Russia claims it used hypersonic missile in strike, Kyiv mortar strike kills 7: LIVE UPDATES
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to speak with him directly Friday as Russia continues to ravage Ukraine heading into the fourth week of the war.
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A senior Chinese government official said on Saturday that sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia over Ukraine are increasingly "outrageous".
Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng also acknowledged Moscow's point of view on NATO, saying the alliance should not further expand eastwards, forcing a nuclear power like Russia "into a corner".
China has yet to condemn Russia's action in Ukraine or call it an invasion, though it has expressed deep concern about the war. Beijing has also opposed economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, which it says are unilateral and are not authorised by the U.N. Security Council.
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The United States’ reactionary moves to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine suggest that it does not have an adequate plan in place to respond if Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to use a nuclear weapon, a former U.S. intelligence officer told Fox News.
Rebekah Koffler, a former U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency agent and author of "Putin's Playbook: Russia's Secret Plan to Defeat America," explained to Fox News that while the U.S. certainly has a strategic plan in place if Putin uses a nuclear weapon, recent responses to Russia’s aggression instill little confidence that the United States is doing the necessary preparation for such an outcome.
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The Big Weekend Show' panelists react to Russia's attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine.
Rep. Scott Franklin says Russian President Putin is signaling to the West that he's not done 'anytime soon' on 'Fox Report.'
Russia on Saturday claimed to have used a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile to strike a munitions warehouse in western Ukraine, a move one expert argued is a part of Moscow’s "strategic plan."
Fox News Digital has been unable to confirm whether Russia actually did for the first time launch a hypersonic missile in a combat setting, but Russia expert Rebekah Koffler said that even the suggestion of launching such a weapon is significant.
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A Ukrainian police officer in Mariupol has warned that the besieged port city has been "wiped off the face of the earth" and pleaded with the presidents of the United States and France to provide his country with a modern air defense system.
In a video post from a rubble-strewn street, Mariupol police officer Michail Vershnin told President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron that they had promised assistance, "but what we have received is not quite it," and urged them to save the civilian population.
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Roger Federer has become the latest athlete to join in the effort to support the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis after pledging $500,000 to help support the education of children displaced by the Russian invasion.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion announced on social media Friday that he would be supporting efforts "to establish access to continued schooling for Ukrainian children" by making a large donation through his foundation.
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Russian activist Dmitry Grigoriev speaks out against invasion.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., tells ‘Fox News Live’ he doesn’t believe the Biden administration is ‘doing enough’ to help Ukraine win the war against Russia.
Gordon Chang calls both Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping 'war criminals' who have teamed up against Ukraine, the U.S. and the free world.
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "weak man" Saturday after leading a bipartisan delegation to Europe in solidarity with Ukraine.
"It is a truly weak man that targets children, elderly women – Putin is a weak leader. He may be trying to project strength, but he is a weak man," she told reporters.
Ernst, along with nine of her colleagues on both sides of the aisle during a press conference in Poland, said Putin needs to be held accountable for his deadly invasion in to Ukraine more than three weeks ago.
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Polish Ambassador to the U.S. Marek Magierowski discusses how he believes the war in Ukraine will end.
Defense Priorities Senior Fellow Lt. Col. Daniel Davis (Ret.) says Russia is less concerned about taking over Ukrainian cities.
Ukrainian ballet star Artem Datsyshyn has died, weeks after being injured in a Russian shelling in Kyiv.
Datsyshyn, who was a principal dancer with the National Opera House of Ukraine died on March, his friend Tatiana Borovik announced on Facebook.
"Friends, I inform everyone who knew Artem Datsishin, Dotsik, that on February 26, he was attacked by the Russianists, was seriously injured, died in the hospital. Farewell my dear man !! I can't express my heartache that is overwhelming me! May your memory be bright!" Borovik wrote.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has "no way out" of his weeks-long invasion of Ukraine, according to former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker.
While some foreign policy experts have expressed surprise that Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has continued into mid-March, Volker says he expected Ukraine to show strong resistance, and Putin has only dug himself into a deeper hole by continuing his war against the sovereign nation without showing any indication of agreeing to a peace deal so far.
"Putin who has no way out. He has gone all-in in this military effort to take over Ukraine. And it's failing," Volker, former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, told Fox News Digital. "So, he's just going to keep doubling down and doubling down on a military victory that is looking increasingly unlikely."
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Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies
Satellite imagery captured by Maxar shows the Mariupol Drama Theater in Ukraine before and after an airstrike March 16, 2022. The word "children" can be seen in white letters.
Katya Hill, sister of slain U.S. citizen Jimmy Hill, spoke to reporters Saturday about her brother's death in Ukraine.
Jimmy Hill was reported dead Wednesday morning after a Russian bomb exploded in the city of Chernihiv. Jimmy Hill was in Ukraine at the time to help his partner get critical health care procedures when he was reportedly killed in a breadline. But Katya Hill updated the press on new discoveries in the circumstances of her brother's death."
Although initial reports indicated that he was killed in a breadline, the State Department informed us that his death was from a Russian bomb. Jimmy was in a civilian area of the city near the Chernihiv hospital. The State Department has not yet contacted the family to let us know the specifics," Hill told the press.
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The United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) reported Saturday that 1.5 million Ukrainian children have fled the country since Russia’s invasion started.
UNICEF highlighted the risk that children face in such situations, including from traffickers who seek to exploit the chaos. More than 500 unaccompanied children have been identified crossing from Ukraine into Ukraine in the past three weeks.
“The war in Ukraine is leading to massive displacement and refugee flows – conditions that could lead to a significant spike in human trafficking and an acute child protection crisis,” said Afshan Khan, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.
A UNICEF analysis found 28% of identified trafficking victims are children.
Russia on Saturday said it used a hypersonic Kinzhal missile to strike a Ukrainian munitions warehouse in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk.
The Kinzhal, which translates to "dagger," is a nuclear-capable missile that has never been used before in combat, and also has the ability to travel at 10 times the speed of sound and a range of roughly 1,250 miles.
Spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry Igor Konashenkov said the missile was used Friday to hit an underground warehouse. Fox News has not independently verified the use of the hypersonic cruise missiles that would have been shot from a MiG-31K warplane.
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Prime Minister Xavier Bettel urged Putin to de-escalate and agree to a ceasefire as negotiations continue.
Bettel focused his concerns around the distressing situation in Mariupol, which "has worsened."
The World Health Organization (WHO) chief said Thursday that access to Ukraine's besieged city of Mariupol and other embattled areas is now "critical."
Speaking to the United Nations (UN) Security Council, WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus said that while supplies were ready for the city, access remained a challenge.
"We have now established supply lines from our warehouse in Lviv to many cities of Ukraine. But, challenges of access remain. We need unfettered access," he pleaded.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted Saturday that cooperation between Russia and China will only improve as the West continues to “undermine” relations between the two countries.
“This cooperation will get stronger, because at a time when the West is blatantly undermining all the foundations on which the international system is based, of course we - as two great powers - need to think how to carry on in this world,” Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.
China has reportedly considered providing military support to Russia after already aligning itself to provide economic relief from the crippling sanctions enacted by other countries.
U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken on Friday said that President Biden will make clear to Chinese President Xi Jinping that China “will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia’s aggression.”
Ukraine's National Police said seven people are dead and five wounded in a mortar strike east of Kyiv, in Makariv. (National Police of Ukraine)
Ukraine's National Police said seven people are dead and five wounded in a mortar strike east of Kyiv, in Makariv.
The police posted on Telegram to announced that the strike occurred Friday, destroying residential and administrative buildings.
Police will continue to work at the site to help residents affected by the airstrike and document the full extent of the damage.
State-aligned media outlet TASS reported Saturday the Russian government approved assistance to the sum of 39 billion rubles (roughly $368,000) following crippling sanctions on the economy.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin approved the funds, which TASS claimed will help more than 400,000 people.
The funds will help create temporary jobs, including emergency vocational training or additional education to switch fields.
"The rest of the funds - almost 6 billion rubles - were allocated to grants to non-profit organizations for conducting retraining courses,” a press release said. “After they are completed, at least 100,000 more people will receive in-demand skills and about 75,000 will be able to start their own business or register as self-employed.”
Russian artillery barrages and ongoing street fighting hampered efforts to locate survivors trapped in the ruins of a theater destroyed in Mariupol.
The Russian defense ministry said Friday that it was “tightening the noose” around the city, and Ukrainian officials admitted that the situation appeared bleak after “temporarily” losing contact with Mariupol leadership.
The attack on the theater drew widespread condemnation as satellite imagery showed the words for “Children” painted outside the building in an effort to protect those seeking shelter inside it.
Video shared online supposedly shows Chechen forces in the city, with Chechen Leader Ramzan Kadyrov claiming that “One by one, the areas are cleared, and soon it will reach you."
Duma Deputy Yevgeny Fedorov has proposed a 10-year ban on any foreign company that does not return to Russia by May 1, according to a report by state-aligned media.
Russian outlet RT claimed to have obtained a letter from Fedorov to Maxim Reshetnikov, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development.
"I ask you to evaluate the feasibility of determining the conditions for the return of these companies: to allow them to promptly restore their activities until May 1, 2022, or to impose a ban on commercial activities for a period of 10 years for those enterprises that do not wish to restore work in Russia before the proposed date," the letter read.
Fedorov blamed the companies for creating "uncertainty" for tens of thousands of Russians about their future and well-being.
A Saturday update from British defense officials claimed that Russia has yet to achieve any of its original goals in Ukraine.
The consistent frustration and failure to progress as planned or desired has forced Russia to change its approach: The Kremlin has started pursuing a war of attraction, which "is likely to include indiscriminate use of firepower."
The AFP reported Saturday that Russia had deployed its newest hypersonic weapon, the Kinzhal missile, destroy a weapons storage site in the country's west, citing Russian defense officials.
Ukraine lost access to the Azov Sea as Russian troops converged on the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said Friday, according to a report.
Mariupol is the key commercial port on the Azov Sea, which connects to the larger Black Sea via a narrow strait.
The Russian forces were still trying to storm Mariupol and the fighting was ongoing, the Ukrainian officials told the AP. It was unclear whether the Russians had taken full control of the city.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Saturday, seeking more support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Bulgaria is among the nations that possess the S-300 air defense systems that Ukraine is looking to acquire as it deals with Russian air attacks, Air Force Magazine reported.
But Bulgaria also depends on Russian gasoline, making for a delicate diplomatic situation, the report said.
Austin arrived in Bulgaria on Friday and was greeted by the country's defense minister and chief of defense before meeting with U.S. troops stationed there, Air Force Magazine reported.
In this frame grab from video provided by Roscosmos, Russian cosmonauts Sergey Korsakov, Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveyev are seen during a welcome ceremony after arriving at the International Space Station, Friday, March 18, 2022, the first new faces in space since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The crew emerged from the Soyuz capsule wearing yellow flight suits with blue stripes, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. (Roscosmos via AP)
Three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station early Saturday wearing bright yellow suits trimmed in blue -- the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
The cosmonauts were the first new arrivals at the station since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, The Associated Press reported.
Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev said each new crew that travels to the station gets to choose its own style of flight suit, the AP report said.
"It became our turn to pick a color. But in fact, we had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it," he said. "So that's why we had to wear yellow."
Artemyev and fellow cosmonauts Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov embarked from Kazakhstan just before 9 p.m. Friday and arrived at the station just over three hours later, according to the AP.
Already aboard the station were two Russians, four Americans and a German, the AP reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes a speech on evaluation the 22nd day of the Russia-Ukraine war during virtually addressing in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 17, 2022. (Photo by Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded Russian President Vladimir Putin hold talks with him directly in his nightly address to the nation Friday.
“It’s time to meet, time to speak,” Zelenskyy said. “I want to be heard by everyone, especially in Moscow.”
He said talks that are "fair, substantial and without delays" is the only way for Russia to limit its losses in the war. Ukraine claims 14,000 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine.
"The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine," he said. "Otherwise, Russia's losses will be such that it will take you several generations to recover."
Putin has clamped down on dissenting voices in Russia, criminalizing any news about the war that goes against official state propaganda.
Russia and Ukraine have been holding intermittent peace talks that haven’t made much progress.
In a phone with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, Putin said part of his requirements to end the war would require a face-to-face with Zelenskyy.
He is expected to ask Ukraine to give up land in the eastern part of the country and to officially recognize annexed Crimea as part of Russia, among other demands.
Some experts like U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss believe Russia is using peace negotiations as a "diversion" while the military regroups.
"I fear the negotiation is yet another attempt to create a diversion and create a smokescreen from the appalling [atrocities]... I mean, if a country is serious about negotiations, it doesn't indiscriminately bomb civilians that day," she told Sky News, adding that Ukraine is "fully entitled to undertake any negotiation process it sees fit."
U.K.'s Defense Ministry said in its Saturday morning update that Russia has failed to achieve its original objectives so far having been "surprised by the scale and ferocity of Ukrainian Resistance."
The ministry said Russia has been forced to change its strategy, which will likely involve the "indiscriminate use of firepower resulting in increased civilian casualties, destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure, and intensify the humanitarian crisis."
109 strollers were placed at the Rynok Square as a symbol of 109 children killed since the full-scale russian invasion. (Photo by Mykola Tys/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Dozens were reportedly killed after Russians shelled a Ukrainian army barracks in Mykolaiv in the south Friday.
Ukrainian soldiers were training at the facility, BBC News reported. Rescuers are searching for survivors.
Mykolaiv is a strategic city near the Black Sea that the Russians have struggled to get past.
A man walks with a bicycle in a street damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 10, 2022. In talks between Russia and Ukraine toward a possible cease-fire after three weeks of intense fighting, negotiators are exploring prospects of possible “neutrality” for Ukraine. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Friday that 9,000 residents of besieged Mariupol have been able to leave.
Russian troops have ravaged the city, targeting civilians inside a maternity hospital and a theater in recent days. Local estimates say thousands have died in the city, which has been without food and water and power.
Zelenskyy Russians are preventing supplies from reaching surrounded cities in the center and southeast of the country.
Vladimir Putin is adjusting his rhetoric following his stalled invasion of Ukraine, touching on Stalinist nostalgia and patriotic themes to boost public support for the war, which he calls a "special military operation" and claims was launched as a defensive measure.
In a speech Thursday, he peppered his remarks with "Stalin-esque" dog whistling and warnings of a "fifth column" of Russian "scum and traitors" working to undermine his ambitions from within, according to a translation of his remarks.
"The West, collectively, is trying to fracture our society…to provoke a civil conflict in Russia, by means of the fifth column," he said. "The goal is Russia’s collapse."
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"Meaningful negotiations on peace, on security for us, for Ukraine - are the only chance for Russia to reduce the damage from its own mistakes," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram Friday. "It’s time to meet. Time to talk. It is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia’s losses will be so huge that several generations will not be enough to rebound."
Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin details a 2022 worldwide threat assessment on 'Special Report.'
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