Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(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. Moscow is now said to be refocusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol.
Latest headlines:
-Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive
-US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby
-Thousands more Russian troops back in Ukraine
-Russian forces seize town in war-torn Luhansk region
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Apr 18, 7:55 pm
Zelenskyy: Russian forces have begun offensive in Donbas region
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces have begun their offensive in the eastern part of the country after a week of building up troops.
“It can now be stated that Russian troops have begun the battle for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a long time,” the president said in his nightly address. “A very large part of the entire Russian army is now focused on this offensive.”
Ukrainian and U.S. officials have said Russian troops exiting the Kyiv region over the last week were moving to eastern Ukraine as part of a new effort to take over land partially controlled by the self-proclaimed Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Those two breakaway regions were already aligned with Russia following a war that began in 2014.
Zelenskyy, however, warned that Russian forces would not be successful in taking all of the land in the southeastern region of Ukraine.
“No matter how many Russian soldiers are driven there, we will fight,” he said. “We will defend ourselves. We will do it daily. We will not give up anything Ukrainian, and we do not need what’s not ours.”
Apr 18, 4:54 pm
Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that while there has been combat in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for some weeks, it is part of Russia’s ongoing “shaping” operations for a future offensive, and not the offensive itself.
“We’re not disputing that there’s not combat going on in the Donbas,” Kirby said. “What we’re saying is that we still consider that what we’re seeing to be a piece of shaping operations.”
“That the Russians are continuing to set conditions for what they believe will be eventual success on the ground by using, by putting, in more forces, putting in more enablers, putting in more command and control capability for operations yet to come,” he said.
Asked to clarify his answer, Kirby replied: “We believe that the Russians are shaping and setting the conditions for future offensive operations. We also see … that there is active combat going on right now in the Donbas as there has been for the last several weeks.”
Kirby described the fighting in the besieged port city of Mariupol as part of that since the Russians are “trying to set the conditions for more aggressive, more overt and larger ground maneuvers in the Donbas.”
He added that the Russians have also continued to flow in artillery, helicopters, enabling troops and more command and control units as part of the groundwork for that upcoming operation.
Kirby said that the U.S. believes that Russia has reinforced the number of battalion tactical groups in eastern and southern Ukraine as part of their preparations for a large operation in the Donbas region.
ABC News’ Conor Finnegan, Luis Martinez
Apr 18, 4:45 pm
US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby
The U.S. is still assessing what the Russians were attempting to strike in Lviv in western Ukraine on Monday, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
Kirby said he would not describe Monday’s airstrike as a “bombardment” and said he did not know Russia’s intent.
“We don’t have a clear sense of battle damage assessment about what they were targeting and what they hit. At this time, we don’t have any indication that Western aid was targeted and/or hit or destroyed,” Kirby said.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Apr 18, 3:23 pm
US offering temporary protected status to Ukrainians in US as of April 11
The U.S. will offer temporary protected status to Ukrainians already in the country as of April 11, according to a new notice from the Department of Homeland Security in the Federal Register.
The Biden administration announced last month that it would offer Ukrainians this legal basis to stay in the U.S. if they had arrived before March 1. This new notice means that Ukrainians who have been in the U.S. as of April 11 can apply for the legal status, which will remain in effect for 18 months — until Oct. 19, 2023.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates that about 59,000 Ukrainians could be eligible, according to the Federal Register notice.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has tweeted about the change, which he said was made at the Ukrainian government’s request.
Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(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. Moscow is now said to be refocusing its offensive on the eastern Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the besieged port city of Mariupol.
Latest headlines:
-Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive
-US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby
-Thousands more Russian troops back in Ukraine
-Russian forces seize town in war-torn Luhansk region
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Apr 18, 4:54 pm
Combat in eastern Ukraine part of Russia’s ‘shaping operations’ for future offensive
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that while there has been combat in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine for some weeks, it is part of Russia’s ongoing “shaping” operations for a future offensive, and not the offensive itself.
“We’re not disputing that there’s not combat going on in the Donbas,” Kirby said. “What we’re saying is that we still consider that what we’re seeing to be a piece of shaping operations.”
“That the Russians are continuing to set conditions for what they believe will be eventual success on the ground by using, by putting, in more forces, putting in more enablers, putting in more command and control capability for operations yet to come,” he said.
Asked to clarify his answer, Kirby replied: “We believe that the Russians are shaping and setting the conditions for future offensive operations. We also see … that there is active combat going on right now in the Donbas as there has been for the last several weeks.”
Kirby described the fighting in the besieged port city of Mariupol as part of that since the Russians are “trying to set the conditions for more aggressive, more overt and larger ground maneuvers in the Donbas.”
He added that the Russians have also continued to flow in artillery, helicopters, enabling troops and more command and control units as part of the groundwork for that upcoming operation.
Kirby said that the U.S. believes that Russia has reinforced the number of battalion tactical groups in eastern and southern Ukraine as part of their preparations for a large operation in the Donbas region.
ABC News’ Conor Finnegan, Luis Martinez
Apr 18, 4:45 pm
US still assessing Russian strike in Lviv: Kirby
The U.S. is still assessing what the Russians were attempting to strike in Lviv in western Ukraine on Monday, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
Kirby said he would not describe Monday’s airstrike as a “bombardment” and said he did not know Russia’s intent.
“We don’t have a clear sense of battle damage assessment about what they were targeting and what they hit. At this time, we don’t have any indication that Western aid was targeted and/or hit or destroyed,” Kirby said.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Apr 18, 3:23 pm
US offering temporary protected status to Ukrainians in US as of April 11
The U.S. will offer temporary protected status to Ukrainians already in the country as of April 11, according to a new notice from the Department of Homeland Security in the Federal Register.
The Biden administration announced last month that it would offer Ukrainians this legal basis to stay in the U.S. if they had arrived before March 1. This new notice means that Ukrainians who have been in the U.S. as of April 11 can apply for the legal status, which will remain in effect for 18 months — until Oct. 19, 2023.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates that about 59,000 Ukrainians could be eligible, according to the Federal Register notice.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has tweeted about the change, which he said was made at the Ukrainian government’s request.
ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
Apr 18, 12:49 pm
Thousands more Russian troops back in Ukraine
There are now 76 Russian battalion tactical groups — each made up of about 800 to 1,000 troops — inside Ukraine, all in the south or east of the country, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday. Last week there were 65 battalion tactical groups.
There are about 22 additional battalion tactical groups in the north of Ukraine, most likely refitting and resupplying after being depleted from earlier combat, the official said.
The besieged port city of Mariupol is still under threat of missile and artillery bombardment as Ukrainian forces continue to fight to push back Russian troops, according to the official.
Kyiv and Lviv are under long-range fire, the official said. Russian long-range bombers have hit both cities with air-launched cruise missiles over the last couple of days, the official said.
“Our initial assessment is that they were going after primarily military targets, or what they believed to be military targets,” the official said.
The U.S. is sending 18 howitzers — short cannons used to fire projectiles — to Ukraine and plans to begin training Ukrainians on the artillery in the coming days, the official said.
(HONG KONG) — China has reported its first three deaths linked to the COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai, as the country battles its worst surge of infections since the pandemic began.
According to a statement on Monday from the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, the people who died on Sunday were aged between 89 and 91. All of them were unvaccinated.
As Shanghai’s 25 million residents enter a third week of lockdown, the city on Monday recorded 22,248 new cases, 2,417 of which were symptomatic.
The official death toll, which is remarkably lower than those in other major cities, has fueled skepticism of the official data coming out of China.
Some experts suspect that China is attributing underlying health conditions to COVID deaths. Yanzhong Huang, a Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations pointed to a Shanghai study that estimates there were more than 2,000 excess diabetes deaths in Shanghai associated with the lockdown.
Anger over the country’s hardline “Zero COVID” approach to the pandemic has been swelling in the country, particularly in Shanghai where residents have experienced food shortages and delivery difficulties.
The economic costs are also growing as the lockdown impacts the flow of goods to major shipping ports, posing disruptions to global supply chains.
On Monday, China’s State Council Vice-Premier Liu He, an economic advisor to Chinese President Xi Jinping, said that China must stabilize its supply chains with the help of local governments.
Meanwhile, Shanghai’s Economic and Information Technology Commission announced plans to resume production and ease controls on manufacturers.
Data released on Monday showed a significant slowdown in the country’s economic activity in March. Shanghai contributes to about a third of China’s gross domestic product.
“We should solve outstanding problems one by one in key regions,” Liu said, according to Xinhua News Agency. Liu said the government will establish a so-called “white list” of companies that require assistance in recovering from disruptions.
Speaking with ABC News, Huang also voiced concern that prolonged lockdowns could hurt China’s competitiveness in the lockdown.
“When other countries are now learning to coexist with the virus and their economy and the manufacturing capacity is recovering, China’s export sector will be affected,” Huang said.
Huang added that it’s time for China to move away from its 2020 tactics: “Over the past two years, the Zero COVID strategy was effective in sustaining extremely low levels of infection in helping China fight this, to boost its reputation as a success by pandemic response. But now this approach are showing diminishing returns. The social economic costs associated with the approach are rising rapidly and exponentially.”
(NEW YORK) — Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Sunday in an exclusive interview with ABC “This Week” that the besieged city of Mariupol has not yet fallen despite Russian demands that Ukrainians surrender.
“There [are] still our military forces, our soldiers, so they will fight until the end,” Shmyhal told “This Week” Anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Mariupol is a strategic city for Russia because it would allow Russian forces in the south to connect with troops in the Donbas region. It would also give Russia a key port.
Shmyhal said even though the city remains in Ukrainian control, its residents are suffering.
“They have no water, no food, no heat, no electricity,” Shmyhal said. “They ask all of our partners to support and help stop this humanitarian catastrophe.”
During a virtual address overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s actions in Mariupol were “just inhuman.”
“Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there in Mariupol,” Zelenskyy said.
The Russian Defence Ministry warned that the military would kill any remaining Ukrainian fighters who did not surrender before the overnight deadline.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that Russia is regrouping and repositioning forces to the east, warning that “a big Russian offensive” is expected in the Donbas region in southeastern Ukraine.
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week. Nehammer was the first European leader to do so since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Stephanopoulos asked Schmyhal about the Austrian chancellor’s assessment that Putin believes he is winning the war. “Has the tide turned?” he asked.
Schmyhal replied that only one big city “is under control of Russian military forces. But all of the rest of the cities are under Ukrainian control.”
On Saturday, Russia continued attacks across Ukraine, including in the capital, Kyiv. The Ukrainian president’s office reported missile strikes and shelling in eight regions across the country.
Stephanopoulos asked Schmyhal if peace talks between Ukraine and Russia have reached a dead end.
Schmyhal said Ukraine was open to diplomacy, but if Russia does not want to negotiate, Ukraine will continue to fight.
“We will not surrender; we will not leave our country, our families, our land,” Schmyhal said. “So we will fight absolutely to the end, to win in this war.”
President Joe Biden authorized $800 million more in military aid last week, after referring to Russia’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide.” Stephanopoulos asked the Ukrainian Prime Minister what more the country needs.
“We are so grateful to American people, especially to President Bident for [the] support of Ukraine,” Schmyhal said. “Only half of our economy is working, so we ask for financial support.”
Reuters has reported that Schmyhal will travel to Washington, D.C., this week along with other top Ukrainian finance officials for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings.
Schmyhal told Stephanopoulos that while members of his financial team are in Washington, they will continue to push for additional financial support.
Stephanopoulos asked Schmyhal what his message is for the West.
“We need more sanctions from West partners. We need more ammunition to protect our country and European borders,” Schmyhal added.
Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian troops invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Russian forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
In recent days, Russian forces have retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv, the United States and European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 18, 6:28 am
Russian missile strikes kill at least 7 in Lviv
At least seven people were killed and 11 others, including a child, were injured Monday morning in missile strikes across the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, according to local officia;s.
Lviv Oblast Gov. Maksym Kozystkiy said at a press conference that Russian missiles struck four targets — three Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities and a tire service shop — all of which suffered significant damage.
In a statement via social media, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi described the missile strikes as “powerful,” saying they damaged or destroyed about 40 cars. Emergency services were responding to the deadly blasts, according to Sadovyi.
ABC News was at the scene of the burning tire service shop on the outskirts of Lviv, where firefighters were trying to extinguish the flames.
The strike also shattered the windows of a nearby orphanage as well as a hotel, where Sadovyi said evacuated Ukrainians are sheltering.
Lviv, a strategic city close to Ukraine’s border with Poland, has been considered a safe haven for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. The city has been largely spared from the relentless bombardment and heavy fighting seen across much of the country since Feb. 24.
-ABC News’ Brian Hartman, Max Uzol and Yuri Zaliznyak
Apr 18, 4:15 am
Mariupol besieged but not fallen, Ukrainian prime minister says
Mariupol has not yet fallen, despite Russia’s demands that Ukrainian troops defending the besieged Ukrainian port city surrender, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
“There [are] still our military forces, our soldiers, so they will fight until the end,” Shmyhal told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview Sunday on This Week.
Mariupol is a strategic city for Moscow because it would allow Russian forces in the south to connect with troops in eastern Ukraine’s contested Donbas region. It would also give Moscow a key port.
Although Mariupol remains under the Ukrainian government’s control, Shmyhal said the city’s residents are suffering.
“They have no water, no food, no heat, no electricity,” he said. “They ask all of our partners to support and help stop this humanitarian catastrophe.”
-ABC News’ Monica Dunn
Apr 18, 3:56 am
Russian commanders in Mariupol ‘will be concerned,’ UK says
Russian commanders in Mariupol “will be concerned by the time it is taking to subdue” the Ukrainian port city, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Monday in an intelligence update.
“Concerted Ukrainian resistance has severely tested Russian forces and diverted men and materiel, slowing Russia’s advance elsewhere,” the ministry said.
Mariupol, a strategic port in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, has been under heavy Russian bombardment since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24. Strong resistance from Ukrainian troops has prevented Russian forces from taking full control of the city.
Despite Russia’s claims that it would not strike Ukrainian cities or threaten civilian lives, “the targeting of populated areas within Mariupol aligns with Russia’s approach to Chechnya in 1999 and Syria in 2016,” according to the ministry.
“The effort to capture Mariupol has come at significant cost to its residents,” the ministry added. “Large areas of infrastructure have been destroyed whilst the population has suffered significant casualties.”
Apr 17, 8:25 pm
Kharkiv mayor slams Russia for attacking on religious holiday
The mayor of Kharkiv, Igor Terekhov, lashed out at Russia for continuing its onslaught on the city despite it being Orthodox Palm Sunday.
“Dear Kharkiv citizens, today is the 53rd day of war, the war in which we are defending our lives and honor fighting against the ruthless army of the aggressor,” Terekhov said in a recorded address translated from Russian by The Associated Press.
“And also today is a big Orthodox holiday, Palm Sunday. But it looks like those who wear the letter Z do not have a cross on them,” he added, referring to the omnipresent letter painted on Russian tanks.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and a key outpost in the country’s east, has been under intense shelling for days. Several people were killed in attacks on Sunday.
“Even days that are sacred to Christians are no reason for the enemy to lessen bombardments on Kharkiv,” Terekhov said.
The vast majority of people in both Russia and Ukraine are Orthodox Christians. Holy Week began on Sunday with Easter coming on April 24. Many in Ukraine, including Kharkiv, celebrated Palm Sunday in bomb-damaged churches or buildings without electricity.
“I congratulate you all, my fellow Kharkiv citizens, with Palm Sunday, and on the eve of the Holy Week, I want to wish fortitude to all of us,” Terekhov said. “The enemy is testing our resolve, let us show them that Kharkiv citizens will not be broken or intimidated.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian troops invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Russian forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
In recent days, Russian forces have retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv, the United States and European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 16, 9:59 am
Ukraine alleges Russia calling on additional units to storm Mariupol
Russian forces have not completely captured Mariupol, but the army is constantly calling on additional units to storm the city, Ukrainian defense ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said in a press conference.
“The situation in Mariupol is difficult and hard. Fighting is happening right now. The Russian army is constantly calling on additional units to storm the city,” Motuzyanyk said.
Russian forces intend to totally close the city for entry and exit and prohibit movement between the districts and they are filtering out the men left in the city, advisor to the mayor Petro Andriushchenko alleged in a post on Telegram.
“After standard filtration bullying (interrogation, checking gadgets, examining the body) the men are separated from others and are subjected to separate interrogations, including an imitation of an execution,” Andriushchenko claimed.
He added: “In general, we can say that from 5 up to 10% do not pass the filtration and after that are exported to Dokuchaevsk and Donetsk. Their further fate is not known.”
Russian warships, armed with “Caliber” naval cruise missiles, in the Black Sea pose a threat against Ukrainian defense industry and logistics infrastructure, spokesman of the general staff of Ukraine Armed Forces, Alexandra Stupun said.
Stupun added: “In the waters of the Sea of Azov, the enemy’s naval group continues to carry out tasks to block the port of Mariupol and provide fire support in the coastal direction.”
Apr 16, 9:12 am
Romania bans Russian-flagged ships from its ports
The Romanian Naval Administration announced it has banned Russian-flagged ships from entering its ports.
The ban will take effect on Sunday.
Apr 16, 8:53 am
Russia bans UK’s Boris Johnson, members of cabinet from entering its territory
Russia announced it has banned British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several members of his cabinet from entering its territory in response to what it claims are the British government’s hostilities, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
Russia said the ban was in response to sanctions placed on Russian senior officials by the British government.
In addition to Johnson, Russia banned the U.K.’s secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs; its secretary of state for defense; the deputy prime minister and secretary of state for justice; and several other members of the British government.
Apr 15, 7:19 pm
Zelenskyy details recovery in hundreds of ‘de-occupied’ settlements
During his latest national address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy detailed the recovery of “normal life” in areas that have been rid of Russian occupiers.
“The restoration of normal life in those areas and districts where the occupiers were expelled continues,” Zelenskyy said, noting that 918 settlements “have already been de-occupied.”
“We carry out demining. We restore the supply of electricity, water and gas. We restore the work of the police, post office, state and local authorities,” he continued.
Other work includes restoring the railways, including the connection between Chernihiv and Nizhyn and in the Sumy region, and resuming medical care and education. Across Ukraine, 1,018 educational institutions have been destroyed or damaged, according to Zelenskyy.
Four-fifths of Ukrainian businesses have also returned to work “in a safe area,” in particular heavy industry enterprises, the president said.
Southern and eastern Ukraine, however, are “far from talking about recovery,” he said.
“In the occupied districts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, the Russian military continue to terrorize civilian residents of our country,” Zelenskyy said.
Apr 15, 6:35 pm
Zelenskyy asked Biden to designate Russia a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’, official says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked President Joe Biden to designate Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism” during their call earlier this week, a U.S. official confirmed.
The White House and State Department have not responded to questions about Zelenskyy’s appeal or the designation, but last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed an openness to it.
“In terms of other designations based on actions that Russia’s taking, we are and we will look at everything,” he told reporters during a press conference.
The designation, which is normally reserved for states that are arming and funding terror groups, carries some of the most severe sanctions under U.S. law — although Russia is already under many of them.
Currently there are four countries on the list: Syria, Iran, North Korea and Cuba. The latter two were added by the Trump administration.
Apr 15, 3:26 pm
Russia claims it intercepted Ukrainian missile strike targeting power station
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed it prevented an attempt by the Ukrainians to hit Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station with two Tochka-U tactical missiles on Friday morning.
Russia claimed the missiles were shot down in mid-air and shrapnel from one of them fell on Novaya Kakhovka, Kherson region, damaging Kindergarten and residential buildings.
The facility regulates the flow of the Dnepr River, supplies electricity to Kherson region, and supplies water to agricultural areas in southern Ukraine and northern Crimea, according to Russia.
Russia claimed if the station was hit, it would have caused the release of Dnepr water and caused flooding of Kherson region settlements.
Apr 15, 2:35 pm
Over 900 civilian bodies allegedly found in Kyiv region, Ukrainian police say
More than 900 bodies of civilians were discovered in the Kyiv region following the withdrawal of Russian forces, Kyiv region Police Chief Andriy Nebytov said in a press briefing.
“I want to say that the number of killed civilians has surpassed 900 – and I emphasize, these are civilians, whose bodies we have discovered and handed over for forensic examination,” Nebytov said.
He later said, “Bucha has the most significant number of victims. This suggests that the occupiers, the units, that operated in Bucha, were the most brutal. The most victims were found in Bucha, where there are more than 350 corpses.”
Nebytov claimed Russian forces were forcing Ukrainians to work for Russia.
“We understand that during the occupation, the Russian army established a certain modus operandi, trying to find people who have influence over the community and force them to work for Russia,” Nebytov said.
Nebytov said the bodies had been abandoned in the streets or were buried in temporary graves.
“There were two mass graves, if we can say so. There was a person, a communal worker, who worked before the war in Bucha. He stayed in the city and actually asked the occupiers to allow him to take away the people’s bodies from the streets. He buried them in two graves. The first was for 40 dead people, the second for 57 dead people,” Nebytov said.
He added: “Among them was one of our policemen, a criminal investigation officer, who unfortunately was also shot with a small weapon. Most of these bodies have been examined, and I want to say that 95% of the people were killed by sniper rifles or small arms. That is, we understand that during the occupation, people were shot in the streets.”
Senior U.S. defense officials believe Russia’s sunken Moskva cruiser was hit by two Ukrainian-launched Neptune missiles, bolstering claims from Ukrainian officials on Thursday.
The officials could not confirm how many Russian crew members were injured or killed in the attack or subsequent fire and eventual sinking.
Apr 15, 1:24 pm
Russia sent US diplomatic note protesting aid to Ukraine
The U.S. received a formal diplomatic note from Russia protesting U.S. and NATO military aid to Ukraine and accused them of violating principles and potentially risking weapons falling into bad actors’ hands, a U.S. official briefed on the note confirmed to ABC News.
The Russian government previously warned the U.S. and NATO against providing weapons and other military equipment. Both Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and one of his deputies, Sergei Ryabkov, also warned that Western convoys providing military aid were “legitimate targets” for Russian attack.
The White House referred questions to the State Department, but a State Department spokesperson declined to comment on “any private diplomatic correspondence.”
State Department spokesperson Ned Price also declined to confirm the report, but during an interview with CNN, said, “The Russians have said some things privately. They have said some things publicly. Nothing will dissuade us from the strategy that we’ve embarked on.”
Another source said it shows the effectiveness of U.S. weapon deliveries and security assistance, that Russia is upset is happening.
Price also told CNN that the war in Ukraine could drag on through the end of this year into next year, something other U.S. officials, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, have warned about as well.
“It is possible … but what we’re trying to do is to shorten this conflict,” Price told CNN, by providing Ukraine with “unprecedented amount of security assistance” and applying pressure on Russia.
The Washington Post first reported on the diplomatic note.
Apr 15, 5:55 am
Ukrainian commander issues urgent plea in Mariupol
Serhiy Volyna, commander of Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade, which is engaged in a brutal fight to defend Mariupol against invading Russian forces, has issued an urgent plea for military reinforcements or a political solution — anything to break Russia’s siege of the Ukrainian port city.
In an interview Friday with Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda, the commander said the situation is critical and the fighting is fierce.
“It can be done and it must be done as soon as possible,” Volyna added.
Despite Russia’s relentless bombardment for more than a month, the 36th Marine Brigade along with units of the Azov Regiment, a far-right group now part of the Ukrainian military, have held down Mariupol. They have refused to surrender, vowing to fight until the end.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd
Apr 14, 9:06 pm
Zelenskyy remarks on 50 days of war: ‘Ukraine became a hero’
During his latest daily address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy observed that Ukraine has withstood 50 days of the Russian invasion.
“During the 50 days of this war, Ukraine became a hero for the whole free world,” he said.
Zelenskyy said he was grateful to those who have supported the country, though said that during the last 50 days he’s started to view world leaders in a different light.
“I have seen politicians behaving as if they had no power, and I have seen non-politicians who did more in these 50 days than some statesmen who claimed leadership,” he said.
Zelenskyy praised how Ukraine has defended itself, including those “who have shown that Russian ships can go … to the bottom only” — a nod to the sinking of the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship vessel, Moskva.
Ukrainian government officials had claimed on Wednesday its armed forces fired missiles that damaged the vessel.
-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko
Apr 14, 5:46 pm
US says its assessment could conclude Russia committed genocide
The U.S. Department of State’s s ongoing review of atrocities in Ukraine could conclude with a determination that genocide has been committed by Russian forces, spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday.
The comments come after President Joe Biden described Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine as genocide.
Price told reporters during a briefing Thursday that there was some “misimpression” about the process, but that the department’s effort to document, compile and analyze evidence of atrocities, which determined last month that Russian forces were committing war crimes, could include a determination on genocide.
“That same broader process the process to collect, analyze, share, document evidence of atrocities and potential atrocity crimes is the very same one that could ultimately inform other potential atrocity crime determinations, including the atrocity crime of genocide,” Price said.
Price reiterated that the U.S. is working with the Ukrainian prosecutor-general, whose office has clear jurisdiction for potential war crimes trials.
The U.S. has been providing the Ukrainian prosecutor-general’s office with the evidence it has collected, though it has not yet provided that information to the International Criminal Court, of which it’s not a member.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court’s chief, Karim A.A. Khan, currently is in Ukraine surveying scenes of atrocities in the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha and Borodyanka.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford and Conor Finnegan
Apr 14, 5:12 pm
France moving its Ukraine embassy back to Kyiv
France is planning to move its embassy back to Kyiv “very soon” after relocating it more than 500 miles away in Lviv in western Ukraine when hostilities began to heat up around the capital city in March, the French foreign minister said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made the announcement in a phone call Thursday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.
“This redeployment will take place very soon and will make it possible to further deepen the support provided by France to Ukraine in all areas to deal with the war launched by Russia on February 24,” Le Drian said in a statement.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price was asked at a briefing if the United States was considering a similar move now that the bulk of the fighting has shifted in Ukraine from the south of the country to the east. The U.S. embassy in Ukraine was also moved from Kyiv to Lviv following the start of the Russian invasion, but embassy staff has been working from Poland in recent days, Price said.
Price told reporters that the State Department is “always reviewing” the possibility of moving the embassy back to Kyiv, but the embassy team remains in Poland and is not crossing the border into Lviv as they had been.
“Obviously, our goal is to have a functioning diplomatic presence in Ukraine as soon as it is safe and practical for us to do so,” Price said.
(NEW YORK) — Rashad Hussain, the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, is the first Muslim-American ever to hold the title, and he told GMA 3 that his appointment sent a powerful signal to the world.
Hussain was confirmed by the Senate in December with an 85-5 vote, where 10 Senators did not vote. He said the bi-partisan support sent a message that the U.S. is “supporting the right to religious freedom for all people everywhere.”
The ambassador told “GMA” that the White House is particularly concerned about the situation unfolding with the genocide against the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority group.
Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said attacks by Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority, constituted genocide and crimes against humanity. The legal determination was made five years after the government killed 9,000 Rohingya and forced over a million others into exile.
Hussain said the determination took some time because the U.S. had to gather all of the data and information as part of its meticulous legal process. He noted that the move will help provide more assistance to the legal brought by the Gambia and the International Court of Justice.
“We’re sending a strong signal that for anyone who engages in these types of actions, crimes against humanity [and] genocide, we will hold them accountable,” he said. “We also are very clear that we will do everything we can to prevent these types of atrocities from occurring.”
Hussain, who previously served as President Barack Obama’s special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said he also plans on implementing the Marrakesh Declaration, which advocates for the protection of rights of Christians and other minorities in Muslim majority countries.
“That includes seeking to end the use of blasphemy laws, apostasy laws,” he said.
The ambassador said that the U.S. stands for any religious group that is being persecuted.
“One of the profound aspects of this job is that it’s our responsibility, which we take very seriously, to wake up every day and do everything that we can to help people that are suffering,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — The images of five bodies found fatally shot in a basement in Bucha, Ukraine, with their hands tied behind their backs, apparently tortured and executed, alerted the world to possible war crimes.
The images, revealed just over a week ago, included the son of Galyna Matyoshko, who spoke to ABC News from a monastery where she had taken refuge.
The Ukrainian mother said her son Serhiy was helping evacuees when the Russians arrived.
“They came like a hurricane, causing so much pain. For what?” said Matyoshko. “You can’t even imagine this pain. My soul is crying. God forbid this happens to anyone.”
Matyoshko said she has the images of her son’s body on her phone. Despite her pain, she is keeping them so that the world can see what happened to her son.
“I didn’t want to delete them; I wanted the whole world to see it and know that it’s a fact,” she said. “I’m not holding on to them to hurt myself, I want everyone to know that this isn’t fake. That this is my son, that this happened to me and my son.”
According to Matyoshko, her son was helping evacuate women and children from the houses near the Bucha summer camp when he disappeared along with a friend who was doing the same on March 12. Both men’s bodies were found in the basement.
“I don’t know how long he was there, he lost half of his weight. I don’t know if they fed him or not. How? For what? I fed this child for myself, for joy,” said Matyoshko.
Matyoshko said that the official report from the police crime investigators said that her son was killed by two gunshots. Unofficially, she says she was told by police that they had found eight gunshots and multiple knife wounds on the body.
Russian officials have denied all allegations surrounding what was found in the Bucha basement.
Matyoshko said she wanted to share a message with Vladimir Putin.
“Look at what you did to us,” she said. “What is our fault? What have I done wrong? Why am I crying at a stranger’s place, with no home to live in? You have children; what if the same happened to them? And when our people come to tell you ‘it’s all fake,’ would you believe them?”
(PARIS) — Three years after flames engulfed Notre Dame, investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the devastating fire at Paris’ most famous cathedral.
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit the Notre Dame Cathedral on Friday to mark the third anniversary of the blaze, which tore through the roof and toppled the iconic spire as the world watched in horror on April 15, 2019.
“This visit will be an opportunity for the Head of State to take stock of the progress of the construction site,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement Thursday.
The initial phase to secure and safeguard what was left of the 12th century French Gothic landmark ended last summer, with the restoration work finally kicking off over the winter.
The safety, cleaning and reconstruction efforts are a vast national enterprise for France, with 90 state-sponsored contracts already issued to companies to help clean, consolidate and rebuild Notre Dame. In total, 130 such contracts will be issued, according to the public body established to oversee the restoration work.
After months of debate over the future of the famed medieval cathedral, the plans were approved by a national commission and “include the identical restoration of the oak wood frame and the roofing of the large attic as well as the restoration of the spire of Viollet-le-Duc,” the Public Establishment for the Conservation and Restoration of Notre Dame said in a statement Thursday.
French authorities are now in a race to meet the 2024 deadline set by Macron, in time for the Summer Olympics in Paris. On Wednesday, crews extracted the first hard stones to be used in the reconstruction of the arches of Notre Dame’s collapsed vaults.
However, the crews are working under sometimes difficult conditions due to the fragility of the building and amid interruptions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as strict safety rules over the presence of lead on site.
There have been several surprises, too. France’s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) has been carrying out excavations inside Notre Dame since Feb. 2 and, last month, its workers discovered a mysterious lead sarcophagus buried beneath the cathedral.
“An endoscopic camera made it possible to identify the presence of plant remains under the head of the deceased, perhaps hair, textiles, as well as dry organic matter,” INRAP said in a press release in March. “Its dating and its identification remain to be carried out but it is probably about an important character, appearing perhaps in the register of the burials of the diocese.”
The next phase of reconstruction is set to begin soon, with stonemasons, restorers of mural paintings and sculptures, master glassmakers and artistic ironworkers starting work on Notre Dame’s fire-ravaged interior.
The epic restoration efforts aren’t just taking place in Paris, but rather across France. A thousand oaks trees are being cut in 45 sawmills across the country for the restitution of Notre Dame’s spire and transept.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian troops invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Russian forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.
In recent days, Russian forces have retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv, the United States and European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 15, 5:55 am
Ukrainian commander issues urgent plea in Mariupol
Serhiy Volyna, commander of Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade, which is engaged in a brutal fight to defend Mariupol against invading Russian forces, has issued an urgent plea for military reinforcements or a political solution — anything to break Russia’s siege of the Ukrainian port city.
In an interview Friday with Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda, the commander said the situation is critical and the fighting is fierce.
“It can be done and it must be done as soon as possible,” Volyna added.
Despite Russia’s relentless bombardment for more than a month, the 36th Marine Brigade along with units of the Azov Regiment, a far-right group now part of the Ukrainian military, have held down Mariupol. They have refused to surrender, vowing to fight until the end.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd
Apr 14, 9:06 pm
Zelenskyy remarks on 50 days of war: ‘Ukraine became a hero’
During his latest daily address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy observed that Ukraine has withstood 50 days of the Russian invasion.
“During the 50 days of this war, Ukraine became a hero for the whole free world,” he said.
Zelenskyy said he was grateful to those who have supported the country, though said that during the last 50 days he’s started to view world leaders in a different light.
“I have seen politicians behaving as if they had no power, and I have seen non-politicians who did more in these 50 days than some statesmen who claimed leadership,” he said.
Zelenskyy praised how Ukraine has defended itself, including those “who have shown that Russian ships can go … to the bottom only” — a nod to the sinking of the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship vessel, Moskva.
Ukrainian government officials had claimed on Wednesday its armed forces fired missiles that damaged the vessel.
-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko
Apr 14, 5:46 pm
US says its assessment could conclude Russia committed genocide
The U.S. Department of State’s s ongoing review of atrocities in Ukraine could conclude with a determination that genocide has been committed by Russian forces, spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday.
The comments come after President Joe Biden described Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine as genocide.
Price told reporters during a briefing Thursday that there was some “misimpression” about the process, but that the department’s effort to document, compile and analyze evidence of atrocities, which determined last month that Russian forces were committing war crimes, could include a determination on genocide.
“That same broader process the process to collect, analyze, share, document evidence of atrocities and potential atrocity crimes is the very same one that could ultimately inform other potential atrocity crime determinations, including the atrocity crime of genocide,” Price said.
Price reiterated that the U.S. is working with the Ukrainian prosecutor-general, whose office has clear jurisdiction for potential war crimes trials.
The U.S. has been providing the Ukrainian prosecutor-general’s office with the evidence it has collected, though it has not yet provided that information to the International Criminal Court, of which it’s not a member.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court’s chief, Karim A.A. Khan, currently is in Ukraine surveying scenes of atrocities in the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha and Borodyanka.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford and Conor Finnegan
Apr 14, 5:12 pm
France moving its Ukraine embassy back to Kyiv
France is planning to move its embassy back to Kyiv “very soon” after relocating it more than 500 miles away in Lviv in western Ukraine when hostilities began to heat up around the capital city in March, the French foreign minister said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made the announcement in a phone call Thursday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.
“This redeployment will take place very soon and will make it possible to further deepen the support provided by France to Ukraine in all areas to deal with the war launched by Russia on February 24,” Le Drian said in a statement.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price was asked at a briefing if the United States was considering a similar move now that the bulk of the fighting has shifted in Ukraine from the south of the country to the east. The U.S. embassy in Ukraine was also moved from Kyiv to Lviv following the start of the Russian invasion, but embassy staff has been working from Poland in recent days, Price said.
Price told reporters that the State Department is “always reviewing” the possibility of moving the embassy back to Kyiv, but the embassy team remains in Poland and is not crossing the border into Lviv as they had been.
“Obviously, our goal is to have a functioning diplomatic presence in Ukraine as soon as it is safe and practical for us to do so,” Price said.
