Fox News host Greg Gutfeld announced Thursday that his mother-in-law fled Ukraine and is en route to Warsaw, Poland, during “The Five.”
“Just to let everybody know, my mother-in-law crossed into Poland about a half-an-hour ago,” Gutfeld said. “So she’s in a car on her way to Warsaw to see her daughter, Elena.”
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Gutfeld told his co-hosts Wednesday that his mother-in-law was residing in a hotel in Lviv, located 43 miles from Poland, the New York Post reported. The host credited his co-workers on the ground, such as the network’s war correspondent Trey Yingst, Moscow-based correspondent Steve Harrigan, in Ukraine for helping his wife’s mother reach safety during a segment with reporter Lucas Tomlinson.
“I do want to point out that our coworkers are incredibly awesome, because the things they have been doing for a grouchy, cynical bastard like myself,” he said. “These guys over there, I won’t name them, but you probably know who they are, and you’ve seen them, are absolute heroes for helping out a little old lady they just met.”
The United Nations announced late Wednesday that one million Ukrainians, equivalent to 2% of the population, fled Ukraine into neighboring countries in less than a week. Approximately half of the refugees entered Poland, while a handful escaped to Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. is prepared to welcome Ukrainian refugees into the country and have been working closely with European nations on the “needs and capacity” at a Feb. 24 press briefing. She said the administration expects the majority of refugees to reside in neighboring nations, notably Poland.
Russia began its Feb. 23 invasion of the country when Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to conduct “a special military operation” in the Donbas region. Forces began launching explosions, bombing campaigns and airstrikes into the nation’s capital, Kyiv. (RELATED: Group Of Ukrainians Gather To Kneel, Pray As Russia Bombs Their Country)
The full-scale invasion left 2,000 civilian deaths, including women and children, but excluding the number of defenders fatalities, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service announced. The leading cause of death were injuries by explosive weapons, including bombing campaigns, rockets and airstrikes.
On Wednesday evening, Russian troops captured its first major city, Kherson, occupying the city hall and reportedly set a curfew of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the approximate 280,000 residents. Citizens have also fled the city of Kharkiv to escape the bombing campaigns launched by Russian forces.
An anonymous senior U.S. defense official disputed the reports that Kherson has been occupied, claiming it is a “contested city.”
A European intelligence informed the public Thursday that Russia crafted a plan to stage public executions in Ukrainian cities and crack down on protests and detention of opponents.