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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Biden to sign Ukraine aid bill while abroad

President Joe Biden will sign the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill while he's in Asia, a White House official said.

"The president does intend to sign the bill while he's on the road so that he can sign it expeditiously," national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One while en route to the region Thursday evening. "The modalities of that are being worked right now so that he can get it and sign it."

The bill, which passed the Senate earlier Thursday with bipartisan support, will need to be flown to the region so that Biden can sign it. The practice of flying bills to presidents for signature dates back to the Truman administration, but this is a first for Biden.

Biden departed for South Korea Thursday and will visit Japan later in the week during his first trip to Asia as president.

-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky


Blinken authorizes drawdown of arms and equipment worth $100 million for Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Thursday that he has authorized a 10th drawdown of additional arms and equipment for Ukraine worth $100 million from U.S. Department of Defense inventories.

This brings total U.S. military assistance to Ukraine to approximately $3.9 billion in arms and equipment since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

"The United States is committed to helping Ukraine continue to meet its defense needs and build its future capabilities, as well as to bolster Allies and partners across NATO’s Eastern Flank and the broader region," Blinken said in a statement.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford


Senate passes $40 billion aid package for Ukraine

The Senate voted on Thursday to pass an additional $40 billion in new military and economic aid for Ukraine after President Joe Biden called on Congress for more funding.

The bill received bipartisan support, passing with a vote of 86-11.

The House passed the aid package earlier this month, which is now headed to Biden's desk for signing.

"By passing this aid package the Senate can now say to the Ukrainian people help is on the way: real help, significant help, help that could ensure the Ukrainian people are victorious," Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said during his floor remarks before the vote.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin


US chairman of joint chiefs speaks to Russian counterpart

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley spoke with Chief of Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov Thursday, for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine. They last spoke on Feb. 11.

The two discussed several security-related issues of concern and agreed to keep the lines of communication open, according to a readout from the U.S., but the specific details of their conversation were kept private.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said the two sides "discussed issues of mutual interest, including the situation in Ukraine," in a call it said was initiated by the U.S.

-ABC News' Matt Seyler


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