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

Russia's largest military shipbuilding and diamond mining firms were targeted.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Nadine El-Bawab, Ivan Pereira, Julia Jacobo, Meredith Deliso, Bill Hutchinson, Kevin Shalvey, Celia Darrough, Mary Kekatos, and Samara Lynn
Last Updated: April 8, 2022, 4:34 AM EDT

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.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 28, 2022, 1:50 PM EDT

UN Secretary-General appeals for a humanitarian ceasefire

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday appealed for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine.

"Since the beginning of the Russian invasion one months ago, the war has led to the senseless loss of thousands of lives, the displacement of 10 million people, mainly women and children, the systematic destruction of essential infrastructure and skyrocketing food and energy prices worldwide. This must stop," Guterres said.

Ukrainian servicemen inspect a house that was destroyed by Russian forces in the village of Bachtanka near Mykolaiv, a key city on the road to Odesa, Ukraine, on March 27, 2022.
Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP via Getty Images

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a warehouse, March 28, 2022, in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

U.N. humanitarian agencies and partners in the last month have reached nearly 900,000 people, mainly in eastern Ukraine, providing food, shelter, blankets, medicine, bottled water and hygiene supplies, he said.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Mar 28, 2022, 1:18 PM EDT

US sending 6 Navy electronic warfare aircraft to Germany

The Pentagon said it's sending six U.S. Navy EA-18 "Growlers" (Navy fighter aircraft equipped with electronic warfare jamming equipment) and 240 personnel to Germany to boost NATO's defenses because of the aircraft's electronic warfare jamming capability.

"They are not being deployed to be used against Russian forces in Ukraine," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed. "They are being deployed completely in keeping with our efforts to bolster NATO's deterrence and defense capabilities along that Eastern flank. They are not being sent because of some sort of acute threat that was perceived or some specific incident that happened."

"This is in order to bolster readiness, enhance NATO's collective defense posture and further increase air integration capabilities with our Allied and partner nations," Kirby said.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Mar 28, 2022, 12:50 PM EDT

Russians prioritizing Donbas, Ukrainians 'slugging it out' in Mariupol: US official

The Russians appear to be prioritizing the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters on Monday.

“We're not exactly sure what's behind this reprioritization," the official said. This could be Russia refocusing its strategic goals or trying to gain leverage for talks, the official said.

Meanwhile, in the hard-hit city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine, "the Ukrainians are slugging it out" and "keeping the Russians at bay," the official said.

Destroyed cars are seen in front of an apartment building which was heavily damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, March 27, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

In Kyiv, the situation is static, the official said. Russian troops have stopped making advances toward the capital city, though they continue using their long-range missile fires, the official said.

"We continue to see Ukrainians defend the city and try to push Russians back," the official said.

A Ukrainian flag is installed on an apartment building damaged by fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops in Lukyanivka, a neighborhood of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 27, 2022.
AP

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Mar 28, 2022, 12:07 PM EDT

G-7 says Russia's request for gas payment in rubles is 'not acceptable'

Germany's economy and climate action minister Robert Habeck says G-7 leaders find Russia's demand for "unfriendly" countries to pay for gas in Russia's currency, rubles, "not acceptable."

People visit Red Square during a snowfall in central Moscow on March 28, 2022.
Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images

"All G-7 ministers agreed completely that this would be a one-sided and clear breach of existing contracts," Habeck said Monday, according to The Associated Press.

"Payment in ruble is not acceptable and we will urge the companies affected not to follow Putin's demand," Habeck said, according to the AP.

Habeck said the leaders of the G-7 nations -- Germany, the U.S., France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and Canada -- discussed the issue on Friday.

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