U.S. pledges more help for Ukraine as Russian troops move to encircle Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the Russia-Ukraine war during virtually addressing in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 17, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) KHARKIV, Ukraine - President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Ukrainians to keep up their resistance to Russia’s invading forces, saying "every minute determines our fate, our future, whether we will live."During a nightly video address, Zelenskyy said late Thursday that, "With every day of our defense, we are getting closer to the peace that we need so much.

US President Joe Biden (L) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R) hold a joint press conference in Brussels, Belgium on March 25, 2022. (EU Commission/Pool/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) BRUSSELS - The United States and European Union on Friday announced a new partnership to reduce the continent's reliance on Russian energy, a step top officials characterized as the start of a years-long initiative to further isolate Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.U.S.

Ukrainian authorities in the besieged ruins of Mariupol said Friday that about 300 people died when a Russian airstrike blew up a theatre where hundreds of civilians were sheltering — a catastrophic loss of civilian life that, if confirmed, is likely to further crank up pressure on western nations to step up military aid.In a vain attempt to protect those inside the grand, columned theatre from missile and airstrikes that Russia has rained down on cities, an enormous inscription reading “CHILDREN” in Russian was posted outside the building and was visible from the air.For days, the government in the battered port city was unable to give a casualty count for the March 16 attack. The post on its Telegram channel Friday cited eyewitnesses.

Devastation is spreading across Ukraine’s hardest-hit cities, as Russia’s invasion rages into its second month. Jeff Semple looks at how Ukrainians are refusing to give up, as more makeshift cemeteries are promptly created in ruined cities.

WARSAW, Poland - President Joe Biden’s visit to Poland as his final stop in Europe this week offers a chance to underscore the U.S. commitment to protect a key NATO member on Ukraine’s doorstep, and thank Poles for their generous welcome to refugees fleeing Russia's invasion.But Poland is also a complicated ally whose populist leaders are accused by some European partners of riding roughshod over democratic norms, and many liberal Poles will be seeking a sign that the U.S. remembers its role in promoting democracy.The two-day visit starting Friday follows a trio of emergency war summits in Brussels.

KHARKIV, Ukraine - About 300 people died in a Russian airstrike last week on a theater being used as a bomb shelter in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the city's government said Friday, citing eyewitnesses.When the theater was struck March 16, an enormous inscription reading "CHILDREN" was posted outside in Russian, intended to be visible from the skies above.It was not immediately clear whether emergency workers had finished excavating the site or how the eyewitnesses arrived at the horrific death toll. Soon after the airstrike, Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament’s human rights commissioner, said more than 1,300 people had been sheltering in the building.RELATED: Russia-Ukraine war: Civilian casualties grow amid shellingMariupol has been the scene of some of the worst devastation of the war, which has seen Russia relentlessly besiege and pummel Ukraine's cities.

Love Island star Maura Higgins has given fans a health update following “mystery illness.”The TV star had been undergoing various tests to get to the bottom of an illness that left her bed bound for three days and caused her to lose a stone.Speaking on her Instagram stories yesterday (March 24), the Irish beauty opened up to her 3.4 million followers and explained that her doctor had discovered "severe inflammation" around her bladder.The cause of the problem is unknown, however, and the 31-year-old revealed to her followers that this isn’t the end of it, saying: "Obviously I have to get more tests done."The Longford native explained that she went in for an ultrasound and the doctor decided to conduct a smear test.Aware that smear tests often "grosses people out”, Maura didn’t want to go into too much detail but said: “Afterwards I turned around and said to him ‘oh my god that felt a bit like a smear test’ and he said ‘it was’."The reality TV star continued: "But this is my point because I know a lot of you message me about the smear test… if anyone ever says to you that a smear test is painful, uncomfortable, anything – they are drama queens."Maura assured her followers that her smear tests in the past have never been painful and reflecting on this one, she added: "I didn’t even know I was getting one. It was absolutely fine."Maura concluded her update by sending a vital message to her followers: "My point is get your smear test.

As concerns rise over Russia potentially using chemical weapons in Ukraine, NATO leaders warn they will take action that will bring “widespread consequences” against Moscow if it crosses that line.

PHILADELPHIA - The United States is expanding efforts to help Ukrainian refugees. It has agreed to accept up to 100,000 people escaping from the war and to increase support for Eastern European nations that have taken in most of the people fleeing Russian forces.While in Brussels to meet with European allies, President Joe Biden said the United States would admit up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and provide $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to countries affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The financial support is important because most of the approximately 3.6 million refugees who have fled Ukraine are in neighboring countries such as Poland, Moldova, and Romania and are posing a substantial burden."This is not something that Poland or Romania or Germany should carry on their own," said Biden, who said he hopes to meet with refugees on his European trip.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday a ‘strike on Russian ships was successful’ after CCTV footage showed fire, smoke and explosions at the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk.

Today we are reporting 15,871 community cases, 899 hospitalisations and 13 deaths.

East Ayrshire Council’s chief executive has marked the second anniversary of the Covid lockdown by remembering residents who died having caught the virus.

Avi Schiffmann (Left) and Marco Burstein (Right) (Credit; Avi Schiffmann) CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard student Avi Schiffmann was attending a pro-Ukraine demonstration while visiting San Diego last month when he came up with an idea to create a website connecting Ukrainian refugees to hosts around the world, so they could easily find housing. "I felt like I had the skills to really make something here with technology to help the few hundred million people in Ukraine and all around Eastern Europe," Schiffmann told FOX Television Stations Group Wednesday. Through his research, he found websites currently offering to house refugees were cumbersome and "not up to par at all." That’s when the 19-year-old reached out to fellow classmate Marco Burstein, 18, for help developing the idea. Burstein, who is currently studying computer science at Harvard, agreed to help Schiffmann, and within just three days, the platform Ukraine Take Shelter was completed.RELATED: US to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, expand Russia sanctions"I really felt like I just needed to get this out at soon as possible," Schiffman continued, noting his desire to create a site that "really puts the power back in the hands of the refugee", while also being user-friendly."These people are running away from live gunfire, explosives, lost and confused or in a foreign country in a language they don’t speak," Schiffmann said, adding, "They just need to be able to use this website and get the information they need as fast as possible."Since launching Ukraine Take Shelter on March 3, he said the response has been "incredible," citing one story that sticks out in his mind.Homepage and search page for Ukraine Take Shelter website.

Omicron, appears to be on the rise in Manitoba.According to a provincial spokesperson, as of mid-March, 11.8 per cent of COVID-19 tests were the BA.2 subvariant and recent sequencing suggests the rate of BA.2 is increasing.With a lack of surveillance and a lack of widespread COVID-19 PCR testing, the numbers are skewed, and experts say it’s likely much higher.“Given how long this has probably been circulating and our reduction in access to lab-based testing it would be likely that those ratios are probably higher,” epidemiologist Cynthia Carr told Global News.She added that the rate the original BA.1 Omicron variant multiplied is another indicator the numbers are higher. BA.2 could mean new COVID-19 wave: scientists Experts say the more transmissible BA.2, coupled with a lack of COVID-19 restrictions in place, could be the concoction that fuels a spring wave of COVID-19.“It won’t be surprising at all if there is a spring wave associated with this variant,” Carr said.Virologist Jason Kindrachuk says BA.2 will likely push out BA.1 as the dominant strain, just as Omicron overtook Delta.“What we’re understanding now is BA.2 looks to be a bit more transmissible or transmissive than BA.1,” Kindrachuk said.“That of course, puts us into the awkward position of saying, once again, we have another variant, that is more transmissible than the last variant.”Kindrachuk said that so far, research suggests the severity of BA.2 is similar to BA.1’s.

NATO has activated its “chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence elements” amid fears Russia could launch a biological strike in Ukraine.Following an emergency summit of the military alliance on Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels the decision comes as the allies move to equip Ukraine with its own biological defences.“Our top military commander … has activated NATO’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence elements,” he said.“And allies are deploying additional chemical and biological and nuclear defences to reinforce our existing and new battlegroups, so we are taking measures both to support Ukraine and also to defend ourselves.” How the war in Ukraine stands a month after Russia’s invasion — and what may be next Stoltenberg made the announcement as part of a slew of new measures taken by the military alliance to boost its presence in eastern Europe amid a growing Russian threat, he said.NATO is sending four new battlegroups to Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, Stoltenberg announced, while promising the allies will further support Ukraine in its fight against Russia as the invasion hit the one-month mark Thursday.However, the West fears Russia, which has yet to make significant ground in Ukraine, could escalate the conflict by using biological weapons. Leaders have expressed their fears over such an attack, but have not provided evidence one is looming.

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei (CREDIT: NASA) U.S. astronaut and Fairfax County native Mark Vande Hei has made it through nearly a year in space, but faces what could be his trickiest assignment yet: riding a Russian capsule back to Earth in the midst of deepening tensions between the countries.Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and WeatherNASA insists Vande Hei’s homecoming plans at the end of the month remain unchanged, even as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in canceled launches, broken contracts and an escalating war of words by the Russian Space Agency’s hardline leader.

NATO Secretary-General Jen Stoltenberg said Thursday that the military alliance would provide Ukraine with equipment and training to protect against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.

Renfrewshire has seen a surge in covid cases taking the area into Scotland's top five virus hotspots.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 23: U.S. President Joe Biden walks towards members of the press prior to a Marine One departure from the White House on March 23, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

Ukrainian servicemen carry a fragment of a rocket outside a building in Kyiv after it was destroyed by Russian shelling. (SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images) KYIV, Ukraine - Ukraine’s cities stood under relentless Russian fire as NATO leaders huddled in Brussels Thursday and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged them to provide "effective and unrestricted" support to his country.Four weeks into the deadly Russian onslaught, its forces appear to have stalled in many places in the face of fiercer-than-expected Ukrainian resistance.

Kyiv mere minutes after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a “special military operation” in Ukraine exactly one month ago.The attacks from Russian forces — by air, by sea and on the ground — have barely stopped since Feb. 24, becoming more intense and brutal by the day.

File image - Women with children are seen outside the main railway station in Przemysl, southeastern Poland, near the Polish-Ukrainian border, as refugees from Ukraine wait to get on buses to other destinations in Poland, on March 24, 2022, following WASHINGTON - The United States will expand its sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, targeting members of the country’s parliament and the central bank’s gold reserves, the White House announced Thursday. At the same time, Washington will increase its humanitarian assistance by welcoming 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and providing an additional $1 billion in food, medicine, water and other supplies.The White House announced the initiatives as U.S. President Joe Biden and world leaders gathered in Brussels for a trio of summits in response to the Russian invasion, seeking new ways to limit the economic and security fallout from the conflict.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the day's first meeting, an emergency NATO summit, where he called for "military assistance without limitations." He pleaded for anti-air and anti-ship weapons, asking "is it possible to survive in such a war without this?""It feels like we’re in a gray area, between the West and Russia, defending our common values," Zelenskyy said during the video address.

Despite previous deals falling apart almost immediately, Ukraine and Russia have reached another agreement for humanitarian corridors, to allow more people to flee the war.

NEW DELHI :

U.S. President Joe Biden and Western allies opened the first of three summits Thursday focused on increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over his war in Ukraine while tending to the economic and security fallout spreading across Europe and the world.Biden and the leaders of other NATO countries met at the alliance's headquarters where they posed for a group photo memorializing the urgent gathering before retreating behind closed doors for their summit, which was expected to last several hours.Over the course of Thursday, the European diplomatic capital is hosting an emergency NATO summit as well as a gathering of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and a summit of the 27 members of the European Union.

Despite surviving the Holocaust, 96-year-old Boris Romanchenko was killed in Russia’s assault on Kharkiv, Ukraine. Mike Armstrong looks at Romanchenko’s remarkable life, and the tributes pouring in.

PHILADELPHIA - Motorists have found some relief at the pump in recent weeks - albeit pennies worth - but experts believe gas prices will worsen in the coming months as pandemic-weary travelers plan to hit the road again. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has fluttered down to $4.23. Pennsylvania's average price sits a few cents above that at $4.31, and in neighboring New Jersey and Delaware drivers are paying around $4.Experts say the ongoing war in Ukraine is partly to blame for the high prices at the pump, but it's not the only reason driver's wallets will continue to get hammered.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that NATO leaders are expected to agree at Thursday’s emergency summit to increase troops’ presence in Eastern Europe, with four new battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

Russia’s post-Soviet economic reforms, has quit his post as a Kremlin special envoy and left the country due to the war in Ukraine, two sources told Reuters, the highest profile protest by a Russian figure against the invasion.Chubais, who once served as former President Boris Yeltsin’s chief of staff, left his post as Vladimir Putin’s special representative for ties with international organizations, one of the sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Top ex-Kremlin official accused of ‘national betrayal’ quits post at foundation He was appointed to the post, which was charged with “achieving goals of sustainable development,” in 2020, days after resigning as the head of state technology firm RUSNANO, which he had run since 2008.The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Chubais left due to the conflict in Ukraine.

A festivalgoer smokes marijuana at Lollapalooza on July 29, 2021, at Grant Park in Chicago. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)LOS ANGELES - A recent study found that medical marijuana fails to improve symptoms of pain, anxiety and depression and effectively doubles the risk of developing addictive symptoms and cannabis use disorder (CUD).The study, published by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital on March 18, also noted that up to one in five users of cannabis may develop CUD."There have been many claims about the benefits of medical marijuana for treating pain, insomnia, anxiety and depression, without sound scientific evidence to support them," said Professor Jodi Gilman in a news release.At least 1.4 million Americans are using marijuana for their health, according to an Associated Press analysis of states that track medical marijuana patients.And while marijuana has been shown to help ease pain and a few other health problems, two-thirds of U.S.

Today we are reporting 18,423 community cases, 913 hospitalisations and 11 deaths.

following news about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and want to help.  By a 63-32% margin, voters think the U.S. should be doing more for Ukrainians in their fight against Russia.  Fully 82% are concerned about the invasion and 76% approve of how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is responding to it.  The new Fox News national survey also finds a growing portion say the Russia-Ukraine conflict matters to life in the United States: 85% feel that way, up from 76% last month.RELATED: Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv remains under fire as Biden arrives in EuropeIt’s an issue Democrats and Republicans largely agree on: 90% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans think what happens in Ukraine makes a difference here at home, about 8 in 10 Democrats and Republicans approve of Zelenskyy, and two-thirds in each party want to do more for Ukraine. Journalist Mark Savchuk joins LiveNOW from FOX from Kyiv, Ukraine to share the latest on the invasion.What do voters mean when they say the U.S.

Led mainly by surges in Asian hot spots, COVID-19 cases last week increased for the second straight week, though deaths continued to fall, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in its weekly pandemic update.

NATO leaders are expected to agree at an emergency summit on Thursday to boost the alliance’s military presence in eastern Europe due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says.Ahead of the meeting, Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday that he expects the allies to sign off on the deployment of four new battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.“I expect leaders will agree to strengthen NATO’s posture in all domains, with major increases in the eastern part of the alliance on land, in the air and at sea,” he said. NATO summit a chance to bolster Ukraine response, experts say.

COVID-19 and a slight uptick in hospitalizations Wednesday. COVID-19 hospitalizations in Manitoba continue to drop Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,735 Manitobans with COVID-19 have now died.Meanwhile, the number of people hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 rose to 387 as of Wednesday morning, seven more than had been reported 24 hours earlier.

who remains detained near Moscow, to check on her condition.State Department spokesperson Ned Price told CNN the official found Griner "to be in good condition." Price did not identify the official who had been granted consular access to Griner, something the United States had been demanding.Griner was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport, reportedly in mid-February, after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury durring pregame warmups at Footprint Center on October 10, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Mattina/Getty Images) RELATED: Brittney Griner arrest in midst of Russia-Ukraine war 'kind of a perfect storm,' sports attorney saysRussian state news agency Tass reported last week that a court had extended Griner’s pretrial detention to May 19.Price says the U.S.

John McGrath, 56, is facing several charges relating to stealing more than $25,000 from Our Lady of Mercy Regional Catholic School.  MAPLE GLEN, Pa. - A Montgomery County school principal is facing charges related to stealing thousands from his school, according to District Attorney Kevin R. Steele. According to Steele's office, 56-year-old John C.

About 60 per cent of Canadians surveyed in a recent poll by Ipsos done exclusively for Global News say they’re concerned they might not have enough money to feed their family, a percentage that’s up 16 per cent from a similar poll conducted in November 2021.

Russia on Wednesday condemned what it called a “reckless” Polish proposal to send international peacekeepers into Ukraine and warned that it could lead to a direct clash between Russian and NATO forces.Poland said last Friday it would formally submit a proposal for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine at the next NATO summit. NATO summit a chance to bolster Ukraine response, experts say.

KYIV, Ukraine - Nearly one month has passed since the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II, and there have been no major breakthroughs on the battlefield or the negotiating table.Russian forces appeared bogged down outside major cities in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance. Strikes on cities continued to wreak destruction across the country.Ukraine's capital Kyiv shook early Wednesday with Russian shelling that sparked fires in high-rise buildings, injuring four people.

The United Nations Secretary-General is urging an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saying its people are “enduring a living hell.” This comes as Russian forces continue their siege of Mariupol, as the Ukrainian military refuses to back down. Kim Smith has the latest.

Edmonton-area businessman Dale Wishewan and his daughter, Sienna, are in Poland to help those fleeing the war in Ukraine, while also shedding light on the plight of refugees and how to help. Morgan Black reports.

Ukraine and Russia are confrontational but moving forward, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday, as the West plans to announce more sanctions against the Kremlin amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.Intense Russian air strikes are turning besieged Mariupol into the “ashes of a dead land,” the city council said on Tuesday, as street fighting and bombardments raged in the port city.Hundreds of thousands are believed to be trapped inside buildings, with no access to food, water, power or heat. Both civilians and Ukrainian troops were coming under Russian fire, said regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is warning his country could become Russia’s gateway to Europe. Redmond Shannon reports on Zelenskyy’s new pleas to Italian lawmakers; how Russian forces bombed a psychiatric hospital in Mykolaiv, Ukraine; and how the U.S.

The federal Liberals and NDP have struck a confidence-and-supply deal, which would see the Liberal minority government stay in power until 2025.

WAYNE, Pa. - A local bartender concocted a way to help Ukrainian refugees after he was inspired by a connection he made with a Ukrainian woman and her young daughter. A week before Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, Sam Whitaker hired Vika, a Ukrainian woman, to design a web page for a project he was working on. Days later, Vika and her 5-year-old daughter fled to Italy to stay with relatives as Russian forces pillaged Ukraine.Sam managed to stay in touch with Vika during the ongoing war in Ukraine.

MADRID - Authorities in Gibraltar seized a superyacht belonging to a notorious Russian billionaire on March 21, local media reported. In recent footage obtained by Storyful, the ship, the Axioma was seen arriving at a dock in the British overseas territory. ThE footage shows the Axioma coming in to dock in the British overseas territory. The vessel was reportedly seized for its ties to Dmitry Pumpyansky, owner of Russian steel company TMK.The 240-foot boat has an estimated value of $75 million.

Today we are reporting 20,087 community cases, 960 hospitalisations and 11 deaths.