonight, Isa, Ukraine's

president is vowing revenge, Isa.

SOARES: Frederik Pleitgen for us this evening in Kyiv. Thanks very much, Fred.

And still to come tonight, bidding farewell to a man who won it all as player and a manager. We'll look at the life and career, Franz Beckenbauer,

the pride of German football.

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SOARES: And sad news from the world of football, German legend Franz Beckenbauer known worldwide as Der Kaiser, has passed away. He was 78.

Beckenbauer was one of a select few who won both the World Cup as a player and a coach. Patrick Snell reports on his remarkable career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Franz Beckenbauer is rightly regarded as one of football's all-time greats, the man who won it all both

the club and country twice going on to become European Football of the Year.

[14:45:03]

Born in September of 1945, it wasn't long before the teenage Beckenbauer was making a name for himself in post-war Germany at his hometown club,

Bayern Munich. Known as Der Kaiser, Beckenbauer was a stylish, elegant defender, a leader befitting his emperor nickname, a pioneer who

revolutionized the role of sweeper as the silverware kept coming in the trophy late in the 1960s and '70s. Four German league titles with Bayern

triumphs that would help propel the Bavarian club towards becoming the huge global force it is today.

On the international stage, he would score twice on his World Cup debut against Switzerland for West Germany in 1966 before his team's heartbreak

in reaching the final that year where they lost to host England. A (INAUDIBLE) would finally arrive though in 1974 when West Germany hosted

the World Cup. Already European champions, Beckenbauer's team delivered the ultimate prize and the country's second world title beating Johan Cruyff's

Netherlands team in the final amid joyous scenes in his hometown of Munich.

Beckenbauer would also go on to help Bayern become the kings of Europe from 1974 to 1976. West Germany's historic third World Cup triumph came at

Italian 90 with Beckenbauer again at the helm only this time as manager. It came just months after the fall of the Berlin Wall and in what would be the

team's last World Cup match as West Germany, Beckenbauer's men delivering victory over Argentina who'd beaten them and him in the 1986 final, a

jubilant Beckenbauer becoming just the second person to win the World Cup as player then head coach.

Beckenbauer also successfully headed his country's bid to stage the 2006 World Cup, a moment of huge pride for now unified Germany.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After a game Germany played and after the game, there were one million people, you know, celebrating on the street and it was

fantastic, you know. All nations mixed and culture and skin colors, you know, different religion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL (voice-over): But not without eventual controversy. In 2016, Beckenbauer and three other German football officials became the focus of a

criminal investigation related to their bid for the 2006 event, Swiss prosecutors alleging financial corruption, including fraud and money

laundering. Beckenbauer and the other strenuously denied any wrongdoing. A trial would follow but proceedings having earlier been put on hold due to

the global Coronavirus pandemic ended in 2020 without a verdict because the statute of limitations had expired, but it's as a superbly gifted and

decorated player that Franz Beckenbauer will be best remembered, undeniably one of football's all-time greats.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, the first American mission to the moon since 1972 suffers a major setback according to private space company, Astrobotic.

[14:50:06]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Six, five, four, three, we have ignition. And liftoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, the sky in Florida lit up on Monday morning during takeoff. But now, the lunar bound spacecraft has experienced what's described as a

critical loss of propellant jeopardizing the moon mission. Streaming live from Houston is a former NASA astronaut, a well-known face here on CNN,

Leroy Chiao.

Leroy, great to see you. First, I mean, you know, firstly, it couldn't change the -- it was a change because of the battery. Now it seems to be a

problem with the propulsion. What do you make of this setback?

LEROY CHIAO, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, this is an unfortunate setback. This, of course, makes it impossible to achieve the primary objective,

which was the soft landing on the moon. And my understanding now is the Astrobotic team is trying to figure out what kind of science they may be

able to salvage with the remaining propellant left.

As you mentioned in your report, at first they had a great launch. They looked good, a good separation and then they had some anomaly where they

were having difficulty pointing the solar rays at the sun. They got that solved, but then -- got their batteries charging, and then discovered this

loss of propellant. So, it's really too bad. This was an ambitious mission with many years in the planning but this kind of thing happens when you

launch new spacecraft sometimes.

SOARES: So it can't be fixed, is what you're saying. Is this the end of the mission then, Leroy?

CHIAO: Yes. The company has put out a statement saying they are going to see if they can salvage any sensors on board the vehicle. Possibly they

could still, you know, get to the moon. There -- there's not enough propellant for a soft landing, which was the primary objective but they may

be able to salvage some kind of measurements out of this mission.

SOARES: And this was, of course, for our viewers, you know, just our viewers are aware, this was kind of the first U.S. moon mission right,

Leroy, in decades? You think it will re-launch? How long will it take once they investigate what happened here what was the problem, how soon will it

take you think for it to re-launch?

CHIAO: Yes. It's difficult to know. Of course, I'm sure there'll be an, you know, incident review board convened. NASA is very interested in this

because NASA is planning to use the Peregrine Lander built by Astrobotics to put their own VIPER Rover on the moon sometime perhaps as early as next

year. And so they were looking or watching this mission very carefully. I'm sure NASA is very concerned about this and they're going to be offering all

the help they can.

But, you know, this kind of thing, it's going to take months probably to figure out what happened and, you know, maybe even longer to affect the

repairs for the next Lander that they're building. So, it's difficult to say at this point. It just depends on how serious of the issue is and how

easy a fix can become up with. But it looks like they're getting some good preliminary data. That's the good news and hopefully they'll be able to

salvage some kind of science out of this flight.

SOARES: Yes. And, of course, we had the first historic moon landing in -- back in 1969. Why then Leroy, after all these years, are we suddenly seeing

a renewed international space race to the moon? Put some context here for our viewers.

VIPER Rover Right. So - -sure. Absolutely. I mean, we've last landed humans on the moon in 1972 with Apollo 17. Since that point, we have not sent any

more robotic missions to the moon. We've focused on Mars and other places in our solar system and so with our plans with Artemis to go back to the

moon with humans, part of that is NASA's, you mentioned the commercial lunar, you know, landing system program to where NASA's helping companies

like Astrobotic to get back to the moon commercially. That's all part of this infrastructure that NASA wants to build to do sustainable exploration

of the moon.

Of course, we're not the only ones. China is very interested in the moon. China has launched several probes and landed rovers on the moon. India also

had a successful landing not too long ago. Commercially, it hasn't been done yet, you know. Many companies have been trying to do this. Not an easy

thing to do. We saw the Japanese, a commercial Japanese company fail to land softly in the summer, just this last summer and so, you know, NASA's

helping some of these companies and I think they will be ultimately will be successful.

SOARES: And it wasn't just of course NASA science, right, launching NASA science, but also human remains on board this one somewhat divisive for

some people. What do you make -- where do you stand on this?

CHIAO: Well, you know, this is something that has been going on for a while. These -- there have been a couple of commercial companies that have

been, for many years now, have been launching what they call hitchhiker or piggyback rides on boosters to launch human remains or cremains, if you

will, ashes, human ashes as memorials into space.

[14:55:03]

And so this would have been the first time to land these cremains, as they're called, on the lunar surface and the new story that I've read as

well is that there's some Native American organizations that are not happy about that. They see this as a desecration of a sacred place. They consider

the moon a sacred place. But, you know, from a legalistic standpoint, my understanding also is that nobody owns the moon and so it's a little bit of

a Wild West out there, not really sure besides the objections, the moral objections I guess by organizations, I don't know what else -- what they

can really do about it.

SOARES: Leroy, always great to get your insight. Thanks very much, Leroy.

CHIAO: Great to be with you. Thank you.

SOARES: Thank you.

Well, the Golden Globes, the first award show of the season was held Sunday night. If you were watching in Beverly Hills, the big winner in the movie

category was Oppenheimer, the drama about the making of the atomic bomb brought home awards for star Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and

director Christopher Nolan.

And history was made with Lily Gladstone's win. She became the first indigenous person to win the award for best actress in the drama Killers of

the Flower Moon. I cannot wait to watch that.

And that does it for me for this evening. Thanks very much for your company. Do stay right here. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next. I shall see

you tomorrow. Have a wonderful day. Bye-bye.

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END