Shelling is ongoing near the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
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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A source familiar with the operation confirmed to ABC News that Ukraine was behind a Tuesday explosion in Russia-annexed Crimea. One person died from the blasts in Novofedorivka in Crimea, Russia's semi-official Interfax reported, citing Crimean official Sergei Aksyonov.
This is the first major attack in Crimea since the war began in February.
-ABC News’ Britt Clennett and Dada Jovanovic
The U.S. estimates that 70,000 to 80,000 Russians have been killed or wounded since the start of the war in Ukraine, Colin Kahl, the undersecretary for defense for policy at the Department of Defense, told reporters Monday.
"There's a lot of fog in war, but, you know, I think it's safe to suggest that the Russians have probably taken 70 or 80,000 casualties in less than six months," Kahl said. "I think that's kind of in the ballpark."
Kahl would not talk about specific Ukrainian casualties but noted that "Ukrainian morale and will to fight is unquestioned and much higher, I think, than the average morale and will to fight on the Russian side." He added, "I think that gives the Ukrainians a significant advantage."
Russia has gone through "a significant percentage of their precision guided munitions and their standoff munitions," Khal said. Because they’re "running low," they’re not using them as much and keeping what they have in reserve for other contingencies, he said. And because of sanctions against Russia, it will be tougher for the military to rebuild their stocks, he said.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
The Pentagon has announced a new $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine.
The package includes more missiles for the HIMARS advanced rocket systems; 1,000 more Javelin anti-tank weapons; 55,000 rounds of artillery for 155mm howitzers; and armored vehicles.
"This package provides a significant amount of additional ammunition, weapons, and equipment that Ukrainians are using so effectively to defend themselves and will bring total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to approximately $9.8 billion since the beginning of this Administration," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The Treasury Department also announced Monday another $4.5 billion in direct economic assistance to help support Ukraine's government, including paying salaries and keeping hospitals and schools open.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Sarah Kolinovsky
Two dry cargo ships loaded with export grain were scheduled to leave the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk and Pivdenne on Monday after a busy weekend that saw four additional cargo vessels sail through Ukrainian waters.
The vessel Sakura, carrying 11,000 tonnes of soy, was the first to leave the Ukrainian port of Pivdenne on Monday as part of an initiative to export grain from Ukraine, local media reported.
The ship set course for Italy in the company of another dry cargo carrier -- Arizona -- which left Chornomorsk, another Ukrainian Black Sea port, with 50,000 tonnes of corn on Monday. The Arizona vessel is bound for Turkey.
Another four-ship convoy left Ukraine on Sunday morning, carrying 170,000 tons of agricultural produce, Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry said over the weekend.
Pope Francis welcomed the safe departure of the ships on Sunday while speaking at the noon-day Angelus prayer. “This event can be seen as a sign of hope,” the Pope said, adding that the export deal charts the path forward toward peace. “I sincerely hope that, following this path, we can put an end to the fighting and arrive at a just and lasting peace.”
So far, around 250,000 tonnes of corn, as well as 11,000 tonnes of soybeans, 6,000 tonnes of sunflower oil and 45,000 tonnes of sunflower meal have been exported from Ukraine on 10 ships since the first departure on Aug. 1, when the deal to establish safe corridors for ships to pass through was struck, according to a Reuters data tally.
Ukraine is planning to send up to five cargo ships a day from three Black Sea Ports in the following weeks, the local Sea Ports Authority said on Monday. Local authorities are also working to ensure that Ukrainian ports can receive at least three to five ships per day within two weeks, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Saturday.
The resumption of grain exports is being overseen by a Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, comprised of Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. personnel.
Meanwhile, the very first ship with Ukrainian grain that left the port of Odesa on Aug. 1 has been delayed in Tripoli, Lebanon, according to Ihor Ostash, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Lebanon.
“We are waiting for the conclusion of the negotiation process. Following this vessel, 20 others are already ready to leave Odesa," the ambassador said on Sunday.
-ABC News' Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak, Fidel Pavlenko and Max Uzol
