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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.

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.

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

Jun 21, 4:41 pm
2 captured Americans being held in eastern Ukraine: Russian media

Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, two Americans feared to have been captured while fighting in Ukraine, are being held in a detention facility in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Russia’s Interfax reported, citing an unnamed source.

The State Department said earlier that the Kremlin has not yet officially confirmed to the U.S. that the men have been captured, much less shared any information on their location.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday that the U.S. has reached out to Russia about the missing Americans, but received no answers.

“We are working hard to learn more about reports of Americans who may be in Russian custody, or in the custody of Russian proxy forces. We have been in touch with Russian authorities regarding U.S. citizens who may have been captured while fighting in Ukraine,” Price said.

Jun 21, 2:20 pm
Russia still stonewalling on missing American fighters, State Dept. says

Senior State Department officials said Tuesday that the U.S. has not received any direct information from Russian authorities or any of their proxy forces about Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, two American citizens feared to have been captured while fighting in Ukraine.

While the Kremlin’s spokesman has publicly labeled Drueke and Huynh as mercenaries and said “they should be held responsible,” Moscow has not yet officially confirmed to the U.S. that the men have been captured.

But senior State Department officials reiterated that the U.S. has been in contact with the Russian government to remind them of the protections granted to prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions, even though the Kremlin argues that as “soldiers of fortune” the detainees would not be covered by those protections and could face the death penalty.

“We obviously disagree vigorously. And we have made our position clear to the Russian government,” one official said.

The Geneva Conventions outline the humanitarian rights given to prisoners of war, however, mercenaries are not given the same protections.

When asked if the Americans could face the death penalty, Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov said this week, “Yes, we do not rule out anything.”

White House spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday called that “appalling.”

“It’s appalling that a public official in Russia would even suggest the death penalty for two American citizens that were in Ukraine,” he said.

Kirby added that the U.S. was still “trying to learn more about these two individuals.”

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford and Ben Gittleson

Jun 21, 12:51 pm
Russia controls about 96% of Luhansk region

Russia now controls about 96% of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces are fighting to hold onto several municipalities in the Luhansk region: Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and the three neighboring villages of Pidlisne, Myrna Dolyna and Toshkivka.

Serhiy Haidi, the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, said Ukrainian forces are still holding on to the city of Lysychansk because it sits on elevated ground, giving them a tactical advantage. Russian forces have been heavily shelling the city where approximately 10,000 civilians remain. More than 10 high-rise buildings, private homes and a police station have been destroyed.

In Severodonetsk, Russian forces continue to fire on the Azot chemical plant where 568 civilians are sheltering.

-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko, Natalya Kushnir and Christine Theodorou

Jun 21, 11:15 am
AG Garland visiting Ukraine, meeting with prosecutor general on war crimes

Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Tuesday.

Garland is meeting with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova to discuss the efforts to help identify, apprehend and prosecute the people involved in war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine, a Department of Justice official said.

Garland told reporters, “The United States is sending an unmistakable message: There is no place to hide. We and our partners will pursue every avenue available to ensure that those who are responsible for these atrocities are held accountable.”

Garland announced that the Justice Department has launched a War Crimes Accountability Team.

“This initiative will bring together the Department’s leading experts in investigations involving human rights abuses and war crimes and other atrocities; and provide wide-ranging technical assistance, including operational assistance and advice regarding criminal prosecutions, evidence collection, forensics, and relevant legal analysis,” the department said in a statement. “The team will also play an integral role in the Department’s ongoing investigation of potential war crimes over which the U.S. possesses jurisdiction, such as the killing and wounding of U.S. journalists covering the unprovoked Russian aggression in Ukraine.”

The Justice Department also said it will provide more personnel to help Ukraine and other international partners counter Russian illicit finance and sanctions evasion, including “an expert Justice Department prosecutor to advise on fighting kleptocracy, corruption, and money laundering.”

-ABC News’ Alex Mallin

Jun 21, 9:00 am
AG Garland to visit Ukraine, meet with prosecutor general on war crimes

Attorney General Merrick Garland is making an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Tuesday, according to a Department of Justice official.

Garland will meet with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova to discuss the efforts to help identify, apprehend and prosecute the people involved in war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine, the official said.

Garland told reporters, “The United States is sending an unmistakable message: There is no place to hide. We and our partners will pursue every avenue available to ensure that those who are responsible for these atrocities are held accountable.”

-ABC News’ Alex Mallin

Jun 21, 7:42 am
American killed in Ukraine, officials say

U.S. citizen Stephen Zabielski has died in Ukraine, the State Department confirmed to ABC News Tuesday morning.

“We can confirm the death of U.S. citizen Stephen Zabielski in Ukraine,” a State Department spokesperson said. “We have been in touch with the family and have provided all possible consular assistance. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further.”

Zabielski’s death was first reported by Rolling Stone.

US officials again cautioned Americans against traveling to Ukraine, saying “that U.S. citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options.”

-ABC News’ Matthew Seyler

Jun 21, 5:39 am
Russia intensifies threats, announces retaliatory strikes

Following Ukraine’s attack on three oil drilling platforms in the Black Sea off the coast of Russian-annexed Crimea on Monday, Russian officials announced plans to strike critical Ukrainian targets in retaliation.

“The attack on the Chernomorneftegaz towers unleashes Russia’s hands,” Mikhail Sheremet, a Russian member of parliament, said on Monday as quoted by Russian media. “Retaliatory strikes on decision-making centers will be carried out in the near future,” Sheremet added.

Seven people remain missing after Ukraine’s strike on the drilling platforms, a source in the emergency services of Crimea said on Tuesday.

The fire on one of the oil rigs is still continuing, Russian Federation Council member from Crimea Olga Kovitidi told Interfax.

“With regards to the blaze, it is not abating on the oil rig. The fire approached the well overnight,” Kovitidi said.

On a day filled with intimidation tactics, Russia extended its threats to Lithuania on Monday, calling the Baltic country’s decision to suspend the transit of EU-sanctioned goods to the Russian Kaliningrad region “unprecedented” and “illegal.”

On June 18, Lithuania notified the Kaliningrad Railway of suspending the transit of EU-sanctioned goods through its territory. Up to half of ready-to-import goods, including building materials and metals, are subject to the ban, Kaliningrad region Governor Anton Alikhanov said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Lithuanian Chargé d’Affaires on Monday and warned the Baltic diplomat of repercussions if freight transit to the Kaliningrad region is not restored in full in the near future.

“Russia reserves the right to take action to protect its national interests,” the Russian ministry told the Lithuanian official as reported by local media.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet on Monday that “Russia has no right to threaten Lithuania.” According to Kuleba, “Moscow has only itself to blame for the consequences of its unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.”

Yet on the same day, Russian officials announced military drills of the Baltic Fleet in the Kaliningrad region.

Several hundred firings of multiple rocket launcher systems, large-caliber guns and other artillery will be carried out during the exercises, the Baltic Fleet stated on Monday.

Maneuvers in the Kaliningrad region on Monday involved about 1,000 servicemen and more than 100 combat units, including special artillery equipment and missile units, according to Russian media.

Andriy Yermak, who heads the Ukrainian Presidential office, said Russia’s attempts to threaten Lithuania “are a challenge for the European Union and NATO.”

“Now it is important to maintain a stable position and not make concessions to Russia on sanctions and restrictions on the transit of goods from Russia to Kaliningrad,” Yermak said on Monday.

Any concession will be perceived by Russia as a weakness, the Ukrainian official added.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Max Uzol, Tatiana Rymarenko and Yuriy Zaliznyak

Jun 20, 4:17 pm
Kremlin spokesperson addresses missing Americans, Brittney Griner

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told MSNBC that Americans Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh and Alexander Drueke, who were captured while fighting in Ukraine, “committed crimes,” and that they were not part of the Ukrainian armed forces and therefore not subject to the Geneva Conventions.

“They were involved in firing and shelling our military personnel, they were endangering their life and they should be responsible. They should be held responsible … for those crimes that they have committed,” he said.

The Geneva Conventions outline the humanitarian rights given to prisoners of war, however, mercenaries are not given the same protections.

Regarding WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February, Peskov said she’s not a hostage.

He said Russia has strict drug laws and she was caught carrying banned substances.

Griner was taken into custody at an airport near Moscow after officials allegedly found vape cartridges with hashish oil in her bag. Hasish oil is illegal to possess in Russia. The U.S. government has classified her case as “wrongfully detained,” which means that the U.S. would work to negotiate her release.

Jun 20, 4:09 pm
Ben Stiller, a goodwill ambassador with UNHCR, visits Ukraine

Actor Ben Stiller, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the last five years, is visiting Ukraine to highlight the refugee crisis.

“I’m here meeting people forced to flee their homes due to the war in Ukraine. People have shared stories about how the war has changed their lives — how they’ve lost everything and are deeply worried about their future,” Stiller said Monday from Ukraine.

“Protecting people forced to flee is a collective global responsibility,” he said. “We have to remember this could happen to anyone, anywhere.”

Stiller was seen meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday. Stiller told the actor-turned-president, “What you’ve done and the way that you’ve rallied the country and for the world, it’s really inspiring.”

Stiller also met with displaced people in Poland.

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Jun 20, 2:10 pm
Russians launching large-scale offensive in Luhansk region

Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Regional Military Administration in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, said the situation along the entire Luhansk front is “extremely” difficult with Russian forces “launching a large-scale offensive in our region.”

“They have accumulated a sufficient number of reserves and today all the free settlements of the region are on fire,” Haidai said.

The city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk Oblast has been coming under “massive” Russian fire all day, he said, with the number of victims unknown. He said Russian forces are advancing along the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway and nearby settlements are under constant fire.

Haidai added that Ukrainian troops are only in control of the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SEOUL, South Korea) — South Korea successfully launched and put its homegrown space rocket into orbit Tuesday, becoming the seventh nation capable of launching practical satellites using a self-developed propulsion system.

“The Nuri rocket launch was a success,” Lee Sang-ryul, director of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute told the press after the launch. “After the launch, Nuri’s flight process proceeded according to the planned flight sequence.”

KARI set off its 200-ton homegrown space rocket from the Naro Space Center in the Southern coastal village of Goheung. The launch was delayed from the original test date last Thursday due to weather conditions and a technical glitch.

Loaded with a 162.5-kilogram (358-pound) performance-verification satellite — as well as four cube satellites for academic research and a 1.3-ton dummy satellite — Nuri reached its target orbit of 700 kilometers (435 miles) above the Earth. All three stages of its engine were combusted according to plan, separating the mounted satellites at the arranged moment.

With Tuesday’s launch, South Korea joined the U.S., Russia, France, China, Japan and India in its self-developed propulsion capabilities, according to officials.

“The launch opens up a new era for South Korea’s space program and science technology,” Aerospace Engineering professor Cho Donghyun of Pusan National University told ABC News.

The Nuri Development Project, also known as the Korean Launch Vehicle project, commenced in 2010. The completion of its three-stage launch vehicle system technology enabled the team to test-fire South Korea’s first homemade rocket last October.

Back then, the rocket made it to the target altitude of 700 kilometers but failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit, making the launch a half-success. The rocket launched on Tuesday stably settled the performance-verification satellite into orbit.

“The Nuri spacecraft is fired up by not just one engine but a clustering of four 75-ton grade liquid engines. This gives potential to build larger projectiles with more engines in the future,” Cho said.

A latecomer in the aerospace industry, South Korea’s rocket-launch journey began in 2013 when it blasted its first carrier rocket, Naro-1, to achieve orbit. The aircraft was a collaborative project with Russia’s Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and KARI.

In the 12 years since that collaboration, South Korea developed its very own space rocket. South Korea invested $616 million on space research in 2021, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, a figure considerably less than the $48 billion the U.S. spent in the same period.

“We have set the stage for us to travel to space whenever we’d like, without having to rent a launchpad or a projectile from another country,” Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong Ho said. “The South Korean government plans to enhance the technical reliability of the Nuri rocket through four additional launches until 2027.”

ABC News’ Eunseo Nam contributed to this report.

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.

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.

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

Jun 21, 7:42 am
American killed in Ukraine, officials say

U.S. citizen Stephen Zabielski has died in Ukraine, the State Department confirmed to ABC News Tuesday morning.

“We can confirm the death of U.S. citizen Stephen Zabielski in Ukraine,” a State Department spokesperson said. “We have been in touch with the family and have provided all possible consular assistance. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further.”

Zabielski’s death was first reported by Rolling Stone.

US officials again cautioned Americans against traveling to Ukraine, saying “that U.S. citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options.”

-ABC News’ Matthew Seyler

Jun 21, 5:39 am
Russia intensifies threats, announces retaliatory strikes

Following Ukraine’s attack on three oil drilling platforms in the Black Sea off the coast of Russian-annexed Crimea on Monday, Russian officials announced plans to strike critical Ukrainian targets in retaliation.

“The attack on the Chernomorneftegaz towers unleashes Russia’s hands,” Mikhail Sheremet, a Russian member of parliament, said on Monday as quoted by Russian media. “Retaliatory strikes on decision-making centers will be carried out in the near future,” Sheremet added.

Seven people remain missing after Ukraine’s strike on the drilling platforms, a source in the emergency services of Crimea said on Tuesday.

The fire on one of the oil rigs is still continuing, Russian Federation Council member from Crimea Olga Kovitidi told Interfax.

“With regards to the blaze, it is not abating on the oil rig. The fire approached the well overnight,” Kovitidi said.

On a day filled with intimidation tactics, Russia extended its threats to Lithuania on Monday, calling the Baltic country’s decision to suspend the transit of EU-sanctioned goods to the Russian Kaliningrad region “unprecedented” and “illegal.”

On June 18, Lithuania notified the Kaliningrad Railway of suspending the transit of EU-sanctioned goods through its territory. Up to half of ready-to-import goods, including building materials and metals, are subject to the ban, Kaliningrad region Governor Anton Alikhanov said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Lithuanian Chargé d’Affaires on Monday and warned the Baltic diplomat of repercussions if freight transit to the Kaliningrad region is not restored in full in the near future.

“Russia reserves the right to take action to protect its national interests,” the Russian ministry told the Lithuanian official as reported by local media.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet on Monday that “Russia has no right to threaten Lithuania.” According to Kuleba, “Moscow has only itself to blame for the consequences of its unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.”

Yet on the same day, Russian officials announced military drills of the Baltic Fleet in the Kaliningrad region.

Several hundred firings of multiple rocket launcher systems, large-caliber guns and other artillery will be carried out during the exercises, the Baltic Fleet stated on Monday.

Maneuvers in the Kaliningrad region on Monday involved about 1,000 servicemen and more than 100 combat units, including special artillery equipment and missile units, according to Russian media.

Andriy Yermak, who heads the Ukrainian Presidential office, said Russia’s attempts to threaten Lithuania “are a challenge for the European Union and NATO.”

“Now it is important to maintain a stable position and not make concessions to Russia on sanctions and restrictions on the transit of goods from Russia to Kaliningrad,” Yermak said on Monday.

Any concession will be perceived by Russia as a weakness, the Ukrainian official added.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Max Uzol, Tatiana Rymarenko and Yuriy Zaliznyak

Jun 20, 4:17 pm
Kremlin spokesperson addresses missing Americans, Brittney Griner

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told MSNBC that Americans Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh and Alexander Drueke, who were captured while fighting in Ukraine, “committed crimes,” and that they were not part of the Ukrainian armed forces and therefore not subject to the Geneva Conventions.

“They were involved in firing and shelling our military personnel, they were endangering their life and they should be responsible. They should be held responsible … for those crimes that they have committed,” he said.

The Geneva Conventions outline the humanitarian rights given to prisoners of war, however, mercenaries are not given the same protections.

Regarding WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February, Peskov said she’s not a hostage.

He said Russia has strict drug laws and she was caught carrying banned substances.

Griner was taken into custody at an airport near Moscow after officials allegedly found vape cartridges with hashish oil in her bag. Hasish oil is illegal to possess in Russia. The U.S. government has classified her case as “wrongfully detained,” which means that the U.S. would work to negotiate her release.

Jun 20, 4:09 pm
Ben Stiller, a goodwill ambassador with UNHCR, visits Ukraine

Actor Ben Stiller, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the last five years, is visiting Ukraine to highlight the refugee crisis.

“I’m here meeting people forced to flee their homes due to the war in Ukraine. People have shared stories about how the war has changed their lives — how they’ve lost everything and are deeply worried about their future,” Stiller said Monday from Ukraine.

“Protecting people forced to flee is a collective global responsibility,” he said. “We have to remember this could happen to anyone, anywhere.”

Stiller was seen meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday. Stiller told the actor-turned-president, “What you’ve done and the way that you’ve rallied the country and for the world, it’s really inspiring.”

Stiller also met with displaced people in Poland.

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Jun 20, 2:10 pm
Russians launching large-scale offensive in Luhansk region

Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Regional Military Administration in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, said the situation along the entire Luhansk front is “extremely” difficult with Russian forces “launching a large-scale offensive in our region.”

“They have accumulated a sufficient number of reserves and today all the free settlements of the region are on fire,” Haidai said.

The city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk Oblast has been coming under “massive” Russian fire all day, he said, with the number of victims unknown. He said Russian forces are advancing along the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway and nearby settlements are under constant fire.

Haidai added that Ukrainian troops are only in control of the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KYIV, Ukraine) — It was a dark night when Oleksandr, a 51-year-old pilot, was set to fly to Mariupol.

“I have more than 30 years of experience. But this was the most difficult flight in my career,” he said of the mission he flew on April 4, more than a month into the Russian siege of Mariupol.

The Azovstal steel plant was at the time the city’s last stronghold for the Ukrainian troops, including many who were severely wounded, as well as hundreds of civilians who were sheltering there. While the Ukrainian authorities tried to negotiate with the Russian side to evacuate the plant, Ukraine’s military intelligence secretly organized aid deliveries.

The mission was offered to several pilots.

“We could refuse, but my crew didn’t,” said Oleksandr, who spoke to ABC News wearing a mask. “We knew there are our people in Mariupol and we have to help them.”

The task was to deliver around 2 tons of aid from Dnipro, about 150 miles north of Mariupol, and evacuate the wounded from the plant.

Having the latest intelligence, the crew designed a route to the besieged city to bypass the Russian air-defense system. It was a just another landing-and-cargo operation, Volodymyr, a 27-year-old navigator joked, although they knew that a previous mission had failed and their colleagues had died. (The navigator also spoke to ABC News while wearing a mask. Volodymyr is a family name, used here to obscure his identity.)

Two helicopters flew at around 130 miles per hour at a super-low altitude of three to five meters to stay invisible to the enemy, the pilot and navigator said.

“We had to fly over the power lines sometimes, and that was a risky maneuver given the speed,” the pilot said.

The road to the plant was rather calm, he said. Then the helicopter landed at the plant.

“We stayed in our places, while the cargo was taken and the wounded were loaded. It lasted only 20 minutes but felt like two hours. It was so scary,” Oleksandr said.

They heard and saw explosions all around them, they said. The helicopter was shaking.

“When we took off I noticed a Russian ship in the sea and understood that they could now hit us. But my hands did the job before my brain realized how dangerous it was,” the pilot said.

The helicopter continued the daring ride and safely landed in Dnipro at dawn.

“I turned around to the guys we evacuated. And I saw so much gratitude in their eyes,” he said. “We had only 15 minutes to talk, I found out that some of them were married, one soldier’s wife was pregnant and he said he was so much looking forward to seeing her… Unforgettable moment.”

According to the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, there were seven such missions to Azovstal during the Russian siege. Some pilots never returned, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later told the media. One of Oleksandr’s friends was among those who went missing.

“We were on our way back from Mariupol,” he said. “And I heard the pilot of the second crew saying they are seven kilometers from the contact line and have only 250 liters of fuel left. That’s three times less than we had, so I presumed that their helicopter was damaged. That was the last phrase I heard from my friend.”

They later found the crashed helicopter, but there were no bodies in or around it, he said.

“That’s why we still hope they are alive,” Oleksandr said.

The remaining Ukrainian soldiers in the Azovstal surrendered in mid-May. Ukrainian officials said the order was given to save the lives of the troops, who are now supposed to be exchanged.

Both the pilot and navigator who spoke to ABC News declined to make any judgements about the surrender. It probably had to be done, they said. But if they were again asked to carry that risky mission, they would probably do it, Volodymyr, the navigator, said.

“That flight changed me, I now appreciate life more,” he said. “But If I were told that I’m the only one who can do that I would accept the challenge.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KYIV, Ukraine) — Hollywood actor and director Ben Stiller heaped praise on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday to mark World Refugee Day as Russia’s ongoing invasion there forces millions to flee.

Stiller, who was visiting Ukraine and Poland as a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) gave a rushed walk and extended his hands to meet Zelenskyy, an actor and stand-up comedian before he was elected president in 2019.

Both men said they were honored to meet each other.

“You’re my hero,” Stiller told Zelenskyy inside the presidential palace. “You’re amazing. You quit a great acting career for this.”

“Not so great as yours,” Zelenskyy said back with a smile.

“No, but pretty great,” Stiller joked, putting his hand over his heart at times. “But what you’ve done and the way that you’ve rallied the country and for the world, it’s really inspiring.”

Zelenskyy gushed at the compliment, saying, “It’s too much for me.”

Stiller traveled to Ukraine “to see the scale of destruction and hear firsthand from people who have directly experienced the impact of the war,” the UNHCR said in a release, adding, “These personal stories will enable Mr. Stiller to communicate the need for continued and increased support to the humanitarian response in Ukraine.”

Ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Stiller visited occupied settlements around Kyiv and stopped earlier Monday in Irpin — a town next to the capital that witnessed intense fighting early during the invasion. He and Karolina Lindholm Billing, the UNHCR representative in Ukraine, met with survivors of that occupation, according to a press release from Zelenskyy’s office.

“It’s one thing to see this destruction on TV or on social networks. Another thing is to see it all with your own eyes. That’s a lot more shocking,” Stiller told Zelenskyy.

“What you saw in Irpin is definitely dreadful,” the Ukrainian president replied. “But it is even worse to just imagine what is happening in the settlements that are still under temporary occupation in the east.”

In Irpin, the bodies of 290 victims, with a disproportionate number of women, were recovered after Russian forces inflicted a month of terror, the BBC reported.

And in the east, Russian forces have used long-range artillery to assail cities in the Donbas region, which Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to control.

Since Putin launched his invasion in late February, between 8 and 12 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine, according to data from the UNHCR. Roughly half have fled to neighboring Poland, which Stiller visited Sunday, seeking to spread awareness of the needs of the refugee crisis.

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

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.

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.

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

Jun 20, 2:10 pm
Russians launching large-scale offensive in Luhansk region

Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Regional Military Administration in Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, said the situation along the entire Luhansk front is “extremely” difficult with Russian forces “launching a large-scale offensive in our region.”

“They have accumulated a sufficient number of reserves and today all the free settlements of the region are on fire,” Haidai said.

The city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk Oblast has been coming under “massive” Russian fire all day, he said, with the number of victims unknown. He said Russian forces are advancing along the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway and nearby settlements are under constant fire.

Haidai added that Ukrainian troops are only in control of the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk.

Jun 20, 1:03 pm
Ben Stiller, a goodwill ambassador with UNHCR, visits Ukraine

Actor Ben Stiller, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the last five years, is visiting Ukraine to highlight the refugee crisis.

“I’m here meeting people forced to flee their homes due to the war in Ukraine. People have shared stories about how the war has changed their lives — how they’ve lost everything and are deeply worried about their future,” Stiller said Monday from Ukraine.

“Protecting people forced to flee is a collective global responsibility,” he said. “We have to remember this could happen to anyone, anywhere.”

Stiller also met with displaced people in Poland.

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Jun 20, 6:31 am
‘Historic week’ begins for Ukraine, Zelenskyy says

Monday marks the beginning of a “truly historic week” for Ukraine, as the country awaits a decision on its future within the European Union, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during his Sunday evening address.

“We will hear the answer from the European Union on the candidate status for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. Last week, the European Commission backed Ukraine for EU candidate status. Now it is up to the European Council to confirm Ukraine’s status, with a decision expected by the end of this week, the Ukrainian president said.

“I am convinced that only a positive decision meets the interests of the whole of Europe,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that Ukraine — and other European countries — should expect increased hostility from Russia in the coming week.

“We are preparing. We are ready. We warn partners,” he said.

But as combat units from both sides of the conflict remain committed to intense combat in the Donbas, they are likely experiencing dips in morale, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense stated in a Sunday intelligence update.

“Ukrainian forces have likely suffered desertions in recent weeks, however, Russian morale highly likely remains especially troubled,” the ministry said.

As cases of whole Russian units refusing to carry out orders and armed stand-offs between officers and their troops continue to occur, Russian authorities are likely struggling to put legal pressure on the dissenters due to the invasion’s official status as a ‘special military operation’, the UK report said.

Low Russian morale is driven by “perceived poor leadership, limited opportunity for rotation of units out of combat, very heavy casualties, combat stress, continued poor logistics, and problems with pay,” according to the Defense Ministry. Many Russian personnel of all ranks also likely remain confused about the war’s objectives, it said.

The U.K. Defense Ministry also said Monday the struggles of Russia’s air force likely contributed to the exhaustion of Russian ground troops. “In the conflict to date, Russia’s air force has underperformed,” another intelligence update said on Monday.

“Its failure to consistently deliver air power is likely one of the most important factors behind Russia’s very limited campaign success,” the report stated. Despite boasting relatively modern and capable combat jets, Russia’s air combat training has for years highly likely been heavily scripted and designed to impress senior officials, as opposed to fostering modern skill-sets, the Defense Ministry said.

As a result, Russian ground troops in Ukraine are becoming worn out while a heavy reliance on advanced cruise missiles has likely led to their stocks running low, the report concluded.

More shelters, less music

The Ukrainian Parliament on Sunday supported a bill on the construction of a network of bomb shelters across Ukraine, including in new buildings.

“The war has shown that there were few reliable shelters in Ukraine,” said Olena Shulyak, a member of parliament.

Many of the existing shelters are not equipped with evacuation exits, lack access to water supply and sewerage systems, and are not adapted for food storage, Shulyak said on Telegram, adding, “Not to mention their ability to protect the population in the event of weapons of mass destruction.”

The parliament topped off a busy weekend when it banned music by artists with Russian citizenship from being aired in public and in Ukrainian media to prevent the influence of “separatist sentiment in the population,” according to the new bill.

A two-thirds majority of lawmakers agreed that Russian music would make the adoption of a Russian identity more attractive while weakening the Ukrainian state.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak, Max Uzol and Yulia Drozd

Jun 19, 3:45 pm
Ukrainians could soon be ‘lovin’ it’ again as McDonald’s in talks to reopen: Foreign Minister

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Sunday that his country’s leaders are trying to get McDonald’s to reopen its franchises in Ukraine, while the fast-food giant has sold off its restaurants in Russia in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

While people in Russia are eating knockoff McDonald’s burger’s now rebranded as “Tasty, and That’s It” — Kuleba said in a Father’s Day Facebook message that Ukrainians are getting closer to enjoying real Big Mac’s and Quarter Pounders.

“After the war started the company, like many others, closed restaurants in Ukraine for security reasons,” Kuleba wrote. “But we in the MFA are convinced the conditions are right for them to resume work and we’re actively persuading them to return.”

He said that a few weeks ago, Ukrainian officials contacted McDonald’s Ukrainian office and its U.S. headquarters in Chicago to open negotiations on the company resuming operations

“We also raised this issue in official contacts with the U.S. government, as McDonald’s is one of most famous American brands. The process is moving along,” Kuleba said.

There was no immediate response from McDonald’s.

-ABC News’ Max Uzol

Jun 19, 12:02 pm
ABC News gets special access to see US howitzers used in the Donbas

For the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, an ABC News crew was allowed an up-close-view of Ukrainian troops firing U.S. howitzer artillery weapons during active fighting in the country’s Donbas region.

ABC News foreign correspondent James Longman and his crew were the only media outlet allowed to witness the weapons in action on the outskirts of Bakhmut in Eastern Ukraine, where Russian armed forces are slowly making advances.

The cannons are considered crucial in taking out Russian artillery positions as the Ukrainian forces battle to keep the Donbas from falling completely into the hands of the enemy, Ukrainian officials said.

A Ukrainian artillery commander told ABC News he was trained how to use the howitzers in Germany by U.S. personnel.

“It makes a huge difference because this is a NATO weapon,” the artillery commander said. “It keeps the morale of our men high because with it we can work more and do a better job. Also, it demoralizes the enemy when he sees how rapid and precise we can open fire and sees the results of these attacks.”

The commander said the biggest difference between the U.S. M-777 155mm howitzers and the Russian equivalent is the precision, speed and ease of operation.

“These howitzers stand lower, which makes it easier to disguise it,” the commander said. “Also, it is harder to spot it when shots are fired.”

He said the four-ton artillery weapons are light-weight compared to the nine-ton weapons they had been using early in the war.

“So, it takes less people to operate it. Also, it is easier to transport it (and) offload,” the commander said. “Because often we fire it from areas that are not easy to get to. So weight is very important. But what is most important is that we are given lots of ammunition for these weapons. And we can work on much more targets now.”

He said the howitzers’ maneuverability is key to its use in the battlefield.

“We set up the piece, open fire and move rapidly to the new location, where we do the same,” the commander said. “This way we can change location 12 to 20 and even more times a day. And the enemy can’t understand how we work so rapidly and open fire from the areas that are not suitable for artillery.”

Asked by ABC News if he is proud to be operating the weapons against Russian troops, the commander responded, “Sure I am! Sometimes when we move to new locations we meet other artillery officers and hear them, saying, ‘Wow, triple sevens!

“So, we are very proud!” he said.

He said the weapons are so precise that many times troops hit targets with the first shot.

“Give us more weapons!” the commander said is his top request of the United States.

-ABC News’ James Longman

Jun 19, 10:22 am
Russia claims its troops have taken control of Dunbas settlement

Russian forces have purportedly taken control of the settlement of Metyolkino in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine, according to Russian military officials.

The Russian Federation Armed Forces said Metyolkino was “liberated” by units from the People’s Militia of the Lugansk People’s Republic with the help of the Russian army.

Russian officials claimed several units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fighting near Lisichansky in the Donbas region “are abandoning the operation area due to low moral and psychological condition, as well as lack of munitions and logistics supply.”

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials.

Meanwhile, Russian troops continued to launch attacks on military targets across Ukraine, according to Russian officials.

The attacks included long-distance sea-based missile attacks on Ukrainian troops in the village of Shirokaya Dacha in the Central Ukraine, according to Russian officials. The attack was launched while Ukrainian military commanders were meeting in the village and “resulted in eliminating more than 50 generals and officers of the AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine),” Russian officials said in a statement.

Long-range missile attacks over the past 10 days have destroyed 10 155-mm howitzer cannons and 20 armored combat vehicles Russian military officials said were sent to Ukrainian forces by Western countries. One Russian missile strike destroyed a transformer plant in Nikolayev in Southern Ukraine, according to Russian officials.

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.

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.

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

Jun 20, 6:31 am
‘Historic week’ begins for Ukraine, Zelenskyy says

Monday marks the beginning of a “truly historic week” for Ukraine, as the country awaits a decision on its future within the European Union, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during his Sunday evening address.

“We will hear the answer from the European Union on the candidate status for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. Last week, the European Commission backed Ukraine for EU candidate status. Now it is up to the European Council to confirm Ukraine’s status, with a decision expected by the end of this week, the Ukrainian president said.

“I am convinced that only a positive decision meets the interests of the whole of Europe,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that Ukraine — and other European countries — should expect increased hostility from Russia in the coming week.

“We are preparing. We are ready. We warn partners,” he said.

But as combat units from both sides of the conflict remain committed to intense combat in the Donbas, they are likely experiencing dips in morale, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense stated in a Sunday intelligence update.

“Ukrainian forces have likely suffered desertions in recent weeks, however, Russian morale highly likely remains especially troubled,” the ministry said.

As cases of whole Russian units refusing to carry out orders and armed stand-offs between officers and their troops continue to occur, Russian authorities are likely struggling to put legal pressure on the dissenters due to the invasion’s official status as a ‘special military operation’, the UK report said.

Low Russian morale is driven by “perceived poor leadership, limited opportunity for rotation of units out of combat, very heavy casualties, combat stress, continued poor logistics, and problems with pay,” according to the Defense Ministry. Many Russian personnel of all ranks also likely remain confused about the war’s objectives, it said.

The U.K. Defense Ministry also said Monday the struggles of Russia’s air force likely contributed to the exhaustion of Russian ground troops. “In the conflict to date, Russia’s air force has underperformed,” another intelligence update said on Monday.

“Its failure to consistently deliver air power is likely one of the most important factors behind Russia’s very limited campaign success,” the report stated. Despite boasting relatively modern and capable combat jets, Russia’s air combat training has for years highly likely been heavily scripted and designed to impress senior officials, as opposed to fostering modern skill-sets, the Defense Ministry said.

As a result, Russian ground troops in Ukraine are becoming worn out while a heavy reliance on advanced cruise missiles has likely led to their stocks running low, the report concluded.

More shelters, less music

The Ukrainian Parliament on Sunday supported a bill on the construction of a network of bomb shelters across Ukraine, including in new buildings.

“The war has shown that there were few reliable shelters in Ukraine,” said Olena Shulyak, a member of parliament.

Many of the existing shelters are not equipped with evacuation exits, lack access to water supply and sewerage systems, and are not adapted for food storage, Shulyak said on Telegram, adding, “Not to mention their ability to protect the population in the event of weapons of mass destruction.”

The parliament topped off a busy weekend when it banned music by artists with Russian citizenship from being aired in public and in Ukrainian media to prevent the influence of “separatist sentiment in the population,” according to the new bill.

A two-thirds majority of lawmakers agreed that Russian music would make the adoption of a Russian identity more attractive while weakening the Ukrainian state.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak, Max Uzol and Yulia Drozd

Jun 19, 3:45 pm
Ukrainians could soon be ‘lovin’ it’ again as McDonald’s in talks to reopen: Foreign Minister

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Sunday that his country’s leaders are trying to get McDonald’s to reopen its franchises in Ukraine, while the fast-food giant has sold off its restaurants in Russia in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

While people in Russia are eating knockoff McDonald’s burger’s now rebranded as “Tasty, and That’s It” — Kuleba said in a Father’s Day Facebook message that Ukrainians are getting closer to enjoying real Big Mac’s and Quarter Pounders.

“After the war started the company, like many others, closed restaurants in Ukraine for security reasons,” Kuleba wrote. “But we in the MFA are convinced the conditions are right for them to resume work and we’re actively persuading them to return.”

He said that a few weeks ago, Ukrainian officials contacted McDonald’s Ukrainian office and its U.S. headquarters in Chicago to open negotiations on the company resuming operations

“We also raised this issue in official contacts with the U.S. government, as McDonald’s is one of most famous American brands. The process is moving along,” Kuleba said.

There was no immediate response from McDonald’s.

-ABC News’ Max Uzol

Jun 19, 12:02 pm
ABC News gets special access to see US howitzers used in the Donbas

For the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, an ABC News crew was allowed an up-close-view of Ukrainian troops firing U.S. howitzer artillery weapons during active fighting in the country’s Donbas region.

ABC News foreign correspondent James Longman and his crew were the only media outlet allowed to witness the weapons in action on the outskirts of Bakhmut in Eastern Ukraine, where Russian armed forces are slowly making advances.

The cannons are considered crucial in taking out Russian artillery positions as the Ukrainian forces battle to keep the Donbas from falling completely into the hands of the enemy, Ukrainian officials said.

A Ukrainian artillery commander told ABC News he was trained how to use the howitzers in Germany by U.S. personnel.

“It makes a huge difference because this is a NATO weapon,” the artillery commander said. “It keeps the morale of our men high because with it we can work more and do a better job. Also, it demoralizes the enemy when he sees how rapid and precise we can open fire and sees the results of these attacks.”

The commander said the biggest difference between the U.S. M-777 155mm howitzers and the Russian equivalent is the precision, speed and ease of operation.

“These howitzers stand lower, which makes it easier to disguise it,” the commander said. “Also, it is harder to spot it when shots are fired.”

He said the four-ton artillery weapons are light-weight compared to the nine-ton weapons they had been using early in the war.

“So, it takes less people to operate it. Also, it is easier to transport it (and) offload,” the commander said. “Because often we fire it from areas that are not easy to get to. So weight is very important. But what is most important is that we are given lots of ammunition for these weapons. And we can work on much more targets now.”

He said the howitzers’ maneuverability is key to its use in the battlefield.

“We set up the piece, open fire and move rapidly to the new location, where we do the same,” the commander said. “This way we can change location 12 to 20 and even more times a day. And the enemy can’t understand how we work so rapidly and open fire from the areas that are not suitable for artillery.”

Asked by ABC News if he is proud to be operating the weapons against Russian troops, the commander responded, “Sure I am! Sometimes when we move to new locations we meet other artillery officers and hear them, saying, ‘Wow, triple sevens!

“So, we are very proud!” he said.

He said the weapons are so precise that many times troops hit targets with the first shot.

“Give us more weapons!” the commander said is his top request of the United States.

-ABC News’ James Longman

Jun 19, 10:22 am
Russia claims its troops have taken control of Dunbas settlement

Russian forces have purportedly taken control of the settlement of Metyolkino in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine, according to Russian military officials.

The Russian Federation Armed Forces said Metyolkino was “liberated” by units from the People’s Militia of the Lugansk People’s Republic with the help of the Russian army.

Russian officials claimed several units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fighting near Lisichansky in the Donbas region “are abandoning the operation area due to low moral and psychological condition, as well as lack of munitions and logistics supply.”

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials.

Meanwhile, Russian troops continued to launch attacks on military targets across Ukraine, according to Russian officials.

The attacks included long-distance sea-based missile attacks on Ukrainian troops in the village of Shirokaya Dacha in the Central Ukraine, according to Russian officials. The attack was launched while Ukrainian military commanders were meeting in the village and “resulted in eliminating more than 50 generals and officers of the AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine),” Russian officials said in a statement.

Long-range missile attacks over the past 10 days have destroyed 10 155-mm howitzer cannons and 20 armored combat vehicles Russian military officials said were sent to Ukrainian forces by Western countries. One Russian missile strike destroyed a transformer plant in Nikolayev in Southern Ukraine, according to Russian officials.

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.

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.

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

Jun 20, 6:31 am
‘Historic week’ begins for Ukraine, Zelenskyy says

Monday marks the beginning of a “truly historic week” for Ukraine, as the country awaits a decision on its future within the European Union, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during his Sunday evening address.

“We will hear the answer from the European Union on the candidate status for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. Last week, the European Commission backed Ukraine for EU candidate status. Now it is up to the European Council to confirm Ukraine’s status, with a decision expected by the end of this week, the Ukrainian president said.

“I am convinced that only a positive decision meets the interests of the whole of Europe,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that Ukraine — and other European countries — should expect increased hostility from Russia in the coming week.

“We are preparing. We are ready. We warn partners,” he said.

But as combat units from both sides of the conflict remain committed to intense combat in the Donbas, they are likely experiencing dips in morale, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense stated in a Sunday intelligence update.

“Ukrainian forces have likely suffered desertions in recent weeks, however, Russian morale highly likely remains especially troubled,” the ministry said.

As cases of whole Russian units refusing to carry out orders and armed stand-offs between officers and their troops continue to occur, Russian authorities are likely struggling to put legal pressure on the dissenters due to the invasion’s official status as a ‘special military operation’, the UK report said.

Low Russian morale is driven by “perceived poor leadership, limited opportunity for rotation of units out of combat, very heavy casualties, combat stress, continued poor logistics, and problems with pay,” according to the Defense Ministry. Many Russian personnel of all ranks also likely remain confused about the war’s objectives, it said.

The U.K. Defense Ministry also said Monday the struggles of Russia’s air force likely contributed to the exhaustion of Russian ground troops. “In the conflict to date, Russia’s air force has underperformed,” another intelligence update said on Monday.

“Its failure to consistently deliver air power is likely one of the most important factors behind Russia’s very limited campaign success,” the report stated. Despite boasting relatively modern and capable combat jets, Russia’s air combat training has for years highly likely been heavily scripted and designed to impress senior officials, as opposed to fostering modern skill-sets, the Defense Ministry said.

As a result, Russian ground troops in Ukraine are becoming worn out while a heavy reliance on advanced cruise missiles has likely led to their stocks running low, the report concluded.

More shelters, less music

The Ukrainian Parliament on Sunday supported a bill on the construction of a network of bomb shelters across Ukraine, including in new buildings.

“The war has shown that there were few reliable shelters in Ukraine,” said Olena Shulyak, a member of parliament.

Many of the existing shelters are not equipped with evacuation exits, lack access to water supply and sewerage systems, and are not adapted for food storage, Shulyak said on Telegram, adding, “Not to mention their ability to protect the population in the event of weapons of mass destruction.”

The parliament topped off a busy weekend when it banned music by artists with Russian citizenship from being aired in public and in Ukrainian media to prevent the influence of “separatist sentiment in the population,” according to the new bill.

A two-thirds majority of lawmakers agreed that Russian music would make the adoption of a Russian identity more attractive while weakening the Ukrainian state.

-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak, Max Uzol and Yulia Drozd

Jun 19, 3:45 pm
Ukrainians could soon be ‘lovin’ it’ again as McDonald’s in talks to reopen: Foreign Minister

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Sunday that his country’s leaders are trying to get McDonald’s to reopen its franchises in Ukraine, while the fast-food giant has sold off its restaurants in Russia in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

While people in Russia are eating knockoff McDonald’s burger’s now rebranded as “Tasty, and That’s It” — Kuleba said in a Father’s Day Facebook message that Ukrainians are getting closer to enjoying real Big Mac’s and Quarter Pounders.

“After the war started the company, like many others, closed restaurants in Ukraine for security reasons,” Kuleba wrote. “But we in the MFA are convinced the conditions are right for them to resume work and we’re actively persuading them to return.”

He said that a few weeks ago, Ukrainian officials contacted McDonald’s Ukrainian office and its U.S. headquarters in Chicago to open negotiations on the company resuming operations

“We also raised this issue in official contacts with the U.S. government, as McDonald’s is one of most famous American brands. The process is moving along,” Kuleba said.

There was no immediate response from McDonald’s.

-ABC News’ Max Uzol

Jun 19, 12:02 pm
ABC News gets special access to see US howitzers used in the Donbas

For the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, an ABC News crew was allowed an up-close-view of Ukrainian troops firing U.S. howitzer artillery weapons during active fighting in the country’s Donbas region.

ABC News foreign correspondent James Longman and his crew were the only media outlet allowed to witness the weapons in action on the outskirts of Bakhmut in Eastern Ukraine, where Russian armed forces are slowly making advances.

The cannons are considered crucial in taking out Russian artillery positions as the Ukrainian forces battle to keep the Donbas from falling completely into the hands of the enemy, Ukrainian officials said.

A Ukrainian artillery commander told ABC News he was trained how to use the howitzers in Germany by U.S. personnel.

“It makes a huge difference because this is a NATO weapon,” the artillery commander said. “It keeps the morale of our men high because with it we can work more and do a better job. Also, it demoralizes the enemy when he sees how rapid and precise we can open fire and sees the results of these attacks.”

The commander said the biggest difference between the U.S. M-777 155mm howitzers and the Russian equivalent is the precision, speed and ease of operation.

“These howitzers stand lower, which makes it easier to disguise it,” the commander said. “Also, it is harder to spot it when shots are fired.”

He said the four-ton artillery weapons are light-weight compared to the nine-ton weapons they had been using early in the war.

“So, it takes less people to operate it. Also, it is easier to transport it (and) offload,” the commander said. “Because often we fire it from areas that are not easy to get to. So weight is very important. But what is most important is that we are given lots of ammunition for these weapons. And we can work on much more targets now.”

He said the howitzers’ maneuverability is key to its use in the battlefield.

“We set up the piece, open fire and move rapidly to the new location, where we do the same,” the commander said. “This way we can change location 12 to 20 and even more times a day. And the enemy can’t understand how we work so rapidly and open fire from the areas that are not suitable for artillery.”

Asked by ABC News if he is proud to be operating the weapons against Russian troops, the commander responded, “Sure I am! Sometimes when we move to new locations we meet other artillery officers and hear them, saying, ‘Wow, triple sevens!

“So, we are very proud!” he said.

He said the weapons are so precise that many times troops hit targets with the first shot.

“Give us more weapons!” the commander said is his top request of the United States.

-ABC News’ James Longman

Jun 19, 10:22 am
Russia claims its troops have taken control of Dunbas settlement

Russian forces have purportedly taken control of the settlement of Metyolkino in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine, according to Russian military officials.

The Russian Federation Armed Forces said Metyolkino was “liberated” by units from the People’s Militia of the Lugansk People’s Republic with the help of the Russian army.

Russian officials claimed several units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fighting near Lisichansky in the Donbas region “are abandoning the operation area due to low moral and psychological condition, as well as lack of munitions and logistics supply.”

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials.

Meanwhile, Russian troops continued to launch attacks on military targets across Ukraine, according to Russian officials.

The attacks included long-distance sea-based missile attacks on Ukrainian troops in the village of Shirokaya Dacha in the Central Ukraine, according to Russian officials. The attack was launched while Ukrainian military commanders were meeting in the village and “resulted in eliminating more than 50 generals and officers of the AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine),” Russian officials said in a statement.

Long-range missile attacks over the past 10 days have destroyed 10 155-mm howitzer cannons and 20 armored combat vehicles Russian military officials said were sent to Ukrainian forces by Western countries. One Russian missile strike destroyed a transformer plant in Nikolayev in Southern Ukraine, according to Russian officials.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — The British government has approved the extradition of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, to the United States to face charges of espionage.

Assange now has 14 days to appeal the decision of both the District Judge and the Secretary of State’s decision to order extradition.

Assange has always denied any wrongdoing.

According to a tweet by Wikileaks, Assange will appeal through the legal system to the High Court.

“Under the Extradition Act 2003, the Secretary of State must sign an extradition order if there are no grounds to prohibit the order being made,” the U.K. Home Office said in a statement following the decision. “Extradition requests are only sent to the Home Secretary once a judge decides it can proceed after considering various aspects of the case. On 17 June, following consideration by both the Magistrates Court and High Court, the extradition of Mr Julian Assange to the US was ordered. Mr Assange retains the normal 14-day right to appeal.”

According to the U.K. Home Office, all extradition requests from countries outside Europe are sent to Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The court then hears arguments from both sides before making a decision on the extradition.

“In this case, the UK courts have not found that it would be oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process to extradite Mr Assange,” the U.K. Home Office continued. “Nor have they found that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and to freedom of expression, and that whilst in the US he will be treated appropriately, including in relation to his health.”

Assange is wanted in the U.S. in connection with one of the largest thefts of classified government information in American history. He was arrested in the U.K. in April 2019 and, just hours later, the United States announced charges against him for allegedly conspiring with former intelligence officer Chelsea Manning in order to gain unlawful access to a government computer.

Following his arrest by The Metropolitan Police in London in April 2019, the indictment again Assange, which was originally filed in March 2018, was released and claimed that Assange helped Manning crack a password on a Pentagon computer.

Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison for her role in the offense in 2013. However, her sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama as one of his final acts in office in January 2017.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Two U.S. veterans from Alabama, Andy Huynh, 27, and Alexander Drueke, 39, volunteered to fight alongside the Ukrainian military against Russia, but haven’t been heard from in days.
Family members are desperately waiting for word after two Americans who volunteered to assist Ukrainian forces have gone missing amid unconfirmed reports of their capture. U.S. officials revealed they’re also aware of a third American who has been reported missing during the war.

U.S. lawmakers said Wednesday they have been asked by the families of the former service members from Alabama — Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh — for their help in locating them.

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said in a statement her office is helping a family locate Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

“Earlier this week, the mother of Alexander Drueke, a Tuscaloosa Army Veteran who volunteered to assist the Ukrainian Army in combating Russia, reached out to my office after losing contact with her son. According to his family, they have not heard from Drueke in several days,” she said in a statement.

Sewell said her office has been in contact with the State Department, the FBI and other members of the Alabama Congressional delegation.

Drueke, an Army veteran, reportedly went to Ukraine in mid-April to volunteer to help train the Ukrainian forces, his mother, Lois “Bunny” Drueke, told “Good Morning America.”

“He wanted to go over and help train the Ukrainian soldiers and show them how to use the equipment that the U.S. has been sending over there for them,” she said.

She said she last heard from her son in a text message on June 8.

“He said that he was going dark for a day or possibly two. And I responded to stay safe, that I loved him and he responded, ‘Yes, ma’am. I love you too,'” she said. “And that was my last communication with him.”

She said he was with Huynh at the time, whom he had met since going to Ukraine, and there are unverified reports that they may have been captured by Russian forces.

Drueke was a chemical operations specialist in the Army Reserve from 2002 to 2014 and held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of his service, an Army official confirmed to ABC News. He was deployed to Kuwait from December 2004 to December 2005 and to Iraq from November 2008 to July 2009, the official said.

Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala., said his office is helping in the search for Huynh, 27, of Trinity, Alabama, after his family reached out to the congressman’s office this week.

“According to Huynh’s family, they have not been in contact with him since June 8, 2022, when he was in the Kharkiv area of Ukraine,” he said in a statement.

Aderholt said his office has reached out to the State Department and FBI to “get any information possible.”

Huynh, a former Marine, spoke to Huntsville, Alabama, ABC affiliate WAAY in early April about his decision to help defend Ukraine.

“I’ve made peace with the decision. I know there’s a potential of me dying. I’m willing to give my life for what I believe is right,” he told the station.

Huynh served in the Marines from 2014 to 2018, reaching the rank of corporal, a Marine Corps spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.

He got engaged in March, before he left for Ukraine the following month.

“We just really want him back,” his fiancée, Joy Black, told “Good Morning America” through tears. “He’s got such a big heart. He knew this wasn’t the easy thing, but this was the right thing.”

“Even though not great things have happened I’m still really, really proud of him,” she continued.

White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday afternoon that he “can’t confirm the reports” of two Americans captured in Ukraine.

“We’ll do the best we can to monitor this and see what we can learn about it,” he said. “Obviously, if it’s true, we’ll do everything we can to get them safely back home.”

The State Department also is aware of the “unconfirmed” reports, a spokesperson said.

“We are limited in terms of what we know at the moment,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters Thursday. “We’re closely monitoring the situation, we are in contact with Ukrainian authorities, as well as with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the families of the two reported missing U.S. citizens.”

Price said the State Department had not had any direct communication with Russia concerning the whereabouts of the two men.

“If we feel that such outreach through our embassy in Moscow or otherwise would be productive in terms of finding out more information on the whereabouts of these individuals, we won’t hesitate to do that,” he said, adding that the department had not “seen anything from the Russians indicating that two such individuals are in their custody.”

Price said the department is also aware of a third, unidentified American who reportedly traveled to Ukraine to fight and whose “whereabouts are unknown.”

“Similarly, our understanding was that this individual had traveled to Ukraine to take up arms,” Price said, adding that the person was identified as missing “in recent weeks” and that the State Department was also in contact with their family.

The State Department has warned U.S. citizens against traveling to Ukraine during the war and that Russian security officials could be “singling out” U.S. citizens.

When asked about the two missing Americans in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that he did not have any information about it.

“Perhaps the Defense Ministry has some information, but I don’t,” Peskov said at a press briefing Thursday.

Several Westerners have been taken prisoner during the war, including two men from the United Kingdom who were sentenced to death this month by Russian-backed separatists who accused them of being mercenaries.

ABC News’ Devin Garbitt, Benjamin Stein, Ben Gittleson, Shannon Crawford and Matt Seyler contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.