TARGETED BY RUSSIAN FORCES AND
NOW APPEARS TO BE ON FIRE THIS
HOUR.
HERE WITH MORE FROM OUR BIG
BORDERS, OUR VERY OWN
BILL HEMMER.
THE PROBLEM IS THE BOMBING HAS
NOT STOP AND THE OTHER PROBLEM
IS THE FIRE IS ONGOING.
THREE OF THE SIX REACTORS ARE
ACTIVE AND WE DON’T KNOW THE
STATUS OF THE OTHER THREE.
WHAT CAN YOU TELL US?
>> GOOD EVENING TO YOU.
I WILL BREAK DOWN THE LAST 12
HOURS OF THIS WAR TO KIND OF
GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHERE WE ARE
AND I THINK THERE’S REALLY THREE
STORIES AT THE MOMENT.
TWO OF THEM HAPPENING HERE IN
THE SOUTH, ONE IN THE NORTH.
WHAT’S GO TO THE STORY OF THE
MOMENT, AND THAT IS THAT NUCLEAR
POWER PLANT, A TOWN IN THE
SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTRY.
THIS IS A GIANT, MASSIVE RIVER
THAT REALLY CUTS THE COUNTRY IN
TWO.
THIS IS A FLAT COUNTRY.
IT’S LARGELY FARMLAND.
IT MUST BE BEAUTIFUL DURING
HARVEST TIME, BUT NOT THIS TIME
OF YEAR.
THE SITS RIGHT ON THE RIVER.
THAT NUCLEAR PLANT THAT NOW IS
IN QUESTION, APPARENTLY BATTLES
HAPPENING AROUND IT.
THAT IS STORY NUMBER ONE.
WHY IS THIS TAKING PLACE?
IN PART BECAUSE THE RUSSIAN
MILITARY CAME OUT OF CRIMEA
RELATIVELY UNTOUCHED, I WOULD
ARGUE.
AND SO THEY MADE A BEELINE TO
THE EAST, BUT THEY ALSO WENT
WEST EARLIER TODAY.
WE HAVE SOME VIDEO THAT WE
ROLLED EARLIER THIS MORNING, I
THINK WE’VE GOT IT QUEUED UP
NOW.
THERE IS A ROAD THAT LEADS INTO
THIS NUCLEAR POWER PLANT AND
THERE ARE -- YOU CAN SEE IT
HERE.
WE WATCHED IT THIS MORNING ON
"AMERICA’S NEWSROOM."
THIS IS HUNDREDS, IS IT
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE?
THESE ARE CIVILIANS FROM THE
NEARBY TOWN THAT ARE INTENDING
TO BLOCK THE RUSSIAN MILITARY
FROM MOVING TOWARDS THE POWER
PLANT.
IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY SITE.
THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE.
SO THAT IS STORY NUMBER ONE.
HERE’S STORY NUMBER TWO, AND
THAT IS WHAT IS THE RUSSIAN ARMY
DOING, WHERE ARE THEY
SUCCESSFUL?
AND LARGELY THEY HAVE BEEN
SUCCESSFUL IN THE SOUTH.
THEY COME OUT OF CRIMEA, MAKE A
BEELINE HERE.
THIS IS -- WHAT’S THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS TOWN?
ABOUT A HALF A MILLION PEOPLE.
YOU UKRAINIAN CONTROL.
THE RUSSIANS WERE NOT ABLE TO
TAKE IT IN THE WAR EIGHT YEARS
AGO THERE WAS A FIERCE BATTLE
THAT’S BEEN GOING ON FOR THE
LAST THREE DAYS WHERE THE
RUSSIAN MILITARY FIRING FROM THE
SEA AND ALSO FROM THE LAND ABOVE
IT, BUT WE DON’T BELIEVE THAT
TOWN HAS FALLEN TO THEM RUSSIAN
MILITARY YET.
THAT BATTLE CONTINUES.
OVER HERE TO THE WEST, TREY WAS
TALKING ABOUT THIS A MOMENT AGO.
WE BELIEVE THAT IS THE ONE TOWN
IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAS FALLEN
TO THE RUSSIAN MILITARY THUS
FAR, THE MAYOR CONFIRMS THAT A
BIT EARLIER TODAY, SO NOW YOU
START TO SEE THE SWATH OF LAND
THAT PUTIN IS GOING AFTER.
SOUTHERN UKRAINE TRYING TO GET
THE LAND BRIDGE FROM THE
TERRITORY HE TOOK IN 2014 AND
CUT OFF ALL THE ACCESS FROM THE
BLACK SEA TO THE REST OF THE
COUNTRY.
WHAT WOULD BE THE TARGET NEXT?
IN ALL LIKELIHOOD IT WOULD BE
THE TOWN OF ODESSA IN THE WEST.
A MILLION PEOPLE, ONE OF THE TOP
FIVE POPULATION CENTERS IN THE
ENTIRE COUNTRY.
THAT COULD BE THE TARGET NEXT.
REPORTING EARLIER TODAY SUGGESTS
THE ROCK RUSSIAN MILITARY IS MOV
ON.
THAT MIGHT BE THE CASE -- 9:00,
4:00 IN THE MORNING THERE IN
UKRAINE, AND MAYBE BY DAYLIGHT
TOMORROW WE HAVE MORE
INFORMATION ON THIS.
SO THAT IS HAPPENING STORY ONE
AND STORY NUMBER TWO.
STORY NUMBER THREE IS ALSO
SIGNIFICANT.
TALK ABOUT LISTENING TO OUR
DEFENSE OFFICIALS TALK TODAY AND
TRYING TO GET SOME REPORTING ON
THE GROUND.
WE BELIEVE THIS IS AS FAR AS THE
RUSSIAN ARMY HAS BEEN ABLE TO
ADVANCE FROM THE NORTH AND THE
NORTHEAST.
AND WE BELIEVE BASED ON THE
REPORTING WE ARE GETTING THAT
THIS EFFORT HAS BEEN LARGELY
STALLED OUT.
JACK KEANE WAS TALKING BIT
EARLIER TODAY ABOUT THE
MIX-AND-MATCH OF SOLDIERS THAT
HAVE COME IN FROM THE NORTH.
UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM
DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY
THAT NEVER FOUGHT BEFORE
TOGETHER, POOR COMMUNICATION
WITH EACH OTHER AND AS A RESULT
THAT’S BEING REFLECTED IN THEIR
LACK OF ABILITY TO PROCEED ON
THE CAPITAL CITY OF KYIV, WHICH
IS DIFFERENT FROM THE SOUTH,
BECAUSE YOU HAVE UNITS DOWN
THERE THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED
NOW FOR EIGHT YEARS GOING BACK
TO 2014.
SO WE WILL WATCH THAT STORY HERE
AND SEE WHETHER OR NOT PUTIN’S
ARMY CAN GET ITS -- WELL, CAN
GET SOMETHING TOGETHER IN THE
NORTH, AND IF THEY CAN WE ARE
GOING TO SEE SOME MORE NEWS
PROBABLY ON THIS CONVOY THAT
HASN’T MOVED EITHER, AND HERE’S
THE CENTER PART OF KYIV AND THIS
IS THE AIRPORT.
WE SHALL DO THIS A NIGHT OR TWO
AGO.
THERE’S A ROAD THAT RUNS UP THIS
WAY ABOUT 40 MILES IN THE CONVOY
BASICALLY HAS NOT MOVED.
WHAT’S THE INTENT?
WELL, PUTIN TOLD EMMANUEL MACRON
EARLIER TODAY THAT HE WANTS TO
TAKE OVER THE ENTIRE COUNTRY BUT
TO DO IT HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO
TAKE THE CAPITAL CITY AND IT IS
STILL BELIEVED BY LEADING
DEFENSE OFFICIALS THAT HE WOULD
CIRCLE THIS TOWN AND PROBABLY
JUST BOMB THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF
IT LIKE WE’VE SEEN IN OTHER
PARTS OF UKRAINE AND TRY TO GET
THE PEOPLE TO CONCEDE.
ONE OF THE TOWNS THAT’S REALLY
JUST TAKEN SOME HEAT, I’VE
TALKED ABOUT THIS, IN THE
NORTHEAST, 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE,
RUSSIAN-SPEAKING CITY JUST ABOUT
20 MILES FROM THE BORDER WITH
RUSSIA HERE AND THEY PRETTY MUCH
HAVE THIS TOWN SURROUNDED.
IT HAS NOT FALLEN, THEY HAVE NOT
SURRENDERED, THEY HAVE NOT
CAPITULATED TO RUSSIA, THE
RUSSIAN ARMY, BUT IT IS
REALLY -- THEY’VE HAD A COUPLE
OF REALLY, REALLY TOUGH DAYS
THERE.
THE OTHER STORIES GOING TO
DEVELOP OVER TIME AND THESE WILL
ONLY GO HIGHER BY THE DAY.
WE ARE NOW ABOUT A MILLION --
HALF A MILLION POLAND, 133,000
IN HUNGARY, ROMANIA IS 51,000,
OTHERS ABOUT 88,000 THERE, SO
THIS NUMBER IS A MILLION AND
CLIMBING BY THE DAY.
THAT’S WHERE WE BELIEVE WE ARE
AS OF THIS HOUR.