Ukrainian official says
200 Russian soldiers
were killed in a huge strike
by the Ukrainians
on a Russian base in Tok Mac, Ukraine,
and currently occupied by the Russians.
CNN cannot confirm the Ukrainian claims,
but a pro-Russian outlet
reported, quote, massive,
unquote shelling in that area,
which is a critical hub
for Russian forces.
Meanwhile, CNN's
Alex Marquardt brings us
an exclusive interview
now with one of Ukraine's
top generals who tells CNN exactly how
the Ukrainians hope to deploy the newest
big U.S.
delivery
general.
Brigadier General Alexander
Darnovsky is in charge
of what is arguably
the most important part
of Ukraine's counter-offensive,
trying to punch through
the Russian defenses
in southern Ukraine and split
Russia's forces
shows blue of the killing.
Now, he told CNN exclusively
he has a powerful new weapon,
American cluster munitions.
Have you use them already?
And how much do you think
they're going to change the fight
in Tripoli?
We just got them.
We haven't used them yet, he says.
But they can radically change
the battlefield.
The enemy also understands
that with getting this ammunition,
we will have an advantage
very much
as the radical changes are needed.
As Ukraine's
counteroffensive has made
only modest gains in his area
riddled with mines.
The Russians,
he said, prepared intensely with
the counteroffensive is successful,
but not as much as each of us would like,
he tells us.
They made very dense, complex minefields,
which are now located in the areas
where Ukrainian equipment
and personnel will go through,
turn off ski hopes.
The Russians will abandon areas
where clusters would be most effective.
He says the munitions will be strictly
used away from civilians
and only with the approval
of senior leadership.
They've arrived as artillery
ammunition is running low.
And as news comes at a Ukrainian
missile strike,
reportedly with a British cruise missile
killed a Russian rising star.
Lieutenant General Oleg Sokolov,
the most senior Russian
killed in Ukraine so far,
Long range ammunition that can reach
well beyond the front line, Darnovsky
says, is in dire need.
If extremists would be prepared
to take long
range ammunition is effective.
He says
this may be the most
problematic issue today.
It's like boxing, he adds.
We hold the opponent at arms length
at long distances.
We defeat them effectively.
And, Jake,
the Pentagon has just confirmed
that these U.S.
made cluster munitions
are now in Ukraine.
Now, these types of cluster munitions
are banned by more than 100 countries.
Those countries
do not include Russia, Ukraine
or the United States.
Now, Russia has warned
that if Ukraine does use
these U.s.-made clusters,
that they will be forced
to respond in a reciprocal manner,
they say.
But, Jake, as Wolf was just noting,
the Russians have been using
their own cluster munitions
since the very beginning of this war.
And not just on the battlefield,
but against civilians as well Jake.
Alex Marquardt in the Dnipro, Ukraine,
thank you so much.
Retired four star U.S.
Army general and former
CIA director David Petraeus joins us now.
He is the chairman of KKR
Global Institute,
which owns
defense contracting firms, though
Petraeus has not worked directly
with those firms.
General, as we heard in Alex's reporting,
the Ukrainian general thinks
that even just the threat
of these American cluster bombs
could lead to Russian troops
abandoning their positions.
Do you think that's realistic?
And do you support Biden's decision to
send cluster bombs
I strongly support the decision, Jake.
And I do believe that the employment
of these weapons
will have a significant effect.
There is a need
for this kind of munition to
help the Ukrainians
to break through
these belts of minefields, tank
ditches, trench
lines, dragons skis and so forth.
They're doing that very painstakingly
right now.
And, in fact,
they're carrying out a strategy
that might be described.
In fact,
the UK chief of defense staff
described it as a storm
stretching strike.
So they're specifically going
after key locations like that
strike that was in announced,
not verified,
but announced against a Reserve Forces
Assembly area,
headquarters,
ammo supply points, fuel depots
and artillery pieces,
because the artillery
is the big key killer
on this battlefield.
And that's the challenge
as they're trying to painstakingly
clear leads through these minefields.
So this addition will be very important.
It's also important
because these supplies of artillery
and rockets are starting to run low.
The consumption rate is astonish
And we're still ramping
up, along
with other NATO countries,
our production of 155 millimeter Howitzer
ammunition in particular.
So this is an important contribution
And again, one that I strongly support.
And by the way,
the areas are already heavily done
and they will have to be cleared.
The Russian cluster bombs
have a much higher failure rate,
dud rate.
Their
this rate is considerably lower, 2.5
and below percent.
And so keep in mind as well
that this is Ukrainians
deciding to use
these munitions on their soil,
not someone else's soil,
in the process
of liberating their territory.
Put on your CIA director,
Cap, for a moment.
What do you think
went through Putin's mind today
when President Biden declared
that Putin has already lost the war
Well, Putin, of course, is
still in denial.
He doesn't look in the mirror and yet
and see a leader
who made a catastrophically
bad decision for his country
that he set out to make Russia
great again
and really has made Naito great again.
And of course, now
we're going
to see another member of NATO's
join adding
Sweden to Finland, already
having joined as a result
of this Russian invasion.
And he doesn't yet
acknowledge that Russia will not be able
to suffer.
The Ukrainians, the Europeans
and the Americans.
But that has to be
creeping into his mind.
The casualties have been enormous
many, many times.
The losses
just in the first year and a half
that they took in a decade
in Afghanistan,
which was, of course, unsustainable.
And now the bite on the economy
is really starting as well.
I'm sure you've seen
that their current account
surplus is down by 93% over this year
last time.
So he's got problems at home
and then he has problems
with his mutinous Volga group commander.
The loss of a very senior officer,
the most senior
so far that you announced earlier.
And of course, the firing of one of his
most popular front line commanders.
Maj General Pop
often commanded a little bit
less than 30,000 Russians who played
well with the troops, who's
a very charismatic figure and real flare.
He is callsign with Spartacus.
He calls his soldiers gladiators.
And he was complaining
to his higher headquarters
about the inadequacies of their provision
and support for him, in particular
with the lack of firefighting radars
that are now
enable them
to conduct accurate counter
fire against the Ukrainians
in a number of other issues
that he raised to them.
And so they fired him.
These are not heartening
signs
if you are overseeing this operation
from the Kremlin.
Retired four star General David Petraeus.
Good to see you, sir. Thanks so much.