'Your World' on Russian missile strike near Poland-Ukraine border

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Russia trying to intimidate the West with missile strike near Poland: Amb. James Gilmore

Former US Ambassador to the OSCE discusses Russia's efforts to draw China into war with Ukraine on 'Your World.'

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," March 14, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Martha.

We are on top of the same developments you have been following right now, a little too close for comfort. That's the big story, as Russian airstrikes get very, very close to the Polish border. Try a little more than six miles, all of this as we're getting a dispute from the Russians, that they have never called on China for military or economic help.

But there are some signs that is not quite the case, and the message we have for China, if it entertains doing just that, and all of this as President Zelenskyy is prepared to address Congress, albeit virtually, on Wednesday.

So much happening and so quickly. We have got you covered, including a big, big drop in oil today. But that did not allay concerns that inflation is still a big problem. We will get into that in just a second.

Meanwhile, the latest from Kyiv and our Trey Yingst.

Hey, Trey.

TREY YINGST, FOX NEWS FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Neil, good afternoon.

We are learning today more about the Russian advance on this city, both from the air and from the ground. We have heard the air raid sirens going off today in the Ukrainian capital, and that shelling getting closer and closer.

You can see in this video this morning one of those Russian shells hit an apartment building, killing at least two people and injuring nearly a dozen others, the destruction quite widespread as firefighters rushed into the building trying to look for survivors. And it wasn't just there, also a Russian missile slamming into a sidewalk, killing at least one person in another part of this capital city.

And a public bus was nearby. Thankfully, it was empty at the time, but it really shows you what the Russians are doing to Ukrainian towns and cities across this country. In the southern city of Mariupol, this drone video showing the pure devastation that Russian forces are inflicting on the civilian population there, indiscriminate firing on civilian areas and this Black smoke rising up across the horizon.

We do have one very sad update from that southern city of Mariupol, where a mother that the world saw being carried out of a maternity hospital on a stretcher just a few days ago, unfortunately, passed away from her injuries, that according to the Associated Press.

But it gives you a sense of the civilians that are caught amid this war just trying to search for safety and get out of the country if they can, and the Russians continuing their bombardment tonight, targeting this capital city Neil.

CAVUTO: Trey, thank you very much, my friend.

To Jennifer Griffin at the Pentagon with how they're digesting all of this information -- Jennifer.

JENNIFER GRIFFIN, FOX NEWS NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Neil, we have learned more about the Russian missile strike at the base 12 miles from the Polish border in Western Ukraine.

This was an air-launched cruise missile strike from long-range bombers from inside Russian airspace, not from Russian warships in the Black Sea. Those ships have been largely quiet, we're told.

The Yavoriv base that was targeted was also not a transshipment point for us weapons, according to a senior U.S. defense official who I spoke to this morning. The White House says that yesterday's missile strike will motivate them to accelerate shipments of weapons to the Ukrainians. Congress passed a $13.6 billion aid package to Ukraine last Thursday, and the president signed off on a $200 million weapons package this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We're going to continue to get as much security assistance to the Ukrainians as fast as we can and in the most efficient, effective way.

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We believe we will continue to be able to flow substantial amounts of military assistance and weapons to the front lines.

Of course, these convoys are going through a war zone. And so to describe them as safe wouldn't quite be accurate, but we believe that we have methods and systems in place to be able to continue to support the Ukrainians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Despite Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that Russia's military operation is -- quote -- "on time and going a planned," Russian troops are facing fierce resistance from Ukrainian residents as they begin trying to occupy two Ukrainian cities in the south.

Protesters took to the streets this weekend in the cities of Kherson and Melitopol. In Kherson, despite Russian tanks being right next to them, protesters waved the Ukrainian flag proudly in Freedom Park.

In Melitopol, protesters shouted "Bring back the mayor" and "Free the mayor" as they stood in the town center. The mayor of Melitopol, who had been outspoken against the invasion, speaking out on social media even once Russian troops were in his town, he was taken away by Russian forces.

You can see them here essentially kidnapping him on Friday. He has not been heard from since. Ivan Fedorov, shown here, remains missing. He is the second mayor to have disappeared replaced by a Russian puppet, Vichy-style leaders who the Ukrainian people are bravely rejecting.

Over the weekend, in the capital, Kyiv, President Zelenskyy visited a hospital to meet with injured Ukrainian troops, who have kept Russian forces out of the capital for 19 days now. He gave out medals for bravery for their courageous actions, too many to count. President Zelenskyy, as you mentioned, Neil, will address a joint session of Congress virtually on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern -- Neil.

CAVUTO: And, Jennifer, no doubt he's going to make his pitch for air support. He was relentless in that regard. Is there any movement there? Or -- I know the Pentagon's position, not a good idea, but what are you hearing?

GRIFFIN: Well, right now, I think the U.S. position is the same, that a no-fly zone would put us war planes into direct conflict with the Russian - - with Russian warplanes.

That's why it's significant that those Russian cruise missiles, the planes that fired those cruise missiles were in Russian airspace that fired on that base in Western Ukraine over the weekend. Those planes, if they were to be taken out, that would be firing into Russia. So -- but we have seen some movement with some parliament -- parliaments of NATO members, like Estonia, voted in favor of setting up a no-fly zone.

What that means in terms of practice, the rest of NATO would have to go along with it. And without the U.S. involved, it's unlikely to get off the ground.

CAVUTO: Jennifer Griffin, thank you very, very much.

I want to go to Lieutenant General Danny Davis, get his thoughts on this.

General, we came within, what, about six miles of the Polish border here, that is, the Russian airstrikes. What if they had slipped into Poland and had the same strike, either deliberately or not? What would have happened?

LT. COL. DANNY DAVIS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Now, that is the big, big fear.

And one of my concerns is, we keep talking on your show here about escalation, because, as bad as everything is here, any kind of a mistake, an accident or an intentional, either one, that crosses into NATO territory has the danger of triggering Article 5 and potentially expanding this into a Russia-NATO war, which could have catastrophic ramifications.

And you have seen in some of the -- I believe that your correspondents there just talking about some errant Russian missiles hitting a sidewalk. Obviously, they didn't target that. And if it can miss that target, it can do something like that. So, Russia is taking a huge gamble of striking something right on the border like that.

And I hope that they're aware of the danger that could be to them as well, and they don't take that chance, that gamble again.

CAVUTO: That would trigger a NATO response, would it not, General?

DAVIS: Yes, if you strike, if any Russian weapon strikes at NATO territory, a NATO soldier and kills them or destroys them, I mean, I can't see how it wouldn't trigger it.

Now, and Article 5, just to be clear, is not an automatic declaration of war. There's still a lot of steps that have to be taken, but it will be considered an attack on all. And the risk and the threat of expanding into war is very great.

CAVUTO: General, should we have a more unequivocal response if the Russians do in fact use chemical weapons. They say -- that is, the Russians -- that's a plant and a threat that the West is foisting on the global community that they're not entertaining.

But if they did, would that response necessarily lead to a war that widens?

DAVIS: Neil, I just got to tell you, I would argue vehemently, however cold and dispassionate it may seem, that we cannot, cannot use lethal means in a response.

There's other levers you can pull. There's other non-kinetic things maybe that can be done that can ratchet up even more sanctions. But as bad as it sounds, we cannot risk expanding the war into Poland or into Slovakia or into the Baltics, and now that, all of a sudden, it's not just Ukraine who's suffering, but the West who's suffering.

And we just can't expand the war on that. We have got to keep it contained.

CAVUTO: That's looking harder and harder every day, General. You're the military expert and hero.

DAVIS: It is.

CAVUTO: Certainly not me.

But, General, I am curious. Do you get a gut sense that it's moving in that direction, that the alarm and the testing, whatever you want to call it, is such that it's ratcheting up the likelihood of something even accidentally triggering something far wider?

DAVIS: Yes.

Yes, that is absolutely not feel and my concern, which is why I continue to be so outspoken on this. And I know, look, everybody wants to be able to punish Russia. They want to stop them from this war. And who's to disagree with them on that?

But we simply cannot allow this to expand beyond the border, so that our own people come under fire, that our own people could, God forbid, have the possibility of a tactical nuclear weapon used.

Now, right now, that's probably not even on the table. But if this expands and an Article 5 situation happens, and suddenly NATO is ready to take action, that's a very real possibility and something that should give us all a great deal of pause.

CAVUTO: General, I want to thank you very, very much, watching it very, very closely, General Danny Davis, the Defense Priorities senior fellow, among other things.

Thank you, General.

A big story today was a drop in oil prices. You don't see that very, very often. I hasten to add, though, that oil prices are still double what they were at the start of the year, and nearly up a third since the start of this war. So don't celebrate too quickly.

Interesting development here, though, is the idea that inflation is unstoppable now, even with the drop in oil prices. A 10-year note, which might seem rather arcane, but a lot of mortgages, investments are pegged at that, backed up to nearly 2.14 percent. Keep in mind, a little more than about 3.5 weeks ago, it was around one 1.70 percent.

That means that it's going to be harder to refinance the home you're in, harder to buy a home you want. And it sort of builds on itself. And, on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates for the first time since 2018 to address this, and we're told it will be the start of a process that will go right through the end of the year.

The impact of that -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, did they or did they not?

Running questions as to whether Russia really did reach out to China for economic, but the more worrisome development, military support for its ongoing battle in Ukraine.

We say we have unequivocal proof that Russia did. The Chinese are saying and the Russians are saying, not so much. But the back-and-forth on this and the implications obviously are enormous.

Jacqui Heinrich at the White House right now -- Jacqui.

JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Neil.

Well, our sources have confirmed that Russia did in fact reach out to China to get that economic assistance and military assistance at some point after the start of the invasion. Officially, the National Security Council is not going to weigh in on that because they want to protect intelligence gathering sources, I am told.

And so we have not gotten a clear yes or no from the White House on whether this happened or not. However, we do know that Jake Sullivan was in Rome today meeting with the Chinese to really lay out the stakes here for them and to explain that, if they were to make some sort of a decision where they side with Russia, instead of the rest of the world that is condemning this behavior, this invasion of Ukraine, there will be severe consequences.

Jen Psaki in the White House briefing just a few moments ago laid out a picture of what some of those consequences might look like. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: If China were to decide to be an economic provider or to take additional steps there to Russia, they only make up 15 percent or 20 -- 15 to 20 percent of the world's economy. The G7 countries make up more than 50 percent.

So there are a range of tools at our disposal, in coordination with our European partners, should we need to use them. But, again, we are -- don't have anything to update you on in terms of an assessment. This is obviously an area we're watching closely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH: There are growing calls from Capitol Hill to take this very seriously and to impose secondary sanctions on China if they are found to be evade -- helping Russia evade the sanctions.

Lindsey Graham, senator from South Carolina, laid out yesterday what that should look like. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): So what I propose we do is if, in fact, the Chinese are helping arm Russia and providing assistance to get around international sanctions, that we put secondary sanctions on China, that we go after anybody and everybody who tries to prop up the war criminal Putin.

And if we don't do that, then I think we're missing an opportunity to further isolate Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEINRICH: We have also been hearing similar calls from the House side of things.

This morning, there was a letter from 15 bipartisan members of Congress, saying that the U.S. should impose secondary sanctions if necessary on China. And there was also a letter that came out this weekend from the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, which is comprised of 58 members, including 29 Democrats, saying that this is something we need to be paying attention to.

The broader gist of that letter was really pushing also for the administration to facilitate the transfer of MiGs, those jets from Poland. So, we're hearing calls from Congress to do more, and, so far, nothing being embraced at the moment from the White House, but they are signaling that they're certainly taking this seriously, Neil.

CAVUTO: Yes, well, that would be a serious development, to your point.

Thank you, Jacqui.

Jacqui Heinrich at the White House.

To James Carafano right now of the Heritage Foundation, foreign policy expert.

James, if you think of China, and how much its economy and strength, even its military prowess has been built on the financial deals it has had with all these Western nations, whether it likes them or not, that's their bread and butter. Why would they risk compromising that, seeing the same kind of sanctions that Russia has, to join this fight, and a fight, we're told, that they really kind of wince at and the performance of Vladimir Putin in general?

JAMES CARAFANO, SENIOR FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Yes, so I think you're asking the wrong question. It's like, what would they risk? The Chinese don't want to risk anything.

Here's the two things that I think we think we know for sure. One is, the last thing China wants is to see Russia humiliated. Russia is their stalking horse in Europe. They were looking to Russia to drive a weakened and divided and distracted Europe that would actually be a better target for China. So Russia is doing their work for them.

They would hate to see that be dramatically reserved. The other thing is, look, China will do anything it can for Russia that it can't be held accountable for. So you better believe, whatever they do, they will try to disguise it in a way not to give people a clear shot at them.

Here's the problem with everything I have just heard from everybody who just said, well, we might do. This is -- the Russians and the Chinese and the Iranians, they react to what we do, not what we say. If you want to get their attention, you have to do something to them.

If we really wanted to prevent China from aiding Russia, we would have hammered them at the start of the war and held them accountable. And then they would have to come back to us and beg for relief. Threatening them just says -- just signals to them, either should I ignore this, or how can I work around this, or how can I make sure my defenses are good, so I can survive this?

This is statecraft malfeasance.

CAVUTO: Well, James, we were late to the party on enacting a lot of those sanctions very, very early on. But it is what it is.

And now China can see the sweeping sanctions and financial measures taken. Do you think they look at that and say, that's one thing we don't want, that's one thing, whether we're being overt about the aid and the help, buying Russian oil after sanctions kick in, but certainly nothing so overt to trigger the same response?

Because it's one thing to hit Russia that way. For China, it's quite another. What do you think?

CARAFANO: Yes, but what you have just done is signal to them a problem to work their way around, so they can hide it. They can go to countries now and threaten them and say, if you go along with the Americans, we will hammer you this.

They can go and bribe people. So the point is, by just saying I might do something, you are telegraphing to the enemy exactly what they know that they have to work around. That is not the way to set a competition.

CAVUTO: So, how would China do that, James? Just to be clear, how would China do that?

In other words, how would it -- it would try to find a third-party way to get weapons or military help? It's already acknowledged, I guess, and you're the expert, that they're going to make up or try to make up for a lot of the loss of oil customers Russia is going to have. It can't come close to losing the world as it stands.

CARAFANO: Right. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: But how will China play this?

CARAFANO: Right, so the first thing they will do is they will do everything possible under the table, so it's not readily apparent.

And then, if it is done, they will deny it to give people plausible deniability not to make the hard decisions to sanction them. Then the other thing they're going to do is, they're going to run around. They're going to they're going to have -- talk to countries through the backdoor. And they're going to threaten them that, if they go along with the United States, that there will be repercussions for this.

Because the one thing that Chinese are still banking on is that the world has a short memory and, once they get through this very painful experience with Ukraine, that the United States in the West will just go back to doing business with China and sleepwalk through history.

And they just want to remind people that, after all this stuff's off the front pages, they will still be there. So they have got a lot of cards to play. And every time we let them decide what to do, and then we react to that, this -- you're violating the first rule of warfare, which is make your enemy respond to you, not the other way around.

CAVUTO: Well put, James Carafano. Thank you very much, my friend.

CARAFANO: Thank you.

CAVUTO: In the meantime here, we're keeping a close eye on peace talks that sort of broke apart today. They hope to resume them.

But as those talks go on, so do the airstrikes -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, first, gas prices go up. And now, all of a sudden, you're seeing a host of companies, including Uber, well, giving a surcharge to deal with it.

Uber is just the latest. It will not be the last -- after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, in case you're counting, they have had four rounds of peace talks -- that is, Ukraine and Russia. Nothing ever comes of them.

And to hear the Ukrainians tell it, the Russians never stick to their promises, for example, about providing a humanitarian passageway for folks to get out of Ukraine and aid to come in. Be that as it may, they're going to suit up and try this all again tomorrow, but not in person, presumably a Zoom call.

So, we're watching that, as is my next guest, Volodymyr Omelyan, a former Ukraine infrastructure minister.

Minister, very good to have you.

These peace talks keep on coming, which I guess is good, but nothing comes of them. Are you optimistic that will change tomorrow?

VOLODYMYR OMELYAN, FORMER UKRAINIAN MINISTER OF INFRASTRUCTURE: Good afternoon, sir. And good afternoon, America. I'm very happy to be back on your show.

Concerning peace talks, we don't believe in them. We do understand that the dream of Putin was not to negotiate at this stage without capturing Kyiv and whole Ukraine.

And the saddest story is that Ukraine, it's only the beginning of Putin's dream, but not the end. And he thinks much farther to Poland. He looks into Poland, into France, maybe to United States, which he recognizes as the only rival to Russia. And I don't think that any kind of negotiations with Russia on this stage would be fruitful or will bring some positive results.

Fight goes on. While we are talking, rockets and missiles sent by Russians floating over my head, so no real change in our life.

CAVUTO: So, Minister, obviously, the more we see Russia drag this out, or that it can't close the deal because of the bravery and the tenacity of your fellow Ukrainians, the more desperate he presumably becomes.

He's hit, what, close to two dozen hospitals, medical centers, taken out scores of civilians, and that that will be his strategy going forward, even at great risk, when he comes within just a few miles of the Polish border.

What do you read into that?

OMELYAN: I believe he wants full victory. But, definitely, he looks miserable after 19 days of unsuccessful campaign in Ukraine.

Right now, he desperately asks Belarusians to come and to help him. They are neutral and not entering Ukraine. He referred to Syria with a request to send another 16,000 Syrian guys to kill Ukrainians. No big change.

And finally, yesterday, he addressed China: Please help me with weapon, with money, and maybe with some Chinese soldiers.

We don't know yet what is under the table. But it means the only thing. Russia is collapsing. And bringing death to Ukraine, Putin actually brought death to Russian empire he dreamed of.

CAVUTO: So, I'm just wondering. As this progresses, Minister, I mean, obviously, they're targeting civilians. Obviously, they're targeting structures to destroy as much as possible. They're willing to risk hitting two nuclear plants to further that intimidation.

How do people deal with that? How every night, hearing these sirens and the planes, how are they just -- obviously, they have buckled up and all of that, but how day by day do they handle it?

OMELYAN: Definitely, the first day, it was a great shock for everybody, especially to those we -- who never expected war in their own life.

But Ukrainians are determined right now. We are ready to win or to die. There is no other choice for us. And we will not surrender. It's 100 percent. And Putin, especially his soldiers, already understood that fact. And they do not know how to react. They -- that's why they are bombing civilians, they are destroying our cities.

It's awful picture coming from the Eastern and Southern Ukraine. The whole villages and small towns are simply razed from the ground, and thousands of people, just civilians, killed by Russian bombs and missiles.

But, still, it's the only goal to that to threaten people, to make them surrender. And we are not.

Today, we had a very bad accident. They simply explode bombs near nuclear power station. And it was huge risk, not only for Ukraine, but for the whole Europe. And we do understand that they can proceed with some chemical weapons to try to poison us, which also not make us happy.

But, still, there is only one choice for the West to understand and to take action, whether we fight on Ukraine as the battleground or battle will come farther to the West, and it will be Poland, Hungary or Baltic states next.

CAVUTO: Hang in there, Minister, and your incredible fellow Ukrainians. Thank you very, very much for that update and how Ukrainians are dealing with it, resolve of steel.

In the meantime here, for us, the worst it gets is higher gas prices. But it also means that those gas prices permeate a lot of other things.

What companies are doing and the surprise bill you're getting, and all because of Ukraine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: You know, they call gas prices an inflation leader. In other words, what starts at the tank doesn't end at the tank. There are add-on costs for that.

And we are seeing it in real time right now.

Madison Alworth on the spillover for you and your wallet -- Madison.

MADISON ALWORTH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Neil.

So, obviously, when you fill up your car, you're seeing those higher prices. But here's the thing, certain companies are now adding on a surcharge because of the high price of gas. So, Uber, they're adding 45 cents to 55 cents per ride. That's for drivers, so that they can account for that higher fuel cost.

I also reached out to Lyft, another rideshare company. They told me that, yes, they also plan to add a fuel surcharge. They did not say when it's going to go into effect, or how much they're planning on making it, but both of these companies taking that step.

Here's the thing, though, right? It's not just these rideshares. Obviously, us at the pump, we're feeling it too, paying the most for gas than we ever have before.

Taking a look at the national average, it sits at $4.32 today per gallon. It's up quite a bit from not only last week, where it was $4.06, but obviously from a year ago, when we were only paying $2.86 per gallon. And because we are spending as a nation well over $4 a gallon, AAA found that six out of every 10 drivers are going to be changing their driving habits because of the cost.

It's not hard to see why, considering how much prices have jumped. And with inflation at a 40-year high at 7.9 percent, Americans are struggling to keep up everywhere, a big challenge that pay -- a big challenge is that pay has not kept up with that inflation.

Perfect example of that, only 18 percent of Americans say their wages have kept up with the increased costs. And many people relying on cars to get to work, they say you have to spend more to make the same amount, and it's not going as far. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I'm spending right now almost $100 to fill up my tank. It used to be $60. I'm losing a lot of jobs because of the gas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I used to put in my car like $75, $80, now $120. So it's crazy. Now it's less money to bring it home to the family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALWORTH: Yes, less money to take home. And people are doing whatever they can, Neil, to try to save as much as possible. Like most gas stations, this one offers a cheaper price if you pay in cash, and I saw multiple people using that option to save a couple cents per gallon.

But that makes a difference when you're looking at gas prices well over $4, $4.32 for today -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Madison, thank you for that, I think, Madison.

All right, let's go to Chad Pergram right now, because, no matter who you want to blame for this, you do not want to be the party in power when this is going on. And don't Democrats know it.

Chad, what's the latest there?

CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Neil.

Well, Democrat Joe Manchin opposes one of President Biden's nominees to the Federal Reserve. Manchin is a no on Sarah Bloom Raskin. Manchin says Raskin isn't the right pick to fight inflation. Democratic Senators Maggie Hassan and Mark Kelly want to suspend the federal gas tax. That's a move embraced by other GOP members.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BRIAN MAST (R-FL): Hurting Americans where they feel it at the most, at the grocery store, at the gas pump. They could get rid of the 18.4- cents-per-gallon gas tax, 24-cents-per-gallon diesel tax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERGRAM: Democrats are in charge of the White House and Congress. They know voters will punish them in the midterm elections if they fail to address gas prices and inflation.

Democrats say inflation isn't because of the COVID money they approved last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Make no mistake. The current spiking gas prices is largely the fault of Vladimir Putin. It has nothing to do with the American Rescue Plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERGRAM: The GOP advocates an expansion of drilling for domestic oil and gas, but some liberals fight that. They're still pushing climate provisions from Build Back Better.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): Don't revisit without getting them done. If we ain't to get it done, don't bring it up.

I know there was hours and hours of work done behind the scenes to gets to a place where we knew it was going to get done, both on the House and Senate side. So if we're not ready to get it done, don't bring anything up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERGRAM: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate would address inflation this month, but there's little evidence of that promise so far -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Thank you, Chad.

Chad Pergram in Washington.

In the meantime, Poland knew it was very close to the action, whether it wanted to be or not, because it geographically is. It didn't realize just how close until the last 24 hours.

Ashley Webster in Poland -- Ashley.

ASHLEY WEBSTER, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Neil.

It's interesting. The waves of refugees continue to pour into this refugee center from Ukraine. But, as you point out, that attack on a Ukrainian military base literally less than 15 miles from the Polish border has created a whole new angle to this story.

We're going to have it for you right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAVUTO: All right, a little too close for comfort, Russian airstrikes within mere miles of the Polish border.

Ashley Webster in Poland with how that's reverberating.

Hey, Ashley.

WEBSTER: Well, hey, Neil.

Yes, indeed, I'm at a refugee center about six miles from the Ukrainian border. The wave of refugees continue. Have a team of volunteers here. They're handing out food and nourishment and drinks and what have you.

But, certainly, that attack over the weekend put a whole new spin on this, if you like, because to this point, the actual conflict of had been far east. Kyiv is about 700 miles from here, to give you a sense of the proportions, but, certainly, that attack on that military base close to the Polish border resonating.

This newspaper, one of the local newspapers, says: "Russia Provoking NATO." And the Ukrainian foreign minister calling it a severe provocation. So, certainly, the outrage over that attack has put another spin on all of this, but many of the people I have spoken here getting out of Ukraine, they told me they don't think this situation is going to end anytime soon.

Listen to this teacher I spoke with earlier today who was heading back to Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand that the price of freedom of Ukrainians and the understanding of Russians is different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WEBSTER: It is very different.

Let's take a look at the numbers of refugees, Neil, very quickly, total, last count, 2.8 million coming out of Ukraine. And of those, close to 65 percent, 1.7 million, have come out through Poland.

And, again, this is where we are. It's a never-ending wave of refugees that are either given a ticket to go somewhere where they may have a relative or friends, or the job begins of trying to find them shelter. It is not an easy job. And they need all the help they can get -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Indeed.

Ashley, thank you very, very much.

Ashley Webster in Poland seeing that up close and personal himself and for you.

In the meantime here, we're getting some word out of this great return to work on the part of Americans, and that extends to the United States Congress. Chad Pergram reporting that the Capitol will partially reopen for March 28. The Capitol has been largely shuttered, as you know, since around March 2022, the beginning of the virus.

FOX is told that this is phase one of the reopening, will allow groups of up to 15 persons for office visits, even staff-led tours. Public talks -- tours will eventually resume, but only for school groups.

We will keep you posted on this. But this comes as much of corporate America is telling their people to slowly, but surely return physically to their offices, and that this will happen over the next few months.

Stay with us. You are watching "Your World."

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CAVUTO: All right, it was close. And it could have been very, very worrisome, as you have been hearing here. And it's a big deal. Russia came within mere miles of the Polish border.

All bets would be off had one of those attacks hit the Polish border, a NATO country.

Mike Tobin right now in Lviv, Ukraine, with the latest on that and everything going on there -- Mike?

MIKE TOBIN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Neil, with four airstrikes in four days in the Western part of the country, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says it's clear that Russia is expanding its targets in the West.

And what you talk about there, that strike in Yavoriv, Ukraine, he says has everyone on NATO's eastern flank very alert and very much involved at this point. Those strikes were so close to Poland that the video we have of the explosions was actually recorded by people with their cell phones on the Polish side of the border.

Now, the accounts that we got from Ukrainians differ slightly from what we're hearing from the Pentagon today. A Ukrainian official, Maxym Kozytskiy, the Lviv city state administration director, said that the airstrikes had taken off from the Sea of Azov in the Black Sea from Russian naval ships.

Also, there was a plane, he said, that took off from Saratov, Russia. What we're hearing from the Pentagon now, through the reporting of Jennifer Griffin, quoting a senior defense official, is that only aircraft fired the missiles. And these aircraft fired the missiles from Russian airspace.

Still, the mayor of Lviv -- he strikes were so close to here -- the mayor of Lviv repeated a mantra that we have heard now from Ukrainian officials over time and again, that they want to see a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOBIN: Mayor, what is your message to the Western leaders, who are so afraid about being dragged into a broader conflict?

ANDRIY SADOVYI, MAYOR OF LVIV, UKRAINE: We expect decision about closed sky, not after one month. We need decision today.

But every one hour, Russian aggressor killed 100 civil people, women, children, old people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TOBIN: Now, a U.S. senior defense officials says, because the aircraft were over Russian airspace when they fired the missiles, the no-fly zone would not have been effective.

The same official also says that there was no U.S. personnel at the base at the time of the strikes. And there was a lot of speculation as to what the Russians were after at that particular base.

What we know from the U.S. now is that the anti-tank and surface-to-air missiles that have been so effective for the Ukrainians, resupply of those weapons was not present at the base at the time of strikes -- Neil.

CAVUTO: Mike Tobin.

Thank you, Mike.

With us now, the former U.S. ambassador to the organization for security and cooperation in Europe, James Gilmore.

Ambassador, good to have you.

Do you think that the Russians deliberately cut it this close, that this was not sort of an accidental strike?

JAMES GILMORE, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO OSCE: Well, it's possible, Neil, that they were sending a warning.

They're very unhappy with the West and NATO military facilities, the NATO supplies that are going in. I think they're making a big difference on the battlefield, the Javelins, the anti-tank weapons, the anti-air weapons.

And I think maybe they're sending a message. I think they said several days ago that those kinds of deliveries were fair game. Maybe this is sending a message that anything coming through that area might be struck by the Russians.

I think that they would be very stupid to attack Poland or any NATO country. I doubt they would do that. But I think they may be trying to brush back the West.

CAVUTO: So, to intimidate, in other words.

But if they did, accidentally or deliberately, God forbid deliberately, dropped bombs on Poland, all bets are off, right?

GILMORE: I think all bets could very well be off.

I mean, every statesman can make a decision about what they need to do. But we have been very clear that NATO is going to be defended, and Poland is a member of NATO, as well as the Czech Republic, Slovaks and Romanians and others on that eastern flank.

Listen, Neil, I was just in Ukraine in May of '21. I visited with the entire Ukrainian government. I went in on the battlefield in the Sea of Azov. You could see this coming for quite a while. But I think that it's just very key that Ukraine retain its sovereignty.

Even if they are overcome on the battlefield, it is not in the American interest that the Russians be permitted to put together their sphere of influence back in the East again. And this is an effort to not only conquer Ukraine and be that first step in Putin's delusional dream, but also is intended to intimidate the countries of Eastern Europe, which are a part of NATO.

CAVUTO: Ambassador, what do you read into Vladimir Putin's supposed overtures to China for economic and, more tellingly, military help?

And this at the same time, last week, he was taking some troops out of the Mideast to join what he called the good fight in Ukraine, a worldwide call for patriots to come and fight for the cause.

What do you make of all this?

GILMORE: Listen, Ukraine is a sovereign country. They made that clear to me in May of '21 while I was there. They're fighting for their independence. They're fighting for their sovereignty, and they're fighting for their freedom.

Meanwhile, the Russians are fighting a war of conquest. They want to do something about putting the Russian empire back together again. And the other countries of Eastern Europe simply don't want that, and especially not Ukrainians. So, if Putin thought he was going to be greeted as some sort of savior, he was wrong.

As for China, I think the real risk here is that they are suffering on the battlefield. What in the world are they doing asking the Chinese for military assistance, for crying out loud? I think that's an effort to draw the Chinese into the conflict, just as I think that there have been efforts to draw the West into the conflict.

If this continues to proceed in that way, this would be very, very dangerous. And I'm startled by it. I'd be very surprised if the Chinese take the bait.

CAVUTO: Yes, we just don't know, to your point.

Ambassador James Gilmore, thank you very, very much.

Now, the Russians say this overture is not happening. The Chinese say it's not happening, which leads Washington to think it is very much happening.

We will get more of this tomorrow.

For now, here comes "The Five."

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