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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French journalist killed in Ukraine

A French journalist working for cable channel BFM TV has been killed in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, according to Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration.

French President Emmanuel Macron identified the journalist as Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.

"On board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombs, he was fatally shot," Macron tweeted. "I share the pain of the family, relatives and colleagues of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, to whom I send my condolences. To those who carry out the difficult mission of informing in theaters of operations, I would like to reiterate France's unconditional support."

-ABC News' Ibtissem Guenfoud and Anna Rabemanantsoa


31% of Kharkiv region occupied by Russian forces, Ukrainian officials say

A significant portion of Kharkiv, a town in northwest Ukraine near the Russian border, is occupied by Russian forces, Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit on Sunday.

Just 5% of the region has been liberated by Ukrainian forces, Synegubov said.

"We are not yet able to fully inspect some of the liberated settlements, conduct full-fledged de-mining and begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, as shelling continues," Synegubov said, according to a statement from Zelenskyy’s office. "Where we can do it remotely - we do it."

During the trip to Kharkiv, Zelenskyy inspected destroyed residential buildings in the Saltivka district. The northern and eastern districts of the city suffered the most destruction, with more than 30% of total housing damaged.

Zelenskyy noted that there will be an opportunity to modernize new constructions and that new housing will have to include bomb shelters.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou


Zelenskyy calls for Russia to unblock Ukraine's seaports amid 'food crisis'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Russia to unblock Ukraine's seaports to end a global "food crisis" while speaking at the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia think tank Friday, according to his office.

"Russia has blocked access to our ports in the Black Sea and occupied our part of the Sea of Azov. As a result of this military blockade, most traditional Ukrainian trade routes have been closed," said Zelenskyy, noting that 22 million tons of grain are currently in storage facilities in Ukraine. "We cannot direct them to the world market, where they are needed right now, at this time."

According to the president, this block has already affected the prices for grain and soon will affect the prices for other food products. He predicted that many countries will run out of last year's harvest stockpiles in July.

“The sooner our ports are unblocked, the sooner the food crisis will stop, because we will be able to send our stocks and new crops to the world market,” Zelenskyy said.

-ABC News' Alexandra Faul


Bucha resident who lost husband, unborn son tries to rebuild her life

Anna Polonska had struggled to get pregnant. So when she did, it was a moment of sheer joy; a happy family life lay ahead.

But days after Russia invaded Ukraine, her unborn son and husband were killed in shelling as they tried to flee Ukraine, she told ABC News.

She was also gravely injured in the attack, and doctors did not think she would survive.

Adding to her loss, soldiers stole almost all of her possessions and destroyed her apartment, she recalled.

But in a remarkable interview, Anna said she is now focusing on picking up the pieces -- showing incredible courage and determination to live and walk again.

-ABC News' Tom Soufi Burridge


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