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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5.2 million kids need humanitarian help
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has left 5.2 million kids in need of humanitarian help, according to UNICEF.
At least 262 children have been killed and another 415 have been hurt since Feb. 24, UNICEF said.
Nearly two-thirds have been displaced, UNICEF said.
Chemical plant hit by Russian air strike, local official says
Russian air strikes hit a tank with nitric acid at a chemical plant in Severodonetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine, according to Luhansk's regional governor, Serhiy Haidai.
Haidai is urging residents to stay inside and to wear protective face masks.
Haidai also said Russian forces have made significant gains and are in control of "most" of Severodonetsk.
He said about 60% of homes are completely destroyed and the city's critical infrastructure is nearly completely destroyed. Ongoing shelling is preventing civilians from evacuating.
EU to finalize ban of nearly 90% of Russian oil imports
The European Union Council plans to finalize a ban on nearly 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen said Tuesday at a joint press conference with EU Council President Charles Michel, following Monday's special meeting of the European Council.
Von der Leyen said they will soon return to the issue of the remaining 10% of pipeline oil.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
Russia vows to 'ensure unhindered passage' of grain shipments if Ukraine de-mines waters
Russia's top diplomat vowed Tuesday to "ensure unhindered passage" of grain shipments from Ukrainian ports to the Mediterranean Sea, if Ukraine removes the mines from its coastal waters.
"Ukrainian representatives should de-mine the coastal waters within Ukraine's territorial sea, which have been mined," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference. "If the de-mining problem is resolved -- and we've been bringing the attention of our worried Western counterparts to this problem for many weeks -- then the Russian Navy will ensure unhindered passage of those vessels in high seas to the Mediterranean and further on to their destination points."
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain, fuel and fertilizer has skyrocketed worldwide, worsening hunger crises. Russia and Ukraine produce a third of the world's supply of wheat and barley, but Kyiv has been unable to ship exports due to Moscow's offensive.
Lavrov, however, blamed the situation on Kyiv and the West.
"For longer than a month now, the Russian side has been taking measures to guarantee the unhindered export of Ukrainian grain by vessels that are currently stranded in Ukrainian ports," Lavrov added. "Therefore, the initiatives concerning food security that have been voiced should be implemented bearing in mind that the Russian side has long guaranteed everything that depends on us. As for the Western countries that have artificially caused numerous problems by closing their ports to Russian vessels and cutting logistical and financial chains, they should certainly think hard whether it's more important for them to advertise themselves taking advantage of food security problems, or take practical steps to resolve this problem. It's for them to choose."
White House national security adviser hints at more sanctions against Russia
White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan hinted Thursday of more sanctions coming against Russia in the "next week or two" aimed at targeting ways Moscow is evading sanctions already imposed.
“Where our focus will be over the course of the coming days is on evasion,” Sullivan said Thursday at the Economic Club of Washington. “As Russia tries to adjust to the fact that it’s under this massive economic pressure, what steps do they take to try to evade our sanctions and how do we crack down on that? And I think we'll have some announcements in the next week or two that identify targets that are trying to facilitate that evasion both inside Russia and beyond."
When Sullivan was asked whether sanctions will automatically be lifted if a negotiated peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is worked out, he appeared cautious with his words, saying, “a lot of that depends on what the shape and scope” of the agreement is.
“A lot of it depends on what the Ukrainians, in consultation with us and the Europeans come to agree to," Sullivan said. "You know, we're not going to do a deal over the head of the Ukrainians where we give a bunch of sanctions relief to Russia. But if some measure of sanctions relief were built in to some credible diplomatic solution led by the Ukrainians, that's something that we would happily discuss."
But Sullivan said Russian oligarchs shouldn't expect to ever get back their yachts and other assets seized under sanctions that have been imposed, saying the ultimate goal is "not to give them back” once the war is over.
“The president is actively looking at how we can deal with the fact that as we seize these assets, our goal is not to give them back. Our goal is to put them to a better use than that," Sullivan said. "But I'll be careful in what I say today because there's an ongoing kind of policy process around how we end up dealing with that question. But, rest assured, that the goal is not just to sit on them for a while."
-ABC News' Justin Gomez