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 12, 2022, 4:50 PM EDT
Psaki says US would support Finland, Sweden joining NATO
The United States "would support" Finland and Sweden applying to join NATO "should they choose to apply," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday.
"We, of course, will respect whatever decision they make. Both Finland and Sweden are close and value defensive partners of the United States and of NATO," she said.
If the countries do apply, Psaki said, it "should be reassuring to the American people about our own security interests."
"Having a strong NATO alliance, a strong Western alliance, that's a defensive alliance, by the way, it is good for our security around the world, certainly having a strong partnership with a range of countries, including Sweden and Finland," she said.
-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez
May 12, 2022, 3:38 PM EDT
Russian official: Finland, Sweden possible target for strike if they join NATO
Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy told a British news podcast that Finland and Sweden officials "know the moment they become members of the NATO, it will imply certain mirror moves on the Russian side."
"If there are NATO detachments in those territories, these territories would become a target -- or a possible target -- for a strike," Polyanskiy warned.
He continued, "NATO is a very unfriendly bloc to us. … It means that Finland and Sweden all of a sudden, instead of neutral countries, become part of the enemy and they bear all the risks."
A police car parked at closed Red Square with the St. Basil's Cathedral in the background in Moscow, Russia, March 13, 2022.
AP
Despite repeated claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin that NATO’s expansion is a risk to Russian security, Polyanskiy insisted the addition of Finland and Sweden to the alliance would have little impact.
"I don’t think it will really be a blow to the security of Russia because these two states become members of NATO -- hopefully they won’t, but if they do it would be the worst solution for them, but not for Russia," he said. "Russia is ready to face NATO threats. Russia has made the necessary precautions for this."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that 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" should Finland become a NATO member.
While Britain has pledged military support for both Sweden and Finland if they were to come under attack, regardless of whether the countries are accepted into the alliance and under the umbrella of NATO's Article 5, the U.S. has yet to make a similar bridge security guarantee.
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said, "We will surely find ways to assure Finland and Sweden, but the nature of that is still to be worked out."
-ABC News'Shannon Crawford
May 12, 2022, 2:08 PM EDT
Russian missiles strike in and around Ukrainian oil refinery
About 12 Russian missiles struck in and around the Kremenchuk oil refinery in central Ukraine, according to Dmytro Lunin, head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration.
No one was injured and crews have extinguished the blaze, Lunin said.
Most missiles hit the infrastructure of the refinery, which is not operating, Lunin said.
-ABC News'Irene Hnatiuk and Yuriy Zaliznyak
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.
