'Special Report' All-Star Panel on world's response to Russia-Ukraine war

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Ukrainians have to be wondering when 'crippling sanctions' will kick in: Gowdy

'Special Report' All-Star panel reacts to accusations of war crimes against Vladimir Putin.

This is a rush transcript of "Special Report with Bret Baier" on March 2, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BAIER: U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, big U.N. vote today, even as the International Criminal Court, the ICC, starts an investigation into war crimes against Russia that's happening on the ground in Ukraine. By the way, just hearing explosions have been heard just in the past couple of minutes in Kyiv, big explosions.

Let's bring in our panel, Ben Domenech, publisher of "The Federalist," Leslie Marshall, Democratic strategist, and Trey Gowdy, former Congressman from South Carolina.

The world is stepping up, Trey, and you heard the French ambassador here doing everything minus military might on the ground in Ukraine. The question is how long the Ukrainians can hold out.

TREY GOWDY, FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA REPRESENTATIVE: Yes, I think they have - - they've been an inspiration for everyone. And I'm sure that they are wondering where are those crippling sanctions? To cripple means to disable. It means to deprive. And then, of course, Biden last night said Putin does not know what's coming. If I'm a Ukrainian, my question is when it is coming? We know when Russia is coming. Our capital is under siege, women and children are being killed. When is the help coming? And if I'm a Ukrainian, you can live on hope and courage for a little while, but bombs usually kind of sap the hope and courage out of you.

BAIER: Alexei Navalny, who is an opposition leader in Russia, Leslie, tweeted this, "We cannot wait any longer. Wherever you are in Russia, Belarus, or on the other side of the planet, go to the main square of your city every weekday at 2:00 p.m., on weekends and holidays." And you are seeing that around the world, even in Moscow.

LESLIE MARSHALL, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I saw an older woman today, a photograph on a Russian transportation system wearing Ukrainian colors. I've seen great grandmothers training in Ukraine and grandmothers and great grandmothers protesting in the streets of Russia. We haven't seen the uprising against Vladimir Putin like this, and I would say that the Russian people are listening to this message, and they are going to.

Look, we all know that despite what happens in Ukraine, we all, the world, are going to have to be part of a reconstruction there. We know that there is going to be urban warfare, perhaps insurgency, and that's something that the United States and the rest of the world have to be a part of, if not militarily, weaponizing and financing as we are doing, but even more so.

And can I just say on a personal note, my great grandmother was moved from St. Petersburg, then Leningrad, to Odessa. So some of these people, if I did a 23andMe, are probably my family.

BAIER: Yes, and there are others tied to this organization that have family members out there.

One of the things that the secretary of state said today that may get some eyeballs is the seizure of oligarchs' property. Take a listen to Tony Blinken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We and our allies and partners are launching a taskforce to identify, track down, and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian companies and oligarchs. We will freeze and seize their yachts, their private jets, their opulent estates in world capitals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: And Ben, "Forbes" is reporting the Germans have seized a big yacht. This is going to be something to watch around the world.

BEN DOMENECH, PUBLISHER, "THE FEDERALIST": It is, and it has a domino effect. We can't predict how big of one it will have. But look, Bret, your question to the French ambassador, really, I think, distills the problem that faces the administration and those who want to do more to try to support the Ukrainians in this moment. There is no appetite on the part of the American people to be sucked into yet another war, and this is a war weary nation in a lot of ways dealing with many economic problems of its own. We have enough going on here domestically, and we don't want to be sucked into it.

At the same time, these images are going to motivate more and more people, and there is going to be more and more of them, sadly, of dead women and children, of indiscriminate bombing that is going to claim the lives of many an innocent Ukrainians. And I think that politicians in Washington have to be prepared to deal with that and to offer a response. Targeting the oligarchs in new ways or finding new ways to deal with them is, I think, an important part of that response. But people are going to start demanding more action, and there has to be something to offer.

BAIER: Quickly, Trey, I didn't hear your reaction to the State of the Union address last night. Your thoughts?

GOWDY: I think two-thirds of our country think we're headed in the wrong direction, and when that happens, you either tell the people they are wrong, and good luck doing that, or you admit that you need a course correction. He opted for what all politicians opt for, the don't believe the statistics, don't believe the numbers, things are going great. Real leaders change course. Politicians on both sides, regrettably, do not.

BAIER: Leslie, quickly?

MARSHALL: I agree with the 78 percent, nearly eight in 10 people who watched it and liked it. I guess Trey and I were watching something different. What I found is the president doing what a president and leader should do with their nation, which is to be positive and optimistic and offer hope. And as a centrist, moderate Democrat, I was very glad to see the president come back to his roots of being a centrist moderate, talking about funding the police as an example.

BAIER: Not many big changes, though, policy-wise, as Trey mentioned. And thank everyone for tuning in. FOX was the most watched on the State of the Union coverage. Panel, thank you very much.

Finally tonight, fancy graphics, a very special delivery. Right now in the midst of all the carnage and chaos, new life is coming forth. A maternity ward turned bomb shelter forced to take shelter underground to receive humanity's most precious gift. This video shows mothers from the Kherson region crammed together as fighting draws near. Four mothers giving birth there.

Similar efforts also taking place elsewhere. You are looking at images from Kyiv where a doctor has taken expectant mothers into a basement equipped with beds, monitors, medical devices. In a social media post, Sergey says, "Even in such circumstances, Ukrainians come into this world." Yes, they do.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for this SPECIAL REPORT, fair, balanced, and still unafraid. "JESSE WATTERS PRIMETIME" starts right now. Hey, Jesse.


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