Russia bombs maternity and children’s hospital in Ukraine: LIVE UPDATES
The Russian military has bombed a maternity and children’s hospital on Wednesday in the key Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where more than 400,000 people are stranded after an evacuation attempt was thwarted.
Coverage for this event has ended.
Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe reacts to reports that hackers targeted U.S. energy companies ahead of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
The House of Representatives voted 361-69 to approve a $1.5. trillion spending bill that funds the government through Sept. 30 and includes $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine amid the war with Russia.
The defense portion passed by a vote of 361-69, and the domestic portion passed by a vote of 260-171 with one present vote.
The House voted after months of stalling and debate as Congress faced a Friday deadline to approve government funding or risk a shutdown.
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More than one million children have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries since the start of the Russian invasion nearly two weeks ago, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday.
At least 37 children have been killed and 50 were injured in the weeks since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24., UNICEF's Catherine Russell said in a statement.
Russell said she was "horrified" by the reported attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Wednesday that wounded more than a dozen people, including women near childbirth, Ukrainian officials said, according to the Associated Press.
Sen. Lindsey Graham lashed out at the Biden administration for seemingly slowing the transfer of Polish fighter jets to Ukraine, saying he was "dumbfounded" by the administration's opposition to the plan.
"I’m beyond dumbfounded the Biden Administration is opposing the transfer of Polish MiGs to Ukrainian pilots so they can defend their homeland," the South Carolina Republican said on Twitter.
Graham has been a vocal advocate for Ukraine throughout the war, going so far as to call on Russian citizens to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.
Now Graham is calling on the White House to allow the transfer of MiG fighter jets to Ukraine, saying arguing the U.S. cannot allow "Putin run NATO or freeze our ability to respond appropriately."
"The Biden Administration apparently supported Poland, a NATO member, transferring the jets, but all of a sudden it is untenable when America is involved in the transfer," Graham said.
As tensions continue to escalate in Ukraine, many express fears of Russia shifting its vengeance to the United States in the form of cyber warfare.
Fox Nation’s "Russia: The Cyber Threat," hosted by Kelly O'Grady, details the dark side of cyber crimes and reveals how just "a few highly calculated lines of code could cripple the infrastructure of an entire nation."
In President Biden’s State of the Union address, he provided a stark warning to Russia, cautioning them to avoid attacking U.S. industries. However, as more and more countries step up in defense of Ukraine, many fear this means impending retaliation.
Russia has confirmed its use of a thermobaric weapon system, or "vacuum" bombs, during Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defense said Wednesday.
Vacuum bombs disperse explosive material over a large area that uses surrounding oxygen as fuel when it detonates, creating a blast wave that lasts far longer than conventional explosives. Thermobaric bombs are capable of sucking the air out of person's lungs, causing them to fill with liquid, or causing a person's lungs to rupture or explode.
"The impact of the [TOS-1A] is devastating," the UK Ministry of Defense said in a video. "It can destroy infrastructure and cause significant damage to internal organs and flash burns, resulting in death to those exposed."
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent jitters across Taiwan, as military strategists and lawmakers prepare for the possibility – however far-reaching – of a similar invasion from mainland China.
Last month, as Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, nine Chinese aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense zone, prompting a broadcast warning from the island nation.
Military strategists in Taiwan are closely studying Ukrainians as they've mounted a fierce resistance against a more formidable opponent despite being outgunned and outmanned.
China is backing Russia’s claims about U.S.-controlled "biolabs" in Ukraine conducting "biological military activities" – accusations the White House and Ukraine have both denied.
The allegations come two weeks into Vladimir Putin's invasion of his smaller neighbor.
"According to data released by the US, it has 26 bio-labs and other related facilities in Ukraine, over which the US Department of Defense has absolute control," Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said during a news conference Tuesday. "All dangerous pathogens in Ukraine must be stored in these labs and all research activities are led by the US side. Without US approval, no information shall be released to the public."
The United Nations has confirmed 1,424 civilian casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war — a figure that does not include those injured or killed Wednesday in the shelling of a maternity hospital in the strategic port city of Mariupol.
The new numbers released Wednesday cover Feb. 24 beginning at 4 a.m. to March 8 ending at midnight, but it is estimated that the true civilian toll is much greater, according to the U.N.’s human rights office.
The report says that 516 people have been killed -- including 37 children –- and 908 injured, as the war now stretches into its second week.
The White House on Wednesday warned that Russia could use "chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine" or could create a "false flag operation" using them, after the Kremlin accused the U.S. of being involved in biological weapons research at Ukrainian labs.
The director of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ information and press department, Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova, said that in the course of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia confirmed that Ukrainian leadership was quickly trying to clean up any trace of "military and biological programs" that Ukraine was conducting with financial backing from the United States.
This echoed previous accusations that the Kremlin has made about Ukraine allegedly destroying samples of various pathogens. A spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the allegations, according to Reuters, and a senior U.S. defense official called the claims "laughable" and said they are part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday she had the “great honor” of speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the phone for 45 minutes.
She said the two discussed Vladimir Putin’s crimes against humanity, as she referenced a maternity ward bombing.
They discussed his need for more planes and anti-missile weaponry. The call came as the House is trying to pass a spending bill that will include $13.6 billion in Ukraine aid ---- even more than the $10 billion that the White House requested.
Zelenskyy also posted to social media about the call, thanking Pelosi for help "countering aggression" from Russia.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Wednesday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, and informed him that the United States will not support Poland’s proposal to deliver MiG-29s to the Ukrainian military.
“The secretary also had a chance to discuss with Minister Blaszczak the proposal to send MiG-29 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and, specifically, the notion of doing so by a way of transfer to U.S. custody,” Kirby said. “Secretary Austin thanked the minister for Poland’s willingness to continue to look for ways to assist Ukraine, but he stressed that we do not support the transfer of additional fighter aircraft to the Ukrainian air force at this time and therefore have no desire to see them in our custody either.”
"We believe the provision of additional fighter aircraft provides little increased capabilities at high risk," Kirby continued.
“We assess that adding aircraft to the Ukrainian inventory is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness of Ukrainian Air Force relative to Russian capabilities,” Kirby said. “Therefore, we believe that the gain from transferring those MIG 29s is low.”
Kirbv also said during the briefing that America must “be careful about every decision we make” to ensure “that we aren’t making the potential for escalation worse.”
The Pentagon said Wednesday that it opposes a potential transfer of MiG fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine because such a transfer would be "high risk."
“We assess that adding aircraft to the Ukrainian inventory is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness of Ukrainian Air Force relative to Russian capabilities," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Wednesday, while noting that such a move could also be mistaken as escalatory" by the Russian government.
“I am horrified by the reported attack today on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine – an attack which reportedly left young children and women in labor buried beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings. We do not yet know the number of casualties but fear the worst," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement Wednesday.
“This attack, if confirmed, underscores the horrific toll this war is exacting on Ukraine’s children and families. In less than two weeks, at least 37 children have been killed and 50 injured, while more than 1 million children have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries.
“Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure – including hospitals, water and sanitation systems and schools – are unconscionable and must stop immediately. UNICEF renews its call for an immediate cease-fire and urges all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect children from harm, and to ensure that humanitarian actors can safely and quickly reach children in need.”
The White House is blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for record-high gas prices in the United States, coining the surge as the #PutinPriceHike and vowing that President Biden will do everything he can to shield Americans "from pain at the pump."
Americans are experiencing the highest gas prices since the 2008 financial crisis, with the national gas price average reaching more than $4 per gallon – the highest average to date, according to AAA.
White House communications director Kate Bedingfield on Wednesday tweeted that, for months, Putin "has been saber-rattling, and for months, gas prices have been going up — up 75 cents since he began his military build-up" along the Ukrainian border.
The Kremlin is accusing the U.S. of being involved in biological weapons research at Ukrainian labs, but such claims are "laughable" and part of a Russian disinformation campaign, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova, director of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ information and press department, said that in the course of their invasion of Ukraine, Russia confirmed that Ukrainian leadership was trying to quickly clean up any trace of "military and biological programs" that Ukraine was conducting with financial backing from the U.S.
The Chernobyl plant in Ukraine is disconnected from the grid due to damage inflicted by Russian occupying forces, sparking concerns of radioactive contamination if the cooling of spent nuclear fuel stops.
The 750 kV Chernobyl-Kyiv high-voltage line is currently disconnected "due to damage by the occupiers," Energoatom, or the state-run National Nuclear Energy Generating Company of Ukraine, said Wednesday. The Chernobyl station and all nuclear facilities of the Exclusion Zone are without electricity.
The regulator explained that there are about 20,000 spent fuel assemblies stored at the facility that require constant cooling. Without electricity to cool the pumps, the temperature in the holding pools will increase, prompting the release of radioactive substances into the environment.
The World Health Organization said Wednesday it has documented 18 attacks on health facilities, workers and ambulances since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in late February.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.N. health agency has delivered 81 metric tons of supplies to Ukraine and is now establishing a pipeline to send further equipment.
To date, Tedros said WHO had sent enough surgical supplies to treat 150 trauma patients and other supplies for a range of health conditions to treat 45,000 people.
Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergencies chief, acknowledged that sending medical supplies to Ukraine was unlikely to make a big difference.
“This is putting bandages on mortal wounds right now,” he said.
WHO chief Tedros said some of the main health challenges officials were facing in Ukraine were hypothermia and frostbite, respiratory disease, heart disease, cancer and mental health issues. He added that WHO staffers have been sent to countries neighbouring Ukraine to provide mental health support to fleeing refugees, mostly women and children.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, when asked Wednesday about rising gas prices during the Ukraine war, said “we need to ensure the supply meets the demand out there in the marketplace.
“Obviously we are engaging with big global oil producers around the world to meet that demand but there are also 9,000 unused oil leases that oil companies could certainly tap into and we encourage them to do that,” she said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, when asked Wednesday about Russians being arrested in their own country for protesting President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine , said “it’s pretty clear he didn’t bet on the opposition from within his own country.”
“We have seen people across Russia bravely, courageously protest, speak out against a war that they believe is unjust, is unwarranted and that is incredibly powerful,” she said.
(AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A photo has emerged Wednesday of an injured pregnant woman following Russian military shelling on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine.
The attack has left at least 17 injured, the AFP reports, citing a local Ukrainian official.
This image taken from video issued by Mariupol City Council shows the aftermath of Mariupol Hospital after an attack on Wednesday. (Mariupol City Council)
An estimated 2,155,271 refugees have fled Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country, with the majority escaping to Poland, according to statistics posted Wednesday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as those in Mariupol reel from the aftermath of a bombing at a maternity hospital.
Of that, 1,294,903 refugees were estimated to have fled to Poland, the UNHCR found. Nationwide, thousands are thought to have been killed, both civilians and soldiers, in the two weeks of fighting since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded.
Meanwhile, a Russian attack severely damaged a maternity hospital in the besieged port city of Mariupol, Ukraine said Wednesday. Citizens trying to escape shelling on the outskirts of Kyiv streamed toward the capital amid warnings from the West that Moscow’s invasion is about to take a more brutal and indiscriminate turn.
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Nikita Mazepin drove for the Haas F1 team in 2021 and was under contract to return this season. (Hasan Bratic/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Former Haas F1 driver Nikita Mazepin and his father, Dmitry Mazepin, have been added to the list of individuals sanctioned by the European Union, which includes travel restrictions and asset freezes, according to the Financial Times.
Dmitry Mazepin controls Russian fertilizer giant Uralchem, which had its sponsorship of the Haas F1 team terminated along with his son's driver contract last week.
"He is a natural person associated with a leading businessperson (his father) involved in economic sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Government of the Russian Federation, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation [sp] of Ukraine," the Official Journal of the EU says regarding Nikita Mazepin.
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Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval joins 'America's Newsroom' to vow his city will aid its 'sister city' Kharkiv.
The European Union said Wednesday that it is working on sending communications equipment to Ukraine after the country asked Brussels for help to keep telecom networks running.
The EU “received a request from our Ukrainian friends and we’re in the process of coordinating on that,” French digital minister Cedric O said, according to the Associated Press.
The minister said EU officials discussed aid in the form of electronic and computer equipment that they could offer Ukraine to ensure the country’s telecom and administrative networks “continue as normally possible.”
As the Russian offensive grinds on, Ukraine’s ability to maintain telecommunications in some areas is in question as cellphone networks went down in the besieged port city of Mariupol.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(Fox News)
A senior U.S. defense official said Thursday that Russia has launched more than 710 missiles so far during its invasion of Ukraine -- half originating from inside Russia and the other half from inside Ukraine.
The official said around 90% of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invading combat power remains available for use, although Russia has lost around 700 military vehicles in the last two weeks and Ukraine's airspace remains contested.
Russia also has failed to make significant progress Wednesday toward the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the official continued, but is closing in on Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, where heavy fighting is ongoing.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is working to help Ukraine secure additional air defense capabilities, the official said.
Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
A senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday that the U.S. has evidence that some of Russia's invading forces in Ukraine were told they were going on a training exercise.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Republic of Georgia's acting ambassador to the U.S., whose home is partially occupied by Russian forces, criticized Vladimir Putin's intimidation tactics in the region and called for more sanctions against the authoritarian regime.
"The lessons that the world has learned based on the Georgian tragic experience [is] that once you have a bully inside the room, there is no other way of dealing with this bully than giving [him] an adequate response," Giorgi Tsikolia said of the Russian president.
"This is what we've been pushing hard as a message here as well, pushing for additional sanctions against Russia," Tsikolia told Fox News.
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Russian forces bombed a maternity and children’s hospital on Wednesday in the key Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where more than 400,000 people are stranded after an evacuation attempt was thwarted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared video of what he described as the "direct strike of Russian troops" on the maternity hospital in Mariupol. He again demanded the skies be closed over Ukraine.
"People, children are under the wreckage. Atrocity!" Zelenskyy tweeted. "How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity."
Russian forces were "holding hostage" more than 400,000 people by blocking humanitarian aid and evacuation from Mariupol, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted earlier Wednesday. He claimed that nearly 3,000 newborn babies were in dire need of food and medicine. "I urge the world to act!" he tweeted. "Force Russia to stop its barbaric war on civilians and babies!"
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Russia’s defense ministry admitted Wednesday to its use of conscripts in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, despite President Vladimir Putin’s repeated insistence that Kremlin military forces only considered of professional fighters, according to a Reuters report.
The defense ministry’s staggering admission comes after Putin has previously – and repeatedly – denied Russia’s use of conscripts in the war, and one day after Putin addressed the concerned loved ones of soldiers directly.
"I’d like to address the mothers, wives, sisters, brides and girlfriends of our soldiers and officers who are in battle now," Putin said Tuesday in a televised address, according to a translation shared by The Telegraph.
"I know how worried you are for your loved ones," he went on. "You can be proud of them just as the whole country is proud and feels for them."
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The contents of the video could not be independently confirmed. (Fox News)
In a video posted online by the Russian Ministry of Defense Wednesday, a Soviet flag is seen mounted to a tank purportedly making its way through Ukraine.
Anastasiia Laletina of Ukraine in action (REUTERS/Issei Kato)
A Ukrainian biathlete pulled out of the Paralympics after her father was reportedly captured by Russian military forces who invaded the country.
Anastasiia Laletina was set to participate in the Games when she stepped aside, a Ukrainian Paralympic Committee spokesperson told Reuters. Laletina’s father is a solider in the Ukrainian military, but details about his reported capture were scant.
Laletina, 19, was set to compete in the middle-distance sitting event at the Paralympics. According to Reuters, she was still in Zhangjiakou, China, and is set to fly back to Poland when the Games are finished.
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Fox News has learned Wednesday from a source familiar with the intelligence that 21 American companies involved with liquefied natural gas production, including Chevron Corporation and Cheniere Energy, were targeted and attacked by hackers two weeks prior to the start of the Ukraine invasion.
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is working to confirm the attacks emanated from Russia but the source tells Fox News it is believed this marked the first stage in Russia’s effort to destabilize the U.S. energy industry.
Fox News' Gillian Turner contributed to this report.
When missiles first hit Ukraine, like many Kyiv residents, Oleksandr Prokhorenko's first reaction was to run and hide.
But something stopped him.
"I thought to myself: ‘Who am I if I’m going to leave these people?'" Prokhorenko told Fox News while walking through the center of Kyiv.
"You can not imagine how many people are in need," Prokhorenko said.
That's why he decided to stay in the country's capital, where he was born and raised. Prokhorenko, who owns several Kyiv restaurants, has spent the last several days delivering food and medicine to sheltering Ukrainians, including cancer patients and the elderly.
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China announced Wednesday that it is sending around $800,000 in humanitarian aid to Ukraine -- including food and daily necessities -- despite continuing to oppose sanctions against Russia.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters an initial batch was sent to the Ukrainian Red Cross on Wednesday with more to follow “as soon as possible.”
China has largely backed Russia in the conflict and Zhao reiterated Beijing’s opposition to economic sanctions against Moscow.
Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing that “wielding the stick of sanctions at every turn will never bring peace and security but cause serious difficulties to the economies and livelihoods of the countries concerned.”
He said China and Russia will “continue to carry out normal trade cooperation, including oil and gas trade, in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Current Russian military activity in Ukraine. (Fox News)
Ukraine Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba claimed Wednesday that the Russian military is blocking humanitarian aid and evacuation routes for around 400,000 people in the eastern city of Mariupol, effectively holding them "hostage".
"Indiscriminate shelling continues. Almost 3.000 newborn babies lack medicine and food," he wrote in a tweet. "I urge the world to act! Force Russia to stop its barbaric war on civilians and babies!"
This photo shows the New Safe Confinement structure over the old sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. (Reuters)
The Chernobyl plant in Ukraine remained disconnected from the grid due to damage inflicted by Russian occupying forces, sparking concerns of radioactive contamination from cooling spent nuclear fuel.
The 750 kV Chernobyl-Kyiv high-voltage line is currently disconnected "due to damage by the occupiers," Energoatom, or the state-run National Nuclear Energy Generating Company of Ukraine, said Wednesday. The Chernobyl station and all nuclear facilities of the Exclusion Zone are without electricity.
The regulator explained that there are about 20,000 spent fuel assemblies stored at the facility that require constant cooling. Without electricity to cool the pumps, the temperature in the holding pools will increase, prompting the release of radioactive substances into the environment.
"The only electrical grid supplying the Chornobyl NPP and all its nuclear facilities occupied by Russian army is damaged," Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted Wednesday. "CNPP lost all electric supply. I call on the international community to urgently demand Russia to cease fire and allow repair units to restore power supply."
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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, are pictured in early February in Turkey. (Photo by Turkish Presidential Press Office via dia images via Getty Images)
Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, has posted an open letter naming the "child casualties" of the Russian invasion.
"Despite assurances from Kremlin-backed propaganda outlets, who call this a 'special operation'- it is, in fact, the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians," she wrote.
"Perhaps the most terrifying and devastating of this invasion are the child casualties. Eight-year-old Alice who died on the streets of Okhtyrka while her grandfather tried to protect her," Zelenska continued. "Or Polina from Kyiv, who died in the shelling with her parents. 14-year-old Arseniy was hit in the head by wreckage, and could not be saved because an ambulance could not get to him on time because of intense fires."
"When Russia says that it is 'not waging war against civilians,' I call out the names of these murdered children first," Zelenska said.
"Our women and children now live in bomb shelters and basements," she also said, adding that the "first newborn of the war, saw the concrete ceiling of the basement, their first breath was the acrid air of the underground, and they were greeted by a community trapped and terrorized."
"At this point," Zelenska says, "there are several dozen children who have never known peace in their lives."
A woman walks by apartment building damaged after shelling the day before in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city. (Photo by SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images)
The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that "fighting north-west of Kyiv remains ongoing with Russian forces failing to make any significant breakthroughs.
"The cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol remain encircled by Russian forces and continue to suffer heavy Russian shelling," it added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the nation in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , in an Instagram post Wednesday, is urging the U.S. and Poland to work out a deal and "send us planes" to defend his country's airspace from Russia's military.
Poland offered Tuesday to give its entire fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. in exchange for a chance to buy American F-16s as part of a deal to bolster the Ukrainian air force while upgrading the Poles’ with NATO aircraft.
But Pentagon press secretary John Kirby distanced the U.S. from the proposal later in the day, saying that while the decision to hand over jets to Ukraine is in the hands of the Polish government, American involvement "raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance."
"So when will the decision be made? Listen: we have a war! We do not have time for all these signals," Zelenskyy said Wednesday. "This is not ping pong! This is about human lives! We ask once again: solve it faster. Do not shift the responsibility, send us planes."
Fox News' Michael Ruiz and James Levinson contributed to this report.
A girl sits in an improvised bomb shelter in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Monday. (AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Ukrainians in the besieged city of Mariupol reportedly are turning to melting snow and streams for their water sources as their supplies have been cut.
“There is no heating, electricity, water, natural gas... In other words there is nothing, no household commodities. The water is collected from the roofs after the rain," Aleksey Berntsev, head of Red Cross of Mariupol, told the Associated Press.
Mariupol, a port city in eastern Ukraine, is one area of the country that continues to "suffer heavy Russian shelling " Wednesday, according to a statement from the British Ministry of Defense.
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to travel to Eastern Europe Wednesday, carrying a message that the U.S. stands "firmly and resolutely" with NATO allies and will continue providing assistance to the Ukrainian people, senior administration officials said, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "made a mistake" that will result in a "resounding strategic defeat" for Russia.
The vice president is expected to travel to Poland and Romania, as Russia’s war with Ukraine rages on for a fourteenth day. Officials, in previewing her trip, said it will "demonstrate the strength and unity of the NATO alliance and U.S. support for NATO’s eastern flank allies in the face of Russian aggression."
Harris is expected to make stops in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, where she is set to hold bilateral meetings with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Harris is also set to meet with Canadian President Justin Trudeau, who will be in Poland at the same time.
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Annamaria Moslovska, a ten-year-old from Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, smiles in a waiting room at the train station in Zahony, Hungary, Monday, March 7, 2022. After hearing bombs falling in her hometown of Kharkiv, Annamaria Maslovska left her friends, her toys, and her life in Ukraine and set off on a two-day journey with her mother to Hungary. From inside the train station at the town of Zahony, on Hungary's border with Ukraine, the 10-year-old said she is worried about her friends in Kharkiv after the messages she sent to them on Viber have gone unanswered. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Two million Ukrainians have fled the country as the Russian military invades, often targeting civilians, and one million of them are children.
It's the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
Annamaria Maslovska, 10, of Kharkiv, fled to Hungary with her mom, leaving behind her home, her toys and her friends.
“I really miss them because I can’t contact them, they just read my messages and that’s all," she said of her friends. "I really worry, because I don’t know where they are."
She told the Associated Press she wants to be an actress in the United States and is proud she can speak English fluently. She said she'd also like to see Disneyland Paris but if the war stops, she said she wants to go home.
“I really want to go home because there are my friends, there are beautiful parks, supermarkets, centers, and playgrounds behind my house,” she said. “Kharkiv, it’s like a piece of your heart.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ukraine has banned exporting basics like oats, buckwheat, sugar, salt, wheat, cattle and meat as the country struggles to keep essentials supplied in cities besieged by the Russian invasion, the government said late Tuesday in a statement.
"In order to prevent the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, market stability and meet the needs of the population in critical food products, the Government has established new rules for the export of agricultural goods," Ukraine's Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Roman Leshchenko said.
Russia's Foreign Ministry Department for Economic Cooperation director said on Wednesday that Moscow's reaction to crushing sanctions from the U.S. and its allies will be "swift, thoughtful and sensitive," according to a report.
The warning came a day after President Biden said he was imposing a ban on imports of Russian oil. The country said earlier this week a ban by the U.S. and European Union could make a barrel of oil spike to more than $300, Reuters reported.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gestures during the post-Cabinet press conference in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, March 7, 2022.
A sanctions bill unanimously passed in New Zealand's parliament on Wednesday to punish Russians involved in the Ukraine invasion.
The new law was pushed through in one day and will allow the country to freeze assets and stop superyachts or planes from arriving. Lawmakers said it would stop New Zealand becoming a safe haven for Russian oligarchs looking to avoid sanctions elsewhere.
Previously, New Zealand law made in impossible to put significant sanctions on Russia unless it was part of a larger United Nations effort.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A girl sits in an improvised bomb shelter in Mariupol, Ukraine, Monday, March 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Ukraine will try to get civilians out of danger through six evacuation corridors Wednesday, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a video, according to a report.
She said the Ukrainian military had agreed to a ceasefire between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. and urged the Russians to keep their commitment as well.
Ukraine accused the Russians of violating a ceasefire on Tuesday as civilians attempted to flee the port city of Mariupol.
"Ceasefire violated! Russian forces are now shelling the humanitarian corridor from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol," Oleg Nikolenko, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson tweeted.
Residents of Mariupol are increasingly desperate to get out. The besieged city has been without water, heat, sanitary systems and phone service for several days and bodies reportedly reamin in the streets.
Vereshchuk said the humanitarian corridors would include routes between the cities of Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Enerhodar, Sumy, Poltava, Izyum, Lozova, Volnovakha, Pokrovsk, Vorzel, Borodyanka, Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel and Kyiv, according to Reuters.
On Tuesday, some 5,000 people were able to get out of Sumy through an evacuation corridor.
Oil prices turned lower Wednesday morning, following President Biden's ban on imports of Russian crude.
U.S. crude rose more than 2% during overnight hours before giving back gains.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $1.73 at $121.80 a barrel, after surging 3.6% on Tuesday.
Brent futures were fell $1.54 at $126.46 a barrel, after jumping 3.9% the previous day.
Americans will feel pain, too — at the gas pump - Biden acknowledged, declaring, "Defending freedom is going to cost."
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday morning he had spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau abut defense cooperation between the two countries and "how to increase sanctions pressure on Russia. Agreed on further diplomatic steps. Canada stands with Ukraine. We feel it every day," he tweeted.
Britain's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps leaves after attending a Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in London on March 8, 2022. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
U.K. transport minister Grant Shapps said Wednesday that a new law has fixed loopholes allowing Russians chartering a flight to Great Britain despite a ban on Russian-owned planes in U.K. airspace.
He told the BBC that the government had detained a plane in the country that was allegedly chartered by a Russian oligarch.
"There is one such aircraft on the ground at the moment at Farnborough that I've essentially impounded whilst we carry out further investigations for the last few days - and it's very important that we have the laws available to enable that to happen," he said.
The plane was registered in Luxembourg, according to BBC.
He said he signed the new law attempting to fix the loopholes on Tuesday night.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the nation in Kyiv, Ukraine, late Monday, March 7, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
Foreign volunteers who join Ukrainian forces in the fight against Russia will be granted citizenship by the Ukrainian government if they want, a Ukrainian government official said.
Supporters who travel to Ukraine and enlist into the volunteer force will receive a military card from the state’s Border Guard service and, in the future, the volunteers will be among a group of foreign nationals who are qualified to seek citizenship, First Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin said, Ukrinform reported.
Last month, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he was forming an "international brigade" of volunteers to join him in the fight against Russia.
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'Russia is not going to prevail in terms of conquering Ukraine,' John Jordan says on 'Fox News Live.'
She was born in the Soviet Union and emigrated to the U.S. at 30. Nine years later, in 1999, she became an American citizen.
Then more than a decade later, the Department of Justice alleges, she became a spy on behalf of Vladimir Putin and Russia.
Elena Branson, 61, is accused of flouting the Foreign Agent Registration Act, or FARA, and failing to properly inform the U.S. government she was working on behalf of the Kremlin.
"Elena Branson… actively subverted foreign agent registration laws in the United States in order to promote Russian policies and ideology," according to Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "Branson is alleged to have corresponded with Putin himself and met with a high-ranking Russia minister before founding a Russian propaganda center here in New York City, the Russian Center New York."
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., looks over his notes before taking questions from reporters and speaking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
U.S. Congressional leaders reached a deal early Wednesday for $13.6 billion in funding to Ukraine and other Eastern European allies as part of a $1.5 trillion bipartisan spending bill.
President Biden had asked for at least $10 billion in military and humanitarian funding.
Party leaders hoped to whip the 2,741-page measure through the House on Wednesday and the Senate by the end of the week.
“War in Europe has focused the energies of Congress to getting something done and getting it done fast,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ukraine's "air defences appear to have enjoyed considerable success against Russia's modern combat aircraft," the U.K's Ministry of Defense said in a Wednesday morning update, adding that it is likely preventing the Russians from "achieving any degree of control of the air."
The ministry added that fighting northwest of Kyiv is ongoing but Russian troops haven't made any "significant breakthroughs."
Russian troops are still heavily shelling Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Mariupol, the report said.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces shared photos that it said were of disabled and destroyed Russian military vehicles in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine.
"Territorial defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues to beat the Russian occupiers," a translation of the tweet said.
President Biden announced a U.S. ban on Russian oil imports Tuesday, as another way of sanctioning the country over President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. He noted that already high gas prices would likely rise more but it would "deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.”
He said he would do "everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the U.K. would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
“In another economic blow to the Putin regime following their illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK will move away from dependence on Russian oil throughout this year, building on our severe package of international economic sanctions,” Johnson said Tuesday.
Poland offered to give its entire fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. in exchange for a chance to buy American F-16s as part of a deal to bolster the Ukrainian air force while upgrading the Poles’ with NATO aircraft.
"The authorities of the Republic of Poland, after consultations between the President and the Government, are ready to deploy – immediately and free of charge – all their MIG-29 jets to the Ramstein Air Base and place them at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America," the Polish Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
"At the same time, Poland requests the United States to provide us with used aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities. Poland is ready to immediately establish the conditions of purchase of the planes.
"The Poles also requested any other NATO member countries that have MiGs of their own take similar action. Those may include Bulgaria and Slovakia.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he was thankful Tuesday after President Biden announced a U.S. ban on Russian oil, natural gas and coal.Zelenskyy said the ban was "striking in the heart of Putin’s war machine ... Encourage other countries and leaders to follow."
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