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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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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House approves lend-lease measure to help expedite aid

The House voted 417-10 approving a measure that will make it easier for the U.S. to send military aid and equipment to Ukraine.

The Senate approved the measure by voice vote last month. It now heads to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

The lend-lease program was created during WWII and was seen as a game-changer in the conflict, allowing the U.S. to quickly resupply Allies.

This enhanced lend-lease authority would be specific to helping remove obstacles to lending arms to Ukraine. It would not create a new program but would streamline the president’s current authority to lend the defense articles necessary to defend civilian populations.

The legislation would also require Biden to establish expedited delivery procedures for any military equipment loaned or leased to Ukraine to ensure timely delivery.

It would remain in effect for two years with the possibility of Congress extending the authority if needed.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan


Kyiv targeted in shelling as UN chief visits

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Ukraine's capital was hit by two missile strikes in the Shevchenkivsky district on Thursday.

At least one Russian missile struck a residential building. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister who was at the scene following the attack, told journalists at least six people were injured.

This came as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the city.

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tweeted that the attack came right after Guterres visited Russia.

"The day before he was sitting at a long table in the Kremlin, and today explosions are above his head. Postcard from Moscow? Recall why [Russia] still takes a seat on the UN Security Council?" he tweeted.

This was the first strike on central Kyiv in over a week.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell


UN chief: Discussions ongoing on ways to evacuate civilians from Mariupol plant

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that "intensive discussions" are ongoing on proposals to evacuate Ukrainian civilians from the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged city of Mariupol.

"Mariupol is a crisis within a crisis," Guterres said in a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday. "Thousands of civilians need life-saving assistance. Many are elderly, in need of medical care or have limited mobility. They need an escape route out of the apocalypse."

Guterres said that during his visit to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed "in principle" to the involvement of the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from the plant.

Guterres said he and Zelenskyy had the opportunity to address the issue Thursday.

"As we speak, there are in intense discussions to move forward on this proposal to make it a reality," he said.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou


UN chief visits sites of suspected war crimes

United Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited sites of suspected war crimes in the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Irpin and Borodianka.

In Irpin, Guterres visited the destroyed Irpinsky Lipki residential complex and said that the “horrific scenario demonstrates something that is unfortunately always true: Civilians always pay the highest price."

Guterres urged Russia to cooperate with the investigation launched by the International Criminal Court.

Guterres, speaking from Bucha, said, “When we see this horrendous site, it makes me feel how important it is [to have] a thorough investigation and accountability."

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou


State Dept. reacts to train station attack

Jalina Porter, the State Department's deputy spokesperson, is responding to the Russian attack at a Ukraine train station that killed at least 50, saying, "We can no longer be surprised by the Kremlin's repugnant disregard for human life."

Five children were among those killed when Russian rockets struck the station in Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast on Friday morning, according to Ukraine's state-owned railway company. At least 100 people were injured, according to Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Russia has denied involvement in the attack, which occurred as "thousands" of civilians fleeing the Russian invasion were at the train station waiting to be taken to "safer regions of Ukraine," according to Kyrylenko.

"Civilians are killed when they stay in their homes, and they're killed when they try to leave," Porter said. "Actions like these demonstrate why Russia did not belong on the U.N. Human Rights Council, and they also reinforce the U.S. assessment that members of Russian forces are committing war crimes in Ukraine."

Porter declined to say if the department considers the train station attack a war crime, saying, "Assessing individual criminal liability in specific cases is the responsibility of courts, as well as other investigatory bodies. But as the secretary, Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken, has said, 'Those responsible for war crimes and other atrocities committed in Ukraine will be held to account.'"

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan