Russia-Ukraine updates: 2 US veterans who joined Ukrainian forces missing

The Americans, Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh and Alexander Drueke, are both from Alabama.

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.

For previous coverage, please click here.

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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Jill Biden, in Europe, makes surprise visit to Ukraine

First lady Jill Biden, in Eastern Europe to show American support for its NATO allies, made a surprise visit to Ukraine Sunday, where she met with that nation's first lady.

Biden's motorcade crossed into Ukraine from Slovakia, where earlier in the day she toured refugee aid stations.

In Ukraine, she visited a public school in the city of Uzhhorod, where she met privately with the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, for about half an hour.

"I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop," Biden told reporters following the visit. "And this war has been brutal. And that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine."

"We understand what it takes for the U.S. first lady to come here during a war where the military actions are taking place every day, where the air raid sirens are happening every day, even today," Zelenska said through a translator. "We all feel your support. We all feel the leadership of the U.S. president."

"We would like to note that Mother’s Day is a very symbolic day for us," Zelenska added. "Because we also feel your love and support during such an important day."

-ABC News' Armando Garcia


Dozens missing after Russian strike on Ukrainian school shelter, official says

Emergency responders were searching on Sunday for dozens of missing civilians after Russian forces struck a school building being used as a shelter in Bilohorivka, a village in eastern Ukraine, a local official said.

About 90 civilians had taken shelter in the building before it was destroyed on Saturday, Serhiy Haidai, regional governor of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, said.

About 30 people had been rescued and two bodies were found in the rubble, the local emergency services said. Rescue efforts resumed at dawn on Sunday, Haidai said on social media.


Russia to mark annual Victory Day on Monday amid conflict in Ukraine

Russia will hold its annual Victory Day on Monday, a national holiday under Russian President Vladimir Putin that marks the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

From the start, the Kremlin had hoped to use Victory Day to celebrate its own triumph in Ukraine, but Russia’s offensive to take Donbas has badly stalled. Instead, the Kremlin is expected to use the day to try to galvanize support among Russians for the war.

The day is being watched closely because how Putin sells the war could give a sense of how long the Kremlin wants to fight.

Ukraine, Western countries and many experts fear Putin might use Victory Day to declare a national mobilization -- without which many military analysts doubt Russia can achieve even its already curtailed goals in Ukraine.

If Putin does not use Victory Day to declare a general mobilization, that could suggest the Kremlin doesn’t believe it has the political strength at home right now to do so.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell


War in a dangerous phase because Putin 'thinks he cannot afford to lose': CIA director

Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine could be just as dangerous as its failed first offensive north of Kyiv, CIA Director William Burns said Saturday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is "in a frame of mind that he thinks he cannot afford to lose, so the stakes are quite high in this phase," Burns said during an event in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Financial Times.

Burns said he does not think that Putin has been deterred by the huge amount of Western military support for Ukraine and the resolve of Ukraine’s population and its military.

"I don't think this means that, you know, Putin is deterred at this point, because he staked so much on the choice that he made to launch this invasion that I think he's convinced right now that doubling down still will enable him to make progress," he said.

Burns called Putin's invasion a "profound mistake."

"It was Putin's biggest mistake in planning for this invasion," he said. "And then in launching it, don't underestimate Ukrainians. And I think it's equally a mistake for any of us to underestimate what they bring to the table in intelligence terms in defending their own country."

-ABC News' Luis Martinez


Journalist killed by Russian bombardment in Kyiv

At least one person -- a journalist -- was killed in a rocket attack on a residential building in Kyiv on Thursday evening, ABC News has learned.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Kilitschko said Friday that rescuers had found the body of a victim amid the rubble.

Radio Liberty, a service of the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reported that one of its employees, Vira Gyrych, was killed when a Russian missile hit her apartment in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday. Her body was found beneath the wreckage Friday morning, according to the report.

Gyrych had worked as a journalist and producer for Radio Liberty's Kyiv bureau since 2018. Prior to that, she worked for leading Ukrainian television channels, according to Radio Liberty.

"The editorial staff of Radio Liberty expresses its condolences to the family of Vira Gyrych and will remember her as a bright and kind person, a true professional," Radio Liberty said in its report.

Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky also confirmed Gyrych's death in a Twitter post, saying she was a former employee of the Israeli embassy in Kyiv.

Thursday's rocket attack came as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Kyiv. Five Russian missiles flew into the city, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At least 10 people were injured, including four who were hospitalized, according to the Kyiv City Council.