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.
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Microsoft releases detailed report of Russian cyberattacks on Ukraine
Microsoft has released a detailed report of what it says are "destructive" Russian cyberattacks on Ukraine, which the company says seem "strongly correlated and sometimes directly timed with its kinetic military operations."
"For example, a Russian actor launched cyberattacks against a major broadcasting company on March 1st, the same day the Russian military announced its intention to destroy Ukrainian 'disinformation' targets and directed a missile strike against a TV tower in Kyiv," Microsoft said. "On March 13th, during the third week of the invasion, a separate Russian actor stole data from a nuclear safety organization weeks after Russian military units began capturing nuclear power plants sparking concerns about radiation exposure and catastrophic accidents. “
Microsoft said it has observed nearly 40 attacks "targeting hundreds of systems."
The company said "32% of destructive attacks directly targeted Ukrainian government organizations" while "more than 40% of destructive attacks were aimed at organizations in critical infrastructure sectors that could have negative second-order effects on the Ukrainian government, military, economy and people."
-ABC News' Cindy Smith
Biden to visit facility that manufactures Javelin anti-tank missiles
President Joe Biden will visit a Lockheed Martin facility in Alabama on Tuesday where Javelin anti-tank missiles are being manufactured for Ukrainian troops, the White House said.
The U.S. has committed over 5,500 Javelin anti-armor systems for Ukrainians, according to the Pentagon.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
War in Ukraine dealt a 'major shock' to commodities markets: World Bank
The World Bank issued a report on Tuesday that said the war in Ukraine dealt a major shock to commodity markets and altered global patterns of trade, production and consumption in ways that will keep prices at historically high levels through the end of 2024.
"Overall, this amounts to the largest commodity shock we’ve experienced since the 1970s," Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s vice president for equitable growth, finance and institutions, said in a statement.
The report said energy prices are expected to rise more than 50% in 2022 before easing in 2023 and 2024.
Wheat prices are forecast to increase more than 40%, putting pressure on developing economies that rely on wheat imports, especially from Russia and Ukraine, according to the World Bank.
Metal prices are projected to increase by 16% in 2022 before easing in 2023, according to the report.
Crude oil prices are expected to average $100 a barrel in 2022, its highest level since 2013 and an increase of more than 40% compared to 2021, the report said. Oil prices are expected to moderate to $92 in 2023, which is above the five-year average of $60 a barrel, the World Bank said.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
Russia's Gazprom suspends gas deliveries to Bulgaria, Poland
Polish natural gas company PGNiG announced Tuesday they received a notice from Gazprom that deliveries will be suspended starting Wednesday, April 27.
Poland has refused to pay for gas in rubles and PGNiG says they are prepared to procure gas supplies from alternate sources; storage is currently at 80%.
“Not a problem,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.
Gazprom sent a similar notice to Bulgaria's natural gas company Bulgargaz, according to a statement from the country's energy minister Alexander Nikolov.
Morawiecki urged other EU countries, particularly Germany, to stop relying on Russian energy before Russia itself decides to cut them off, or sets economy-crippling prices.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou, Conor Finnegan and Tomek Rolski
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.