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.

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Two Men at War
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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Russian troops 'pushed away from Kyiv': Zelenskyy

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during his evening address Monday that Irpin was liberated and Russian forces have been "pushed away from Kyiv."

"The occupiers are pushed away from Irpin. Pushed away from Kyiv," he said.

However, he said Russian troops still control the north of Kyiv.

"They are trying to restore the destroyed units. The level of their losses, even at 90%, is not an argument for them to stop. Hundreds and hundreds of units of burned and abandoned enemy equipment do not convince them that this will happen to everyone," he said.

Zelenskyy also said the situation in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv regions, along with Donbas and southern Ukraine, remains tense.

"This is a ruthless war against our nation, against our people, against our children.
As of today, 143 children are known to have died," Zelenskyy said Monday.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou


Biden says he 'was expressing moral outrage' with comment that Putin 'cannot remain in power'

President Joe Biden told reporters Monday that when he said in Poland this weekend that Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power," he "was expressing moral outrage that I feel," adding, "I make no apologies for it."

Biden did not dispute when a questioner noted the line had not been in his prepared remarks.

"The last part of the speech was talking to the Russian people, telling them what we thought. I was communicating this to not only the Russian people but the whole world. This is -- this is just stating a simple fact that this kind of behavior is totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. And the way to deal with it is to strengthen and put -- keep NATO completely united and help Ukraine where we can," Biden said.

"I want to make it clear, I wasn't then, nor am I now, articulating a policy change," Biden said.

"The last thing I want to do is engage in a land war or a nuclear war with Russia," he said. "That's not part of it. I was expressing my outrage at the behavior of this man."

Biden said that if Putin "continues on this course that he's on, he is going to become a pariah worldwide."

He said he didn't think his comments complicated diplomatic efforts, but that it is Putin’s actions that are complicating the situation.

"He shouldn't remain in power. Just like, you know, bad people shouldn't continue to do bad things. But it doesn't mean we have a fundamental policy to do anything to take Putin down in any way," Biden said.

The president said "it’s ridiculous" to think his remark was a statement of U.S. policy.

"People like this shouldn't be ruling countries, but they do. The fact they do doesn't mean I can't express my outrage about it," he said.

Biden told ABC News that he’s confident Putin won’t view his remarks as an excuse for escalation.

"The idea that he is going to do something outrageous because I called him for what he was and what he's doing, I think is just not rational," Biden said.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson


UN Secretary-General appeals for a humanitarian ceasefire

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday appealed for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine.

"Since the beginning of the Russian invasion one months ago, the war has led to the senseless loss of thousands of lives, the displacement of 10 million people, mainly women and children, the systematic destruction of essential infrastructure and skyrocketing food and energy prices worldwide. This must stop," Guterres said.

U.N. humanitarian agencies and partners in the last month have reached nearly 900,000 people, mainly in eastern Ukraine, providing food, shelter, blankets, medicine, bottled water and hygiene supplies, he said.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou


US sending 6 Navy electronic warfare aircraft to Germany

The Pentagon said it's sending six U.S. Navy EA-18 "Growlers" (Navy fighter aircraft equipped with electronic warfare jamming equipment) and 240 personnel to Germany to boost NATO's defenses because of the aircraft's electronic warfare jamming capability.

"They are not being deployed to be used against Russian forces in Ukraine," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed. "They are being deployed completely in keeping with our efforts to bolster NATO's deterrence and defense capabilities along that Eastern flank. They are not being sent because of some sort of acute threat that was perceived or some specific incident that happened."

"This is in order to bolster readiness, enhance NATO's collective defense posture and further increase air integration capabilities with our Allied and partner nations," Kirby said.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez


All Russian troops have left Kyiv and Chernihiv: US official

All Russian troops have left the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Chernihiv, withdrawing north toward the borders of Belarus and Russia to consolidate before likely redeploying to the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Wednesday.

But even with the Russians gone, the territory remains treacherous.

"There are some indications that they left behind mines and things like that, so the Ukrainians are being somewhat careful in some areas north of Kyiv as they begin to clear the ground and clear the territory and re-occupy it," the official said.

While the U.S. hasn't yet seen these troops redeploy elsewhere in Ukraine, it'll likely happen soon, according to the official. Ukrainian forces are preparing for a major fight in Donbas, the official said.

The official also said the Pentagon is "monitoring" an apparent nitric acid explosion in Ukraine's Luhansk region, which Russia blamed on Ukraine.

"We've seen the Russians claim that this was a Ukrainian attack on this. We do not believe that is true," the official said. "We do believe that the Russians are responsible, but exactly what they used when they did it, why they did it, what the damage is, we just don't have that level of detail," the official said.

The official also noted that a small number of Ukrainians currently in the U.S. for "professional military education" were pulled aside for a couple days of training on Switchblade drones, which the U.S. is sending overseas as part of its military aid, according to the official.

"Although it's not a very difficult system to operate, we took advantage of having them in the country to give them some rudimentary training on that," the official said.

-ABC News' Matt Seyler