Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation” into Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with troops crossing the border from Belarus and Russia. Moscow's forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
Russian forces retreated last week from the Kyiv suburbs, leaving behind a trail of destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, U.S. and European officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.
A look at the two leaders at the center of the war in Ukraine and how they both rose to power, the difference in their leadership and what led to this moment in history.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 26, 2022, 8:34 AM EDT
Russia using artillery to 'demoralize' Ukraine's forces, British Ministry of Defense says
The Russian army is reluctant to engage in large-scale infantry operations, the British Ministry of Defense said Saturday.
"Russia continues to besiege a number of major Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol. Russian forces are proving reluctant to engage in large scale urban infantry operations, rather preferring to rely on the indiscriminate use of air and artillery bombardments in an attempt to demoralize defending forces," the Ministry of Defense said in a statement posted online.
It added: "It is likely Russia will continue to use its heavy firepower on urban areas as it looks to limit its own already considerable losses, at the cost of further civilian casualties."
-ABC News' Guy Davies
Mar 25, 2022, 6:24 PM EDT
Jill Biden meets with Ukrainian pediatric cancer patients
During a visit to Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden privately met with two Ukrainian families who have loved ones being treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Four Ukrainian children, ages 20 months to 8 years, as well as 10 of their family members, were airlifted from Poland to St. Jude on Monday to continue treatment, according to Michael LaRosa, the First Lady's press secretary.
Biden said in remarks during her visit that her "heart has ached watching the videos" of devastation in Ukraine.
"Parents weeping over their child's broken bones … bodies in the streets. The senselessness of it all is just staggering,” she said.
She added, "When I learned that St. Jude was working with hospitals in Europe to bring some of the Ukrainian children with cancer and their families here, I felt so proud and I wanted to join you in welcoming them. We stand with Ukraine and we're praying for their families."
-ABC News' Armando Tonatiuh Torres-García
Mar 25, 2022, 4:44 PM EDT
Fox News correspondent injured in Ukraine is back in US
Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall is back in the U.S. after suffering serious injuries while reporting in Ukraine, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a statement.
Journalist Benjamin Hall is seen in this undated video grab provided by Fox News.
Fox News
Hall was hurt in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, on March 14 when his vehicle was hit by incoming fire, Scott said at the time. Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian producer and fixer Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova were killed in the incident.
Scott said Hall has been transferred from the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas.
Hall has undergone multiple surgeries, Scott said.
"He remains in good spirits despite everything he has endured," Scott wrote. "His strength and resiliency in the face of this crisis has been nothing short of extraordinary."
Mar 25, 2022, 3:03 PM EDT
US official: Russians on defensive around Kyiv, now focusing on Donbas
Russian forces around Kyiv have fallen into defensive positions and have stopped offensive ground movements toward the capital city, a senior U.S. defense official said Friday.
"We're still seeing airstrikes, but not nothing from the ground," the official said.
A Ukrainian serviceman stands on the front line in the east Kyiv region, Ukraine March 20, 2022.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters
The U.S. official said -- as Russians also noted Friday -- that Russian troops are currently focusing on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where there's been heavy fighting.
The Russians "are putting their priorities and their effort in the east of Ukraine, and that's where still there remains a lot of heavy fighting," the official said. "And we think they are trying to not only secure some sort of, more substantial gains there as a potential negotiating tactic at the table, but also to cut off Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country.”
A car destroyed by shelling is seen in a street in Kharkiv, Ukraine, March 22, 2022.
Andrew Marienko/AP
A man recovers items from a burning shop following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, March 25, 2022.
Felipe Dana/AP
Also, the official noted that Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine that's north of Crimea, doesn't seem to be "as solidly in Russian control as it was before."
"That would be significant if the Ukrainians were able to take Kerson back," the official said. "It's a significant port city. It would also put it much greater risk the Russian positions around Mykolaiv [in southern Ukraine], and again if they have ground desires on Odessa [in southern Ukraine], losing Kherson and therefore putting their troops between Ukrainians, you'll be sandwiched between Ukrainian forces in Kherson and those in Mykolaiv. … That would put them smack in the middle and that would make it very, very difficult for them to make any kind of ground movement on Odessa. If in fact, that was their plan."
The U.S. is also seeing indications that the Russians are trying to send in some reinforcements from the breakaway regions of Georgia, the official said.
