Russia Launches Largest Air Assault of Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Wednesday that more than 2,000 civilians have been killed in Russia’s invasion, although the number could not be verified, the Associated Press reports.

China may emerge as the primary beneficiary of the Russia-Ukraine war, a former FBI special agent who worked on China and North Korea told Fox News Digital.

“Ultimately, China is the big winner in the Russia-Ukraine War,” Steve Gray, a former FBI special agent who is running for Congress in New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District, said.

“They’ll be the primary beneficiary of the sanctions against Russia, the yen will benefit from the decline of the ruble, and they have been given a case study of what the world’s response would look like if they were to invade Taiwan.”

“It would not be surprising at all to learn that this is shaping up exactly as China planned,” Gray, who spent 10 years working as a supervisory special agent focused on China and North Korea, added.

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Melaniya Podolyak joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss what life is like on the ground in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

Russian forces have increased their attacks on crowded Ukraine urban area
s, including bombing a TV tower in the capital of Kyiv and continued shelling in Kharkiv. 

An airstrike on Tuesday targeted Kyiv’s central TV broadcasting antenna, which temporarily knocked out broadcasting capabilities and left at least five people dead, according to Ukrainian officials. Wednesday marks the seventh day of battling between the two nations. 

The destruction also extended to the Holocaust memorial site Babi Yar in Kyiv. 

“This is beyond humanity,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday, according to a translation. “Such missile strike means that, for many Russians, our Kyiv is absolute foreign. They know nothing about our capital, about our history. They have orders to erase our history, our country and all of us.”

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Four people gave been killed and nine have been injured so far in airstrikes targeting the city of Kharkiv on Wednesday, Ukraine’s state emergency service says.

One of the strikes hit the regional police and intelligence headquarters, blowing off its roof and setting the top floor on fire. Pieces of the five-story building were strewn across adjacent streets, according to videos and photos released by the emergency service.

In Wednesday’s strikes, four people died, nine were wounded and rescuers pulled 10 people out of the rubble, the service also said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The United Nations said Wednesday that 136 civilians have been killed in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including 13 children.

An additional 400 have been injured, but numbers are expected to rise.

“Most of these casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area,” said Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Liz Throssell. “This includes shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems and airstrikes.”

Pope Francis told his Wednesday general audience that he is “profoundly grateful” for Poland’s gestures of solidarity with Ukraine
during the ongoing invasion.

“You are the first ones who have supported Ukraine opening your borders, your hearts, the doors of your homes to the Ukrainians who are escaping the war,” Francis said. “You are generously offering everything necessary so that they can live in a dignified way despite the dramatic moment.”

The Pope’s weekly appointment coincided with Ash Wednesday, which Francis has designated as a day for fasting and prayers for peace in Ukraine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

China’s bank regulator said Wednesday that Beijing won’t join the United States and European governments in imposing financial sanctions on Russia.

China is a top buyer of Russian oil and gas and is the only major government that has refrained from criticizing Moscow’s attack on Ukraine, according to the Associated Press.

Beijing disapproves of sanctions, which it believes lack a legal basis and “will not have a good effect,” said Guo Shuqing, the chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

“We will not join such sanctions, and we will keep normal economic, trade and financial exchanges with all the relevant parties,” Guo added at a news conference. “We disapprove of the financial sanctions.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced Wednesday that it has received a letter from Russia suggesting its military has taken control of the area around Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant.

The letter says personnel at the Zaporizhzhia plant continued their “work on providing nuclear safety and monitoring radiation in normal mode of operation” and that “radiation levels remain normal.”

Zaporizhzhia is the largest of Ukraine’s nuclear sites, with six out of the country’s 15 reactors.

Already, Russia has seized control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.

The IAEA says that it has received a request from Ukraine to “provide immediate assistance in coordinating activities in relation to the safety” of Chernobyl and other sites.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the Monday Russian airstrike that took out the Holocaust memorial site Babi Yar in the capital city of Kyiv in a news conference Tuesday, calling the destruction “beyond humanity.”

“This is beyond humanity,” Zelenskyy said, according to a translation from the Associated Press. “Such missile strike means that, for many Russians, our Kyiv is absolute foreign. They know nothing about our capital, about our history. They have orders to erase our history, our country and all of us.”

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says a Russian delegation is ready to resume talks Wednesday evening with Ukrainian officials, according to the Associated Press.

This will be the second meeting between the two countries after delegations previously met in Belarus.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing for their lives have arrived in Moldova, a country on Ukraine’s southern border.

Ukrainian refugees are reportedly being offered jobs in a wide array of fields, including as teachers, construction workers, in the country’s burgeoning information technology sector and in the service industry.

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Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall has the latest developments from Lviv, Ukraine.

Rep. Michael Waltz weighed in on the Ukraine-Russia war and how the smaller country could emerge victorious.

“Whether Ukraine’s forces can withstand Russia’s sheer military numbers remains to be seen, but there are three key components that will lead to a successful Ukrainian resistance: the will to fight, a sanctuary, and arms and other supplies for guerilla warfare,” he said.

And, “President Biden must make clear that the United States will continue to stand with the freedom-loving Ukrainian people should their country be overtaken by Russian forces not just with words but bullets.”

(READ MORE)

Cyberwarfare between Russia and Ukraine began well before the first bullets were fired, a cybersecurity expert and former senior CIA official told Fox News.

He also warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could launch cyberattacks against America’s supply chain in response to economic sanctions.

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Oil prices continue to rise as Russia’s attack on Ukraine rages on.

Oil surged another $5 per barrel on Wednesday despite an agreement from the United States and other major governments to release supplies from strategic stockpiles aimed at calming market anxiety. (READ MORE)

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian government issued war bonds to fund their defense against a Russian invasion, raising about 8.1 billion hryvnia (or $270 million).

“The proceeds from the bonds will be used to meet the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and to ensure the uninterrupted provision of the state’s financial needs under the war,” Ukraine’s finance ministry said.

United States companies have cut ties with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine:

BP announced Sunday that it is exiting its stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft. Shell followed suit on Monday, announcing that it was ending its relationship with Gazprom.

Google, TikTok, YouTube, DirecTV, and Meta, have restricted access to RT America, a Russian state-owned media outlet.

Warner Bros, Disney, and Sony Pictures are all halting the release of upcoming films in Russia. 

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During the State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Biden said Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy “inspirers the world.”

“Six days ago, Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought to shake the very foundations of the free world, thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated. He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over,” Biden said. “Instead, he met with… a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined. He met the Ukrainian people and President Zelenskyy.”

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A cryptocurrency-tracking firm says Ukraine has received $33.8 million in digital currency such as bitcoin and ether as they continue to fight off a Russian invasion.

The sum from 30,000 unique donations comes after Ukraine issued a plea for contributions last week, the Associated Press reported.