Violence Continues in Ukraine; European Leaders' Meeting with Russian President Putin Does Not Produce Ceasefire in Ukraine; ISIS Claims Jordanian Airstrike Kills American Aid Worker Hostage
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Happening right now in the Newsroom, new air strikes against a major ISIS stronghold.</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Behind me this is most important piece of territory that ISIS still controls in northern Iraq.</s>WHITFIELD: The U.S. now trying to gather intel on whether American ground troops should help keep retake Iraq's largest city. And then two police officers charged after surveillance video is uncovered allegedly showing them beating a man on a city sidewalk. But wait until you hear who tracked down the shocking evidence. And new details about the NBC News investigation into Brian Williams' false story of about being in a helicopter that was nearly shot down in Iraq. We'll tell you how the probe is now widening. Hello, again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Artillery is raining down on Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. The fighting between pro-Russian rebels fighting for autonomy and Ukraine's military forces has seen absolutely no break for several days now. Peace talks between Russian President Putin and his European counterparts didn't revive a cease-fire that has been in tatters since September. Nick Paton Walsh is in Donetsk. So how heavy this is fighting now. Earlier when we were talking, there was a lot of shelling going on.</s>NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, literally, actually since you began talking, Fredricka, I'm hearing off to my right repeated shelling. You can probably hear that blast there as well. It hasn't really let up much in the past hours or so. And it's been intermittent throughout the day. It appears to be impacting into separatist territory which would suggest it's perhaps the Ukrainian military behind it, but it's always so hard to know who's firing at who, who's to blame for so many indiscriminate civilian deaths. You can hear what sounds like multiple, repeated impacts. That's often consistent with ground rockets being fired.</s>WHITFIELD: Now, what about the citizens there? What are people saying, thinking, and feeling?</s>WALSH: Well, I'm sure you just heard that succession of rocket blasts, too. There's a lot of horror here. People are terrified. They are often unsure quite where to go. The streets below me are deserted. The occasional car races through, but they are running out of food, water. Power is intermittent. The bank system has been nonexistent for weeks. We saw ourselves how people simply queuing for food were blown away by one artillery shell last Friday, horrifying scenes there, sadly increasingly common on both sides of the frontlines. Both militaries here, armed groups armed with heavy weapons are quite capable of wrecking destruction in civilian areas here. But I should point out this noise you're hearing behind me, this is the backdrop to supposed peace talks. The remarkable sight of Vladimir Putin greeting Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, French President Francois Hollande last night in the Kremlin. They came to see him, hoping to get a peace plan, stayed until early hours, didn't emerge with much. Angela Merkel today saying she was uncertain of success in that track. Joe Biden, the U.S. president saying Ukraine had the right to defend itself. That could be what you're hearing potentially behind me impacting into Donetsk. And we just heard from the Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, saying although he doesn't think there's a military solution to this war here, certainly the thing not to do is to not arm Ukraine, because when they're defenseless, in his words, they're open to other acts of aggression. But very loud behind me in Donetsk. I'm sure in the days ahead we'll learn more about who is trying to hurt who here and who died. But obviously this is not a suggestion at all that we're near a negotiated settlement, Fredericka.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much from done Donetsk. Earlier today Vice President Joe Biden had some strong words for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the crisis in Ukraine, at one point saying the situation was, quote, "testing Europe and America." Sunlen Serfaty is at the White House for us. So give us a sense of why, you know, Biden has taken this very strong word approach?</s>SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, very strong words from Vice President Biden today aimed specifically at Vladimir Putin. Now, he says it's time for Russia to not agree just to peace but to actually show action on that. This comes at course at a time when the White House is considering and debating whether they should send lethal aid to the Ukrainians to help in this crisis. Vice President Biden today, he didn't make a specific mention of that internal debate going on in the White House but he spoke more broadly about the need and the right for the Ukrainians to defend themselves. Here's Vice President Biden today.</s>JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Given Russia's recent history, we need to judge it by its deeds, not its words. Don't tell us, show us, President Putin. Too many times President Putin has promised peace and delivered tanks, troops, and weapons. So we will continue to provide Ukraine with security assistance, not to encourage war, but to allow Ukraine to defend itself.</s>SERFATY: Now, here at the White House on Monday, there's a very important meeting going on between President Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel. That is happening Monday here at the White House. Merkel has already come out. She is opposed to sending any more additional lethal aid to Ukraine. She does not want to see any additional weapons into this conflict. The White House internally is going through a big debate whether they should do this. Of course, key at the center of that debate is whether if they do send in more weapons, what will Putin's reaction be? Will he counter with adding more weapons of his own in Ukraine, and of course what that means for violence on the ground. Again, Fred, a very heated discussion here at the White House what the next step is.</s>WHITFIELD: And then, today, on the sidelines of the Munich conference, Secretary of State Kerry met with the Russian foreign minister, who expressed some optimism?</s>SERFATY: Yes, this was interesting. The secretary of state met with Sergey Lavrov today on the sidelines about Munich meetings. And after that conversation Lavrov came out and he expressed some optimism. He says that he's committed to peace and that he's against combat and they'd like to see a withdrawal of heavy weapons in the region. He said that the conversations taking place between France and Russia and Germany over the last few days have given him some confidence. But I have to say that's a much different read than we've gotten from other leaders coming out of those same conversations. And of course as negotiations continue without an end or a cease-fire here, the violence of course continues. Fred?</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Sunlen Serfaty at the White House, thanks so much. All right, a turning point in Jordan's fight against ISIS, that's what the kingdom's interior minister is saying about the brutal murder of the Jordanian pilot, Muath al Kaseasbeh. And he added this, quote, "The state of Jordan is entitled to retaliate against this terror organization and we will pursue it wherever it is, the beginning of an ongoing process to wipe them out completely." Jordan and coalition partners have launched dozens of news strikes on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq, many of those strikes rain down in ISIS in the Iraqi city of Mosul. Here's Phil Black.</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Behind me is the most important piece of territory that ISIS still controls in northern Iraq -- Mosul. It is Iraq's second biggest city, and you can see it here from the top of Mount Zartak. Where I'm standing it is one of the closest positions occupied by the Kurdish fighters, the Peshmerga, who have drawn a defensive line around that ISIS controlled city. And from up here, there is a commanding view into Mosul from the south and the towns and villages which surround it and which are still occupied by ISIS as well. On this day overhead has been the constant sound of aircraft, fast- moving aircraft. We have seen what appears to be a slower-moving, larger reconnaissance aircraft of some kind. And then frequently, repeatedly, often very close to one another, the sound of large blasts in the distance. It is a hazy day, not the best day to view Mosul from this location, but you still have a very clear idea of what lies between the lines that have been established by the Kurdish fighters around the south and southwest of this city and that no man's land in between leading up to Mosul itself.</s>WHITFIELD: Joining me right now from northern Iraq is Phil Black. So Phil, you've been to several locations on the front lines there. What have you been learning?</s>BLACK: What we've seen, Fred, is that indeed the Kurdish fighters on the ground have had significant success in pushing ISIS back out of in Kurdish territory. They're not setting up defensive lines and they're holding them with the help of air power, of course. That's how they've accomplished this and that how they're still holding those positions. What it shows is that ISIS is simply not able to move forward and claim big tracks of land the way that it once did. The fighters on the ground believe they're winning. That does not mean victory is imminent. However, of course, there is still that big city of Mosul that needs to reclaimed. The Kurdish fighters say they are going to help do that, but that's really going to come down to the Iraq Army, the same military force that fled and let ISIS take it in the first place, once it is rebuilt, re-motivated, then it is expected a large operation, an offensive will begin to clear that city. But that still appears to be some months away yet.</s>WHITFIELD: Phil Black, thank you so much, from northern Iraq. While the strikes to stop ISIS continue, the family of an American hostage held by ISIS is pleading with her captors to contact them privately. The parents of 26-year-old Kayla Mueller also say they hope their daughter is still alive. ISIS is claiming that she was killed on a Jordanian air strike on an ISIS target. But the U.S. and Jordan say there is no evidence she is still dead. CNN's Kyung Lah is in Prescott, Arizona, 100 miles north of Phoenix. So Kyung, what more are you learning from that area?</s>KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we know is that the family has tried to be secluded. They haven't spoken out in front of cameras, but they have released a statement. They want people to know something about their daughter, that she is someone who had a life of service and cared about others. And they also sent a message directly to her captors. Here in part is what it says. It says that "To those in position of responsibility for holding Kayla, in adherence to your warnings and out of concern for Kayla's safety we have been silent until now. After going through extraordinary efforts to keep Kayla's name out of the media for so long by securing the cooperation of journalists throughout the world, her name was released. This news leaves us concerned, yet we are still hopeful that Kayla is alive. You told us you that you treated Kayla as your guest. As your guest, her safety and well-being remains your responsibility." The family, we understand from having spoken to people who are in close contact with them, they are at their family home, they are with spiritual council as well as surrounded by friends and family. Fredricka?</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Kyung, Lah, thanks so much. Keep us posted. And we'll have much more from the Newsroom after this.