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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

CNN International: Russia's Deadly Assault on Kyiv; At Least 21 Dead in Russian Attack; Minneapolis School Shooter Investigation; Police Investigating "Manifesto" Video of Shooter; CDC Director and Fed Governor Fight Efforts to Fire Them; Fed. Gov. Lisa Cook Sues Trump; Putin and Kim Expected to Attend Military Parade in China; Israel Ramps Up Attacks in Gaza; IDF Calls Evacuation of Gaza "Inevitable"; Afghanistan Withdrawal: The Toll on the Troops. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 28, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. And you're watching

"The Brief."

Just ahead this hour, Ukraine's suffers Russia's second biggest air assault of the war, killing at least 21 people. President Trump says he's, quote,

"not happy, but not surprised by the attack." Yet, he imposed no new penalties on Russia. Filled with hate, police investigate the writings of a

school shooter who killed two children and wounded 18. It's been revealed he had a deranged fascination with previous mass shootings, particularly of

children. And remembering Afghanistan. We approached four years since the last U.S. troops left the country during an ill-faded pullout. We will hear

how those events have taken a toll on veterans' mental health. That conversation and plenty more coming up.

But first, this massive Russian air raid on Ukraine, killing at least 21 people. The second biggest aerial attack since Russia's full-scale

invasion. Ukrainian officials say four children were among the victims. Russia used dozens of missiles, some 600 drones, according to the Ukrainian

military. A security camera inside an apartment shows the moment a Russian strike hit that building. You could see people huddling in the corner for

safety. The only way to survive. The strikes also hit buildings at the heart of the capital, including those used by European Union officials. The

Kremlin claims Moscow is still interested in peace talks.

Here in Washington, the White House press secretary says, President Trump is not happy, but not surprised by the Russian attack. This comes, we

should note, 15 days after the president threatened, quote, "severe consequences" if Vladimir Putin did not agree to a ceasefire. 1 days after

he met the leader face-to-face in Alaska, welcoming it to U.S. soil. It is also just a day before a Ukrainian delegation is set to meet with U.S.

officials in New York. Melissa Bell has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kyiv under attack once again, with Russia unleashing over 600 air attack weapons

on the Ukrainian capital in what appears to be the second biggest aerial attack since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Footage from the ground shows families huddling for safety as missiles fall on buildings across the city. Search teams still digging through the rubble

around buildings hit in the strike. With the full extent of the damage still being assessed, families are still searching for their loved ones.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When I came out, everything was covered in dust and smoke. I looked up, the roof was gone, and the floors

from the fourth to the first were completely destroyed. As of now, my wife hasn't been found.

BELL (voice-over): Some of those damaged buildings belonged to the European Union and the British Council. Ukrainian President Volodymyr

Zelenskyy calling the strike a clear response from the Kremlin to calls for ceasefire talks and for diplomacy between the two countries. Russia says it

is still interested in peace talks, but its so-called special military operation is still ongoing, a conflict that continues to shake Kyiv

residents.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): God forbid anyone ever has to go through this. You know, my world view has changed. You realize that you

survived, that you're alive, and that alone is already something.

BELL (voice-over): Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Everyone there under threat. A business owner in Kyiv shared this video on social media showing the very moment a Russian strike hit his

newly open cafe. Stanislav Zavertailo joins me now live from Kyiv. Stanislav, thanks so much for joining.

STANISLAV ZAVERTAILO, OWNER, HONEY CAFE: Yes, good morning to you, or good evening, good night for us.

SCIUTTO: I wonder if you could tell us --

ZAVERTAILO: Hello. Nice to hear you.

SCIUTTO: Tell us how it felt during the attack. Kyiv, of course, experiences, air attacks virtually every night, but this was the second

biggest since the full-scale invasion. Could you tell that this one was bigger and different?

ZAVERTAILO: We live in Ukraine from this huge war. We don't go in any other countries. And I have three children.

[18:05:00]

And yesterday, they returned from a small vacation from grandmother. And they come in evening, and it start -- the bomb alert. And from this time,

we go into shelter and sleep and toilet in shelter. And it was very huge missile attack and drone attack, but a lot of rockets on this night.

So, my smallest daughter crying all night. And my son is -- told not very good words when the explosions were near our house. So, all night I hear

explosions. It was huge explosions. It is scary. I am the man, but for me, it's very scary. And when I together with my children and they're crying

and, you know, it's hard to explain.

SCIUTTO: How do you stay safe during those moments?

ZAVERTAILO: I think we are a little bit lucky with our family. That's why -- we can go every time to shelter, but sometimes when the Russia attack

the Ukraine by ballistic rockets, you have only three or five minutes to go to the shelter. It is not possible to take three children and wake up them

and wear them, take them and go to the shelter. So, sometimes you listen the alarm and you have three minutes, and after this, you have huge

explosions. Huge explosions. It's like -- you know, it's crazy.

SCIUTTO: We know you opened a cafe. You're trying to make a living in Kyiv in the midst of war. How did it feel to have that destroyed in these

attacks?

ZAVERTAILO: This is our new cafe. This is our family business. So, we work more than 10 years. And in this new cafe, we take all our experience from

these years and put it here. Yes. And is new concept. New idea is the real favorite place for civilians and also all citizens, they know that Honey

will open their doors and prepare for your coffee and give you a small clear, because after these nights, you always want to drink some coffee and

take some dessert and see your friends, your people to feel alive, you know.

Because when you are not sleeping one week or two weeks because you have every day rockets attack, you feel like zombie. But the people, they meet

each other. They speak, they drink coffee. It is it's about the life. So, now, it's for me, like the entrepreneur is a little bit hard to explain

because this is fully new, it's not -- in October, it must be one year anniversary, you know. And now, it's destroyed and we need I think three or

four months, maybe half year, to fully innovate it. And a huge amount of money.

SCIUTTO: Well, Stanislav, I'm happy that you and your family are safe and I wish you safety going forward.

ZAVERTAILO: Thank you. Thank you. We need your support. Whole world must know about this situation, because we will find you the till the end. We

will support our army, but we need the help from all other world to support Ukraine, because it's very hard to fight with Russia alone.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Stanislav, be safe. Our thanks to him. Well, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has cast doubt on the possibility of a Putin-

Zelenskyy meeting saying, talks between the two presidents will not happen. E.U. Chief Ursula von der Leyen also strongly condemned this recent Russian

attack. Have a listen.

[18:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: I am outraged by the attack on Kyiv, also hitting our E.U. offices. This was the deadliest drone

and missile attack on the capital since July. And as you can see behind me on the screen, it was an attack also on our delegation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Joining me now for more is Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, the chair of its Foreign Affairs Committee. First, a

question for you about that damage to the E.U. offices in Kyiv. Russia knows the map of Kyiv very well. Does that strike you as a deliberate

attack on an E.U. target?

OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIR, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Well, first of all, I'm absolutely sure that it was a deliberate attack on

representative office of the European Union, an attack on British Council. It was a message by Putin, by war criminal Putin. And it was, as our

president has put it, a very clear response to any kind of proposals by President Trump with regard to ceaesfire.

Of course, everything what's going on, all these attacks against civilian objects, against civilians, and recently, by the way, attack against one of

American enterprises in the territory of Ukraine, it's everything is absolutely deliberate.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you then directly, it's 13 days since Trump met Putin with all that fanfare in Alaska, given the size of this strike and frankly,

the series of attacks since then, was the Trump-Putin summit a failure?

MEREZHKO: Definitely, yes. Unfortunately, it was a huge mistake because we see results. We see results when Putin was emboldened, he was encouraged by

the summit. He takes any negotiations with him, any meetings with him, he takes it as a sign of weakness of the United States. And he immediately is

trying to use it in his favor for propagandistic purposes and for military purposes.

And to me when I was watching the news and the figures of the casualties, I was thinking about this kind of summit in Alaska and I was, in my mind, was

the picture of President Trump greeting the war criminal Putin on the red carpet. So -- and now, we have a very clear response and I hope that

President Trump will respond to this war crime by Putin. And finally, he will deliver on his promise to -- about serious or severe consequences.

SCIUTTO: Does the president, the U.S. president, emboldened Putin by continually delaying his own deadlines for action, for an agreement to a

ceasefire?

MEREZHKO: This is exactly how Putin takes it, because maybe President Trump still believes or still on the illusion that he can make a deal with

Putin. But it's absolutely impossible, and Putin has proved it lots of times and continues to prove it by these bombardments of civilian objects

and by killing Ukrainian civilian population. That's why, yes, unfortunately, any such moves from American president only encourages Putin

to continue murdering Ukrainian population.

SCIUTTO: So, if you believe that President Trump is in effect communicating weakness here, who do you have faith in then to stand up for

Ukraine? Your European allies instead?

MEREZHKO: Well, yes. First of all, we rely on our European friends and we see that I'm right now at the conference of the E.U. conference devoted to

the issues of a common European foreign and defense policy. And I see a reaction of our European friends, and they understand what is at stake, and

they're eager to continue to support Ukraine, to provide us with necessary military assistance.

But at the same time, we don't lose hope, because the United States remains to be our closest ally, and we hope that we'll be provided with air defense

to help to defend ourselves and to prevent casualties. So, we still believe in transatlantic solidarity.

SCIUTTO: Oleksandr Merezhko, thanks so much for joining the show again.

MEREZHKO: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: We are learning more about Wednesday's horrific shooting at a Catholic school in Minnesota. The Minneapolis police chief says that 116

rifle rounds were recovered at the scene. He says the shooter's handgun appears to have malfunctioned, potentially preventing an even worse

tragedy.

[18:15:00]

Two young children were killed in the attack. 18 people were wounded. Jessie Merkel lost his eight-year-old son Fletcher in the attack. He spoke

a short time ago about how he wants his son to be remembered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSIE MERKEL, FATHER OF FLETCHER MERKEL: Moving forward, we ask not for your sympathy, but your empathy as our family and the Annunciation

community grieve and try to make sense of such a senseless act of violence. And please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that

ended his life. Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today. We love you, Fletcher. You'll always be with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: A poor, poor man. Police say the shooter now identified as 23- year-old Robin Westman died of a self-inflicted gunshot. They're now investigating a manifesto he published on YouTube. Earlier, the acting

Minnesota District attorney spoke about the investigation into the shooter's motive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE THOMPSON, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA: More than anything, the shooter wanted to kill children, defenseless children. The

shooter was obsessed with the idea of killing children. The shooter wanted to watch children suffer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Good Lord. Can you imagine anything worse? Well, CNN Law Enforcement Correspondent Whitney Wild, she is in Minneapolis where

residents are trying to, if they can, come to terms with Wednesday's horrifying attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSIE, THIRD GRADER: It was super scary. I thought it was a fire. And then I realized when we went into a preschool room, someone got in.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A third grader sharing a horrifying experience no child should ever have to go

through. Today, she like so many other students came with their families to pay their respects to the victims of Wednesday's deadly mass shooting at

Minneapolis Annunciation Catholic Church.

ROSIE: It feels good to be back here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why is that?

ROSIE: Because this school is just very amazing. It's a very good community. And the police officers that we have around here are very, very

brave.

WILD (voice-over): Outside the church, a memorial of flowers, candles, and stuffed animals grows along with the heartbreaking messages from

classmates. Two white crosses also stand in honor of the victims, ages eight and 10, who are shot and killed in the pews during a before school

mass. The community trying to make sense of the shooting that also left 18 others hurt, including 15 kids between the ages of six and 15 and three

parishioners in their 80s.

ROSIE: When you walk in the church, the glass was broken from when people got in. And when we got out, all of us went to like different rooms. My

group went to the gym and that's where I saw my little sister. And then, when we got out, they were like a lot, like a lot, a lot of police cars,

and there was some ambulances and fire trucks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right when it happened, I dropped down under the pew leg and then I realized like I can't just sit here and focus on myself,

knowing that with God on my side I would be fine. So, I tried to just go and help out my fellow classmates.

WILD (voice-over): Tonight, the investigation into the shooter continues. The Minneapolis police chief says the department found hundreds of pieces

of evidence with help from the FBI.

CHIEF BRIAN O'HARA, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: What we have found so far, unfortunately, is what has been all too common in this country, is

sort of a classic pathway to violence for an active shooter or a mass shooter.

WILD (voice-over): A senior law enforcement official telling CNN the shooter, a former student at the school, visited the church weeks ago under

the pretext of wanting to reconnect with the Catholic faith at the school. From that visit, investigators believe the shooter put together a hand-

drawn diagram of the interior of the church.

O'HARA: It would seem from his intention to barricade at least the doors on the side that the shooter did intend to get inside. But ultimately, they

did not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: A near miss. It could have been much, much worse. Whitney Wild reporting there. One of the top health agencies in the U.S. might already

have a new acting director, this after the chief of the CDC was fired by the Trump administration. We're going to take a closer look, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

SCIUTTO: Two senior U.S. officials are refusing to let the Trump administration fire them. Lawyers for the now ex-CDC director, Dr. Susan

Monarez, have rejected her ouster, saying, it is not legal. They accuse Health Secretary RFK Jr. of weaponizing public health. Several of her top

lieutenants resigned in protest. They departed the CDC in Atlanta today with a clap out there from colleagues. Crowds of supporters gathered to

give them a proper sendoff. Their departure has now left the agency in chaos. And amid this term turmoil, we're learning that RFK Jr. is expected

to name his deputy secretary, Jim O'Neill, to serve as the acting director of the CDC, this according to two sources.

It is not just the CDC that the White House is targeting. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has filed a lawsuit to prevent the president from firing

her. Critics say, Trump's attempted termination of Cook is a dangerous attack on the Central Bank's independence, not the only one by the way.

Monarez and Cook join what is now a long list of key officials terminated by the Trump administration since the start of this year. They include 17

inspectors general at various federal agencies, the USAID inspector general, the acting head of FEMA, the head of the Copyright office, and

commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The administration also purged the military senior leadership going back to February, including the head of Cyber Command, as well as the chair of the

Joint Chiefs, senior officials from Defense Intelligence, Naval Operations, and the Coast Guard are among the many others who got the acts.

Joining us now, White House Reporter Alayna Treene. Alayna, I wonder what happens to the legal challenges here now because you have both Cook and

Monarez saying that these firings are illegal. Of course, the Trump administration is moving forward. Do they have a chance of blocking this?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: You know what, we'll have to see. I think in Lisa Cook's case, actually, that one would be the one to watch,

Jim. And again, I'm not a lawyer, but when I've dug into this and I've talked to legal experts and people here in the White House, there are

concerns about this because part of it is the reasoning for her firing was that the president and a lot of his allies around him have been pushing

this idea of mortgage fraud, that she committed mortgage fraud and applications back before she even was made Fed governor by then-President

Joe Biden in 2022.

And so, to have these unproven allegations be the basis of that legal challenge, I have to say, it does state that a Fed governor can be fired

for cause, there's a lot of legal ambiguity about that, but she has an attorney, Abbe Lowell, who's very familiar with these types of cases here

in Washington, who is pushing back on that, saying it is not within the president's authority, for cause was not justified here.

[18:25:00]

-- with White House officials. We heard the press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, say this today as well that when it comes to the CDC director,

that is a Senate confirmed position, she -- which is -- being fired for political reasons. And then from the White House, which are arguing, look,

the president was the one who was elected. It is in his authority to -- and a lot of times we've seen him actually push the bounds of that executive

authority, but it's in his authority, they argue, to fire these people. And a lot of that is because he doesn't have the control that he wants in some

of these agencies.

And it's similar with all the other firings you laid out as well. It's this idea of him believing that he had a mandate, and again, this is something

the president firmly believes, to impose on Washington, and we're seeing that with this decision. But again, the legal -- it's going to be very

interesting to see how these legal challenges play out.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, the thing is, you know, by norm, maybe perhaps not by law, these are -- many of these positions are meant to straddle

administrations because they're meant not to be political. If the intention with the Fed is to pressure the Fed to cut interest rates, seems to be

quite -- at least part of the president's motivation there, what is your best assessment of the president's intent as relates to the CDC? Because, I

mean, during his first administration, he was a champion of vaccines, et cetera, but now he is an anti-vaccine person leading HHS. I mean, is this a

broader attack on vaccines, et cetera?

TREENE: It's unclear. And we actually would hopefully get answers from that soon. We're supposed to see Robert F. Kennedy Jr., of course, the head

of HHS, provide some sort of report, an overview on vaccines in September. He's also -- I've actually watched for, he's going to be before the Senate

Finance Committee next week, and all of these concerns, particularly what we saw, stated and laid out by those four top CDC officials who abruptly

resigned today and kind of, you know, pushing back on the firing of the CDC director, they cited this, Jim, as their reasoning for their resignation,

they said that there is a culture of censorship, communication failures, and the weaponization of public health by the by the Department of HHS.

And so, I've actually very closely watched this next week because RFK is going to be in the hot seat when he goes before the Senate Finance

Committee. But I think for overall goals, it's hard to say with the CDC. I think a lot of this is coming from the reporting we're getting from RFK Jr.

himself and wanting to really instill this culture and message of, you know, Make America Healthy Again.

And I would point to what we saw the press secretary say today, she essentially said -- she said, if people are not aligned with the

president's vision or the secretary's vision to Make America Healthy Again, we will gladly show them the door, kind of saying, Jim, the quiet part out

loud there.

SCIUTTO: Although, Kennedy, of course, did promise Senator Bill Cassidy he was not going to dismantle vaccine standards, et cetera. Alayna Treene at

the White House, thanks so much.

Still ahead, China's leader, Xi Jinping, is set to host both Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a military

parade in Beijing next week, a diplomatic win from Mr. Xi, show of Force, show of unity. This after President Trump's recent setbacks on the world

stage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto. And here are some of the international headlines we're watching today.

Russia's carried out its second largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the full-scale invasion more than three years ago. Ukrainian officials say that

assault killed at least 21 people, including four children. It comes as the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is now casting doubt on the future of

ceasefire talks. He says that a proposed meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy will obviously not happen.

France, Germany, and the U.K. have now begun the process to reimpose major U.N. sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. The U.S. welcomed the move

on Thursday, which comes as tensions around Iran's nuclear program continue to escalate. The so-called E3 countries warned earlier in the month that

sanctions would be imposed if a diplomatic agreement was not reached by the end of August. And here we are. The so-called snapback process takes 30

days, giving Iran a window to try at least to stop the reimposition.

The White House says it will fight a judge's order to shut the immigration detention site known as Alligator Alcatraz. White House Press Secretary

Karoline Leavitt says the South Florida site is not taking new detainees and that the government is abiding by a court order to remove new

infrastructure. A local Native American tribe filed a lawsuit over the center's impact on the environment.

Well, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is hoping to pull off a diplomatic coup when he hosts a massive military parade in Beijing next week. China says

some 26 heads of states -- heads of state will attend the event marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Those heads of state include

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, who President Trump said earlier this week that he would like to meet again. It

will be Kim's first trip to China since 2019.

Xi is flexing his diplomatic muscle at the time when President Trump has struggled with many of his goals on the global stage. Trump efforts to end

the war in Ukraine and the war on Gaza have so far failed.

Joining me now, Seth Jones, director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Good to have you.

First time since 1959 a North Korean leader has attended a Chinese military parade. I wonder, is this a deliberate show of force by Xi Jinping of unity

among China, Russia, and North Korea?

SETH JONES, DIRECTOR, CSIS INTERNATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAM: I think these parades, Jim, always are really, first and foremost, about strategic

communications. There's the weapon systems that we'll see and that we can certainly talk about. But I think when it comes to who is being invited,

there has definitely been, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, an increase in the level of cooperation, military assistance,

deployment of soldiers with the Koreans between the Russians, the Chinese, the North Koreans, and the Iranians.

[18:35:00]

And note by the way, that the Iranian president will likely be at the parade as well. So, the fourth member of the axis or the axis of aggressors

or take your pick. But I think it is important to show that there is this group of countries that is pushing back against the U.S. and others, and

that is an important part of this parade.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Trump claims good personal relationships with all three of those leaders, Putin, Xi, and Kim. And yet, here they are together locking

arms, very much in defiance of U.S. intention, certainly on the war in Ukraine. Is there evidence to back up President Trump's view of those

relationships?

JONES: No. I mean, I think what's important is like, how do you define the specifics of those relationships? And when you look at between the Chinese,

Russians, North Koreans, and the Iranians, what you see there is tons of weapons sales.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

JONES: Again, you see the deployment of soldiers, the North Koreans are fighting with the Russians in Ukraine and in Russia. The -- they're doing

military exercises together, including the Russians and Chinese flying bombers. The U.S. does not have and shouldn't, frankly, in my view, have

that kind of relationship with these countries at this point.

So, no, there's a world of difference between the relationship that they have with each other, which runs deep and almost non-existent relationship

that they have with the U.S.

SCIUTTO: Since the start of the full-scale invasion -- of Russia's full- scale invasion of Ukraine, I've been told by officials in Europe and Asia and here in the U.S. that China has been watching America's response to

that war very closely just to measure U.S. strength and how it might respond, frankly, to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. How do those three

leaders, Xi, Putin, and Kim, view Trump's repeated delay of additional sanctions on Russia, repeated breaking of his own deadlines for actions,

severe consequences, et cetera? Do they see that as weakness?

JONES: I think, you know, it -- they probably view it in a couple different ways. One is kind of a lack of decisiveness. The U.S. and

President Trump have really gone back and forth on a kind of firm decision on what to do. We've heard various, you know, 60, 90-day extensions to

sanctions, for example. We've seen a -- we've got a lot of back and forth on weapons to Ukraine as well. So, probably lack of decisiveness.

And second of all, really an unwillingness to cause pain to the aggressor. I mean, the thing that's been really surprising about the U.S. so far has

been the White House's really inability or unwillingness to -- when the Russians continue to drag their feet with the negotiations not to go the

further step of imposing sanctions, which there's bipartisan support for on the Hill, including from Lindsey Graham, who's a, you know, close ally of

President Trump. But also, increase your weapons to Ukraine, because the Russians are dying in historic numbers.

So, I think that's the way it appears they view the U.S. right now, is indecisive and unwilling, at the end of the day, really to take actions

that will cause pain.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And listen, I mean, as it's happening, it -- he's proven very willing to oppose new penalties on U.S. allies, right, in terms of the

trade war but not on Russia. Seth Jones, thanks so much for joining.

JONES: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, Israel's military is calling the evacuation of Gaza City now, quote, "inevitable" as Israel further expands its attacks on the

outskirts of the besiege city ahead of a planned takeover. Residents say artillery fire struck several neighborhoods in the north, forcing people to

leave the area. Further attacks on the city would force the displacement of some 1 million Palestinians currently sheltering there. Israel claims the

planned action is intended to seize a last remaining Hamas stronghold.

For more now, we're going to go to Dr. Ambereen Sleemi, an American urogynecologist and surgeon, and a volunteer at Gaza's Nasser Hospital.

Doctor, thanks so much for joining.

DR. AMBEREEN SLEEMI, AMERICAN UROGYNECOLOGIST AND SURGEON AND VOLUNTEER AT GAZA'S NASSER HOSPITAL: Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: First, I wonder when you look at the collection of Israeli military actions, but also the restriction of humanitarian and medical aid

into Gaza, do you believe Israel's intent is to drive Palestinians from Gaza entirely by making it unlivable?

DR. SLEEMI: You know, this is a really good question. I don't know if I can really speak to anyone's intent. But what I can say is I just spent a

month working in Nasser Hospital, which, as you know, was triple bombed apparently yesterday, killing journalists, healthcare workers, two medical

students and rescue workers.

[18:40:00]

And I feel like already we've seen displacement from the south when Rafah was -- forced displacement of Rafah in the south and that really affected

where Nasser was because it was a little bit more north. And now, what you have now is, you know, forceful -- forcible displacement of nearly 1

million people from the north and from Gaza City where they have taken shelter.

And part of that, I just want to really emphasize, is that this is already an area under occupation. So, what they're doing right now is invading and

permanently occupying Gaza City, displacing, as you said, nearly 1 million people. This puts an incredible strain, not only on the population that has

lived with 22 months of constant bombardment, and now, we know since March, lack of access to aid, humanitarian aid, there's a starvation that's been

declared in regions. I saw it personally with the patients that I took care of for the month that I was there, both in the maternity hospital and then

in the general hospital.

And I also want to state that I did work in the ORs that were the target of the bombing that happened a few days ago. So, in all, I do think that if

you look at the actions that are being taken between the bombardment and the forceful displacement of a population that was sheltering there, then,

yes. I mean, they've said that they're going to go in and they're going to permanently occupy Gaza City. So, I don't think I really need to -- again,

I can't really guess somebody's intentions. We can just look at the actions that are going on with the military operation that's forcefully and

permanently displacing them from Gaza City.

SCIUTTO: The World Health Organization says now that fewer than half of Gaza's hospitals and just about a third of its primary healthcare centers

are functioning either partially or minimally. When you're there trying to deliver essential care, how do you manage, right? I mean, how do you manage

to deliver even the most basic care to people who are struggling to survive every day?

DR. SLEEMI: Yes. That's a good question. It's been -- it was incredibly difficult. And again, this comes on 22 months of bombardment and already

sieged and food insecurity. And by the time I was there in July, since March, like we have spoken up about, there was a blockade to aid, food, but

this includes medical supplies.

So, in the month that I was there, we already had a shortage of antibiotics. We had a shortage of wound care supplies. We had a shortage of

just sanitation supplies. So, again, this is after many, many months of the local healthcare workers already dealing with these shortages.

But we also had, again, a famine and starvation to a population that's already malnourished. That's being bombarded. So, we have children with

shrapnel. We have, you know, healthcare workers, all sorts of civilian populations with burns from bombs and explosions. These are extensive

burns, extensive shrapnel in all ages. And on top of malnutrition and then we're dealing with sanitation issues and lack of proper equipment.

The ability to recover, as one would expect anywhere else in the world where they have, you know, at least a healthcare system that's somewhat

intact is almost impossible. So, the sepsis we saw, the infections we saw were really horrific. I really can't stress enough how horrifying the

conditions are. It's really catastrophic.

SCIUTTO: Well, Dr. Sleemi, we appreciate the work you've been doing there at great risk to yourself. And, we hope you continue to stay safe as you

work there. Thank you for joining.

DR. SLEEMI: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Still ahead, we're going to take a look back at America's longest war, which ended four years ago this weekend. The U.S. lives changed

forever by almost 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan. That's coming up.

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[18:45:00]

SCIUTTO: This Saturday marks the fourth anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The conflict which lasted almost 20 years began as a

response to the September 11th terror attacks ended with a chaotic and widely criticized U.S. withdrawal, which ushered in a new era of Taliban

rule. Biden administration officials defended the pullout saying the only other option was an escalation of the conflict. They stressed they were

merely honoring an exit agreement hammered out between the Taliban and the first Trump administration.

More than 2,300 U.S. military personnel lost their lives in the war. Thousands more were wounded. One study found that 70 percent of U.S.

veterans have struggled with mental health since returning home from Afghanistan.

Joining me now is retired U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann. He is the author of "Operation Pineapple Express," a true account of the U.S. troops

that helped rescue hundreds of Afghans during the last day of the war. The world premiere of his one-man theatrical production, "11 Days: The Story of

Pineapple Express" kicks off later this year. Scott, good to have you back.

U.S. LT. COL SCOTT MANN (RET.), AUTHOR, "OPERATION PINEAPPLE EXPRESS": Thanks, Jim. Thanks for having me on. And, you know, thanks for all that

you've done over the years for our Afghan allies as well.

SCIUTTO: Well, small contribution doesn't match yours. You've told me multiple times that the withdrawal made an already serious mental health

crisis among Afghan vets worse. Where does that health crisis stand four years after the withdrawal?

MANN: Well, what I can tell you, and like you said there's quite a few statistics that are showing a tremendous increase in mental health issues

with the global war on terror, particularly our Afghanistan war population. We've seen an increase in the crisis hotline with the Veterans

Administration. I've personally lost a dear friend to suicide who was doing well before the collapse happened.

And, you know, we traveled with our other play last out, Jim, all over the country. And I've spoken with stand war veterans who are Democrats,

Republicans, apolitical. And what they all agree to is that this has been a massive moral injury, a violation of our code, of what we know to be true

by the people that we really trusted. And that's going to take years to get over. And right now, we seem to just be ignoring it.

SCIUTTO: Your effort, Pineapple Express, was designed to get America's Afghan allies out who are being hunted down today -- to this day by the

Taliban. Now, some in Trump's world are going after those allies who were welcome to the U.S. Do you feel this administration might try to send them

home?

[18:50:00]

MANN: I'm not sure. I'm not really sure where this is going to go with those allies. I know I'm concerned about where it goes and a lot of other

veterans' groups are as well. And to be clear, you know, Operation Pineapple Express was just one of many groups that got involved when the

institutions failed.

And value is, a lot of them, Jim, are still involved. I mean, four years later, there are so many groups that are still on the world's longest 911

call. They've cashed in their pension funds. And what I would say to this administration is the same thing that I said to the Biden administration is

that there's an implicit promise when it comes to, you know, building teams in foreign lands when you send your young men and women over there, and

that promise is, I have your back.

And if -- as government leaders, we can't recognize the impact of that. And we just turn the page on these veterans who've done that, you're creating

not only a security problem, but you're destroying the social capital and contract that's built on a volunteer on military.

SCIUTTO: So, tell us the goal of your new one-man show here. I know you, you're deliberately trying to start a conversation here, right, a public

conversation. Tell us what your intent is.

MANN: Yes. So, our nonprofit Task Force Pineapple is all focused on warrior storytelling to help educate -- and help veterans and family

members heal from the impacts of modern war. And in this case, the way that we left Afghanistan was a real mistake, and it cannot be repeated again.

It's -- it crosses multiple administrations. And while there needs to be accountability, we need to educate and inform and heal. And that's what

this story is about, it's about moving from moral injury to moral recovery.

So, we're going to be traveling all over the country. We debut in Tampa, Florida on December 17 through 20, and it's just me telling the story. I

play characters, Jim, and I bounce back and forth between Kabul and the breakfast tables and asking two questions, what does a promise mean to you

and how far would you go to honor it?

And I want to show the American people and our politicians what a promise means to these amazing veterans and these Afghan partners and how far they

went to honor it. Because I think it defines us as Americans and we're turning the page on it right now, and we can't do that.

SCIUTTO: Yes. What a promise means, I imagine, and the impact of a broken promise, right? That seems to be part of the message.

MANN: Absolutely. Absolutely. There's a huge cost to that, and this play brings it out in a visceral way that is really has not been told in the

news, certainly hasn't been told by either administration, and I think it's going to be something that really resonates with Americans. Hell, we're

asking Americans to help us put this play on the road and tour. So, I hope people will go to tfpineapple.org and help us put this show out there. It's

sorely needed.

SCIUTTO: Scott Mann, thanks so much for your service and for the work you're doing now.

MANN: Thank you, Jim. And thanks to everybody out there who's still holding the line.

SCIUTTO: I'll have much more news right after the break.

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[18:55:00]

SCIUTTO: Finally, before I leave you tonight, spare a moment for the resilience of the people of Kyiv. The cafe owner we heard from earlier

tonight described his determination to carry on in the face of Russia's relentless bombardment. And as CNN's Daria Tarasova-Markina tells me, the

City of Kyiv went on as usual today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARIA TARASOVA-MARKINA, CNN PRODUCER: So, yes, it was a night full of horror for the people of Kyiv. But what's remarkable is that in the early

morning, even in the destroyed areas, we saw people hit into the gym or barbershops. There were no windows, but there were people. After such a

terrible night, there was still a lot of life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Resilience. Thanks so much for joining us tonight. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay

with CNN.

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