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

Blinken warns atrocities in Mariupol 'far worse' than Bucha

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that he thinks the atrocities in the port city of Mariupol will show to be "far worse" than in Bucha, where, after Russian troops retreated, there were found to be scores of civilians killed, and in some cases, tortured.

"We can only anticipate that when this tide also at some point recedes from Mariupol, we're going to see far worse -- if that's possible to imagine," Blinken said during a press conference in Panama.

Blinken expressed some doubts about Russia's offer of humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian civilians and service members to leave Mariupol.

"Of course, we want to see people who are in harm's way, if they're able to, leave it safely and securely," he said. "The judgment on whether the humanitarian corridor established to do that from Mariupol is safe and secure is one ultimately that the Ukrainian government is going to make … and ultimately, the decision to leave is going to be a burden on the people themselves to make that very difficult decision."

He said the U.S. is "certainly assisting" by giving its evaluations and assessments of the situation to the Ukrainian government.

But Blinken warned: "What gives pause is the fact that there have been agreements on humanitarian corridors established before that have fallen apart very, very quickly - if not immediately - principally because the security has been violated by Russian forces."

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan


New military aid package to focus on artillery, ammunition

The Biden administration is preparing to announce another military aid package for Ukraine worth roughly $800 million, a U.S. official said. Details have not been determined but the package is believed to focus more on artillery and ammunition.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan


Yellen to meet with Ukrainian prime minister

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, a Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed. Ukraine's finance minister will also attend.

The meeting will take place during the annual conferences of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The conferences draw leaders from the G20, of which Russia is currently a member.

While Yellen will participate in some meetings and panels where Russian officials will be present, she will skip others, a Treasury Department official said.

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky


Tennis players from Russia, Belarus banned from Wimbledon Championships

Tennis players from Russia and Belarus have been banned from this summer's Wimbledon Championships due to the "unjustified and unprecedented military aggression" in Ukraine, The All England Lawn Tennis Club said.

"It would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players," the statement said, adding: "If circumstances change materially between now and June, we will consider and respond accordingly."


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