Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin suspends key US-Russia nuclear treaty in speech denouncing West

President Vladimir Putin said he'd sought an "open dialogue" with the West.

Almost a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout the east and south.

Putin's forces pulled out of key positions in November, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the southern port city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.

For previous coverage, please click here.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 19, 2022, 3:29 AM EST

Russian drones strike Ukrainian capital

Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 30 of the 35 Russian drones fired at Ukrainian targets overnight.

Power infrastructure burns after a drone attack to Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on Dec. 19, 2022.
Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

Residents watch at a burning infrastructure project hit during a Russian drone night strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Dec. 19, 2022.
Efrem Lukatsky/AP

Ukrainian authorities said Russia's earlier drone attack on Kyiv damaged critical infrastructure and injured two people.

At least two explosions were heard Monday morning in the capital.

-ABC News' Guy Davies

Dec 18, 2022, 2:34 PM EST

Zelenskyy's World Cup address 'banned' by FIFA: Ukrainian ambassador

A pre-recorded address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was set to be played at the World Cup final Sunday was purportedly cut by the soccer tournament's governing body, FIFA, according to Ukrainian officials.

The office of the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States told ABC News on Sunday that Zelenskyy's speech did not air to the audience at the championship match between Argentina and France because "at the very last moment it was banned by FIFA."

FIFA has not confirmed whether it forbid the airing of Zelenskyy's speech at the match in Qatar that was won by Argentina.

In the one-minute and 43-second speech sent to ABC News by the ambassador's office, Zelenskyy praised the World Cup tournament as a "common victory, the celebration of the human spirit."

"The World Cup proved time and again that different countries and nationalities can decide who is the strongest in fairplay...," Zelensky said.

He added, "This is the dream of so many people when players compete, making everybody enjoy peace," he said. "Every father would like to take his son to the football match all over the world. Every mother would like her son to be back from the war."

Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine has proposed a "peace formula" for ending the war with Russia that he said is "absolutely fair."

"We offered it because there are no champions in war, there can be no draw," he said.

He ended the speech by inviting all countries to participate in a global peace summit that he has proposed for this winter.

Dec 18, 2022, 10:48 AM EST

Russia readies 2nd hypersonic missile system for 'combat duty'

In a new threat to Ukraine and its Western allies, the Russian military has readied for "combat duty" a second hypersonic missile system that President Vladimir Putin boasts can travel 27 times faster than the speed of sound, according to a report.

The Avangard strategic hypersonic system has been placed in a missile silo and switched to combat duty at the Yasnensky missile formation in the Orenburg region of Russia, near the Kazakhstan border, the Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing Russian Defense Ministry reports. It's the second hypersonic missile system Russia has placed in Orenburg

In a statement, the defense ministry said the missile system will increase the combat capabilities of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces.

In March, President Joe Biden confirmed Russia had used an the hypersonic missile system in Ukraine, saying "it's almost impossible to stop."

Russia's announcement comes just days after U.S. officials confirmed a plan is in the works to send Patriot air defense missile systems to Ukraine.

The Avangard strategic missile system has a hypersonic gliding winged warhead. In a 2018 speech, Putin called the weapon "invincible," claiming it could reach any target in the world within 30 minutes.

The U.S. is behind Russia and China in the development of a hypersonic missile system, ABC News reported. The U.S. Air Force this month successfully tested a hypersonic AGM-183A missile from a B-52H bomber off the coast of southern California -- striking a target after reaching more than five times the speed of sound.

It was the first test of a missile prototype that the Air Force hopes will become its first hypersonic missile.

While conceding Russia's hypersonic missile system is hard to defend against, a Moscow-based military analyst told ABC News Sunday that the Kremlin’s decision to put a second regiment in Orenburg is "stupid propaganda," saying Russia has plenty of other intercontinental missiles which could strike the U.S. and describing the Avangard system as "expensive" and "unnecessary."

Dec 16, 2022, 3:58 PM EST

3 dead in missile strike on residential building

Three people have been killed and 13 are injured from a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, according to the mayor.

Among those killed is a mom whose child is missing.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola