Russia-Ukraine updates: US sanctions Russian military shipbuilder, diamond miner

Russia's largest military shipbuilding and diamond mining firms were targeted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation” into Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with troops crossing the border from Belarus and Russia. Moscow's forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces retreated last week from the Kyiv suburbs, leaving behind a trail of destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, U.S. and European officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.

For previous coverage, please click here.

Hulu

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.

Mar 25, 2022, 9:27 AM EDT

Biden to meet with Polish president, refugees from Ukraine in Warsaw

U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda as well as refugees from Ukraine in Warsaw on Saturday, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Poland on Friday, Sullivan noted that Biden will also deliver a "major address" before departing Saturday.

"He will give a major address tomorrow that will speak to the stakes of this moment, the urgency of the challenge that lies ahead, what the conflict in Ukraine means for the world, and why it is so important that the free world sustain unity and resolve in the face of Russian aggression," Sullivan said. "He'll also talk about the context and history of this conflict and where he sees it going from here."

A boy plays with a ball at the exhibition hall turned into a refugee center in Nadarzyn, near Warsaw, Poland, on March 25, 2022.
Petr David Josek/AP

Upon arrival in Rzeszow, Poland, on Friday, Biden will meet with humanitarian aid groups as well as service members of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, according to Sullivan.

"He will be able to talk through with a range of different humanitarian leaders and experts, both from the region and from the international community as well as the US government experts who are playing a key role in this, on how the efforts are going so far and what further steps need to be taken to make sure that we're investing those dollars as wisely as possible," Sullivan said. "He will also have the chance to visit with troops from the 82nd Airborne Division, who have been deployed to Poland to reassure our NATO ally and to deter further aggression on the eastern flank. And he will also get a briefing from the commanders of those units who will have the chance to lay out for him the various tasks and missions that the American troops stationed at the airfield here have been undertaking and continue to undertake."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Mar 25, 2022, 8:03 AM EDT

Ukrainian rescuers work to remove unexploded devices from homes

Video has emerged showing Ukrainian rescuers working to remove unexploded devices from civilian homes amid the Russian invasion.

The video, released Friday by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and verified by ABC News, shows pyrotechnic units in the northern city of Chernihiv using special equipment to carefully search for and remove shells, missiles and mines that landed in houses but didn't explode.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said it was called in to seize ammunition 18 times over the past day. The agency warned people not to approach the objects because they could explode "at any time" and to immediately report such findings to rescuers or police.

-ABC News' Victoria Beaule

Mar 25, 2022, 7:34 AM EDT

Biden departs Brussels for Poland

U.S. President Joe Biden departed Belgium on Friday morning and was en route to Poland for the final leg of his four-day trip aimed at maintaining unity among allies and supporting Ukraine's defense against Russia.

PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden waves as he boards Air Force One at Melsbroek military airport in Brussels, Belgium, March 25, 2022.
U.S. President Joe Biden waves as he boards Air Force One at Melsbroek military airport in Brussels, Belgium, March 25, 2022. Biden is heading to Poland for the final leg of his four-day trip as he tries to maintain unity among allies and support Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion.
Markus Schreiber/AP

Biden was seen boarding Air Force One in the European Union's de facto capital, Brussels, at 6:42 a.m. ET. He is expected to land in Rzeszow, Poland, at around 9:15 a.m. ET, where he will receive a briefing on the humanitarian response to the millions of people fleeing Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion. He will also meet with service members from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Mar 25, 2022, 6:36 AM EDT

300 dead in airstrike on Mariupol theater, officials say

About 300 people were killed last week in a Russian airstrike on a drama theater-turned-bomb shelter in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the city's government said Friday, citing eyewitnesses.

"We didn't want to believe in this horror," the Mariupol City Council. said in a statement. "But the words of those who were inside the building at the moment of this terrorist act say the opposite."

A view shows Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama destroyed by an airstrike, in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 16, 2022.
Donetsk Regional Administration via Reuters

As many as 1,500 civilians had been taking refuge in the grand, columned Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama in central Mariupol when it was struck on March 16, according to the Ukrainian government. Satellite images showed huge white letters on the pavement in front of and behind the building spelling out "CHILDREN" in Russian -- "DETI" -- to alert warplanes to those inside.

Video circulating online and verified by ABC News shows the immediate aftermath of the strike on the theater. People covered in dust are seen trying to make their way out of the theater, walking down from the first floor staircase in an area of the building that was still standing at the time.

A satellite image shows the Mariupol Drama Theatre before being bombing, with the word "children" in Russian written in large white letters on the pavement in front of and behind the building, in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 14, 2022.
Maxar Technologies

Since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian forces have been relentlessly bombarding Mariupol, destroying homes and leaving thousands of residents trapped. Ukraine has defied Russia's ultimatum for its troops to lay down arms and surrender the strategic southeastern port city of 430,000.

-ABC News Patrick Reevell

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola