Russia-Ukraine live updates: Zelensky urges Biden to be ‘leader of the world’ in address to Congress

Wall Street was on track for more gains Wednesday, with the Nasdaq soaring nearly 3 percent in morning trading as investors anticipated the first interest rate increase in years by the Federal Reserve.

The Fed on Wednesday is wrapping up its March meeting, where it is expected to announce a quarter-percentage-point increase in its benchmark interest rate. Raising rates is the central bank’s best policy lever against inflation that had soared to a 40-year high even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has compounded the issue by causing major disruptions to energy markets that are rippling through the global economy.

“The central bank has a fine balancing act of taking action to curb inflation while not being too aggressive and tripping up the economy,” Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said Wednesday in comments emailed to The Washington Post. “The key question is how many more rate rises we’ll get and how quickly they will come. Fast and furious could stall the U.S.’s growth engine.”

Around 11:30 a.m., the Dow Jones industrial average had climbed nearly 460 points, more than 1.3 percent. The broader S&P 500 climbed more than 1.8 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 2.8 percent.

Shortly after the opening bell, the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1.9 percent, while the broader S&P 500 rose 1.5 percent. The Dow climbed 400 points, or 1.3 percent, extending gains from Tuesday’s rally, which was fueled by relief over oil prices coming down from recent highs.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was 0.7 percent lower Wednesday, around $99.20 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, edged up .1 percent to trade around $96.50 per barrel.

Chinese equities saw some major recovery Wednesday after enduring days of steep sell-offs sparked by a covid surge that is threatening to throw more wrenches into the global supply chain and further heat up inflation. Stocks rebounded after officials in Beijing assured the public that the country would work to avert an economic slowdown amid the renewal of business restrictions that have shuttered some of its biggest business and technological hubs.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rocketed 9 percent higher, while the Shanghai Composite index closed up about 3.5 percent.

Satellite photos provided by Planet Labs show a suspected Ukrainian strike on the Russian-held Kherson International Airport and air base on Tuesday. The general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine retweeted a tweet early Wednesday that took responsibility for the attack.

The images were captured at 11:35 a.m. UTC on March 15 and show thick, black smoke rising over the airfield, which is used by both military and civilian airplanes. At least three helicopters appear to be on fire, with additional destruction appearing from earlier strikes.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said Tuesday that Russian troops gained control of Kherson, and The Washington Post has verified video showing Ukrainians protesting Russian military control of the region for at least the past week.

Planet Labs is an independent organization that provides Earth satellite imaging.

Officials from Russia and Ukraine expressed cautious optimism Wednesday that peace talks were making progress toward ending almost three weeks of fighting across Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address overnight Tuesday that negotiations with Moscow were heading in a “more realistic” direction, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that there is “hope for reaching a compromise.”

However, both sides also stressed that the talks were difficult, with differences remaining over what neutrality, or security guarantees, for Ukraine would look like.

Lavrov, in an interview with the Russian television channel RBC, said he was basing his assessment on the view of the Russian negotiators. “They state that negotiations are not easy for obvious reasons, but nevertheless there is some hope for reaching a compromise,” Lavrov said.

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II’s official art institution says it will no longer lend Russia three 17th-century swords for a Moscow exhibition on dueling that was to take place this month. The move is the latest in a long line of organizations and brands boycotting the country over its invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24.

“A decision to postpone a loan of three swords from the Royal Collection to the Kremlin Museums in Moscow was made in mid-February,” a Royal Collection Trust spokesperson told The Washington Post in an email Wednesday.

An earlier news release from the Moscow Kremlin Museums had advertised the queen as a key contributor to the exhibition along with the Louvre in Paris and the Prado in Madrid.

The Moscow Kremlin Museums said in a statement that the exhibition had been postponed because European institutions taking part in the project “were forced to withdraw due to the geopolitical situation.” Organizers said they were hoping to reorganize the exhibition without European participation and described the circumstances as “difficult.”

The exhibition, titled “The Duel: from Trial by Combat to a Noble Crime,” was sponsored by Alisher Usmanov, a Russian oligarch who was hit with sanctions by Britain and other nations over his links to President Vladimir Putin, the Guardian reported.

Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was injured in an attack outside Kyiv on Monday that killed a cameraman and another journalist, has been transported out of Ukraine for further medical treatment, said Suzanne Scott, the chief executive of Fox News Media.

“Ben is alert and in good spirits,” Scott wrote in a memo to staff Wednesday morning. “He is being treated with the best possible care in the world and we are in close contract with his wife and family.” Scott described Hall’s injuries as serious but did not provide details.

The network announced on Tuesday that both Pierre Zakrzewski, a veteran cameraman for Fox, and Oleksandra Kuvshynova, a native of Kiev who helping Fox cover the conflict, were killed when the vehicle they were traveling in with Hall was hit by incoming fire.

House Republican leaders told reporters Wednesday that they were deeply moved by the video Zelensky showed Congress of the atrocities being committed by Russia in Ukraine, with Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling Russia’s actions a “genocide.”

Scalise, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said the United States must do more to help Ukraine.

“I thought the video was one of the most moving moments in there,” McCarthy told reporters. “It made the case [that Russia is] murdering innocent people, that war crimes are being committed, that America and the world cannot sit by and ignore. We need to put a stop to this.”

Stefanik said that as a new mother, it was “heartbreaking” to see footage of Russia’s bombing of maternity wards in Ukraine.

She and the other GOP leaders called Zelensky’s address to Congress inspiring.

“When President Zelensky showed that video, you really got to see firsthand the sheer brutality of what Putin is doing inside Ukraine,” Scalise said. “It was very hard to watch.”

He added that the video shows that there’s “nothing less than genocide” happening in the country.

After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s video address to Congress, senators from both parties said they would press their colleagues and President Biden for more U.S. aid for Ukraine.

“I don’t know how anyone could listen to him and see the videos and not be in favor of . . . sending drones, sending additional weaponry, ceasing doing business in Russia,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.).

The video stirred emotions among lawmakers. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said he wants Biden not only to announce more financial support for Ukraine but also to make it clear that the funds will move quickly and “more creatively.”

“A powerful message that came out of that video . . . was that, for all he’s done, it’s not enough,” Portman said. “So, we need to do more, and, specifically, we need to provide them the armaments at a minimum to be able to protect themselves.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said Zelensky’s plea for more weapons and help “is a good one.”

“I’m looking forward to see what the president says,” she said.

Klobuchar, who was in Poland last week and met Ukrainian refugees, said the video brought the terrors of the war to her colleagues who have not seen it live.

“For those of our colleagues that either haven’t seen the refugees or even been to Ukraine, I think it really hits home, the horror of what’s going on here, and I thought it was really important to see that,” Klobuchar said.

In his remarks to Congress on Wednesday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the United States to help establish a “humanitarian no-fly zone” over Ukraine, telling lawmakers that doing so would prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from being “able to terrorize our free cities.”

“Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people,” Zelensky said.

The Biden administration has resisted the idea of a no-fly zone, arguing that imposing one could lead the United States into direct combat with Russia.

“Is this a lot to ask for, to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? Is this too much to ask? A humanitarian no-fly zone is something that [means] Russia would not be able to terrorize our free cities. If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative.”

Listing alternatives, Zelensky added: “You know what kind of defense systems we need — S-300 and other similar systems,” a reference to surface-to-air missiles. “You know how much depends on the battlefield on the ability to use aircraft — powerful, strong aviation — to protect our people, our freedom, our land. Aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe.”

He added: “And you know that they exist and you have them, but they are on earth, not in the Ukrainian sky. They do not defend our people.”

Humanitarian, or limited, no-fly zones are generally interpreted to mean providing protection for humanitarian corridors negotiated by Ukraine and Russia to evacuate civilians from besieged cities and to send in food, medicines and other basic supplies.

In making his appeal, Zelensky also invoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr.

“‘I have a dream.’ These words are known to each of you,” Zelensky said. “Today, I can say, ‘I have a need. I need to protect our sky.’”

Olivier Knox contributed to this report.