More Russian missile
strikes on Ukraine's
crucial port city of Odessa
on the Black Sea.
The Ukrainians say 21 people
there have been killed over the past
five days.
Reuters quotes
the region's governor
as saying the Russians are hitting
grain terminals.
The United Nations today
warned that the attacks
on Ukraine's
ability to export
grain will impact global food security,
which, of course, will especially hurt
developing countries.
The Russians canceled the previous deal
to allow the export of Ukrainian grain.
Earlier this week,
they said they did so in retaliation
for what they claim was
a Ukrainian strike.
The damage to a key
bridge to Crimea,
a part of Ukraine
that the Russians
illegally seized in 2014 and Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
is seething about the continuing
flow of weapons
Ukraine is getting from its allies,
especially from the United States.
But as CNN's Fred
Pleitgen reports
for us now, Putin's
isolation
and alleged
paranoia appear to be growing worse.
According to experts
and officials at the CIA.
Among others are noticing
With Ukraine now using U.S.
supplied cluster munitions
to try and penetrate
the Russian army's entrenched positions
on the southern front.
Russian leader
Vladimir Putin ripping into the U.S.
and its allies for aiding Kiev.
If you ask me to,
the whole world can see that
the supposedly
invulnerable equipment
that the West boasted about is on fire.
And technically,
it is often even inferior
to some Soviet made weapons.
Yes, of course,
additional Western armaments
can be supplied and thrown into battle.
This,
of course, causes
us certain damage
and prolongs the conflict.
But while Putin tries
to project superiority on the battlefield
at home,
the Kremlin continues to silence
critical voices,
even some of those supporting their war.
Prominent military blogger Igor Girkin,
who also goes by Igor
Strelkov, arrested today,
his wife said after remarks blasting
the lack of progress of Russia's
military campaign in Ukraine.
People are going to have issues
The situation
with a special military operation
and in the country
in general is deplorable, to put it
mildly, he said.
This is a result of actions
of the incumbent power
Girkin is a former colonel
in Russia's
security service, FSB,
and was the defense minister
of the so-called Donetsk
People's Republic in eastern Ukraine
when the Malaysian jetliner,
MH 17, was shot down there in 2014.
Girkin was found guilty of mass murder
in absentia by a Dutch court
for involvement in the incident.
Which he has never acknowledged.
While Girkin is considered
a war criminal in Ukraine,
he deems himself
a Russian ultranationalist
who feels the war
should be prosecuted even more brutally.
We see.
I didn't know you.
Putin's grip on
power was only recently challenged
by the uprising of the Wagner
private military company and its boss,
Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Now the Russian
leader wants to calm things down.
CIA Director
William Burns believes
Putin is trying to buy time
as he considers
what to do with Wagner
and what to do with Prigozhin himself.
You know, Putin hates,
in my experience, anyway,
the image that he's overreacting does.
But that doesn't mean
Prigozhin is forgiven, Byrne says.
If I were Prigozhin, I wouldn't fire
my food taster.
And that same event, Jake,
the CIA director, also
calling Vladimir Putin
the ultimate apostle of payback,
which obviously could spell trouble
for Yevgeny Prigozhin down the line.
And if you look at Igor
Girkin, for instance,
I mean, we have to keep in mind
this was one of Putin's
most important figures back in 2014.
Now he's in jail.
He's been ordered to remain there
at least until at least September 18th
and could face up to five years in prison
for alleged extremism.
We're joined
by CNN senior
national security
correspondent Alex Marquardt,
who is in key for us.
Alex,
as Ukraine braces
for more Russian strikes,
President Zelensky
says there will be a response
to these attacks in Odessa.
Give us the latest
Yeah, Jim.
President Slutsky
not offering any details,
but vowing that there will be a response
for these four days in a row at least.
We're still waiting to see
what happens tonight.
But for now, four days
in a row of ferocious attacks.
President Zelinsky
did meet with his top commanders earlier.
He said following that meeting
that only absolute evil
can inflict such attacks.
Jim, we were right
in the middle of these attacks.
We watched them
unfold, this
unbelievable combination
of drones and cruise missiles
in the middle of the night.
Today,
the fourth day
was a little bit different.
It happened in their early daylight hours
in the morning.
Seven cruise missiles hitting a region
just outside of Odessa City,
still within the Odessa
region, hitting
what the Ukrainians called
an infrastructure facility
and destroying equipment
that facility, as well as around 120 tons
of food.
Now, Ukraine is accusing
Russia of racketeering
because they pulled out
of this grain deal.
Saying that they're trying to drive
food prices up
so that they can make
a profit off of hunger.
The global community
has accused Russia of weaponizing hunger.
Russia, meanwhile, is saying
that this is in response,
these attacks on Odessa and elsewhere
in response
to the Ukrainian attack
on that Kerch Bridge, which connects
Russia with
Russian illegally annexed Crimea.
Interestingly, Jim.
President Zelensky saying that
after that brazen attack
by Ukraine on Monday,
Ukraine is going to keep attacking
that bridge
because it is so vital to Russia.
Zelensky calling it
an enemy facility
that must be neutralized
Jim and Alex,
we're also hearing interesting comments
from the CIA director,
Bill Burns, on
how Putin will eventually
respond to that
attempted rebellion last month.
What can you tell us about that?
And how
he will respond
specifically to the leader
of that rebellion, if any, production.
These really are
fascinating comments
by Bill Burns, the CIA director.
Clearly, he does not believe
that this saga
between Putin and Prigozhin is over.
There were immediate questions about what
promotions fate would be.
Burns is saying that
Putin will not act immediately.
He doesn't want to appear uncertain.
He doesn't want to be seen overreacting.
He doesn't want to be seen
as doing anything rash.
But that revenge, Burns
says,
Putin believes, is a dish
best served cold.
Here's a little bit
more of what he had to say.
Putin is someone who generally
thinks that
revenge is a dish best served cold.
So he is going to try to settle
the situation to the extent he can.
But again, in my experience,
Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback.
So I would be surprised
if promotion escapes
further retribution for this.
If I were promotion, I wouldn't fire
my food taster
So Burns saying there that
Putin is
waiting for things to settle down.
But clearly,
in the Biden administration's opinion,
this was
the most direct assault, Burns said, to
Putin's rule in the 23 years
he has been in power.
Jim.
Yeah, revenge
may certainly be on the menu. Art.
Alex Marquardt, thanks very much.
Stand by for more on this.
We're joined by CNN contributor
on Russian affairs, Jill Dougherty.
Jill, great to see you.
What do you
what do you make of this analysis
from the CIA director, Bill Burns?
Why might Putin be biding his time
to retaliate against Prigozhin?
We kind of saw this coming
year.
Well, right now,
you know,
that rebellion
has really unleashed
a lot of groups
and a lot of the groups are on the right.
These are extremists.
They're ultra nationalists.
And they are really kind
of dangerous guys.
So I think what Putin is trying to
do, no.
One, is to figure out
what do you do with Prigozhin?
And as we all know,
Prigozhin who led that rebellion
was really valuable
because he had men, armed men.
And he also had this
enormous series of companies
that helped out the Russian government
on various levels.
But then you have to figure out
what do you do with these guys
who are saying the conventional military
in Russia is not cruel
enough, is not harsh enough.
And that we really have to take it
to Ukraine
and do even more and these are the people
that are really, really dangerous
and they could be dangerous
to Putin as well.
So I think that's what's going on.
And that's what
the director is referring to.