Kremlin seeks to control narrative in Russia, blocks Western social media: LIVE UPDATES
Russian forces opened fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest such plant in Europe, early Friday morning. The head of the IAEA said no radiation had been released and none of the six reactors were compromised but "action" needs to be taken to make sure something similar never happens again.
Coverage for this event has ended.
Zelenskyy to NATO: 'Is this NATO we wanted?'
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized NATO for their decision to not impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying "Is this NATO we wanted?"
"Today, the Alliance's leadership gave the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities by refusing to make a no-fly zone. You could close our sky. But…I do not know who you can protect and whether you can protect NATO countries," Zelenskyy said in a video uploaded to social media on Friday.
In the address, Zelenskyy, however, said that he's "grateful" for Ukraine's friends in NATO.
"But I am also grateful to our country's friends in NATO. There are many countries of our friends, our partners - most of the powerful partners. Those who help our state no matter what. From the first day of the invasion. And I'm sure, until the victory. And that's why we do NOT feel alone.We continue to fight. We will protect our state. We will liberate our land," he said.
US mission in Ukraine revealed — and it's not necessarily Russia's defeat
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby during an appearance Friday on "The Story" was asked exactly what the U.S. mission was in Ukraine and what success would look like in officials' eyes.
JOHN KIRBY: I'll tell you very clearly what the Pentagon and the Department of Defense is focused on, and it's really two things. One is continuing to make sure that Ukraine can defend itself, and they are defending themselves. And as we just talked about a few minutes ago, we're helping them do that, and we're trying to do that as fast as possible.
Number two: Making sure that NATO can defend itself, and that's why the president has ordered additional troops over to Europe. That's why we repositioned troops inside Europe to elsewhere on NATO's eastern flank. We're making sure that we can make positive that we can defend NATO's territory, that we're making it clear to Mr. Putin and to our allies how seriously we take our Article 5 commitments under the NATO's treaty. …
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Russian TV station staffers walk off set after broadcast
Staff of a Russian independent television station, TV Rain, ended their final broadcast by walking off the set on Thursday,
According to the BBC, the news outlet has stopped broadcasting indefinitely.
The Russian government's telecommunications regulator has accused the station of "inciting extremism, abusing Russian citizens, causing mass disruption of public calm and safety, and encouraging protests," according to the report.
Putin signs 'fake' news law that would jail journalists over war reports
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law Friday legislation that would punish journalists with prison time for publishing news that contradicts officials' statements about Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Under the new law, reporters face up to 15 years in prison if they report what authorities deem as false reports about the military. The legislation was passed by both chambers of the Russian parliament.
Tim Davie, the director-general for the BBC, said the law criminalizes independent journalism and said the media outlet has suspended the work of its journalists and staff in Russia.
"Our BBC News service in Russian will continue to operate from outside Russia," he said Thursday. "The safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs."
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Airbnb, Booking.com suspend Russian operations
Airbnb and Booking.com have suspended their operations in Russia and Belarus, Reuters reports.
"With each passing day, as the urgency of this devastating war in Ukraine intensifies, so do the complexities of doing business in the region," Booking.com CEO Glenn Fogel said.
US senators to meet virtually with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
The U.S. Senate has been invited to participate in a virtual meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, Fox News Digital has confirmed.
All U.S. senators are invited to participate in the meeting taking place virtually at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
The meeting comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its second week, as Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24, saying "our confrontation with these [Ukrainian] forces is inevitable."
At least 227 civilians have been killed along with another 525 injured in Ukraine, according to the United Nation's human rights office.
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Blinken says 'no strategic interest' in Russia energy sanctions, resists calls for oil import ban
Secretary of State Antony Blinken downplayed the impact that energy sanctions on Russia would have, arguing any such sanctions would hurt America and its allies more than they would Moscow.
U.S. lawmakers have expressed bipartisan support for cutting imports on Russian oil and gas over fears that continued purchases essentially help fund Putin’s war. President Biden has resisted these calls, and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki maintains that energy sanctions remain "on the table."
Blinken echoed the administration’s caution on the matter, arguing that short-term impact might actually help Russia and hurt America.
"The sanctions are designed … to have maximum impact on Russia and Putin while minimizing harm to us and our partners," Blinken told reporters. "There’s no strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy."
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U.S. Senate to invited to virtually meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday
The full U.S. Senate has been invited to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday on Zoom, Fox News has confirmed.
The meeting comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its second week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24, saying "our confrontation with these [Ukrainian] forces is inevitable."
Ukraine Armed Forces launch counteroffensive in Kharkiv region, local media says
The Ukraine Armed Forces have launched a counteroffensive against Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, head of the Kharkiv military administration Oleg Sinegubov said according to Ukraine Pravda news.
Biden admin sends mixed messages on alleged Russian war crimes
President Biden's administration is sending mixed messages about alleged Russian war crimes during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Asked Friday whether a reported strike on a Ukrainian nuclear power plant would constitute a war crime to the U.S. government, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said there were still internal investigations underway.
"We have an internal review that's been ongoing prior to last night to collect evidence and data of the targeting of civilians, of the reported use of horrific weapons of war on the ground in Ukraine," Psaki said.
"That's an ongoing process. We have not made conclusions. It's a legal review and a process that goes through the administration."
The U.S. Embassy to Ukraine, however, indicated Friday morning that the Russians had committed a war crime.
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Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Poland and Romania next week: WH official
Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Poland and Romania next week, a White House official confirmed to Fox News.
The trip comes amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing for over a week.
Harris will visit Poland on Monday, where American troops are stationed to assist with refugees fleeing from Ukraine.
Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich and Patrick Ward contributed to this report.
Air raid sirens going off in Kyiv, government says
Air raid sirens are currently going off in Kyiv, Ukraine, according to a Kyiv government Telegram channel.
Russian government blocks Twitter, shortly after cutting off access to Facebook: state media
The Russian government has blocked access to Twitter inside the country, according to Interfax, which is state controlled.
Shortly before blocking access to Twitter, the government also cut access to Facebook.
Blinken says 'no strategic interest' in Russia energy sanctions
Secretary of State Antony Blinken downplayed the impact that energy sanctions on Russia would have, arguing any such sanctions would hurt America and its allies more than they would Moscow.“
The sanctions are designed … to have maximum impact on Russia and Putin while minimizing harm to us and our partners,” Blinken told reporters. “There’s no strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy.”
“The immediate effect to raise prices at the pump for Americans and to pad Russian profits with rising profits,” he argued, adding that the U.S. is working to undermine Russia’s ability to maintain a role as a leading energy provider.
U.S. lawmakers have expressed bipartisan support for cutting imports on Russian oil and gas.
Facebook responds to Russia blocking service, says they'll do "everything we can" to restore it
Meta President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said that the company will do "everything we can" to restore the companies service in Russia after the government announced that Facebook will be blocked in the country.
"Soon millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived from their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends and silenced from speaking out. We will continue to do everything we can to restore our services so they remain available to people to safely and securely express themselves and organize for action," Clegg said.
Facebook is now blocked in Russia, state media claims
Russian state media is reporting Friday that Facebook has now been blocked in Russia.
EU wants Ukraine to join 'as soon as possible'
European Union Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said Friday that he wants Ukraine to become an EU member "as soon as possible," according to Reuters.
"It's time for signaling that the Ukrainian people is one of the European peoples and we want them in as soon as possible," he said, adding that "I think what... is the most important now is to help Ukraine in the fight."
US aid to Ukraine compressed process from months to ‘hours and days’
A breakdown of U.S. aid to Ukraine reveals the incredible speed at which the American government provided assistance, compressing a process that normally takes months into "hours and days."
The U.S. has provided $350 million in military aid in the forms of weapons from U.S. stockpiles over the past week, bringing the total aid to Ukraine to roughly $1 billion over the past year.
And a new breakdown of that aid shows that the U.S. compressed the process to provide this aid to just a matter of hours and days.
"You can see how fast we are moving to get security assistance on the battlefield," a senior defense official said, noting that overall officials remain "very impressed" with how Ukrainians are fielding those weapons. "They are having a real impact."
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Vice President Harris to visit Poland
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Poland on Monday, where American troops currently are stationed to assist with evacuees from Ukraine, Fox News has confirmed.
Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.
Russian watchdog blocks access to some foreign media outlets, including BBC, VOA
Russia has blocked access to some foreign media websites and accused them of spreading false information about the war in Ukraine.
Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor on Friday said it had blocked the websites for the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Deutsche Welle as well as other media outlets.
"Access has been restricted to a host of information resources owned by foreigners," Roskomnadzor said in a statement. "The grounds for restricting access to these information resources on the territory of the Russian Federation was their deliberate and systematic circulation of materials containing false information."
Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer, previously told Fox News Digital that Russia would "crack down further and possibly ban broadcasts by Western media" as Putin faced trouble at home controlling the narrative about the invasion, which he stills calls a "special military operation."
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