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.
Stream On Hulu

0

Fate of democracy in Europe being decided in Ukraine, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned European superpowers that the fate of the continent is being determined by the conflict currently unfolding in Ukraine.

The future of global security and democracy in Europe are currently being decided in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said during his nightly address on Monday.

"The lessons of history are well known," he said. "If you are going to build a millennial Reich, you lose. If you are going to destroy the neighbors, you lose. If you want to restore the old empire, you lose. And if you go against the Ukrainians, you lose."

Ukraine Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba tweeted Monday that Russia is attempting to make it seem like the world is on the brink of World War III because it has lost its "last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine."

"Thus the talks of 'real danger' of WWIII," Kuleba wrote "This only means Moscow senses a defeat in Ukraine."

-ABC News' Max Uzol and Christine Theodorou


Russian foreign minister says NATO supplies essentially a proxy war against Russia

In an interview with Russia's Channel One, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said NATO weapons supplied to Ukraine are essentially a proxy war and that Russian troops will consider the Ukrainian warehouses storing the weapons as legitimate targets.

"Of course, these weapons will be a legitimate target for the Russian armed forces, which operate as part of a special armed operation. And warehouses, including in western Ukraine, have become such targets more than once," Lavrov said Monday. "If NATO, in fact, goes to war with Russia, through a proxy, and arms this proxy, then in war as in war."

Lavrov also claimed that "the real position of Ukraine is determined in Washington, London and other Western capitals."

"Therefore, our political analysts say, why talk with [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy]'s team, we need to talk with the Americans, negotiate with them, reach some kind of agreement," Lavrov said.

-ABC News' Natalia Shumskaia


Russian forces target railways, killing at least 5

Russian forces have carried out five strikes targeting Ukraine railway stations, according to the head of the state-run Ukrainian railways, Oleksandr Kamyshin.

The hardest hit were the towns of Zhmerynka and Kozyatyn, where five people were killed and 18 were injured, according to Serhii Borzov, the head of the Vinnytsia regional military administration.

No casualties were reported in the other railway strikes, which were in the Lviv, Rivne and Zhytomyr regions, officials said.

-ABC News' Natalya Kushnir, Fidel Pavlenko and Christine Theodorou


UN secretary-general heading to Moscow for Lavrov, Putin meetings

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is traveling on Monday to Moscow, where on Tuesday he will have a working meeting and lunch with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov followed by a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a deputy spokesperson for the secretary-general said.

On Thursday, Guterres will visit Ukraine where he'll meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou


Mariupol besieged but not fallen, Ukrainian prime minister says

Mariupol has not yet fallen, despite Russia's demands that Ukrainian troops defending the besieged Ukrainian port city surrender, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

"There [are] still our military forces, our soldiers, so they will fight until the end," Shmyhal told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview Sunday on "This Week."

Mariupol is a strategic city for Moscow because it would allow Russian forces in the south to connect with troops in eastern Ukraine's contested Donbas region. It would also give Moscow a key port.

Although Mariupol remains under the Ukrainian government's control, Shmyhal said the city's residents are suffering.

"They have no water, no food, no heat, no electricity," he said. "They ask all of our partners to support and help stop this humanitarian catastrophe."

-ABC News' Monica Dunn