Russia-Ukraine updates: US sanctions Russian military shipbuilder, diamond miner

In a Friday briefing, Russian military officials tried to reshape the narrative of the war, claiming the "main goal" of the invasion -- what Russia calls a "military operation" -- is to "liberate" Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and not to seize other parts of Ukraine.

General Sergey Rudskoy, the head of the main operational directorate of Russia’s General Staff, said the main objectives of the "first phase" of the operation have been achieved, meaning Ukraine's "combat capabilities have been significantly reduced." Rudskoy said that allows Russia to now focus "on achieving the main goal the liberation of Donbas."

The Donbas region contains the two Russian-controlled separatist statelets, the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics, the defense of which Russia used as a pretext for invading. Rudskoy claimed Russia has "liberated" 93% of the Luhansk region and 54% of Donetsk.

The Ukrainian city of Mariupol is also within the Donbas region. Russian forces have been relentlessly bombarding Mariupol since the invasion began, destroying homes and leaving thousands of residents trapped.

Rudskoy claimed Russia's "military operation" had two courses of action: the first being limiting operations to Donbas, but he said that would have allowed Ukraine to constantly reinforce its troops, so he said Russia took a second course of action, attacking cities across the whole country. Rudskoy claimed the course of the war "confirmed the validity" of that decision.

"These actions are carried out with the aim of causing such damage to military infrastructure, equipment, personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the results of which allow not only to shackle their forces and do not give them the opportunity to strengthen their grouping in the Donbas, but also will not allow them to do so until the Russian army completely liberates the territories of the DPR and LPR,” he said.

Rudskoy claimed Russia has successfully blocked Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv, and that the cities of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are under full Russian control.

He claimed Russia "initially" never had any intention of storming those cities, although he said they "did not rule out such a possibility" now.

"Initially, we did not plan to storm them in order to prevent destruction and minimize losses among personnel and civilians. And although we do not rule out such a possibility, however, as individual groups complete their tasks, and they are being solved successfully, our forces and means will concentrate on the main thing -- the complete liberation of Donbas," he said.

Rudskoy also made the dubious claim that Russia has sought to minimize civilian casualties. The U.N. reports that over 1,000 civilians have died since the invasion began.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

President Joe Biden, flanked by Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and Samantha Powers of the U.S. Agency for International Development, spoke at a briefing on humanitarian efforts Friday, again calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal."

"The single-most important thing that we can do on the outset, is keep the democracies united in our opposition, and our effort to curtail the devastation that is occurring at the hands of a man, who quite frankly, I think is a war criminal. And I think we'll meet the legal definition of that, as well," Biden said.

Biden said he's in Poland to see the "humanitarian crisis" "firsthand," but said he's disappointed he "can't see it firsthand like I have in other places."

"They will not let me … cross the border and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine," Biden said. "But, you know, I’m eager to hear from you, the humanitarian community, about what you see, what you’re doing, and where you think we go from here."

Since the invasion began on Feb. 24, over 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine, with more than 2.2 million of those refugees going to Poland, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

"Whether it’s food, or a blanket, or cash, or the care for medical teams that we send in, or child welfare specialists, they need it now. They need it as rapidly as we can get it there," Biden said.

-ABC News' Armando Tonatiuh Torres-García

President Joe Biden spoke to members of the 82nd Airborne Division in Jasionka, Poland, Friday, telling them, "What you're doing is consequential -- really consequential."

"What’s at stake" is beyond Ukraine, Biden said.

"What are your kids and grandkids gonna look like in terms of their freedom?" Biden said. "The last 10 years there have been fewer democracies that have been formed than we've lost in the world."

"What you’re engaged in is much more than just whether or not you can alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Ukraine," Biden said.

Biden commended the troops, saying "the rest of the world looks to us, because, you know, we not only lead by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. And your generation combines both. The rest of the world looks at you and sees who you are. They see you are a multiethnic group of Americans that are in fact together and united in one resolve, to defend your country, and to help those who need help."

In Jasionka, Poland, on Friday, President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited American troops, thanking them for working alongside Polish allies.

Biden and Austin first greeted members of the 82nd Airborne Division in a makeshift barbershop.

Biden and Austin then stopped by a mess hall and ended up staying for a slice of pizza.

Biden also shared a story about searching for his son, Beau, in a mess hall in Baghdad, only to find him using his mother's maiden name -- Hunter -- on his fatigues.

"I said, 'Beau, what the hell’s going on?' His name was Beau Biden, and he was a colonel, I mean, a major, excuse me," Biden said.

"And I said, 'What happened?' And he said, 'Dad, with the name Biden, everybody thinks something’s going on. So I’m Hunter.' That was his mother’s maiden name," Biden said.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle