years and he would always say follow my advice and keep on smiling. pierre is survived by his wife michelle, and his loving family. we pray for ben jamin hall's full recovery. jamin hall's full recovery. >> todd: awaiting remarks from president zelenskyy this morning, set to deliver virtual address to the u.s. congress hours from now. president biden planning to announce military assistance to ukraine. i'm todd piro. >> carley: i'm carley shimkus. get a preview of president zelenskyy's message to america, we begin with jonathan hunt, who has latest on the russian

attacks overnight on the ground in lviv. jonathan. >> john: we are approaching halfway mark of 35-hour curfew in the capital kyiv and capital of ukraine has been relatively quiet and relative being very relative in the overnight hours since that curfew went into effect at 8 p.m. last night local time. fighting has been intense elsewhere. we have video from the luhansk region. you see it quite clearly there, while in the eastern city of kharkiv, russian bombardment is intense, sending civilians scrambling for cover, increasing the humanitarian crisis we are see nothing so many cities.

kyiv obviously was the site of several air strikes yesterday and just hours after the strikes, three european leaders, leaders of poland, czech and slovenia showed up alongside president zelenskyy and saying this is a fight all of europe is willing to stand up to russia for. listen here. >> this invasion has to sto -- can never be forgotten, we will never leave you alone, we will be with you because we know you are fighting not only for your homes, for your freedom and your security, but also for us. >> john: as the fighting continues, so does the talking. peace talks beginning to make small steps of progress, they

may be boosted by an apparent concession, a major concession from president zelenskyy saying that ukraine would be willing to put ark side the issue of nato membership. listen to president zelenskyy. >> ukraine is not a member of nato. we understand that. we have heard from years that the doors were open and also heard we cannot join. it is truth and it must be recognized. >> john: and we are hearing now from the united nations that the number of refugees who have run for their lives from ukraine has now topped 3 million mark. vast majority going to poland, but many going to hungary, romania, maldova. it is going to put pressure on

those countries receiving the refugees and countrys to which the refugees will ultimately move on. todd and carley. >> todd: apparent hostage situation involving 500 individuals at a mariupol hospital. do you know anything about that? >> yeah, the word hostage situation, there may be something in the translation, all of ukraine is being held hostage by russian forces right now. there are several hundred people who are believed to be in that hospital in the southern city of mariupol and russian troops are outside the hospital are not allowing peep toll come and go. that is not that surprising in the sense the russian troops

want to control movement of any city they move into. to call it a hostage situation may be misleading. in a sense issue the entire country is being held hostage by this aggression. >> carley: you hear zelenskyy say they are not part of nato. yesterday the terms were laid out clearly, they include demilitarization of ukraine, i'm sure those would be complete nonstarter for zelenskyy. >> john: yeah, there is clearly a very long way to go in any peace talks, carley. it is significant concession if president zelenskyy is willing to commit to not seeking nato membership now or in the future,

that might move the needle. talks are supposed to resume today. they are doing it quietly, public diplomacy is rarely diplomacy that works, private diplomacy is usually a lot more effective and the very fact that neither side is saying too much publicly right now might mean there is progress, clearly in the meantime, fighting goes on, ukraines continue to die. >> carley: the u.k.s say they are making progress, time is of the essence, we'll check back very soon. ukrainian president will speak to joint session of congress. >> todd: griff jenkins has a look ahead at pivotal day to come. griff jenkins. >> five hours from now, historic

moment, zelenskyy is expected to make direct and emotional appeal to congress. biden has not been willing to give that so far. >> close the air space, please stop the bombing, how many cruise missiles have to fall on our city until you make this happen? >> the question now, todd and carley, will today aappeal move the needle at the white house? >> is zelenskyy wasting his time tomorrow asking for these things? >> press sect. psaki: because of the passion and courage of president zelenskyy, there has been support for expediting delivery of historic amount of military and security assistance and weapons that have helped him

and his military fight back against the russians. >> additional funding for ukraine includes anti-armor and anti-air weapons, grenade launchers, small arms weapons and the u.s. is considering sending sophisticated killer drones called switchblades. some in congress are criticizing the administration for not acting fast enough. >> the administration keep dragging their heels, when they do the right thing, they do it too late. >> biden will travel to brussels next wee -- allies. here on capitol hill yesterday, the senate voted on resolution condemning violence in ukraine calling for war crime investigation of vladamir putin.

>> todd: more than 700 ukrainians have been killed and a thousand more injured during this war. >> carley: a nurse whose family fled the former soviet union to the u.s. is on the ground in lviv and joins us. good morning to you all. janet, we spoke to you about a week ago, when you landed in poland. now you're in ukraine. what have you been experiencing as you help people out on the ground? >> the situation in ukraine is more tenuous, i'm here with sher and he seth and they have been doing incredible effort of evacuating orphans, we are taking care of as many kiddos on the ground as possible. we are making sure they have the food and the shelter and all of their medical needs have been met and creating comfortable and

safe environment as possible. the trauma and devastation is tremendous. >> todd: how are you holding up dealing with all of this? >> we're all trying to do our best, i think they -- the anxiety now, it is just a matter of time making sure as many kids can get out safely as possible as the situation becomes more dangerous in eastern ukraine. >> carley: the situation is becoming more dangerous and doctor, that leads me to my next question, what are the challenges you are facing right now? >> it is getting really difficult because a lot of the kids are involved in, some are in bunkers and we've been trying to get to the various orphanages, sometimes we can't complete the mission and we have to circle back and restart again. some kids, they spent -- in a

bunker, in the cold and limited food and by the time we've gotten them here in getting them shelter, these kids have been so traumatized, they have not had food, the sirens go off and the fear is off the chart. >> todd: reminder, children are experiencing this, not just adults. seth, are you worried about your own safety as the shelling gets closer to where you are. >> it is obviously a concern, but our minds are on the children and getting them to safety. >> carley: long lines going from ukraine to poland, so it seems like it has to be a major effort and time-consuming task to get kids to safety. how are you doing it? >> well, the kids, we are not

getting the kids out of ukraine. the goal of the government, keep as many children here as possible to maintain their identity. most refugees want to come back, not leave permanently, so trying to create a safe environment for them as much as possible in lviv. they are getting them out of hot zone and bringing them to relatively safe areas. >> todd: doctor, what is your message to americans on how they can help you? >> first and foremost, just awareness and care for the children. we're talking thousands and thousands of children who have been displaced and they are afraid, we need the resources and want to build village of

orphanages. there are so many beyond the orphans we are working with, everybody on the streets, so many refugees, everyone trying to get to safety. we need america to back these people with support. >> carley: thank you so much for joining us and thank you for the work you are doing. >> thank you. >> todd: our next guest escaped devastation in kharkiv with one suitcase and is in poland trying to get to the u.s. >> carley: yulia is live -- you are from kharkiv, one of the hardest hit areas of ukraine. tell us about your journey out.

>> it was very hard. mentally and physically. because kharkiv was bombed in the center of the city and that is where she lived on the -- right next to her apartment building, there was a bomb explosion. all her windows got blown out

and for last three days while in kharkiv, she had to survive in the winter with no windows. it was cold. she is disabled. she cannot walk and people carried her downstairs from the fourth floor to help her, that is how she got out alive. >> todd: unbelievable. i want to bring you in here, describe what you had to go through to save your grandmother's life? >> you know, originally we thought we would have to drive to the border to pick her up. they are doing a good job at the

border, bringing people to places if they have a place to stay in poland, they are driving them there. that was a relief. it is scary, very tense over there right now. we nrp warsaw and you are five hours away from the border and it is so tense. >> thank you for helping translate, question to you. what has this experience been like for you as you waited to reunite with yourer? >> it was nerve racking, on the way, she could not use her sole phone, we knew approximately the time she would go from one point to another, but it was late due to all the posts and every time i'm trying to call her and she

is not answering, my fear was she was dead. once she arrived, finally, she is alive in here. >> todd: unbelievable. such a harrowing experience, we appreciate you coming on and sharing with us. it is important to hear stories like this, our prayers are with you. thank you. >> thank you. >> carley: turning to this, russian parliament member mitvis shocking list of demands for the u.s. during an interview on state-owned news program, insist america return alaska saying we should be thinking about reparation from the damage caused by sanctions in the war itself because that cost money and we should get it back. >> todd: kenneth mckenzie says

iran has ballistic missiles that could reach israel. >> i'm concerned about remarkable growth in number and efficiency of ballistic missile force. they have over 3000 ballistic missiles, some can reach tel aviv. missile exploding mid-air fire friday capital region exploding 12 miles off the ground. condemning the launch and said it did not pose any threat to u.s. territory, this is tenth missile launch by north korea this year. >> carley: new york state finding andrew cuomo undercounted covid deaths in nursing homes, the health department did not count 4100

deaths. spokesman is saying number of out of facility deaths were reported last january, this is not news, what is peculiar the comptroller's release of this audit now, but no one has accused him of being above politics. >> todd: texas bakery owner could not go home to fight, but she was donating proceeds to the war effort, all of san antonio showed up. that bakery owner joins us. >> carley: we have more on this busy wednesday morning. sean duffy, mike johnson, lara trump all live, don't go anywhere. ter wind noises] you wanna go out, walter? let's go. yeah! mush, walter!

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when it comes to cybersecurity, a 4-week trial plus p the biggest threats a digital don't always strike the biggest targets. so help safeguard your small business with comcast business securityedge™. it's advanced security that continuously scans for threats and helps protect every connected device. on the largest, fastest, reliable network with speeds up to 10 gigs to the most small businesses. so you can be ready for what's next. get started with internet and voice for $64.99 a month. and ask how to add securityedge™. or, ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card. >> todd: continue to blame vladamir putin for the record high gas prices. brooke singman joins us, good morning, brooke. >> brooke: republican lawmakers are slamming president biden for gas lighting americans for blaming vladamir putin for high gas prices. listen to this.

>> he surrendered energy dominance to vladamir putin, we were the number one producer in the world, now number three. biden doesn't care about the poor people in this country. >> let's not be fooled, the president is literally gas lighting the american people. >> brooke: the producer price index measures how much suppliers are charging for product is up 10% from last year with ppi for energy up 33% nationwide. americans struggle to get grasp on out of control gas prices, pete buttigieg said rising cost is out of the white house's control. >> the president has taken steps to bring relief and help stabilize oil prices. of course long-term solution is energy independence and shift to renewable energy in this country. oil prices and gas prices are

famously something largely outside direct control of any political figure. >> the high cost could lead to trouble for democrats in upcoming midterm election and according to "wall street journal" poll, half americans don't believe president biden will run for re-election in 2024 with 29% thinking he will go for a second term and the poll reveals 41% of democrats expect biden to run despite the president saying he will run for re-election. >> todd: that is a shocking number, brooke. joe manchin, democrat, hammering biden administration for attempting to buy oil from adversaries instead of investing in energy independence, watch. >> if you are worried about the global climate, anything and everything the united states does to replace and help our european and nato allies, we do it better and cleaner than anybody else, much better than

russia does it. much better than venezuela or iran does it. why not use our? ramp up and use the energy we have and we have the ability, the producers that can do it. they just need support, that's all, rather than beating them up, produce more quick sxer make the united states of america truly energy independent. >> kayleigh: >> carley: a bakery announced they would donate proceeds to the war effort texans lining up for hours to show support. joining us is co-owner of like cheesecake, who has gone to meet her family as they flee the war. you made a bunch of cheesecakes, sold them to texans and they lined up for hours to support.

did you expect this support? >> we haven't expected this support. i made the post, it drew attention right away. we knew we would be busier than we normally are. i showed up at the store, there was maybe -- thousands of people at the shop that day and so that you understand, the bakery is constantly baking at capacity, we would run out of cheesecake by 2:00 in the afternoon. people were still waiting in line just to donate. it was crazy. >> it was crazy, i read peep frel san antonio lined up for four hours to buy your cheesecake in support. how much money did you raise? >> so from -- to february 27, we

raised $72,000 and during that period of time, we will donate every dollar people spend in our shop, but we were collecting donations afterward and still are, all together we have collected around $150,000. >> carley: you near turk we your mother and sister, but your father is in odesa staying to fight? >> i'm still trying to bring them here to istanbul or somewhere safe. my grandmother is being resistant, when you are that age, it is hard to change the environment. right now i'm fighting to convince them to come here. >> carley: i can understand that. every dollar donated for peep

whole purchased your cheesecakes donated to the ukrainian armed forces and they need it. thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. >> for sure. thank you. >> todd: retired marine colonel calling out wokeness in the military for making us look weak to the rest of the world. he wants to go to washington to fix it, he is joining us next. >> as retired colonel i know this doctrination will destroy our military, this is insane.

>> carley: we are awaiting remarks from president zelenskyy this morning, set to deliver a rare address to congress as he pleads with the west for a no fly zone. >> todd: jonathan hunt has the latest. jonathan. >> jonathan: todd and carley, good morning. it has been a relatively quiet

12 hours or so, but intense fighting continuing elsewhere. in the luhansk region, this video shows forces destroying russian tanks there. in eastern city of kharkiv, russian bombardment has continued sending civilians running for their lives as the intense shelling of that city, intense bombardment, siege of that city continues. in the wake of all this, display of unity from three european leaders yesterday. the prime minister of poland, czech and slovenia to stand side by side president zelenskyy who has hinted at possible concession saying ukraine may

need to accept that it cannot now or in the future become a member of nato. the humanitarian catastrophe continues to play out, united nations saying three million refugees have had to run for their lives, flooding the border of ukraine's western neighbors and will move further into europe, putting strain on the european countries receiving three million plus refugees. >> todd: especially as that number continues to grow. jonathan hunt live. thank you. congressional candidate campaigning hard on joe biden's focus on wokeness in the military as europe faces all-out war. biggest since world war ii, military focus is woke train. i know this woke indoctrine

eightion will destroy our military. >> colonel, thank you for joining us, do our enemies like russia see you focus on wokeness and feel they can get away with stuff they couldn't before? >> i don't know if they feel they could get away with something they couldn't before, our adversaries are not dealing with transgender issues in russia, it is total distraction to our force and this inclusion training tears at moral fabric of cohesion of our forces. look at the purpose of our armed forces, we're supposed to look after the common good of try to make many one and that doesn't mean we take everyone and make

one. so when i look at the way this thing tears it down, we are supposed to focus on operational readiness and combat effectiveness, bottom line. and unit cohesion, everyone working together. >> todd: shouldn't only focus of war fighters be fighting wars? no? >> well, it is fighting and so we have standards just like the nfl, through selective service, we want people that are physically and morally fit. it means you don't have felonies, didn't have extreme drug use. it is more than being physical and doing the job. when you have to send two million people into training so handful of individuals can feel good about their work environment, they are probably not a good fit.

every time we bring a recruit to the military, we expect them to conform to military culture, culture formed over two centuries of combat experience. we never expect our culture has to change to ark comidate the individual. that is military service. >> todd: i understand that is your main point, cohesiveness argument. i will push back slightly. do you feel the military is under prepared because of focus on what i will call a distraction? >> i continuing is distraction, if i send two million people to training, four or six million manhours, can we just teach grit again, fighting ethos, instead of an agenda contrary to

behavior like sodomy and sinful behavior. >> todd: interesting problem and one that i don't know if five years ago we would be talking about, it would seem odd. we appreciate you. >> have a blessed day. >> todd: all right. this has been a difficult week for the fox news family. co-workers have died in ukraine. cameraman and journalist. they were working with correspondent benjamin hall when fire hit their vehicle. >> benjamin is in the hospital, pierre and sasha did not survive. heartbroken at the loss of a legend. >> we are filming refugees and could hear it in the background. >> pierre zakrzewski was on the

ground in iraq, afghanistan, in syria, covered conflicts between countries and helped report from the middle of riots. pierre was a steady presence in uncertain times. he could do just about anything, shot video, fixed equipment, produced stories and edited pieces on the fly and seemed to know the background of every location and every story and had ability to do work under incredible pressure and without sleep. some correspondents who work closely with him feel this loss especially hard. here is a photo, he said he was

as good as they come, selfless, brave, passionate. jonathan hunt said he never forgot the welcome he got. amy kellogg says pierr was a rare breed of reporter who never got jaded. greg palkot said he and pierre were in -- he wanted to be out chasing the story and greg noted when the worst was happening, pierre would repeat his favorite advice to keep on smiling. >> deepest condolences to all who knew pierre zakrzewski.

>> and sasha was serving helping navigate the city and speak with sources. she was hard working, funny, kind and brave, we'll be right back.

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>> todd: cbp revealing agents encountered 63% more migrants. 30% had one prior encounter in the last year. highest number of apprehensions in the nation's history exceeding 1.7 million. this year passed 800,000. deadly shooting of san francisco woman, facing 20 year necessary prison for possessing the gun that killed her. this week garcia pled guilty of the charges. upstate new york state college will honor political prisoners

in upcoming april event. the speaker, formerly known as anthony bottom is a convicted cop killer, among group of army adcals who assassinated two police officers in 1971, waiverly jones and joseph, the page called him a mentor to many and a loving human being. the widow of one slain officer says the college misrepresented him writing they are presenting him as a political figure and that is untrue, nowhere does it say he's a two-time cop killer. head scratcher, carley. >> carley: 11 suitcases full of supplies back home in michigan, planning another trip to the country to do more. joining us live, anthony, good morning. what are you doing and why are you doing it?

>> good morning. i'm doing it because we have the ability to do it and i just felt as if there is a small change and small bit of hope and positive thing we can do, we will do it. >> carley: you are bringing supplies to ukraine for people who need it. you just got back from your first trip, what was that experience like? >> it was heartbreaking and very rewarding trip. saw some amazing sights and sad sights, tremendous amount of women are fleeing the country, as you can see, with their children, and that scene of a mother kissing the husband goodbye at the border, saw that just, it is nonstop, a nonstop chain of that event happening

all day everyday. it is heart-wrenching. >> carley: indeed. since your first trip, russia ramped up missile strikes, hitting can i have can i have and areas in the west. do you think this trip is more difficult for you? >> it is. and i've made plans to help mitigate some of that potential danger. i've had people share more information with me on how to remain more safe in my travels and not pass out so much information, i guess as to whereabouts and what the plans are. the risk is the reward is worth the risk. i came back here to detroit area and my teams and all the other groups in the area have been working diligently, we thought it would be two or three weeks

before we make a return, the return is as quick as we can get the palettes loadd and looks like we'll be producing between 50 and 70,000 pounds of medical and humanitarian aid, mostly medical on a weekly basis. >> carley: wow, that is amazing, your wife is ukrainian, so this is personal for you, is her family safe? >> yes. her family is safe. some of the family members that were in danger areas, odesa, for example, we knew was next on the russian list is beginning phases of attack. one family member in that city, we've evacuated her out to a safe country and she started her paperwork to come to america for a while until we see what ends

up happening there. >> carley: you are do being great work. best of luck on trip number two. red cross is working to provide food, hygiene and resources, fox corporation donated $1 million of support to those efforts. we've been asking you to join in by making donation, thousands have done that with contributions over $8 million. head to redcross.org, to contribute to the cause. >> todd: ukrainian president zelenskyy will address congress this morning. member of ukrainian parliament here with more on what we can expect to hear from zelenskyy today. plus congressman mike johnson, sean duffy and lara trump here for the next hour of "fox and friends first."

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>> carley: a fox news alert, ukrainian president zelenskyy will address congress this morning. president biden plans to announce $1 billion in military assistance to ukraine as zelenskyy pleads to close the sky over his country. i'm carley shimkus. >> todd: brutal assault continues in ukraine despite attempt at diplomacy. >> todd: shelling sending civilians run nothing kharkiv e 600 buildings are in ruins. jonathan hunt live with the latest from the battlefield. >> jonathan: good morning, once again to you. we were woken in lviv this morning by several