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, 2:00 PM EDT
'Don't even think' about moving in NATO territory: Biden warns in Warsaw speech
President Joe Biden warned: "Don't even think about moving onto one single inch of NATO territory," Saturday in an address that just ended.
President Joe Biden speaks outside the Royal Castle about the Russian war in Ukraine, on March 26, 2022, in Warsaw, Poland.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Biden spoke to an audience of between 750 and 1,000 attendees in Warsaw, Poland, including Polish President Andrzej Duda, members of parliament, local officials, students from local universities and U.S. embassy staff, according to the White House.
This is a developing story. Check the blog for updates.
Mar 26, 2022, 1:01 PM EDT
There are 'continuous battles' for Mariupol's territory that continue daily: Ukrainian official
"Continuous battles" for Mariupol's territory continue daily, the city's deputy mayor, Serhiy Orlov, told ABC News Saturday.
Local residents sit on a bench near a destroyed apartment building in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine on March 25, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
The deputy mayor estimated that 150,000 people remain in the city.
He was unable to give an update on the hundreds of of civilians believed to have been killed in Russian strikes that hit a theater that was being used as a shelter. A sign indicated that children were sheltering inside satellite imagery shows.
"The situation becomes worse, so people still have a lack of everything," he told ABC News in a remote interview.
The mayor added: "The lack of water, electricity, heat and sanitary system, lack of medicine, food. So they're just surviving … it's not a secret that from 50 to 100 airstrikes, the Russian aircraft do each day and the one-third or one-half of all the bombing of airstrikes in Ukraine goes on Mariupol."
-ABC News' Guy Davies
Mar 26, 2022, 12:24 PM EDT
Missile strikes in Lviv leave 5 injured, Ukrainian official says
Two missile strikes in Lviv left five people injured on Saturday, according to preliminary data, the governor of Lviv, Maksym Kozytskyi, said in a statement.
The official said there is still a threat of a missile strike and told people to stay in shelters, not to walk down the street or take pictures of anything.
Smoke from explosions billow across the horizon in Lviv, Ukraine, March 26, 2022.
Dada Jovanovic/ABC News
The Governor of Lviv has asked people not to share footage of the blast site, in a statement.
"Everything that can be reported for security reasons, I will report," Kozytskyi said.
The official could not confirm reports that there was an impact on a residential building or other infrastructure facilities.
Home to many refugees passing through on their way out of the country, Lviv has been spared some of the worst shelling seen so far.
-ABC News' Guy Davies
Mar 26, 2022, 12:03 PM EDT
Biden meets with refugees in Warsaw, calls Putin a 'butcher'
President Joe Biden met with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday. When asked by reporters what he thought of Russia's President Vladimir Putin after meeting with refugees, Biden said, "He’s a butcher."
President Joe Biden visits Ukrainian refugees at the PGE National Stadium, in Warsaw, Poland March 26, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Biden was greeted by Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki outside the PGE Narodowy Stadium and he met several volunteers and refugees.
After meeting with refugees, Biden briefly spoke with reporters and said he’s always in awe of the depth and strength of the human spirit of refugees.
"I’ve been to an awful lot of places like this, a lot of refugee camps, in my life, and what I’m always surprised by, is the depth and strength of the human spirit. I mean it sincerely. They’re -- it’s incredible. It’s incredible. See all those little children? Just want to hug, they just want to say thanks. I mean -- I mean, it just makes you so damn proud," Biden said.
President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian refugees during a visit to PGE Narodowy Stadium, on March 26, 2022, in Warsaw.
Evan Vucci/AP
"Each one of those children said something to the effect, say a prayer for my dad, or my grandfather or my brother, who’s back there fighting. And I remember what it’s like when you have someone in a war zone. Every morning you get up and you wonder. You just wonder, you pray you don’t get that phone call," Biden said.
