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.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
May 12, 2022, 1:39 PM EDT

Nearly 100 children killed in Ukraine in April alone: UNICEF official

The United Nations said it's verified the deaths of nearly 100 children in Ukraine in April alone -- and officials believe the actual figure to be considerably higher.

"More children have been injured and faced grave violations of their rights, millions more have been displaced," UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Omar Abdi said at Thursday's U.N. Security Council meeting. "The war in Ukraine, like all wars, is a child protection and child rights crisis."

A child and her family who fled from Mariupol arrive at a reception center for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Sunday, May 8, 2022. Thousands of Ukrainians continue to leave Russian-occupied areas.
Francisco Seco/AP

A woman with a child talks to service members of pro-Russian troops as evacuees board buses to leave the city during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine, April 20, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

Education also "came to a standstill" when Russia invaded, Abdi said.

One in every six UNICEF-supported schools in eastern Ukraine was damaged or destroyed as of last week, Abdi said.

Emergency crew stands around near burning debris, after a school building was hit as a result of shelling, in the village of Bilohorivka, Luhansk, Ukraine, May 7, 2022.
State Emergency Services via Reuters

Emergency crew tend to a fire near a burning debris, after a school building was hit as a result of shelling, in the village of Bilohorivka, Luhansk, Ukraine, May 8, 2022.
State Emergency Services/via Reuters

"These attacks must stop. All parties must honour their legal and moral obligation to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, to respect international humanitarian and human rights law, and to ensure the rights of children are upheld," Abdi said.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

May 12, 2022, 11:45 AM EDT

Ukraine negotiating to evacuate wounded soldiers from Mariupol plant

"Difficult" negotiations are underway between Ukraine and Russia to coordinate the evacuation of seriously wounded fighters from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol in exchange for an unspecified number of Russian prisoners of war, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.

"We are currently negotiating only 38 severely wounded fighters that can't walk," she said.

Debris flies from an explosion at a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 11, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

-ABC News' Irene Hnatiuk

May 12, 2022, 10:40 AM EDT

Russia threatens to take 'retaliatory steps' following Finland's NATO announcement

Russia "will be forced to take retaliatory steps both of military-technical and of other nature in order to stop the threats to its national security" in response to Finland’s possible accession to NATO, according to state-run TASS citing a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to watch the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in central Moscow on May 9, 2022.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

The ministry added, "Finland joining NATO will seriously harm bilateral Russian-Finnish relations and the maintenance of stability and security in the North European region."

May 12, 2022, 8:24 AM EDT

Finland joining NATO would pose threat to Russia, Kremlin says

Russia will conduct a "special analysis" and take necessary measures for national security if Finland joins NATO, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

"There is an order from the president, the supreme commander-in-chief, that a list of measures be composed to strengthen our western flanks in connection with the strengthening of the eastern flank of NATO," Peskov told reporters during a daily briefing. "NATO has been enlarging towards us. So, clearly, all of that will be elements of a special analysis and the elaboration of measures necessary for maintaining a balance and providing our security."

"Everything will depend on the manifestation of the further [NATO] enlargement process -- how far the military infrastructure will grow towards our borders," he added.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Oct. 29, 2021.
Mikhail Klimentyev/AP, FILE

When asked whether Finland's accession to NATO -- the world's biggest military alliance -- would pose a threat to Russia, Peskov told reporters: "Of course it will."

"Another enlargement of NATO does not make our continent more stable and secure," he said.

Peskov's comments followed a joint statement released by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin announcing their support for Finland applying to join NATO.

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