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One World with Zain Asher
CNN International: Moscow: Russia And Ukraine Prisoner Swap Carried Out; Ukraine And Russia Exchange Attacks Overnight; Judge Rules DOGE's Dismantling Of USAID Likely Unconstitutional. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired March 19, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, HOST, "ONE WORLD": President Trump speaking with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. One World starts right now. This phone call is on the
heels of a two-hour phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, where the two leaders agreed to a temporary pause in
attacks on energy infrastructure. Plus, fireworks at town halls across the deep red states in the U.S. I'll speak with Congresswoman Jill Tokuda about
a town hall last night in Hawaii. And this is the scene in Turkey, where demonstrators have gathered to protest the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul,
a key Erdogan rival.
All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. My colleague, Bianna Golodryga, is off today. You are watching One World.
I want to begin with another phone call between two presidents, as Ukraine fights for its future. We're hearing that Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy is still speaking at this hour with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. This is their first known call since that Oval Office blow-up just a
few weeks ago. Just before this call, Ukraine's wartime leader talked to reporters after meeting with the Finnish President in Helsinki. He touched
on the idea of land concessions to bring about a full ceasefire with Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): As for the territories, this will probably be one of the most sensitive and difficult
issues in the upcoming negotiations. The first step is still an unconditional ceasefire, even if there are some paths that still need to be
taken to get there. For us, the red line is the recognition of the Ukrainian temporarily occupied territories as Russian. We will not go for
it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: For its part, the Kremlin has been talking about the relationship between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, saying the Russian President
trusts his American counterpart. The Kremlin also says a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine has now been carried out with 175 servicemen
exchanged on both sides. That's according to the Russian Defense Ministry. It says it's also returning 22 badly wounded Ukrainian soldiers as a,
quote, "goodwill gesture". This follows overnight aerial attacks by both Moscow and Kyiv, Russia striking civilian infrastructure, including a
hospital in Ukraine's eastern region. Moscow also saying it shot down nearly 60 drones launched by Ukraine overnight.
This all comes just hours after presidents Trump and Putin held their much anticipated phone call. Now, questions over the wording on what kind of a
temporary pause was agreed to, and attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
CNN's Clare Sebastian is standing by for us in London. But first, let's go to Washington, where we find Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. So,
Kevin, let me begin with you. As we understand it, Trump and President Zelenskyy are in the middle of their phone call right now. No doubt
Zelenskyy is using this opportunity to really press and explain to Donald Trump why Vladimir Putin simply cannot be trusted. Take us through that.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. I think that's probably right. This call has been underway for about a half an hour now.
It's taking place in the Oval Office here at the White House. One of the things that Zelenskyy, I think, will want to get some more clarity on from
the President are what exactly the contours are of this pause in attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
Yesterday, after the call that Trump held with Putin, Zelenskyy sounded open to this idea. He said it would be something that he could get behind
as the two sides try and come up with a broader ceasefire that Ukraine has already agreed to. But, this morning, he sounded a somewhat different note.
He said that Putin's actions don't match up with reality, and his words don't match up with reality, following that drone attack from Russia on
Ukraine overnight.
And so, I think when he speaks to Trump today, he will want to get some more clarity on what exactly the parameters of this pause are, because
there was a discrepancy in how the Kremlin and how the White House described it. The Kremlin said that it would be a pause on attacks on
energy infrastructure. The White House said it would be a pause on attacks on energy and infrastructure, and the distinction there is obviously
enormous if it is on energy and infrastructure, include things like roads, bridges, other potential targets for Russia. Now, we did have a chance this
morning to talk to a number of White House officials about the conversation. Steve Witkoff, who is the President's foreign envoy, said
again that it was a pause on energy and infrastructure, reiterating the stance that the White House held yesterday.
The other distinction in the calls that you heard from Moscow and Washington was whether this topic, a very important topic, of foreign aid
and military assistance came up in the phone call.
[11:05:00]
The Kremlin said that Putin raised this as the most critical condition, a pause, an end to American military assistance to Ukraine. Donald Trump said
in an interview last night that it didn't come up at all, and we heard from the National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, this morning, who reiterated
that, in his view, it did not come up in the conversation. So, there are a lot of gaps, I think, in how the two sides are describing this
conversation, and they are actually very important to how all of this will unfold going forward.
Mike Waltz today did say that he was on the phone with his Russian counterpart. He also planned to speak with the Ukrainians later today, as
they work to put together these technical teams to try and figure out some of the other areas of this broader ceasefire that they're trying to arrive
at. Those teams will be meeting in Saudi Arabia earlier next week.
And according to the White House, they still think that this big ceasefire could be in the offing within weeks, but obviously, the attacks on Ukraine
overnight, I think, put a lot of that into question. And certainly, Zelenskyy, as he is speaking with Trump today, will want to get greater
clarity on what assurances he has from Putin that Russia is actually interested in that kind of ceasefire, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Kevin Liptak live for us there. Do keep us posted when we get more information about what's come out of this call between Zelenskyy
and Trump.
Clare, let me bring you in, because obviously there is very little trust on both sides here. But, one reason to be hopeful is perhaps the fact that
this prisoner swap appears to have gone on or been carried out without incident, 175 prisoners on both sides released. In fact, also, Moscow
saying that they are also releasing, or they did also release an extra 20 - - 23 Ukrainian prisoners who were wounded, seriously wounded soldiers. What more can you tell us?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Zain. So, this appears to have been, in the words of President Zelenskyy, one of the largest prisoner
swaps, 175 soldiers on each side, plus, as you say, 22 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers in need of hospital treatment. This was flagged in the
Kremlin readout at the call with President Trump last night. They originally said 23 seriously wounded soldiers would be released as a
gesture of goodwill. It seems that 22 were eventually released, but that ultimately means that Ukraine got back a higher number of people today than
Russia did.
As for whether this is, overall, a gesture of goodwill, I think that is seriously debatable. President Zelenskyy has said today that this was in
the works for but -- long before that phone call between Trump and Putin. So, I think it's convenient for Russia to brand this as a sort of sign of
willingness to show the U.S. that it is sort of in a conciliatory mood, whereas actually, we've seen a lot of these prisoner exchanges over the
course of this war. It really is the only channel of diplomatic sort of work that continues between Russia and Ukraine. This is the 62nd such
release, according to an official project within Ukraine that handles the Russian military and prisoners of war. So, I think that is a really key
point to remember about this.
It's extremely good news for Ukraine. They are working extremely hard. It's a key priority to return as many as possible of the estimated 8,000
Ukrainians who remain in Russian custody, some of them since the beginning of the war. But, what this is not, the stage, is evidence of Russian
willingness to compromise on any of the key issues related to a potential ceasefire or peace deal.
ASHER: Yeah. And speaking of which, President Zelenskyy is essentially saying that, look, overnight, we had massive Russian attacks, drone attacks
on civilian infrastructure across the country, including hospital as well, and that really shows that Vladimir Putin is not serious about long-lasting
peace. What more can you tell us on that front?
SEBASTIAN: Yeah. So -- I mean, again, that is part of the course that we've seen certainly in the last weeks and months, a significant escalation in
overnight aerial attacks, as Russia continues with this tactic of attrition to try to exhaust Ukraine and outlast its allies. I think, look, it's
particularly significant given that in the Kremlin readout of the call with President Trump yesterday, it seemed to suggest that President Putin would
be giving the order immediately to stop attacks on energy infrastructure, and of course, included in the objects hit in these overnight attacks were
a facility that provides power to part of the railway network, among other pieces of infrastructure.
So, worth bearing in mind that this agreement, if -- as you know, as we try to work out exactly what that agreement was in this call last night, is not
yet in force on either side. Ukraine continues to showcase its long-range drone program to hit beyond the border, I think perhaps in the words of
President Trump, to show that it still has a card to play in negotiations with Russia, and Russia is accusing Ukraine of hitting an oil
transportation facility and causing a pretty large fire in the southern Krasnodar region.
So, I think, look, this is something that clearly Russia is painting as a sign that Ukraine is not willing to seek peace, and I suspect that in this
call between President Trump and President Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy will be making a similar argument about Russia's willingness to commit to any kind
of peace settlement. Zain.
[11:10:00]
ASHER: All right. Clare Sebastian live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. And later on this hour, I'll be speaking to a member of the Ukrainian parliament, Oleksiy Goncharenko, about the phone call between
Ukrainian and the American presidents and the prisoner swap that just took place that our Clare Sebastian was mentioning. That's coming up on the show
in about 20 minutes from now.
All right, down but not out, a federal judge puts the brakes on Elon Musk's attempt to further dismantle USAID. But, is the agency out of danger? We'll
take a look at that. Plus, anger in America. Some Republicans in Congress feel the heat for voters who say Donald Trump isn't doing what he promised.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Elon Musk may be running into one of his first judicial roadblocks in his effort to drastically reduce the U.S. government. A federal judge
has ruled the billionaire's dismantling of USAID, which provides humanitarian aid some of the world's poorest people, likely violated the
Constitution in multiple ways. But, the ruling appears to really center on whether Musk and the White House unit, known as DOGE, actually overstepped
their authority, as opposed to the cuts themselves. Here is President Donald Trump. He is vowing to appeal the decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We have a judge from a very liberal state who ruled like that. So bad for our country.
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: So, I guess they close the department. They're going to have reopen the department.
TRUMP: Well, we'll be appealing it, I guess, not I guess, I guarantee you, we will be appealing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: In February, the Trump administration placed most of USAID staff on leave and notified at least 1,600 U.S.-based staffers that they were
actually being fired.
Katelyn Polantz joins us live now from Washington. So, Katelyn, essentially you have this judge saying that DOGE's and Elon Musk's effective
dismantling of USAID, the way they went about it, is unconstitutional. Just walk us through what the impact of this ruling actually is.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Zain, what it does right now is it restores some of the functionality of USAID, that
foreign aid agency. It also stops the administration from firing anyone else, putting anyone else on administrative leave, or terminating any other
contracts and grants that USAID was paying out. That's what's happening at the specific level within the agency.
[11:15:00]
But, the bigger picture here is the findings about Elon Musk. The judge looked at what Donald Trump has been saying publicly about Musk, what Musk
has been saying publicly about his own role, and is looking at this and saying, you're all saying Musk is in charge. That might not be
constitutional. He might not have the power within the federal government to shut down an agency. That's because he is not confirmed by the Senate.
He is also not the person that the government would have to lead DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. At least they say they have someone
else leading it in their court filings, but Trump is out there publicly announcing, even to Congress, that Musk is in charge.
So, the judge looked at this and said, Musk has specifically expressed his desire to shut down USAID, and that may be overstepping the authority he
would have, and that the executive branch would have whenever Congress has some power here too. So, now in place is a bloc that will be indefinite on
the shutting down of USAID, and these constitutional challenges against Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, they will go on.
Zain.
ASHER: And beyond USAID, just walk us through what message this sends and what avenues other people who want to challenge the government, what
avenues can they go down as they seek to challenge what DOGE is doing here?
POLANTZ: Yeah. Well, Zain, there are several other people challenging the government and challenging Musk specifically for the actions he is taking
to cut back the federal workforce, to control or cut back or freeze spending, using people at DOGE to access information within agencies and
take them over. This now is going to be potentially a template for other judges to look at in analyzing whether what Musk is doing is legal.
Now, this judge is sitting in the federal court for the entire state of Maryland. There are other judges in other jurisdictions looking at similar
cases, and are going to be weighing the constitutionality of what Elon Musk is doing in the federal government. Whether that is going to actually be
legal when these cases get to the end, is going to be a big question. But, of course, we heard earlier, Donald Trump does plan to appeal. I haven't
seen those filings come in yet. But, it's very likely this is going to be a big fight over the separation of powers and the power of this particular
billionaire in the U.S. government.
ASHER: All right. Katelyn Polantz live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. As Katelyn was just touching upon there, the USAID order is by far not the only legal challenge the Trump administration now faces. In
fact, a federal judge has given the Justice Department a deadline, that's less than an hour from now, to provide answers, additional information on
this weekend's deportations. He is particularly interested in when U.S. flights took off for El Salvador carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members,
and whether the administration deliberately violated his order to turn the planes around. The DoJ is trying to delay handing over that information,
claiming the judge is, quote, "continuing to beat a dead horse".
On Saturday, the President invoked an 18th century law that allows foreign nationals from countries at war with the U.S. to be immediately deported
without any due process. Days later, President Trump demanded the removal of the judge who ruled against his deportation plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, he didn't mention my name in the statement. I just saw it quickly. He didn't mention my name, but many people have called for his
impeachment, the impeachment of this judge. I don't know who the judge is, but he is radical left. What do you do when you have a rogue judge? The
judge that we're talking about, he is -- you look at his other rulings, I mean, rulings unrelated, but having to do with me, he is a lunatic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic joins us live now from Washington. Joan, thank you so much for being with us. So, as I was
mentioning there, the Justice Department has a noon deadline, that's in about 40 minutes or so, to turn over additional information about the
deportation flights that took place this weekend. I mean, 45 minutes to go. Based on what we've seen so far, how likely is it that there is going to be
any compliance here?
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Well, everything is escalating on the court filing front, the clash between the Trump
administration and what this U.S. District Court judge would like to get to understand whether the administration had violated an earlier order of his.
So, that's all happening. And then you just showed the clip of Donald Trump responding to a statement by Chief Justice John Roberts. So, the rhetoric
is escalating.
[11:20:00]
And what President Trump was responding to there was Chief Justice John Roberts, yesterday, after Donald Trump complained about the judge handling
that deportation case that you mentioned, Zain, Chief Justice Roberts put out a statement that said "Impeachment is not the route to go if you are
unhappy with a ruling from a lower court judge. You have a route. It's appeal. Appeal the process." And it was just a brief two-sentence
statement, but it was still extraordinary in itself, because the Chief has only -- this is only the second time he has confronted Donald Trump about
some of his politicized statements. The last time was back in 2018.
So, the Chief usually doesn't make these kinds of extracurricular statements. But, it's a reflection of how much things have been ratcheted
up, in part, because of this case that we're waiting for, the filings in for at noon Eastern Time. So, I don't -- we'll have to see just what the
next chapter of that will be. But, I can say from the -- in terms of the battle between Donald Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts and the
judiciary, more broadly, I anticipate President Trump to continue making statements, but I think for Chief Justice John Roberts, he will probably
leave it with the statement he issued on Tuesday. Zain.
ASHER: And speaking of President Trump's response to that statement, we saw that interview with Fox News. I mean, he e essentially said, listen,
technically, he didn't mention me by name, therefore what he was saying did not apply to me. I mean, what do you make of that particular language he is
using?
BISKUPIC: Well, not quite, not quite. I mean, Donald Trump could -- no. I mean -- not. You were right. I'm talking about Donald Trump. You're
absolutely fine. It's Donald Trump who I think might have -- it was convenient for him to say that doesn't -- he is not really speaking about
me. But, the fact is, Chief Justice John Roberts issued his statement just like an hour or so after President Trump had posted on Truth Social, his
remark about the lower court Judge James Boasberg handling the deportation case, and he referred to him as somebody from the lunatic left, and he said
he should be impeached.
So, all the rhetoric that Chief Justice John Roberts was responding to was embodied right there in that statement from Donald Trump. The Chief, even
back in 2018, never cited Donald Trump by name, but in that instance, also saying it was immediately after Donald Trump had criticized a judge in
highly political terms. So, I think it was convenient for the President that John Roberts did not mention his name, but John Roberts didn't mention
anyone's name, but the timing, I think, tells us what that was all about.
ASHER: All right. Joan Biskupic live for us there. Thank you so much.
BISKUPIC: Thank you.
ASHER: Appreciate it.
BISKUPIC: Thanks.
ASHER: All right. You may recall this time yesterday we spoke to U.S. Congressman Mike Flood, one of Donald Trump's top supporters in Congress,
and after speaking to us, Flood spoke to voters, holding a town hall event last night. It didn't go well. Flood had repeated jeers from a rowdy crowd
of more than 200 people. He was booed for not speaking out about Elon Musk's government cutbacks and for supporting Donald Trump's tariff plans.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): There is a lot of people in this room that don't support what DOGE is doing. But, for the first time, we are making some
progress. How can you be against a balanced budget? How can you be against a balanced budget?
(CROWD CHANTING "TAX THE RICH")
FLOOD: All right. All right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Congressman Flood was also blasted for not doing more to support Ukraine, an exchange that drew wild applause from the crowd. Have a listen
to that as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The UN ambassador for U.S. last month voted with Russia, North Korea and other dictator countries that Russia didn't invade
Ukraine and did nothing wrong. This is where we're at. Where are you going to stand up? And we're also on the human rights watchlist. What are you
going to stand up for?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Joining us now is a member of Congress who held her own town hall on Tuesday night. Jill Tokuda is a Democrat who represents Hawaii's second
congressional district. Congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us. I'm going to get your reaction to what we saw just there with Congressman
Flood and some of the just really harsh town halls that Republicans have been dealing with, where voters are really expressing their anger. But, in
terms of what's happening in your congressional district, we are living in extraordinary times, as you know, Congresswoman, just in terms of tariffs,
or the U.S.'s realignment or rapprochement with Russia, for example, also, the U.S. openly defying court orders on immigration, on deportation.
[11:25:00]
I mean, these really are extraordinary times. Just walk us through what your constituents want from you.
REP. JILL TOKUDA (D-HI): Well, I will tell you that these are extraordinary times that we are living in and people are demanding action. That's what I
saw last night. When I was in Maui, we had over 400 people. For our town, that's a big deal. That's probably one of the largest, if not the largest,
town halls that has ever been held on Maui. And people were emotional. They were angry. They had questions. How can the Trump administration do these
things, openly defy the courts, enter the Institute of Peace, a nonpartisan independent organization? How can they even be looking at cutting Medicaid,
critical lifelines, Social Security, SNAP, the ability for people to feed themselves? There was a lot of anger, definitely focused on the Trump
administration. And they want actions, and that's what they're demanding right now.
It's personal to them, and I think that's what you see in farmhouse across the country. The cuts that are being made are deeply personal to people.
They impact their ability to take care of themselves and their loved ones.
ASHER: So, what can you, as a Democrat, actually do? I mean, there has been so much made of the fact that some of the response and some of the ability
to fight back, or the ways in which Democrats are fighting back. Some people are referring to it as weak, somewhat performative. The Democrats
aren't doing enough. What options the Democrats actually have right now?
TOKUDA: That's a question that kept coming up last night. And first thing I think people have to understand is we feel that anger and frustration too.
It's hurting our families, just like it's hurting other families. It hurts us that we can't block horrible CRs that ultimately will result in cuts to
veterans, that will hurt affordable housing programs. It's frustrating that when we vote no, we can't actually stop bad bills like that from actually
passing forward.
What I talked to our constituents last night is that we have to continue to push back in every possible way, whether it's through legislation, whether
it's letters to the administration, whether it's trying to sit down with our colleagues from the other side of the aisle to say that this is going
to hurt you as much, if not more in many cases, if these cuts and these actions continue to go through. It's about putting the human face on
inhumane cuts that we are seeing. Literally right now, I'm collecting over 100 stories from constituents in just a short amount of time about the pain
and suffering that's coming from these cuts.
People have lost jobs. People are worried about whether they can even stay in Hawaii and afford to live here because they're afraid of their Social
Security getting cut. All of these different things, putting that face to the harms, continuing to push back with our actions, these are things that
we have to continue to do, and I can assure you that every which way Democrats can find to make gains, including going into Republican territory
and talking and listening to their constituents when they won't, that's the kind of stuff we have to continue to do.
ASHER: We played a clip before I came to you from just really explosive scenes from town halls hosted by Congressman Flood, who we actually had on
yesterday. But, obviously, he is not the only one, right? Republicans across the country are dealing with these sorts of explosive town halls,
and actually Republican leadership are actually telling some of their members to avoid in-person town halls because of this. What is your
reaction to that?
TOKUDA: This is not the moment. I don't care what side of the aisle you are. This is not the moment to stop going out and reaching out to
constituents. Look at the anger. Look at the passion. I saw that last night in my own town hall. I've seen it through town halls throughout my
district. People are afraid and they're scared, and right now is the time to meet that moment, rise up, as members of Congress, as elected leaders,
as humans. Don't run away. Don't hide. If you're embarrassed or guilty or shamed, do something about it. Change your vote. Stand up to the Musk-Trump
administration. That's what your people are asking for. This is not the time to run and hide.
Democrats are meeting this moment. We are holding these town halls. We are getting difficult questions that we don't have great answers to right now.
We are just as frustrated. But, if there is one thing we won't do is, we won't back down from the people that elected us to serve and to make sure
that they had a voice in Congress. And so, to everyone and my colleagues in Congress, these are tough hauls, yes, but it's because our people are
afraid, and this is the time when they need us the most. So, do your job. Hold a town hall.
ASHER: All right. Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
TOKUDA: Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Still to come, a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv says this is the largest exchange. Details ahead. Plus,
authorities in Turkey have detained the mayor of Istanbul. Critics are calling the move politically motivated and a crackdown on the opposition.
Details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to One World. I'm Zain Asher in New York. Let's take a look at some of the international headlines we are following
for you today.
Israeli strikes pounded parts of Gaza overnight, killing more than a dozen people, many of them sheltering in tents. The strike come a day after
Israel unleashed a wave of attack, shattering a fragile ceasefire and killing more than 400 Palestinians. Israeli protesters vented their anger
at the government and Prime Minister Netanyahu today.
The world has just experienced its hottest decade ever. That's according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization. It also found that
2024 was the hottest year since record-keeping actually began, and probably the first time global temperatures exceeded one and a half degrees Celsius
above the baseline set between 1850 and 1900. Greenhouse gases were also at their highest levels in the atmosphere in the last 800,000 years.
The U.S. has been striking Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen, as the Houthis fight back with missiles and drones. U.S. fighter jets took off
from the USS Harry Truman carrier in the Red Sea yesterday, and missiles were launched from the ship. The Houthis claim they have attacked the U.S.
Navy aircraft carrier four times in the past 72 hours.
[11:35:00]
It's not known if there were actually any injuries or damage on the Truman.
Russia and Ukraine have conducted a large-scale prisoner swap. The Russian Defense Ministry says 175 servicemen from each side were exchanged today.
The Kremlin says, in addition, 22 seriously wounded prisoners of war were also handed over as a goodwill gesture, in their words. This came hours
before a phone call between President Trump and the Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelenskyy.
Let's bring in Oleksiy Goncharenko to talk more about the developments. He is a member of the Ukrainian parliament and joins us live now from
Strasbourg, France. Thank you so much for being with us. Just walk us through -- President Zelenskyy right now is speaking with President Trump.
We believe that phone call is still ongoing. Walk us through what you think President Zelenskyy is likely trying to get across to the U.S. President at
this point in time.
OLEKSIY GONCHARENKO, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Hello. I think that the most important is to understand what was discussed yesterday by President
Trump with Putin, and definitely what is the most important for Ukraine is moving to peace. And it's clear that Putin yesterday rejected to go to a
complete ceasefire, like Ukraine accepted this proposition from the United States, and Russia rejected yesterday. They agreed only on partial
ceasefire on energy infrastructure, but even these they immediately just violated, because they attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure yesterday
evening and this night.
So, the question is that Russia really doesn't want any peace. We knew this before, but now we have confirmation of this, and now it's very important
that United States will put pressure on Putin, because that's the only thing that Putin understands.
ASHER: Yeah. So, Zelenskyy is obviously going to try to get across to President Trump that Putin cannot be trusted, which is one of the things
that he tried to get across during that Oval Office meeting a few weeks ago. Just in terms of some other news we're getting out today, this
prisoner swap that appears to have happened without hiccup, 175 prisoners on both sides. We're seeing some really emotional pictures of, and so,
hopefully we can show them, of Ukrainian servicemen being reunited with their family members. I mean, this really does show you the human cost of
war, the emotional aspect, the emotional toll for a lot of these servicemen and women and their family members.
Just give us your take on that, on what has been, what the civilians and the family members of Ukrainian military men, what they've been going
through over these past couple of years.
GONCHARENKO: Prior to the hell which they came through, Russian detention, Russian prison, that's awful. And Ukraine follows all conventions,
following the attitude to Russian prisoners of war. Russia is not following any conventions. There are cases when Ukrainian prisoners of war died in
detention. They killed number of them in Olenivka with a false flag attack. So, they're killing just our prisoners of war. They're real barbarians.
So, this is a great result, 175 plus 22 who came back, and I want to thank United States President Donald Trump, because this is a real result that we
have for the moment, and that shows that you he can leverage Putin. If he will put pressure, and if he will put more pressure on Putin, we can really
move to peace, because Putin will try to win the time, to drag out as long as possible, and just the idea is -- the objective is not to allow Putin to
play all these games. I hope that United States President will not allow him to play these games.
ASHER: Just in terms of the strikes we saw Russia carry out overnight in Ukraine, I mean, obviously this is interesting, because obviously it comes
on the heels of President Putin agreeing to certain conditions of a partial ceasefire, just in terms of not targeting energy infrastructure. The fact
that almost immediately Vladimir Putin ended up striking civilian infrastructure targets, including a hospital in Ukraine, what does that
tell you about how far off lasting peace really is between both Russia and Ukraine?
GONCHARENKO: If it depends on Putin, this lasting peace will never come. If it -- if Putin will be pressured, if United States will use all the
leverages that United States have, that will -- can -- that can happen very quickly. Like Mr. Witkoff said, it can happen in weeks. That's true. It can
happen in several weeks if Russia will be pressured by United States seriously.
[11:40:00]
That's the only thing. So, everything now is in the hands of United States administration, and I hope very much that they will be successful. That's
it.
ASHER: All right. Oleksiy Goncharenko live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
GONCHARENKO: Thank you.
ASHER: Of course.
All right. Authorities in Turkey have detained a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on corruption and terrorism charges. Istanbul's Mayor
Ekrem Imamoglu was expected to be chosen as the opposition party's presidential candidate this week, 100 others connected to the mayor were
also detained. These are live pictures where dozens of protesters are gathering in Istanbul, chanting their support for the mayor.
CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A key rival of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been detained. Just moments before he
was taken from his home, Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu posted this video message. Hundreds of police officers have been sent to the door of my
house, he said, the house of the 16 million people of Istanbul. We are up against huge bullying, but I will not back down, he says. I love you all. I
entrust myself to the people. I will be standing tall.
His detention comes just days before he was expected to be chosen as Turkey's main opposition party's presidential candidate. Authorities said
he was detained as part of corruption and terrorism investigations, along with detention orders issued for around 100 other people connected to the
mayor, according to Turkish media. The day will come, the tables will turn, protesters chanting outside Istanbul's police headquarters, as critics
denounced the detentions as political, part of an ongoing government crackdown on the opposition following Erdogan's major defeat in local and
mayoral elections last year.
The head of Imamoglu's Republican People's Party called the detention a coup attempt against our next President. Imamoglu's wife called the
accusations against him, laughable, blaming false information on social media. Such a thing is, of course, impossible, she said. It cannot be. It
is a huge slander. Everything will come out in the open.
Turkey's next presidential election is not scheduled until 2028. But, some analysts say Erdogan could call for early elections to allow him to bypass
term limits. Imamoglu's detention comes one day after Istanbul University announced it had annulled his degree over irregularities. Without a
university degree, he is disqualified from running for President. We will, of course, take this illegitimate decision to court, he said, speaking
alongside his family on Tuesday.
Demonstrations have been banned across Istanbul until March 23rd to maintain public order, and many social media sites restricted, but some
supporters still took to the streets to protest the mayor's detention. Imamoglu has been a vocal critic of President Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey
for more than two decades.
Paul Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Still to come, investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. What impact will President Trump's barrage of
policy changes have on the world's biggest economy? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to One World. I'm Zain Asher in New York.
Let's take a look at the U.S. stock market this hour. Let's see how the Dow is doing. The Dow is up about 200 points or so. All three major indices in
the green right now. Wall Street is watching closely, as the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady today. The central
bank's new projections for the U.S. economy will also be released amid fears of a recession picking up steam. Investors looking for any clues on
how the Fed is going to be factoring in some of President Trump's policy changes, something that has American consumers and businesses on edge.
Vanessa Yurkevich joins us live now. I mean, at this point, it is too early to tell how all the sort of sweeping economic changes the U.S. economy is
about to go through is really going to affect ordinary consumers. So, the Fed is likely, Vanessa, walk us through this, to hold things where they are
at this point.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. That's exactly right. American consumers, businesses waiting to see what happens
with all this uncertainty, and so is the Federal Reserve. They are expected to hold rates steady. About 99 percent of -- on this Fed tool tracker that
we watch, a 99 percent chance that they're going to hold rates steady, just a one percent chance of a rate cut.
But, the Federal Reserve has really been trying to slash inflation, bring prices down for consumers for the past few years now, and they have done a
good job of this. We're on sort of the last stretch of this effort to bring down inflation, which has been a little bit tricky. Consumers still feel
like prices are high. But, now we have a trade war that is in full effect, a global trade war. We have questions about what that means for prices. We
have government jobs that have been cut, and we just have questions about Trump's economic policies and what they mean for the overall economy.
So, the Fed pausing and keeping rates where they are to see what ends up happening. We heard from the Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, just a few weeks
ago, and he talked about how he sees the U.S. economy and what he is waiting for. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIR OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE OF THE UNITED STATES: Despite elevated levels of uncertainty, the U.S. economy continues to be in a good
place. We do not need to be in a hurry, and we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: And clarity is something that businesses, consumers and the Fed are looking for right now.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is at two o'clock, we will get the Fed's decision on interest rates, but at 02:30, Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair,
holds a press conference. He is going to get a lot of questions about what the Trump administration's policies mean for the economy, what they mean
for the Fed going forward. At last check, we did see that the Fed was pricing in two rate cuts for this year. Do those still happen? Also, there
has been a lot of talk about stagflation, whether or not that's going to be tricky for the Fed. That means that prices are rising, so inflation is
heating up, but there is very weak growth. That is a tricky situation for the U.S. economy to be in.
Also, a lot of Americans at home might have been hoping for rate cuts, because rate cuts make borrowing costs more affordable for Americans,
everything from credit cards to mortgage rates, car loans, student loans. So, a lot of Americans may be hoping for that to happen, but we are just so
in a wait and see mode, and that is essentially what the Federal Reserve will likely be messaging today, as they -- it's expected that they hold
rates steady. Zain.
ASHER: All right.
[11:50:00]
Vanessa Yurkevich live for us there. Thank you so much.
All right. They are back on Earth. What the two formerly stranded astronauts say about their extended stay in space, after the break.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW: Stuck in space for nine months! Today the astronauts were like, I just want to get home, watch Joker 2, make a
three egg omelet and dip my toes in the Gulf of Mexico. I can't wait.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And splashdown. Crew 9 back on Earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: After 286 days in space, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are back on Earth. Their eight-day mission turned into nine months aboard the
International Space Station because of a malfunction on their Boeing spaceship. People all over the world watched Tuesday's splashdown,
including a pod of dolphins who came by to check things out. Butch and Suni were immediately taken in for medical evacuation. Extended stays in space
can lead to weakened muscles and lower bone density. NASA doctors say that astronauts also often suffer from balance issues when they return to
Earth's gravity.
CNN's Leigh Waldman takes a look at the picture perfect splashdown and what the crew can expect now that they're back on Earth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And splashdown. Crew 9 back on Earth.
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A harrowing finish to the end of a long journey, parachutes deployed, slowing the capsule barreling
towards Earth. The crew, with nine astronauts, landed off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And SpaceX Freedom splashed down.
WALDMAN (voice-over): NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov rode alongside Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams finally
back to Earth, splashing down Tuesday evening after Butch and Suni spent more than 285 days aboard the International Space Station. The Boeing
Starliner they rode up to space in, was deemed unfit for them to return on due to helium leaks and propulsion issues. The pair was able to hitch a
ride back home aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We see main chutes cut. Nick, Alex, Butch, Suni, on behalf of SpaceX, welcome home.
WALDMAN (voice-over): After their splashdown, recovery vessels zoomed up to the Crew Dragon, standing at the ready after the capsule plunged back into
the atmosphere. SpaceX recovery ship named Megan used a large rig to haul the capsule carrying the astronauts out of the water. Afterwards, the crew
was slated to be flown to Ellington Field and finally taken here to nearby Johnson Space Center to eventually be reunited with their families.
[11:55:00]
BILL NYE, "THE SCIENCE GUY", & HOST AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF "THE END IS NYE": The big issue is, these two astronauts missed their families.
WALDMAN (voice-over): The astronauts were originally slated to be away from home for an eight-day mission, but had their timeline extended to nine
months. Back here on Earth, their capsule was greeted by dolphins.
At the Johnson Space Center, I'm Leigh Waldman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Stay with CNN. I'll have more One World after this short break.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And splashdown. Crew 9 back on Earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
