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(NEW YORK) — 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.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. The Russian military has now launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Latest headlines:
-Biden again blames COVID, Putin for rising prices hitting US consumers
-White House says new sanctions against Russia could be announced soon
-UN chief asks for cease-fire during Orthodox Easter holy week
-US officials see ‘limited’ activity from Russia as prelude to larger offensive operations
-Polish prime minister opens temporary housing community in Ukraine

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Apr 19, 6:54 pm
Biden administration plans to announce new military aid package for Ukraine: Sources

Capitol Hill sources and a Biden administration official confirmed to ABC News that the White House has briefed them on plans to announce another weapons delivery to Ukraine as soon as this week.

The aid could range in the hundreds of millions of dollars and be similar in size to the $800 million package President Joe Biden announced last week, sources familiar with the details said.

Details of the weapons package are still being discussed and could change, a source said.

When asked earlier Tuesday if he plans to send more artillery to Ukraine, Biden told reporters, “Yes.”

ABC News’ Mariam Khan and Katherine Faulders

Apr 19, 6:28 pm
Ukrainians have more planes flying than they did 2 weeks ago: Pentagon

Ukraine currently has more operable military planes currently than it did two weeks ago,
Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday.

Ukraine has received additional aircraft, as well as parts to fix damaged planes, he told reporters during his latest briefing.

Kirby was reticent in providing any details on where the parts and planes came from but stressed that they did not come from the U.S.

“We certainly have helped with the trans-shipment of some additional spare parts that have helped with their aircraft needs, but we have not transported whole aircraft,” he said.

ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Apr 19, 6:15 pm
Zelenskyy addresses urgent need for military aid: ‘Every day matters’

In his latest national address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued to call on allies for military aid in the fight against Russia in eastern Ukraine, as the situation in Mariupol remains “severe.”

“If we had access to all the weapons we need, which our partners have and which are comparable to the weapons used by the Russian Federation, we would have already ended this war,” he said. “We would have already restored peace and liberated our territory from the occupiers. Because the superiority of the Ukrainian military in tactics and wisdom is quite obvious.”

Zelenskyy addressed Ukraine’s partners directly, saying that “every day matters.”

“Any delay in helping Ukraine gives the occupiers an opportunity to kill more Ukrainians,” he said.

Zelenskyy said Russian fire has “increased significantly” in the direction of Kharkiv and in the Donbas and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The situation in Mariupol in particular is “as severe as possible,” he said, while claiming that the Russian Army is blocking efforts to organize humanitarian corridors.

“The occupiers are trying to carry out deportation or even mobilization of the local residents who have fallen into their hands,” the president said. “The fate of at least tens of thousands of Mariupol residents who were previously relocated to Russian-controlled territory is unknown.”

ABC News’ Alexandra Faul

Apr 19, 5:00 pm
Biden again blames COVID, Putin for rising prices hitting US consumers

President Joe Biden, speaking at the New Hampshire Port Authority on Tuesday, sought to distance his administration from the rising prices and inflation U.S. consumers are facing — once again pointing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Russian President Vladimir Putin as the main culprits.

“So, let’s be absolutely clear about why we have such high prices now, there are two reasons. First was COVID,” Biden said. “And the second big reason for the inflation is Vladimir Putin — not a joke. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has up driven gas and food prices all over the world.”

Biden said the major breadbaskets for wheat in the world are Ukraine and Russia with the United States and Canada right behind.

“What we saw in the most recent inflation data last month, about 70% of the increase in inflation was a consequence of Putin’s price hike because of the impact on gas and energy prices,” Biden said.

Biden said he is doing “everything” he can to lower prices and that savings are already starting to come through for consumers.

“I’m doing everything I can to bring down the price to address Putin’s price hike. That’s why I authorized the release of $1 million barrels per day for the next six months from our strategic petroleum reserve,” Biden said.

Biden said he is calling on Congress to pass his “human infrastructure” bill that has long stalled on Capitol Hill over policy disputes and the price tag.

ABC News’ Mariam Khan

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(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the U.S. assessment of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.

Here are highlights of what a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Tuesday on Day 55:

‘Limited’ Russian offensive operations so far in eastern Ukraine

The U.S. has seen “limited” Russian offensive operations southwest of Donetsk and south of Izium, but these are believed to be “preludes to larger offensive operations that the Russians plan to conduct,” a senior U.S. defense official said.

“These are actual ground offensives, and they are being supported, of course, by some long-range fires, mostly artillery, which is right out of the Russian doctrine,” the official said.

But while there is ongoing fighting in the region, a more devastating offensive is still in the works.

“You’ve seen comments by [Ukraine’s] President Zelenskyy yesterday, and even for [Russian Foreign Minister] Lavrov, about this new offensive beginning … We think that these … are preludes to larger offensive operations that the Russians plan to conduct. So, we’re not pushing back on the notion that offensive operations have begun, but again, we think that this is a prelude of larger offensive operations that are potentially still in the offing here,” the official said.

The Pentagon believes Russia’s military is working to learn from its mistakes fighting in the north, where it was plagued with logistical and supply problems, conducting what officials call “shaping operations” to set favorable conditions on the battlefield before beginning its new offensive in earnest.

“In other words, continue to reinforce, continue to make sure they have logistics and sustainment in place, continue to make sure that they have proper aviation and other enabling capability,” the official said.

Over the last 24 hours, two Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs), or up to 2,000 more combat troops, have been sent into Ukraine, according to the official. This brings the total to an estimated 78 BTGs inside the country, all in the south and east.

About 75% of Putin’s total combat power originally arrayed against Ukraine remains, according to the official. This takes into account all military capabilities, including troop casualties, destroyed vehicles and aircraft, and expended missiles. This is the lowest assessment we’ve heard out of the Pentagon.

Fall of Mariupol and Donbas ‘not inevitable’

“People speak about this as if it’s inevitable, that Mariupol is going to fall, that it’s inevitable that Donbas will be taken by the Russians. We don’t see it that way. And we’re doing everything we can to make sure that it’s not inevitable,” the official said.

With fighting concentrated around Donbas, Ukraine has to move aid coming in from the U.S. and others all the way across the country.

“Right now we know from our discussions with the Ukrainians that they are getting this materiel, it’s getting into the hands of their fighters,” the official said.

But Russia aims to isolate Ukrainian forces in the east.

“Clearly what the Russians want to do is cut them off and to defeat them in the Donbas,” the official said, reiterating that defeat is not inevitable.

Ukraine has more operable planes than two weeks ago

At a separate briefing later Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Ukraine currently has more operable military planes right now than it did two weeks ago because Ukraine has received additional aircraft as well as parts to get damaged planes flying again.

Kirby was reticent to provide any details on where the parts and planes came from but stressed that they did not come from the U.S.

“They have received additional aircraft and aircraft parts to help them get more aircraft in the air,” Kirby said at the on-camera briefing at the Pentagon.

“And that’s not by accident, that’s because other nations who had experience with those kinds of aircraft have been able to help them get more aircraft up and running,” said Kirby.

“We certainly have helped with the trans-shipment of some additional spare parts that have helped with their aircraft needs, but we have not transported whole aircraft,” he said.

Russian missile strikes

The U.S. assesses Russia has fired at least 1,670 missiles against Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion. The official noted that bad weather lowers visibility, making it harder for the U.S. to observe launches and other battlefield actions, so the actual number could be higher.

Despite the recent airstrikes in Kyiv and Lviv, Russia’s firepower is focused on Mariupol and Donbas.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — 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.

Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. The Russian military has now launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Apr 19, 11:40 pm
Russia could be making probing attacks ahead of larger assault in Donbas: US official

As Ukrainian forces brace for a full-scale assault in the eastern part of the country, a U.S. official said the increased pace of operations from Russian forces in the past 24 hours could be probing attacks or the beginning of the main battle for the Donbas.

The defense official said the Russian offensive to seize southeastern Ukraine will likely involve a frontal assault from inside Russia and a double envelopment, or encircling, of Ukrainian forces in the Donbas. Russian forces will come south from Izyum and troops in the Berdyansk area will move north to encircle Ukrainian forces in the Joint Forces Operations area in the Donbas.

But the U.S. defense official said Ukraine has the advantage in the region since they have prepared a defense for years, including digging trenches, preparing anti-armor traps and ambush locations and more.

The U.S. and other countries have now provided close to 70,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine as well as 30,000 anti-aircraft missiles and 7,000 launchers to fire them, according to the defense official.

As for stopping the shipments of those weapons, the U.S. believes Russia will target the paths and roads in western Ukraine being used to ship Western military aid into Ukraine even though it has not done so yet. Still, it’s believed with the amount of weaponry being delivered to Ukrainian forces, it will be impossible to stop it all.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Schoolchildren were among those killed and injured in another series of deadly blasts in Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul, Tuesday morning.

At least six people were killed and over ten injured, Khalid Zadran, acting spokesman of the Taliban Kabul police wrote on Twitter, adding that security forces were on the scene and an investigation was launched into the attack. Unofficial reports indicate a higher number of casualties.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack.

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan condemned the “heinous” attack in a tweet saying, “those responsible for the crime targeting schools and children must be brought to justice.”

United Nations envoy Deborah Lyons extended deepest sympathies to victims’ families and wished for a speedy recovery for the wounded, in the same tweet.

The blasts happened at the entrance of Abdul Rahim Shahid high school located in a Shia Hazara neighborhood of the city. Hazaras are an ethnic/religious group that has been the target of attacks in the past. Most of the previous attacks in the same neighborhood were claimed by ISIS affiliates. Tuesday’s blast was the first attack in this neighborhood after the Taliban takeover in August.

Shi’a Hazaras are historically the most discriminated ethnic minority group in Afghanistan and have long faced violence and discrimination, according to Minority Rights International. according to Minority Rights International.

Save the Children’s country director in Afghanistan, Chris Nyamandi, issued a statement condemning the attack.

“Save the Children calls for safe access to education at all times for children in Afghanistan and for perpetrators of grave violations against children to be held to account,” the statement reads.

Today’s blasts follow Pakistani military airstrikes in the eastern Afghanistan provinces of Khost and Kunar which killed 47 civilians, mainly women and children, and left many wounded.

ABC News’ Aleem Agha and Guy Davis contributed to this report.

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