Russia-Ukraine updates: 2 US veterans who joined Ukrainian forces missing

The Americans, Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh and Alexander Drueke, are both from Alabama.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, Ivan Pereira, Bill Hutchinson, and Kevin Shalvey
Last Updated: July 4, 2022, 10:37 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.

The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine's disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

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Two Men at War

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.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Apr 22, 2022, 4:28 PM EDT

More than 20 countries to attend defense talks hosted by US

More than 20 countries have accepted an invitation to attend a Ukraine-focused defense talk on Tuesday hosted by the U.S., Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Friday.

More than 40 NATO and non-NATO countries have been invited to the talks, which will be hosted by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Kirby said.

"The goal is to bring together stakeholders from all around the world for a series of meetings on the latest [Ukrainian] defense needs and … ensuring that Ukraine’s enduring security and sovereignty over the long-term is respected and developed,” Kirby said.

A man walks downstairs outside a residential building damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, April 21, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian

Apr 22, 2022, 12:19 PM EDT

UN chief to meet with Putin in Moscow

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to President of Transneft Nikolay Tokarev, at the Kremlin in Moscow, April 21, 2022.
Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin Pool via AP

Guterres wrote separate letters to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday asking to meet "to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine," a U.N. spokesperson said earlier this week.

Apr 22, 2022, 12:12 PM EDT

Russian swimmer suspended for attending Putin event

The international swimming federation FINA said it has suspended swimmer Evgeny Rylov, a Russian Olympic gold medalist, for allegedly attending a March concert where Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the invasion of Ukraine. The suspension will last nine months.

Evgeny Rylov of the Russian Olympic Committee poses with his gold medal for the men's 100-meter backstroke final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, July 27, 2021, in Tokyo.
Matthias Schrader/AP, FILE

FINA also said Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials won't be invited to any FINA events through the end of 2022.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Apr 22, 2022, 9:30 AM EDT

European Council president holds call with Putin

European Council President Charles Michel and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a call Friday. Michel said afterwards on Twitter that he "strongly urged for immediate humanitarian access and safe passage from Mariupol and other besieged cities all the more on the occasion of Orthodox Easter."

Michel also said he "firmly reiterated" the EU's support for Ukraine and "condemnation and sanctions for Russia’s aggression."

People walk past cars damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, April 21, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

According to the Kremlin's readout of the call, Michel asked Putin to have direct contact with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Kremlin said Putin "reaffirmed the well-known position on this matter, noting that such a possibility depends, in particular, on concrete results in the ongoing negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, during which the Ukrainian side is showing inconsistency and is not ready to seek mutually acceptable solutions."

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