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Ukraine Marks One Year Of War With Anxiety And Resolve; Voting in Nigeria. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired February 27, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: What`s up, sunshine? Welcome back. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. I`m Coy Wire, here with you so we can fuel our minds,
dominate this week and have a little bit of fun while doing it.
Our lead story on CNN 10 today, the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Friday marked one year since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a large-
scale attack of neighboring Ukraine. It`s been a full year of destruction and loss of life. It`s been a time where Ukraine has fought back and its
allies have come forward to penalize Russia with sanctions on their economy while sending millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has received international praise for his wartime leadership but he has also been criticized. For one, he
didn`t warn Ukrainian citizens of the impending invasion ahead of time. Why? He says the decision prevented financial panic and that it better
preserved Ukraine`s economy in order to fund the fight against Russia.
So when might this war end? At a ceremony on Friday, which remembered a somber in anniversary of events that are changing lives forever, Zelenskyy
vowed to push for a Ukrainian victory in 2023.
The day was full of commemorations, reflections and tears. But Zelenskyy`s tone remained strong and he spoke of the country`s resilience during
Europe`s largest and deadliest war since World War II.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Slava Ukraini.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): His exchanges with Ukrainian soldiers today were vintage Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy told his army
they would be the ones to decide whether Ukraine will exist in the future or not.
But one year after Russia`s invasion, few doubt that Ukraine`s fate hinges in no small part on the man who emerge as an effective war time leader.
JOHN HERBST, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: The man has a spine. And obviously when you are truly David fighting Goliath, if you don`t have a
spine, you lose.
WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Twelve months later he is the hard bitten leader. I mean, he has been through a year of trial like
no other leader.
TODD: And from the first moments of the war it seemed like Zelenskyy was up to the challenge, like when he posted a video message on Facebook from
the streets of Kyiv with his cabinet on the second night of the invasion.
ZELENSKYY (through translator): The president is here. We are all here. Our military is here.
TODD: Volodymyr Zelenskyy has since dominated the narrative, from a stirring appearance before joint session of the U.S. Congress.
ZELENSKYY: Ukraine is alive and kicking.
TODD: To what he said to the British House of Commons.
ZELENSKYY: We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, on the streets.
TODD: Compare that to what Winston Churchill said after the evacuation of Dunkirk.
WINSTON CHURCHILL, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills. We shall never
surrender.
BORIS JOHNSON, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: He has successfully mimicked Winston Churchill himself. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has mobilized the United
States of America.
TODD: Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor remembers Zelenskyy in the early months of his presidency as a good natured, somewhat naive
politician. How has the war changed Zelenskyy?
TAYLOR: He`s less jovial. He`s less -- he`s more focused. He`s more determined. He`s more somber. I mean, this is a hard -- a hard time to go
through and he`s had it all on his shoulders.
TODD: Still, no one`s been able to keep Volodymyr Zelenskyy from the front lines in places like Kherson and Bucha compare that to Vladimir Putin`s
isolation in the Kremlin.
KEITH DARDEN, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: He appears fearful. I mean, you get the sense that of a man alone, whereas, Zelenskyy is among his people, among
his team and in the fight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (on camera): The analysts we spoke to say that unless Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes some colossal and unforeseen mistakes, his legacy will
likely be very impressive. If Ukraine wins the war, he`ll go down as one of the greatest leaders of the century if Ukraine loses he`s remembered as a
tragic hero.
WIRE: Ten-second trivia:
Which of these nations is the most populated nation on the African continent?
Ethiopia, Nigeria, Egypt or South Africa?
Nigeria with around 220 million people is the most populated country in Africa.
And up next, we`re headed to Nigeria, the country is Africa`s largest democracy and its people are voting to elect their next president and vice
president. The election comes at a time when two-thirds of the population are living in poverty and almost half of the young people are unemployed
the value of the currency there is low while inflation is high and violence and terrorism have reshaped everyday life across the nation.
We`ll hear now from CNN international correspondent Larry Madowo as Nigerians are making their voices heard in one of the country`s most
competitive and unpredictable elections in quite some time.
(BEGN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was now close nationwide in Nigeria`s tightest election ever, and what happens now is the
slow painstaking process of counting the vote. What do you have back there is they hold up a ballot one by one, everybody watching has to agree that
that`s the person that they voted for and so that will take a while -- which is why we can`t predict exactly when the results will be known.
The independent National Electoral Commission says they will do it speedily it might be a couple of days until we know. There were a few reported
instances of violence and parts of Lagos and other parts of the country. But these are isolated. It`s not a pattern that we can see at least
apparently.
There were also at least polling stations where voting didn`t take place because of insecurity and security has been a major issue for voters in
this election. But the election is taking part in the backdrop of a major fuel and cash shortage. It`s led to some chaotic scenes at gas stations and
at banks and now whoever becomes an expression of Nigeria has to deal with an economy on the verge of crumbling there are people running, but only
three men have a realistic chance of becoming the next president of Africa`s most populous nation.
During election is a massive logistical nightmare. Ninety-three million registered voters is more than the next 14 West African nations combined.
So it`s sort of like organizing election for an entire subcontinent in just one day, and that`s why at this location for instance, two of the polling
stations there were no votes happening and they don`t understand why but people we spoke to told us that we wait for as long as it takes because
they want to make a statement in this election.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: All right, sports fans. Take me out to the ball game. Just don`t make me stay all day. New rules in Major League Baseball aimed at speeding
up the game or taking spring training by storm. MLB is implementing a pitch clock, sort of like a shot clock in basketball. Pitchers and batters, they
can`t take their good old time anymore, just 15 seconds between pitches with empty bases, 20 seconds when there are runners on base. If pitchers
don`t get the pitch off in time, it counts as a ball for the batter.
But the rule also states that if the batter isn`t ready by eight seconds left well like the Padres Manny Machado found out, they`re going to get a
strike called against him.
Well, with this new rule, we`re seeing spring training games finishing around to minutes faster than last year`s average of three hours and three
minutes. We`ve seen some games that finished an hour faster.
Now some other big rule changes this season, pitchers can only attempt two pick-off throws per at bat. The size of the bases is increasing from 15
square inches to 18, and defenses can no longer shift their infielders. Players have about a month to retrain their brains before the season
opening day is March 30th.
For today`s story getting a 10 out of 10, a two-month-old baby that already weighs 50 pounds meet Petunia, a two-month-old baby hippopotamus at the
Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia. And not just any hippo, Petunia and her mama Iris are pygmy hippos and there are fewer than mature pygmy hippos
remaining in the world.
So with each step and with each splash in the pool, Petunia is keeping hope for these hippos alive.
All right. Time`s almost up for today but for all my go-getters out there, one more thing. Remember complacency is the constant enemy so outwork
everyone every single day.
Shout out to West Lauderdale High school in Collinsville, Mississippi. Go Knights!
We hope you and everyone watching around the world have a wonderful one.
I`m Coy Wire, and we are CNN 10.
END
