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.
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.
May 02, 2022, 9:55 AM EDT
Quarter of Russian units in Ukraine now 'combat ineffective,' UK says
Over a quarter of Russian military units committed to fight in Ukraine have been likely rendered "combat ineffective," the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Monday in an intelligence update.
"At the start of the conflict, Russia committed over 120 battalion tactical groups, approximately 65% of its entire ground combat strength," the ministry said. "It is likely that more than a quarter of these units have now been rendered combat ineffective."
Meanwhile, some of Russia's most elite units, including the Russian Airborne Forces or VDV, "have suffered the highest levels of attrition," according to the ministry.
"It will probably take years for Russia to reconstitute these forces," the ministry added.
On Sunday, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said at least 30 senior Russian military officers have been eliminated in the previous five days.
-ABC News' Edward Szekeres, Max Uzol, Irene Hnatiuk and Fidel Pavlenko
May 02, 2022, 9:30 AM EDT
Israel lashes out at Russia over Lavrov comparing Zelenskyy to Hitler
Israel on Monday lashed out at Russia over "unforgivable and scandalous" remarks made by its top diplomat about Nazism and antisemitism, including claims that Adolf Hitler was Jewish.
During an interview Sunday with an Italian television channel, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was asked about Moscow's assertion that it invaded neighboring Ukraine to "denazify" the country. Lavrov said the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish does not negate the Nazi elements in his country, drawing a parallel with Hitler, the chancellor of Nazi Germany.
"So when they say: 'How can Nazification exist if we're Jewish?' In my opinion, Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it doesn't mean absolutely anything. For some time we have heard from the Jewish people that the biggest antisemites were Jewish," Lavrov said, speaking to the station in Russian, dubbed over by an Italian translation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a joint news conference with Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh Mohammed following their talks in Moscow, Russia, on April 27, 2022.
Yuri Kochetkov/Pool via AP, File
Russia does not insist on Zelenskyy's surrender, Lavrov said, but wants the Ukrainian president to order "neo-Nazi battalions to halt resistance, lay down their arms and let civilian hostages go." Lavrov alleged that Moscow only seeks to guarantee the security of pro-Russia Ukrainians in the eastern regions.
Lavrov's comments came at a time when Israel, which was created as a refuge for Jews in the wake of the Holocaust, has sought to remain neutral amid Russia's war in Ukraine. However, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid condemned the statement made by his Russian counterpart as "unforgivable and scandalous and a horrible historical error."
"The Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust," Lapid, the son of a Holocaust survivor, said Monday. "The lowest level of racism against Jews is to blame Jews themselves for antisemitism."
Ukraine also denounced Lavrov's statement, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba saying it exposes "the deeply-rooted antisemitism of the Russian elites."
-ABC News' Edward Szekeres, Max Uzol, Irene Hnatiuk and Fidel Pavlenko
May 02, 2022, 7:18 AM EDT
Jill Biden to meet with Ukrainian refugees in Romania, Slovakia
U.S. first lady Jill Biden will travel to Romania and Slovakia this week to meet with American soldiers, U.S. embassy staff as well as displaced Ukrainian families, the White House announced Monday.
Romania and Slovakia are hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from Ukraine who were forced to flee their homes due to Russia's invasion.
According to a press release from the White House, Biden will depart the United States for Romania on Thursday evening. On Friday, she will visit Mihail Kogalniceau Airbase in southeastern Romania, where she will meet with U.S. military service members.
U.S. first lady Jill Biden speaks during the 2022 National and State Teachers of the Year event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 27, 2022. The White House announced on May 1, 2022, that the first lady will spend Mother's Day meeting with Ukrainian mothers and children who fled for their lives after Russian President Vladimir Putin opened war against Ukraine.
Susan Walsh/AP, File
On Saturday, Biden will travel to Romania's capital, Bucharest, to meet with Romanian government officials, U.S. embassy personnel, humanitarian aid workers as well as educators who are helping teach displaced Ukrainian children. She will then travel to Slovakia's capital, Bratislava, to meet with U.S. embassy staff there, according to the White House.
On Sunday, which is celebrated as Mother's Day in the U.S., Biden will travel to the eastern Slovak city of Kosice and the small village of Vysne Nemecke, the largest of three border crossings between Slovakia and Ukraine, to meet with Ukrainian refugees, humanitarian aid workers as well as local Slovakians who are supporting the displaced families, according to the White House.
"On Mother's Day, she will meet with Ukrainian mothers and children who have been forced to flee their home country because of Putin's war," the White House said in a statement.
On Monday, Biden will meet with Slovakian government officials before heading back to the U.S.
-ABC News' Armando Garcia
May 02, 2022, 5:48 AM EDT
Pelosi leads delegation to Poland after visiting Ukraine
A high-level U.S. congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw on Monday, a day after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
"Our distinguished Congressional delegation came to Poland to send an unmistakable message to the world: that America stands firmly with our NATO allies in our support for Ukraine," Pelosi said in a statement.
From left to right, Polish President Andrzej Duda, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Reps. Gregory Meeks, Adam Schiff, Bill Keating, Barbara Lee, Jason Crow and Jim McGovern pose for a photo as they meet in Warsaw, Poland on May 2, 2022.
Janek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images
Pelosi said their talks with Duda and other Polish officials in the Polish capital "will be focused on further strengthening our partnership, offering our gratitude for Poland's humanitarian leadership, and discussing how we can further work together to support Ukraine."
Earlier, Pelosi and the half dozen U.S. lawmakers with her traveled to the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow, where they met with U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Poland to reassure NATO allies and deter Russian aggression.
In this photo released by the Office of the President of Poland, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, third from left, and Polish President Andrzej Duda, fourth from right, meet for talks in Warsaw, Poland, on May 2, 2022.
Marek Borawski/Office of the President of Poland via AP
"These engagements are even more meaningful following our meeting in Kyiv with President Volodymr Zelenskyy and other top Ukrainian leaders," Pelosi said. "In that profound and solemn visit, our delegation conveyed our respect and gratitude to President Zelenskyy for his leadership and our admiration of the Ukrainian people for their courage in the fight against Russia's diabolical invasion. Our Members were proud to deliver the message that additional American support is on the way, as we work to transform President Biden’s strong funding request into a legislative package."
Pelosi, second in line to the U.S. presidency after the vice president, was the most senior American lawmaker to visit Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. The delegation's trip to the Ukrainian capital was not disclosed until they were safely out of the country.
