Harris, Poland president insist they are 'unified' after dispute over jets for Ukraine: LIVE UPDATES

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he joined President Biden and Colombian President Ivan Duque at the White House Thursday.

"From countering Russian aggression in Ukraine, to our partnership to address irregular migration and climate change, the U.S.-Colombia relationship is strong and effective," Blinken tweeted of the meeting.

Blinken just got back from a week-long trip to Europe where he met with NATO allies.

Biden said Thursday he planned to designate Colombia as a major non-NATO ally.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin floated the idea of nationalizing companies that refuse to do business in Russia over the Ukraine invasion, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki suggested Thursday that such a move would further damage Russia economically. 

"The rights of those investors and colleagues who are staying in Russia and are working in Russia, must be fully protected," Putin said Thursday, according to a report in RIA Novosti. "I am asking the government to keep this in mind. Those who are planning to close business - we must act decisively… As the head of the government proposed, we must introduce external control and to transfer these business to those who want to work."

"We have seen reports that Russia may be considering seizing the assets of U.S. and international companies that have announced plans to suspend operations in Russia or to withdraw from the Russian market," Psaki noted in a string of tweets Thursday.

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded to fears that Russia may seek to nationalize businesses that pulled out of the country in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

"We have seen reports that Russia may be considering seizing the assets of U.S. and international companies that have announced plans to suspend operations in Russia or to withdraw from the Russian market," Psaki said on Twitter Thursday.

"These decisions are ultimately up to companies," she continued in a subsequent tweer. "As President Biden said earlier this week, we welcome the decisions of companies to exit Russia because they want no part of Russia’s war of choice against Ukraine.

"Any lawless decision by Russia to seize the assets of these companies will ultimately result in even more economic pain for Russia. It will compound the clear message to the global business community that Russia is not a safe place to invest and do business."

Psaki cited a prominent Russian business leader with ties to Putin who argued such a move would "take us back to 1917" and spawn "global distrust of Russia on the part of investors."

"Russia may also invite legal claims from companies whose property is seized. We stand with American companies who are making tough decisions regarding the future of their Russian operations," Psaki concluded.

Ret. Lt. Col. Daniel Davis spoke Thursday on "Jesse Watters Primetime" about whether the West should respond if Russian President Vladimir Putin decides to use chemical or biological warfare.

DANIEL DAVIS: That is my biggest fear. I won't lie because there will be so much pressure on the world and on Biden to do something and to maybe escalate into it. But we just have to hold firm because as bad as this is right now, it is contained. If we go in and do something like that and we use military force and Russia then ... expands it beyond, now you're not going to see that stuff just in Kyiv, in Kharkiv, maybe you're going to see it in Warsaw or in Germany and some of these other countries and God forbid, a nuclear strike anywhere NATO. And we just can't risk that, no matter how much our heartstrings pull us. We have to be firm.

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered support for the idea of nationalizing businesses that have announced exits from the Russian market in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

“The rights of those investors and colleagues who are staying in Russia and are working in Russia, must be fully protected," Putin said Thursday, according to a report in RIA Novosti. "I am asking the government to keep this in mind. Those who are planning to close business - we must act decisively . . . As the head of the government proposed, we must introduce external control and to transfer these business to those who want to work.”

The comments come as many companies have abandoned Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, further pressuring a Russian economy that has been hit by sanctions from the U.S. and European allies.

A Russian airstrike on a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol killed three people on Wednesday, the latest example of nearly two dozen attacks on Ukrainian health care facilities since Russian forces invaded the country last month, according to the World Health Organization. 

A dozen people have died and 34 people have been injured in 21 attacks on health care facilities over the past three weeks, WHO reports. Five additional attacks impacted either ambulances or health care personnel.

The attack against the hospital in Mariupol killed a child and two adults, and injured 17 others, according to Ukrainian officials. Images of the aftermath showed pregnant women covered in dust and blood as they were assisted by emergency workers out of the wreckage.

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Satellite imagery of a large Russian military convoy taken over the past 24 hours near Kyiv shows that it has "largely dispersed and redeployed."

The imagery released by Maxar Technologies show that "the large Russian military convoy that was last seen northwest of Kyiv near Antonov Airport has largely dispersed and redeployed," according to the company, citing their imagery from Thursday morning local time.

"The large Russian military convoy that was last seen northwest of Kyiv near Antonov Airport has largely dispersed and redeployed. Armored units are seen maneuvering in and through the surrounding towns close to the airport, elements of the convoy further north have repositioned and are deployed in forests/along tree lines near Lubyanka with towed artillery howitzers in firing positions nearby. Damage to commercial and residential property is seen in and around Kyiv and also in Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv," a company spokesperson said.

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A group of 42 GOP Senators led by Sens. Mitt Romney and Joni Ernst wrote a letter to President Biden urging him to allow for the transfer of MiG fighter jets to Ukraine after the request was rejected by the Department of Defense.

“We urge your Administration to work with Poland and our NATO allies to expedite the transfer of urgently-needed airpower, air defense systems, and other combat and support capabilities from the United States, NATO allies, and other European partners to Ukraine," the letter reads.

“While we commend the lethal aid that your Administration has sent to Ukraine thus far, we strongly disagree with your decision to delay and deny Poland the option to transfer fighter jets to Ukraine. Your Administration champions the $1 billion in defense articles provided to Ukraine over the past 13 months and has definitively stated there are no restrictions in your current suite of authorities to adequately respond to Russia's lawless and bloody invasion of Ukraine," it continued.

“We implore you to act without delay to provide urgently needed airpower that will bolster the ability of the Ukrainian armed forces to defend their country and help save civilian lives.”

Former Attorney General Bill Barr said the United States cannot allow Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine "to escalate into a nuclear war," warning that now is the time "for prudence" and to avoid any "direct conflict" with Russia.

In an interview with Fox News Digital about his new memoir, "One Damn Thing After Another," in which he details long-term national security challenges facing the U.S., Barr said he agreed with the Biden administration's moves to reject Poland's proposal to send MiG-29 planes to the Ukrainian military. 

The Pentagon this week said Poland's proposal raised concerns regarding the deployment of warplanes from a U.S. base in a NATO-allied nation to combat Russian forces.

Ukraine has been pleading with Western allies to send military aid and implement a no-fly zone over the country. The U.S. and its NATO allies have repeatedly said a no-fly zone over Ukraine could bring about a direct conflict with Russia.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the development of "weapons of mass destruction" in Ukraine, vowing a "severe" response if Russia were to use such weapons during their ongoing invasion of the country.

"I am the President of an adequate country, an adequate nation. And the father of two children. And no chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction were developed on my land. The whole world knows that. You know that. And if Russia do something like that against us, it will get the most severe sanctions response," Zelenskyy said in a video posted to social media Thursday, according to an English translation.

With the war in Ukraine raging on, the country is in critical need of medical supplies. One nonprofit here in the U.S. is trying to fill that void. 

Project C.U.R.E. has 30,000 volunteers for their seven locations nationwide. They’ve been working nonstop since Russia invaded Ukraine, and every single piece of equipment or supplies in the distribution centers are donations, but the journey to get these supplies to the war zone certainly isn’t easy. 

Volunteers have been hard at work at the Project C.U.R.E. International Headquarters and distribution center in Centennial, Colorado. Lyn Tison has been a volunteer with the organization for a year and says things have gotten much busier since Russia invaded Ukraine.

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Russia has requested a UN Security Council meeting aimed at discussing alleged U.S. military biological activity in Ukraine, according to a report from RIA Novosti, a news organizations whose views align with those of the Kremlin.

The report says that a Russian Ministry of Defense briefing found that the U.S. spent north of $200 million on biological laboratories in Ukraine as part of the U.S. bioweapons program.