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(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.” Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as well as other major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol.

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

Mar 31, 12:34 pm
Ukraine resumes control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Russian troops are giving back control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Ukraine, according to a letter from Russia’s nuclear power company, Rosatom.

The site had been under the control of Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24.

The letter is dated March 31 and was signed by Ukraine’s nuclear regulator, Energoatom.

-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko

Mar 31, 12:15 pm
Ukraine resumes control of Chernobyl nuclear power plant

Russian troops are giving back control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Ukraine, according to a letter from Russia’s nuclear power company, Rosatom.

The site had been under the control of Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24.

The letter is dated March 31 and was signed by Ukraine’s nuclear regulator, Energoatom.

-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko

Mar 31, 11:18 am
Putin says gas exports will be stopped unless payment made in rubles

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree requiring payment in rubles for gas exports.

As of Friday, Putin said all buyers from “unfriendly” countries — including Germany, France and Poland — must open ruble accounts in Russian banks, and contracts with parties who refuse will be deemed null and void.

President Joe Biden will be releasing one million barrels of oil per day from the strategic petroleum reserve for the next six months, according to the White House.

“Because of Putin’s war of choice, less oil is getting to market, and the reduction in supply is raising prices at the pump for Americans. President Biden is committed to doing everything in his power to help American families who are paying more out of pocket,” the White House said in a statement Thursday.

Mar 31, 10:15 am
Red Cross says its warehouse in Mariupol was damaged

A warehouse belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was shelled in Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol.

A satellite image shows the damage to the building, which bears a large white sign with a red cross on the roof.

“We can confirm that an image being circulated online shows damage to the ICRC warehouse in Mariupol,” the ICRC said in a statement Wednesday. “We do not have a team on the ground there, so have no other information on potential casualties or the extent of the damage.”

The Geneva-based humanitarian organization said it had distributed all supplies from the Mariupol warehouse earlier in March, including medical supplies to hospitals and relief supplies to people living in shelters. No ICRC staff have been at the warehouse since March 15 and it was unclear how the building has been used since, according to the organization.

The ICRC noted the “massive humanitarian needs” in Mariupol, but said it has been “unable to bring in more supplies due to the intensity of the fighting and the absence of a functional agreement between the parties to allow for the safe passage of humanitarian assistance.”

“Under international humanitarian law, objects used for humanitarian relief operations must be respected and protected at all times,” the ICRC said. “We are concerned that even a building with a red cross on it can be seriously damaged. Civilian infrastructure, hospitals and medical personnel cannot be targeted.”

“But what we are most outraged by is the overall humanitarian situation in Mariupol and the relentless suffering inflicted on civilians living there,” the organization added. “People are trapped with no safe way out of the city, and they are running out of the very basics needed for their survival. This must change.”

Mar 31, 9:32 am
Russia ‘lied’ about withdrawing troops, NATO says

Russian troops “are not withdrawing” from parts of Ukraine as claimed, but rather are “repositioning,” according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who cited NATO “intelligence.”

“Russia has repeatedly lied about its intentions,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference Thursday. “Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce its offensive in the Donbas region [in eastern Ukraine].”

Meanwhile, pressure is being maintained on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and other major cities, according to Stoltenberg.

“We can expect additional offensive actions bringing even more suffering,” he added.

Mar 31, 9:23 am
Videos show intense fighting in Mariupol

Videos circulating online show intense fighting taking place in Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol.

The footage, verified by ABC News, was taken by a Russian state media journalist who is embedded with the Russian military. The videos were posted online Thursday, though the exact date of filming was unknown. Based on the location of the fighting, ABC News assesses it is highly likely the videos were shot in the past couple of days.

One video shows a Russian tank firing multiple times on the streets of Mariupol. Another video shows the Russian journalist filming himself in Mariupol as tanks open fire and gunshots erupt all around him.

The strategic port city in southeastern Ukraine has been under heavy Russian bombardment for weeks and tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped there.

Mar 31, 8:15 am
‘Significant Russian shelling’ persists in Chernihiv, says UK

Despite Russia’s claims of curbing its military activity around Chernihiv, “significant Russian shelling and missile strikes have continued” in the besieged northern Ukrainian city, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Thursday in an intelligence update.

Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, “despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units,” according to the ministry.

“Heavy fighting will likely take place in the suburbs of the city in the coming days,” the ministry added.

Heavy fighting also continues in Ukraine’s southern port city of Mariupol, “a key objective of Russian forces,” according to the ministry.

“However Ukrainian forces remain in control of the center of the city,” the ministry said.

Mar 31, 7:46 am
Kremlin reacts to US saying Putin ‘felt misled’

The Russian government is “concerned” by recent statements from U.S. officials claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin “felt misled” by his advisers and the Russian military on the war in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference Thursday.

“We do not just regret this. This is a source of our concern,” Peskov told reporters, “because such an utter lack of understanding is the reason why erroneous, rash decisions are made with very bad consequences.”

“It looks like neither the [U.S.] Department of State nor the Pentagon know what is really happening in the Kremlin,” he added. “They simply do not understand what is going on in the Kremlin. They do not understand President Putin. They do not understand the decision-making mechanism. They do not understand our work style.”

Mar 31, 7:25 am
Russia announces cease-fire in besieged Mariupol

Russia has announced a localized cease-fire in Ukraine’s besieged southern port city of Mariupol on Thursday to allow civilians to be evacuated.

A humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, via the Russian-controlled port of Berdiansk, would be opened from 10 a.m. local time, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

“For this humanitarian operation to succeed, we propose to carry it out with the direct participation of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement Wednesday night.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a later statement via Telegram that the Red Cross confirmed Russia had agreed to open a humanitarian corridor to Mauripol, where tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped with no electricity and dwindling supplies after weeks of Russian bombardment. A convoy of 45 evacuation buses was headed to the city to collect civilians, according to Vereshchuk.

A number of previous attempts to establish humanitarian corridors out of Mariupol have failed, with Russia and Ukraine trading accusations of breaking cease-fires and sabotaging evacuation efforts.

Mar 31, 6:21 am
At least 1,189 civilians killed, 1,901 injured in Ukraine: OHCHR

At least 1,189 civilians have been killed and 1,901 others have been injured in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

At least 108 children were among the dead and 142 among the injured, according to the OHCHR, which noted that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine had reported at least 145 children were killed and 222 injured as of Wednesday.

“We know the actual figures are likely far higher,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement Wednesday. “In many places of intensive hostilities, such as Mariupol and Volnovakha, it is very challenging to obtain a comprehensive picture.”

According to a press release from the OHCHR, most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missile and airstrikes.

The agency has also received “credible allegations that Russian armed forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times,” according to Bachelet, who noted that her office is “also investigating allegations that Ukrainian armed forces have used such weapons.”

“The persistent use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas is of immense concern,” she said. “Homes and administrative buildings, hospitals and schools, water stations and electricity systems have not been spared.”

According to Bachelet, at least one Ukrainian facility for bedridden patients and others with disabilities, mostly elderly people, came under fire while its residents were inside, with dozens of alleged casualties.

“My colleagues in Ukraine are working to establish the fate and whereabouts of survivors,” she added.

The OHCHR noted in its press release that “the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.” Those areas include Mariupol and Volnovakha in the Donetsk Oblast, Izium in the Kharkiv Oblast, Popasna in the Luhansk Oblast, and Trostianets in the Sumy Oblast, where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties. Casualty numbers from those locations are being further corroborated and thus are not included in the latest statistics, according to the agency.

Mar 31, 4:32 am
Putin ‘massively misjudged’ invasion of Ukraine, UK spy chief says

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently “massively misjudged” his invasion of Ukraine, a U.K. intelligence chief said Thursday.

“It’s clear he misjudged the resistance of the Ukrainian people. He underestimated the strength of the coalition his actions would galvanize. He underplayed the economic consequences of the sanctions regime, and he overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory,” Jeremy Fleming, head of the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), said during a speech in Australia’s capital, Canberra.

“We’ve seen Russian soldiers, short of weapons and morale, refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft,” he added.

While Fleming agreed with a recent assessment by U.S. intelligence that Putin’s advisers were believed to be too afraid to tell the truth, he said the “extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime.” He warned that Russia is searching for cyber targets and bringing in mercenaries to reinforce its stalled military campaign in Ukraine.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.” Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as well as other major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol.

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

Mar 31, 8:15 am
‘Significant Russian shelling’ persists in Chernihiv, says UK

Despite Russia’s claims of curbing its military activity around Chernihiv, “significant Russian shelling and missile strikes have continued” in the besieged northern Ukrainian city, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Thursday in an intelligence update.

Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to hold positions to the east and west of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, “despite the withdrawal of a limited number of units,” according to the ministry.

“Heavy fighting will likely take place in the suburbs of the city in the coming days,” the ministry added.

Heavy fighting also continues in Ukraine’s southern port city of Mariupol, “a key objective of Russian forces,” according to the ministry.

“However Ukrainian forces remain in control of the center of the city,” the ministry said.

Mar 31, 7:46 am
Kremlin reacts to US saying Putin ‘felt misled’

The Russian government is “concerned” by recent statements from U.S. officials claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin “felt misled” by his advisers and the Russian military on the war in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference Thursday.

“We do not just regret this. This is a source of our concern,” Peskov told reporters, “because such an utter lack of understanding is the reason why erroneous, rash decisions are made with very bad consequences.”

“It looks like neither the [U.S.] Department of State nor the Pentagon know what is really happening in the Kremlin,” he added. “They simply do not understand what is going on in the Kremlin. They do not understand President Putin. They do not understand the decision-making mechanism. They do not understand our work style.”

Mar 31, 7:25 am
Russia announces cease-fire in besieged Mariupol

Russia has announced a localized cease-fire in Ukraine’s besieged southern port city of Mariupol on Thursday to allow civilians to be evacuated.

A humanitarian corridor from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, via the Russian-controlled port of Berdiansk, would be opened from 10 a.m. local time, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

“For this humanitarian operation to succeed, we propose to carry it out with the direct participation of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement Wednesday night.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a later statement via Telegram that the Red Cross confirmed Russia had agreed to open a humanitarian corridor to Mauripol, where tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped with no electricity and dwindling supplies after weeks of Russian bombardment. A convoy of 45 evacuation buses was headed to the city to collect civilians, according to Vereshchuk.

A number of previous attempts to establish humanitarian corridors out of Mariupol have failed, with Russia and Ukraine trading accusations of breaking cease-fires and sabotaging evacuation efforts.

Mar 31, 6:21 am
At least 1,189 civilians killed, 1,901 injured in Ukraine: OHCHR

At least 1,189 civilians have been killed and 1,901 others have been injured in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

At least 108 children were among the dead and 142 among the injured, according to the OHCHR, which noted that the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine had reported at least 145 children were killed and 222 injured as of Wednesday.

“We know the actual figures are likely far higher,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement Wednesday. “In many places of intensive hostilities, such as Mariupol and Volnovakha, it is very challenging to obtain a comprehensive picture.”

According to a press release from the OHCHR, most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missile and airstrikes.

The agency has also received “credible allegations that Russian armed forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times,” according to Bachelet, who noted that her office is “also investigating allegations that Ukrainian armed forces have used such weapons.”

“The persistent use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas is of immense concern,” she said. “Homes and administrative buildings, hospitals and schools, water stations and electricity systems have not been spared.”

According to Bachelet, at least one Ukrainian facility for bedridden patients and others with disabilities, mostly elderly people, came under fire while its residents were inside, with dozens of alleged casualties.

“My colleagues in Ukraine are working to establish the fate and whereabouts of survivors,” she added.

The OHCHR noted in its press release that “the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.” Those areas include Mariupol and Volnovakha in the Donetsk Oblast, Izium in the Kharkiv Oblast, Popasna in the Luhansk Oblast, and Trostianets in the Sumy Oblast, where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties. Casualty numbers from those locations are being further corroborated and thus are not included in the latest statistics, according to the agency.

Mar 31, 4:32 am
Putin ‘massively misjudged’ invasion of Ukraine, UK spy chief says

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently “massively misjudged” his invasion of Ukraine, a U.K. intelligence chief said Thursday.

“It’s clear he misjudged the resistance of the Ukrainian people. He underestimated the strength of the coalition his actions would galvanize. He underplayed the economic consequences of the sanctions regime, and he overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory,” Jeremy Fleming, head of the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), said during a speech in Australia’s capital, Canberra.

“We’ve seen Russian soldiers, short of weapons and morale, refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft,” he added.

While Fleming agreed with a recent assessment by U.S. intelligence that Putin’s advisers were believed to be too afraid to tell the truth, he said the “extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime.” He warned that Russia is searching for cyber targets and bringing in mercenaries to reinforce its stalled military campaign in Ukraine.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(JERUSALEM) — A spate of deadly shootings in Israel has sparked renewed fears that the security situation is deteriorating as Palestinians approach the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

On the streets of Bnei Brak, a city just outside Tel Aviv, on Tuesday, a gunman fired upon civilians, killing five, including an Israeli police officer, before the suspect was shot and killed.

Tuesday’s slayings marked the third in a series of unclaimed attacks labelled as terror by the Israeli authorities in just eight days, a wave of violence that’s left 11 dead and raised concerns among political leaders and analysts about further attacks.

Early Thursday morning, two Palestinians were killed and seven were injured during an Israeli army raid on a refugee camp in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. In response to the Jenin attack, the head of Islamic Jihad has ordered all forces to be on high alert.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had warned of escalating violence while he was in Israel just 24 hours before the Bnei Brak shootings, denounced the attack.

“We strongly condemn today’s terrorist attack in Bnei Brak, Israel, that killed five innocent victims,” Blinken said. “This comes after two other recent horrific terrorist attacks in Hadera and Be’er Sheva, Israel. This violence is unacceptable. Israelis — like all people around the world — should be able to live in peace and without fear. Our hearts go out to the families of those killed in the attacks.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, vowed a tough response to the recent terror attacks.

“Israel is facing a wave of murderous Arab terrorism,” he said. “My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones tonight, and I pray for the well-being of the wounded. The security forces are working. We will fight terror with perseverance, stubbornness and an iron fist. They will not move us from here, we will win.”

Nine Israelis and two Ukrainians have been killed since March 22 in three separate attacks labelled as terror by the authorities. The previous attacks were carried out by Arab citizens. Tuesday’s suspect was said to be a Palestinian, from the occupied West Bank, who had been living in Israel illegally.

Hamas, the militant group in charge of the Gaza strip, described the latest attack as “heroic” but made no formal claim of responsibility. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the State of Palestine, condemned the killing of Israeli citizens and warned against reactions aimed at the Palestinian people, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

In response to the violence, 3,000 Israeli police will be deployed in Jerusalem during the month of Ramadan, Israeli TV Channel 12 reported.

On Wednesday, Bennett announced new security measures, and told all Israelis with a license to begin carrying a weapon, compounding the tense atmosphere.

The number of casualties is the highest seen in such a short period of time since 2015. Unlike then, however, when the majority of the attacks were characterized as “lone wolf” knife attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank, the latest attacks in Israel were boldly carried out in major cities in the heart of the country with the use of automatic weapons.

The second in the trio of recent attacks took place in Hedera, carried out by two men reported to have received training in Syria. The apparent rise of some Islamic State group sleeper cells, their capacity to carry out such attacks and their ability to infiltrate the Palestinian community inside Israel and find recruits to carry out such attacks, marks a change in the security situation, analysts say.

The attacks came as a surprise to many observers, with some noting that the issues that came to the fore during the conflict between Israel and Gaza in May 2021 have been left unresolved.

With a succession of Arab states normalizing ties with Israel, there is a sense among analysts that hopes of a peace deal are becoming hopeless — and without that hope comes the threat of more violence.

Israel’s “Nationality Bill,” enacted in 2018, which reaffirmed Israel as a nation-state for Jewish people, has also proved controversial abroad and for the estimated two million Arabs living in the country. There are fears that the escalation could spread violence into Jerusalem and the West Bank, and a repeat of the 2021 war could be on the cards.

And it is charged days like the commemoration of the Land Day on Wednesday or the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan on Saturday, and grievances left unaddressed, which can tip the scale toward a renewed wave of violence.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ALGIERS, Algeria) — One of President Joe Biden’s first foreign policy moves was a pledge to help end one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises — the war in Yemen — by “stepping up our diplomacy” and “ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.”

More than a year later, the war has escalated — with a sharp increase in civilian casualties, a growing number of Yemenis facing hunger, with less humanitarian funding, less international oversight of airstrikes and more complex attacks against Yemen’s neighbors fighting in the conflict.

A possible new cease-fire for Islam’s holy month of Ramadan could be within reach, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen indicated Wednesday, as he promotes a new peace plan. The Saudi-led coalition announced a unilateral cease-fire starting Wednesday, days after the Houthi rebels announced their own on cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“I don’t want to overstate it because we’ve been here before, but there’s a chance that we actually have a path forward with the new special envoy laying out what is a credible plan,” a senior State Department official told ABC News.

Temporary cease-fires and new peace plans have come and gone for seven years now, with the Yemeni people left to suffer the consequences. Nearly 400,000 people are believed to have been killed by fighting, disease and starvation, according to a U.N. report. Over 20 million — two-thirds of the population — are now reliant on humanitarian aid, including two million children facing acute malnutrition.

“The world cannot forget about Yemen,” said Tamuna Sabadze, the country director for the International Rescue Committee, an aid group on the ground in Yemen — a country the size of California and long the Arab world’s poorest. “The suffering has continued for too long. Those with influence over the warring parties must work to deliver a diplomatic resolution to this crisis.”

The Houthis, a northern rebel group increasingly backed by Iran, swept to power in 2014 when they seized the capital, Sanaa, amid Arab Spring strife. In response, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and an Arab coalition launched a military intervention — seven years ago this past Saturday — to prop up the Yemeni government and keep from power what they saw as an Iranian proxy.

Biden brought new attention to the war early in his term, including by naming career diplomat Tim Lenderking as special envoy for Yemen. On one side, critics, including Republicans and Saudi and Emirati officials, blame increased fighting on his decision to remove the Houthis from the foreign terrorist organization list. On the other, especially among members of Biden’s own party, there have been accusations that the administration is not doing enough to pressure the Saudi-led coalition to end the war.

It’s unclear if measures prescribed by critics on either side would do just that. The last year of diplomatic efforts hasn’t.

But amid rockier ties with those Gulf Arab partners, the Biden administration is shifting toward them — redoubling support for their defense and increasing pressure on the Houthis. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met the UAE’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayan, on Tuesday during a tour of the region. They spent two hours together at a private residence of MBZ, as the powerful prince is known, in Morocco — including a 30-minute one-on-one stroll around the compound.

A senior State Department official said Wednesday the two discussed “different mechanisms” to elevate U.S. support for the UAE’s security, although not an official treaty or security guarantee. But after an increasing number of deadly Houthi attacks on Saudi and Emirati civilian infrastructure, the U.S. is now considering “everything from sanctions to interdictions to other means of preventing [the Houthis] from being able to wage attacks against not just the Emiratis, but the Saudis, as well as within Yemen,” they added.

Houthi attacks have gotten increasingly sophisticated and deadly — killing civilians, striking airports and oil facilities, and using ballistic missiles and drones that are supplied by Iran. Many have come to view the militant group as a proxy force for Iran, which has taken advantage of the war to destabilize its chief rivals in the region, the Saudis and Emiratis.

One form of pressure the Emiratis and Saudis are unlikely to get, however, is re-adding the Houthis to the State Department’s foreign terrorist organization list, a designation that carries similar sanctions to those the Houthis are already under, but adds potential criminal prosecutions for anyone supporting them.

Emirati officials in particular have been lobbying for a reversal, with Biden announcing in January that one is under consideration and the State Department consistently calling Houthi attacks “terrorism.”

But even as they review re-designating the Houthis, the senior State Department official said, the administration’s argument for the last year against the designation remains — that it would restrict aid flowing into Yemen because of that threat of prosecutions.

“It’s fair to say that they [the Emiratis] and others in the region see the FTO designation in one way, whereas we see it primarily through the impact on our ability to deliver and support humanitarian assistance,” the senior State Department official told ABC News.

Still, the talk of strong support for UAE, Saudi Arabia, and others is a far cry from where some members of Biden’s own party are.

“Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes and air-and-sea blockade have cost hundreds of thousands of lives and threatened millions more with famine, triggering the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. On this grim anniversary – spanning seven years and three presidential administrations – we are calling for an immediate end to American involvement in the Saudi-led coalition’s brutal military campaign,” Sen. Bernie Sanders and three progressive House members — Pramila Jayapal, Peter DeFazio, and Ro Khanna — said, adding they will use a War Powers resolution to force his hand.

The U.S. military’s involvement in the conflict has been limited since November 2018 when, under similar bipartisan pressure, the Trump administration halted midair refueling for Saudi-led coalition aircraft. That air force has been accused by the U.N. of potential war crimes — indiscriminate bombardments and targeting civilian infrastructure.

The Houthis have also been accused of potential war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks and land mines, according to the same U.N. panel. Increasingly, they’ve also conducted complex, coordinated attacks on Saudi Arabia and UAE — including one last Friday that set two Saudi Aramco facilities ablaze and sent black smoke billowing into the air. While there were no casualties, Saudi officials said it would affect oil production amid the global energy crunch.

Fighting in recent months has been worse than in years — with January the deadliest month since 2018 — just three months after the UN Human Rights Council voted to disband that U.N. panel investigating war crimes.

While the majority of civilians have been killed by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, the senior State Department official said the coalition “has been saying they’re prepared to engage” in negotiations towards a cease-fire and ultimately a political resolution.

The coalition on Wednesday launched a unilateral cease-fire. The U.N.’s new special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, welcomed it as part of his call for a truce for Ramadan, Islam’s holy month which starts this weekend. Grundberg has been conducting extensive consultations with not just the warring countries, but also political parties, civil society activists and women’s rights advocates.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, a Riyadh-based bloc of regional countries, is also hosting a peace conference this week of Yemeni parties.

The Houthis have rejected both the Saudi cease-fire and the GCC summit, but days earlier announced they would halt to cross-border attacks until Wednesday, refusing to extend it unless the coalition met certain demands. Those demands — ending restrictions on Yemeni ports and closure of Sanaa’s airport — were not met, but it’s unclear if the Houthis had resumed attacks.

Still, Grundberg expressed some hope Wednesday that his team was “making progress” on reaching a truce — telling the GCC summit, “Yemen needs a truce. I am engaging with the parties with a sense of urgency to reach this truce by the beginning of Ramadan.”

In the meantime, it’s the Yemeni people who suffer — a crisis now exacerbated by Russia’s war against Ukraine. Yemen imports approximately one-fifth of its wheat from the two countries, and with energy prices also soaring, the already severely underfunded humanitarian response is left reeling.

That’s left children like “Isaac” with dimmer futures. In addition to widespread malnutrition, approximately 10,000 children have been killed by the war. Some two million children are out of school, with over 25,000 schools damaged or destroyed.

Isaac, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, told the aid group Save the Children that his school “is definitely not safe anymore.” The 14-year old boy was shot by a sniper in the leg.

“I assumed the sniper would spare me when he saw I was only picking up the ball. He doesn’t usually shoot at us, he rarely does, but he did this time,” he said, according to the group.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.” Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as well as major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol.

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

Mar 30, 7:26 pm
Zelenskyy said he had detailed conversation with Biden, questions reports of Russian withdrawal

In his daily address Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he held a very “detailed” conversation with President Joe Biden on various topics.

Zelenskyy said he thanked Biden for $1 billion in new humanitarian aid and an additional $500 million in direct support.

Zelenskyy said he stressed the current moment is a turning point

“I told President Biden what Ukraine needs, and I was as sincere as possible with him,” he said. “The support of the United States is vital for us, and now it is especially important to lend a hand to Ukraine, to show all the power of the democratic world.”

The Ukrainian president said he reiterated his calls for more weapons and resources to fight Putin’s forces.

He also said he didn’t buy Russian’s “withdrawal” from Kyiv and Chernihiv.

“We do not believe anyone,” he said. “We will not give up anything, and we will fight for every meter of our land, for every our person.”

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Mar 30, 3:44 pm
Pentagon refers to Russian claims of withdrawing troops near Kyiv as ‘spin’

Over the last 24 hours, the Pentagon has seen less than 20% of the Russian troops that had been around Kyiv “reposition” northward, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

Kirby said Russian claims that they are withdrawing troops to deescalate fighting amid peace talks with Ukraine is just “spin.”

Kirby said he was intentionally using the term “reposition” instead of withdrawal to describe the movement of Russian forces “because the way it’s being spun by the Ministry of Defense is that they’re pulling back and they’re trying to deescalate and depressurize the situation. And we just don’t believe we haven’t seen any evidence of that.”

Kirby said the U.S. assesses that the Russians are instead “going to refit these troops, resupply them, and then probably … employ them elsewhere in Ukraine.”

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

Mar 30, 3:19 pm
Shelling continues in Chernihiv and Kyiv suburbs

Shelling is continuing in Chernihiv and the suburbs of Kyiv, one day after the Kremlin said Russian operations near the two cities would be “scaled down dramatically.”

In Chernihiv, in northern Ukraine, Gov. Viacheslav Chaus said shelling lasted all night and that civilian targets were being destroyed, including shopping malls and libraries. Local authorities said at least one civilian was killed and six were wounded.

Activity was relentless Wednesday in Irpin, near Kyiv, and bombardments in the suburbs have continued into the night.

Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, said Wednesday that Russian troops have not completely abandoned attempts to capture or at least surround Kyiv and Chernihiv. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said some Russian military units are being relocated but that there’s no mass withdrawal of troops.

-ABC News’ James Longman, Bruno Roeber, Irene Hanatiyuk and Oleksii Pshemyski

Mar 30, 12:37 pm
Biden tells Zelenskyy US will give Ukraine $500 million in ‘direct budgetary aid’

President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the phone from 11:08 a.m. ET to 12:03 p.m. ET, according to the White House.

Biden said the U.S. will provide Ukraine with “$500 million in direct budgetary aid,” according to a White House readout. The $500 million is for financial assistance that Ukraine can use for budgetary expenses such as paying salaries and maintaining government services, according to the White House.

“The leaders discussed how the United States is working around the clock to fulfill the main security assistance requests by Ukraine, the critical effects those weapons have had on the conflict, and continued efforts by the United States with allies and partners to identify additional capabilities to help the Ukrainian military defend its country,” the White House said.

Zelenskyy in a tweet said they “talked about specific defensive support, a new package of enhanced sanctions, macro-financial and humanitarian aid.”

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez

Mar 30, 11:46 am
Zelenskyy warns Norway of Russia’s military buildup in Arctic

Ukraine warned Norway on Wednesday that Russian forces have “amassed in the Arctic region” and will ultimately pose a threat to Europe.

“I think you are experiencing new risks near your border with Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address to Norwegian lawmakers via video link from Kyiv. “A number of Russian troops that has no normal explanation has already been amassed in the Arctic region. For what? Against whom?”

“The future of Europe — the whole continent from north to south, from west to east — is being decided right now,” he added. “On our land, on Ukrainian soil, in Ukrainian air, in Ukrainian sea. So that your soldiers do not have to defend NATO’s eastern flank, so that Russian mines do not drift to your ports and fjords, so that your people do not have to get used to the sound of air alarms and so that Russian tanks are not amassed at your border, we must stop the aggression of the Russian Federation together and only together.”

Zelenskyy said Russian forces are continuing to carry out relentless and indiscriminate attacks on his country. Although Ukrainian troops are holding off Russian advances, he warned that “the columns of Russian armoured vehicles are not decreasing.”

“There are no forbidden targets for Russian troops. They attack everything,” he told Norwegian lawmakers. “Ukraine’s losses are enormous.”

-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko and Christine Theodorou

Mar 30, 11:18 am
Lavrov meets with Chinese Foreign Minister

During a meeting in China, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi doubled down on increasingly close ties between the two nations despite the invasion of Ukraine.

Wang acknowledged the “Ukraine problem” but stopped short of offering support.

Chinese officials have said repeatedly in the past weeks that they are “not a party” to the conflict but “support Russia and Ukraine in overcoming difficulties.”

-ABC News’ Karson Yiu

Mar 30, 9:55 am
Putin advisers ‘afraid to tell him’ about Russian military performance

U.S. intelligence said it believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his advisers on his troops’ performance in Ukraine “because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth,” a U.S. official told ABC News.

Based on declassified intelligence, the official said, “We have information that Putin felt misled by the Russian military. There is now persistent tension between Putin and the MOD [Ministry of Defence], stemming from Putin’s mistrust in MOD leadership. Putin didn’t even know his military was using and losing conscripts in Ukraine, showing a clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information to the Russian President.”

The official continued: “We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisors about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions, because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth.”

Mar 30, 8:30 am
Poland plans to abandon Russian hydrocarbons by year’s end

Poland announced Wednesday its plan to stop buying Russian oil, gas and coal by the end of 2022.

“Today, we present the most radical plan in Europe to abandon Russian hydrocarbons — oil, gas and coal. This plan is necessary for the recovery of Europe,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a press conference.

According to Morawiecki, Poland “will impose a total embargo on Russian coal in April, at the latest in May.” He said his country has already largely reduced its dependence on oil from Russia and “will do [its] best to abandon Russian oil by the end of the year.” He added that he is also expecting a decline in gas imports in May.

Morawiecki called on other European countries, including Germany, to follow suit. He urged the European Commission “to establish a tax on Russian hydrocarbons so that trade and economic rules in the European single market are fair.”

Mar 30, 8:06 am
Enrollment in Poland’s national guard grows sevenfold

In the Polish village of Zegrze, about 20 miles north of Warsaw, cars line the small street outside a facility belonging to Poland’s Territorial Defense Force (TDF). Officials said interest in training with the TDF has increased sevenfold in the last month, following Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine — creating an unintended traffic backup in the facility’s tiny public parking lot.

The TDF is the fifth military branch of the Polish Armed Forces, behind the Land Forces, Army, Navy and Special Forces. The group is made up of volunteer and part-time privates, and is comparable to the National Guard of the United States.

ABC News got exclusive access into the TDF facility in Zegrze and spoke with several new trainees, all of whom were women. Each one spoke about their underlying interest in the military and wanting to feel confident in protecting themselves and their families. But several said they became motivated to enroll after watching average Ukrainian citizens defend their country. They were inspired to be prepared in the same way.

ABC News’ cameras were allowed to follow a group of trainees — men and women of all ages — as instructors took them into a nearby forest on Tuesday morning. The trainees were clad in army fatigues and their faces were marked with camouflage paint as they crawled along the ground, guns in hand. The training was a grueling, real-life instruction that left them exhausted within an hour.

The program lasts for 16 days, with at least 12 hours of training required each day. At the end, the trainees take a military oath and then are allowed to return home. Many know there is a chance they will soon be called on to help the Polish military as the Russian invasion grinds on in neighboring Ukraine. While they won’t likely see combat, their main objective is to enhance national defense capabilities and protect their local communities.

Mar 30, 7:39 am
Ukrainians attempt to save animals from abandoned zoo near Kyiv

Ukrainians are attempting to rescue exotic animals from an abandoned zoo near the capital.

Vitaly Mukhanov told ABC News that he had volunteered to help bring supplies to Ukrainian soldiers when he came across the Yasnohorodka family ecopark, about 30 miles outside Kyiv. The park appeared to have been damaged by shelling and the animals, including camels and ostriches, were left with no food. Some were injured, while others were dead.

Videos and images Mukhanov took of the scene and posted on Facebook on Monday quickly went viral and he said he was subsequently contacted by the zoo’s owner, who asked if he could help.

In one of the videos, Mukhanov comes across a wounded ostrich. The bird appeared to be taking its last breaths as he gently stroked its head.

“You can see from the images that the animals were in a very bad way,” Mukhanov told ABC News. “The town nearby was liberated from the Russians two days ago, so the owner is now returning to the zoo and they hope to evacuate the animals in the next couple of days.”

Mukhanov said he has since returned to western Ukraine to get more supplies, but he was told that veterinarians were due to visit the Yasnohorodka family ecopark on Tuesday to provide care to some of the animals.

Mar 30, 7:18 am
Explosion rings out near Russian city of Belgorod

A missile hit a temporary Russian military camp near the border with Ukraine late Tuesday, according Russian state-owned news agency TASS.

TASS, citing a source, reported that preliminary data shows the camp, just outside the Russian city of Belgorod, was fired on from the Ukrainian side. However, Ukraine has denied responsibility and instead blamed the incident on Russian error.

Belgorod Oblast Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement that blasts occurred in the village of Krasny Oktyabr, about 19 miles southwest of Belgorod. He did not cite a cause of the incident, saying he was awaiting a report from the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Video circulating online and verified by ABC News shows an explosion in Krasny Oktyabr on Tuesday night. The cause of the blast was unknown.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk alleged that “an unauthorized detonation of ammunition” took place at a warehouse of the Russian Armed Forces in Belgorod.

“This is an example of typical for Russians neglect of safety precautions and mass use of dangerous ammunition of the Second World War,” Vereschuk said at a press briefing Wednesday.

Belgorod is about 50 miles north of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which Russian forces have shelled heavily in recent weeks.

Mar 30, 6:11 am
Russia bombards Chernihiv hours after claiming to curb assault

Air raid sirens sounded off across almost all of Ukraine overnight and into early Wednesday, hours after Russia said it would scale back its military operations around Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Russian forces bombarded the besieged northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv as well as Khmelnytsky Oblast in western Ukraine, while several missiles were shot down over the capital, Kyiv, according to Vadim Denisenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister. The damage and any casualties were still being assessed Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, the Luhansk Oblast has been under heavy shelling for days, Denisenko said.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed Wednesday that the Russian military continues to withdraw part of its troops from near Kyiv and Chernihiv, and are possibly “regrouping units to concentrate the main efforts in the eastern direction.” However, the General Staff said it believes the real goals of the so-called withdrawal are a rotation of individual units, misleading Ukraine’s military leadership and creating an erroneous idea about Russia’s refusal from the plan to encircle Kyiv.

Mar 30, 5:27 am
Over four million refugees have fled Ukraine: UNHCR

More than four million people have been forced to flee Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Refugee Agency.

The tally from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) amounts to just over 9% of Ukraine’s population — which the World Bank counted at 44 million at the end of 2020 — on the move across borders in 35 days.

More than half of the refugees crossed into neighboring Poland, UNHCR figures show.

Mar 30, 3:41 am
Russian authorities may ‘single out and detain’ Americans in Russia and Ukraine, US warns

The United States is warning that Russian authorities “may single out and detain U.S. citizens” in both Russia and Ukraine.

The warning came Tuesday as the U.S. Department of State issued new travel advisories for the two warring countries.

The State Department previously warned Americans in Russia that they could be targets for harassment by Russian authorities. But the latest advisory makes it explicit that U.S. citizens could be “singled out,” “including for detention.”

The State Department has also previously warned Americans against traveling to Ukraine to join the fight against Russian forces, pointing to statements from Russian authorities that anyone detained while fighting will not be considered a lawful combatant. That could mean mistreatment or worse, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

“There are continued reports of U.S. citizens being singled out and detained by the Russian military in Ukraine and when evacuating by land through Russia-occupied territory or to Russia or Belarus,” the latest advisory for Ukraine states.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been on the State Department’s “Travel Advisory Level 4 – Do Not Travel” for months, as tensions ratcheted up and with little to no diplomatic presences on the ground.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WARSAW, Poland) — Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Poland has taken in 300,000 Ukrainian refugees, according to Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski.

While Trzaskowski told ABC News’ Linsey Davis Tuesday that the city and its residents have welcomed these families and doing their best to accommodate their needs, they still face uphill challenges as more refugees arrive.

“We are going to welcome whoever needs help, but if a strain on the public services, schools, [and] health system [becomes] huge, the solidarity might wane in a few weeks,” the mayor told ABC News.

As the number of refugees is expected to grow while the conflict continues, Trzaskowski is calling on leaders around the world to assist with the refugee efforts.

As of March 29, over 4 million Ukrainians have fled to nearby countries to escape the war, according to data from the United Nations. Poland has taken the majority of those citizens, 2.3 million, according to the U.N.

Trzaskowski said his city’s refugee response has been “improvised” as the local government, regular citizens and organizations have come together to provide the hundreds of thousands of families with support.

Ukrainian citizens have been granted access to free education and free health care in Poland and 13,000 Ukrainian children are already attending Warsaw schools, according to the mayor.

“This is really a huge challenge also financially, but you know, we have to organize it,” Trzaskowski said.

He added that the city’s social workers are overburdened with the daunting task of registering over 300,000 people with Polish social service agencies and programs.

“So now I’m thinking how to put more people at a task of doing it as quickly as possible,” he said.

The mayor tweeted on Monday that the city’s refugee assistance efforts requires more investment and personnel and called on the European Union to offer direct support.

“We need a system because we don’t know [if] maybe we are going to have another wave of refugees in just in just a week or two. We need to be prepared,” he said.

World leaders have recently pledged to help the growing number of families who are fleeing Ukraine.

Last week, President Joe Biden announced the U.S. would accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, and other countries, such as Canada have promised to take them.

Trzaskowski said he is hopeful that more countries and the United Nations will step up their efforts and alleviate some of his country’s burdens, but in the meantime he pledged that his citizens will continue to welcome the refugees as one of their own.

“Ukrainians are among us but they’re with us they’re not as if relegated to the margins of the society they’re in our homes they are participating in our life and that’s that’s the beauty of it,” he said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KYIV) — A group of Ukrainian volunteers are attempting to rescue animals from a private zoo near the capital that was abandoned after the Russian army bombed and occupied the area.

Vitaly Mukhanov told ABC News that he had volunteered to help bring supplies to Ukrainian soldiers when he came across the Yasnohorodka family ecopark, about 30 miles outside Kyiv.

The park appeared to have been damaged by shelling, Mukhanov said. Animals, including camels and ostriches, were left with no food. Some were injured, while others were dead, he said.

“You could tell that many of the animals starved to death.” Mukhanov said.

Videos and images Mukhanov took of the scene and posted on Facebook on Monday quickly went viral and he said he was subsequently contacted by the zoo’s owner, who asked for his assistance.

In one of the videos, Mukhanov comes across a wounded ostrich. The bird appeared to be taking its last breaths as he gently stroked its head.

“You can see from the images that the animals were in a very bad way,” Mukhanov said.

“The town nearby was liberated from the Russians two days ago, so the owner is now returning to the zoo and they hope to evacuate the animals in the next couple of days,” he said.

As of Wednesday morning, Yasnohorodka family ecopark posted on their Facebook page that the animals were being rescued and evacuated from the area.

Mukhanov explained that due to the area being bombed and occupied by Russian forces, the owners and staff were in fear of their lives and had to flee the zoo as quickly as possible, forcing them to leave the animals behind.

“As of now this area has been freed and our Ukrainian troops are there, so we have organized and guaranteed the owner safety so he can evacuate the animals,” he said.

The owner will be returning back to the area hopefully by tomorrow, he said, but there are currently staff and volunteers on-site feeding the animals and safely beginning to evacuate some of them.

ABC News reached out to park operators but have not received a comment.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.” Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as well as other major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol.

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

Mar 31, 4:32 am
Putin ‘massively misjudged’ invasion of Ukraine, UK spy chief says

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently “massively misjudged” his invasion of Ukraine, a U.K. intelligence chief said Thursday.

“It’s clear he misjudged the resistance of the Ukrainian people. He underestimated the strength of the coalition his actions would galvanize. He underplayed the economic consequences of the sanctions regime, and he overestimated the abilities of his military to secure a rapid victory,” Jeremy Fleming, head of the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), said during a speech in Australia’s capital, Canberra.

“We’ve seen Russian soldiers, short of weapons and morale, refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft,” he added.

While Fleming agreed with a recent assessment by U.S. intelligence that Putin’s advisers were believed to be too afraid to tell the truth, he said the “extent of these misjudgments must be crystal clear to the regime.” He warned that Russia is searching for cyber targets and bringing in mercenaries to reinforce its stalled military campaign in Ukraine.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.” Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as well as major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol.

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

Mar 30, 11:46 am
Zelenskyy warns Norway of Russia’s military buildup in Arctic

Ukraine warned Norway on Wednesday that Russian forces have “amassed in the Arctic region” and will ultimately pose a threat to Europe.

“I think you are experiencing new risks near your border with Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address to Norwegian lawmakers via video link from Kyiv. “A number of Russian troops that has no normal explanation has already been amassed in the Arctic region. For what? Against whom?”

“The future of Europe — the whole continent from north to south, from west to east — is being decided right now,” he added. “On our land, on Ukrainian soil, in Ukrainian air, in Ukrainian sea. So that your soldiers do not have to defend NATO’s eastern flank, so that Russian mines do not drift to your ports and fjords, so that your people do not have to get used to the sound of air alarms and so that Russian tanks are not amassed at your border, we must stop the aggression of the Russian Federation together and only together.”

Zelenskyy said Russian forces are continuing to carry out relentless and indiscriminate attacks on his country. Although Ukrainian troops are holding off Russian advances, he warned that “the columns of Russian armoured vehicles are not decreasing.”

“There are no forbidden targets for Russian troops. They attack everything,” he told Norwegian lawmakers. “Ukraine’s losses are enormous.”

-ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko and Christine Theodorou

Mar 30, 11:18 am
Lavrov meets with Chinese Foreign Minister

During a meeting in China, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi doubled down on increasingly close ties between the two nations despite the invasion of Ukraine.

Wang acknowledged the “Ukraine problem” but stopped short of offering support.

Chinese officials have said repeatedly in the past weeks that they are “not a party” to the conflict but “support Russia and Ukraine in overcoming difficulties.”

-ABC News’ Karson Yiu

Mar 30, 9:55 am
Putin advisers ‘afraid to tell him’ about Russian military performance

U.S. intelligence said it believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is being misinformed by his advisers on his troops’ performance in Ukraine “because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth,” a U.S. official told ABC News.

Based on declassified intelligence, the official said, “We have information that Putin felt misled by the Russian military. There is now persistent tension between Putin and the MOD [Ministry of Defence], stemming from Putin’s mistrust in MOD leadership. Putin didn’t even know his military was using and losing conscripts in Ukraine, showing a clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information to the Russian President.”

The official continued: “We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisors about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions, because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth.”

Mar 30, 8:30 am
Poland plans to abandon Russian hydrocarbons by year’s end

Poland announced Wednesday its plan to stop buying Russian oil, gas and coal by the end of 2022.

“Today, we present the most radical plan in Europe to abandon Russian hydrocarbons — oil, gas and coal. This plan is necessary for the recovery of Europe,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a press conference.

According to Morawiecki, Poland “will impose a total embargo on Russian coal in April, at the latest in May.” He said his country has already largely reduced its dependence on oil from Russia and “will do [its] best to abandon Russian oil by the end of the year.” He added that he is also expecting a decline in gas imports in May.

Morawiecki called on other European countries, including Germany, to follow suit. He urged the European Commission “to establish a tax on Russian hydrocarbons so that trade and economic rules in the European single market are fair.”

Mar 30, 8:06 am
Enrollment in Poland’s national guard grows sevenfold

In the Polish village of Zegrze, about 20 miles north of Warsaw, cars line the small street outside a facility belonging to Poland’s Territorial Defense Force (TDF). Officials said interest in training with the TDF has increased sevenfold in the last month, following Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine — creating an unintended traffic backup in the facility’s tiny public parking lot.

The TDF is the fifth military branch of the Polish Armed Forces, behind the Land Forces, Army, Navy and Special Forces. The group is made up of volunteer and part-time privates, and is comparable to the National Guard of the United States.

ABC News got exclusive access into the TDF facility in Zegrze and spoke with several new trainees, all of whom were women. Each one spoke about their underlying interest in the military and wanting to feel confident in protecting themselves and their families. But several said they became motivated to enroll after watching average Ukrainian citizens defend their country. They were inspired to be prepared in the same way.

ABC News’ cameras were allowed to follow a group of trainees — men and women of all ages — as instructors took them into a nearby forest on Tuesday morning. The trainees were clad in army fatigues and their faces were marked with camouflage paint as they crawled along the ground, guns in hand. The training was a grueling, real-life instruction that left them exhausted within an hour.

The program lasts for 16 days, with at least 12 hours of training required each day. At the end, the trainees take a military oath and then are allowed to return home. Many know there is a chance they will soon be called on to help the Polish military as the Russian invasion grinds on in neighboring Ukraine. While they won’t likely see combat, their main objective is to enhance national defense capabilities and protect their local communities.

Mar 30, 7:39 am
Ukrainians attempt to save animals from abandoned zoo near Kyiv

Ukrainians are attempting to rescue exotic animals from an abandoned zoo near the capital.

Vitaly Mukhanov told ABC News that he had volunteered to help bring supplies to Ukrainian soldiers when he came across the Yasnohorodka family ecopark, about 30 miles outside Kyiv. The park appeared to have been damaged by shelling and the animals, including camels and ostriches, were left with no food. Some were injured, while others were dead.

Videos and images Mukhanov took of the scene and posted on Facebook on Monday quickly went viral and he said he was subsequently contacted by the zoo’s owner, who asked if he could help.

In one of the videos, Mukhanov comes across a wounded ostrich. The bird appeared to be taking its last breaths as he gently stroked its head.

“You can see from the images that the animals were in a very bad way,” Mukhanov told ABC News. “The town nearby was liberated from the Russians two days ago, so the owner is now returning to the zoo and they hope to evacuate the animals in the next couple of days.”

Mukhanov said he has since returned to western Ukraine to get more supplies, but he was told that veterinarians were due to visit the Yasnohorodka family ecopark on Tuesday to provide care to some of the animals.

Mar 30, 7:18 am
Explosion rings out near Russian city of Belgorod

A missile hit a temporary Russian military camp near the border with Ukraine late Tuesday, according Russian state-owned news agency TASS.

TASS, citing a source, reported that preliminary data shows the camp, just outside the Russian city of Belgorod, was fired on from the Ukrainian side. However, Ukraine has denied responsibility and instead blamed the incident on Russian error.

Belgorod Oblast Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement that blasts occurred in the village of Krasny Oktyabr, about 19 miles southwest of Belgorod. He did not cite a cause of the incident, saying he was awaiting a report from the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Video circulating online and verified by ABC News shows an explosion in Krasny Oktyabr on Tuesday night. The cause of the blast was unknown.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereschuk alleged that “an unauthorized detonation of ammunition” took place at a warehouse of the Russian Armed Forces in Belgorod.

“This is an example of typical for Russians neglect of safety precautions and mass use of dangerous ammunition of the Second World War,” Vereschuk said at a press briefing Wednesday.

Belgorod is about 50 miles north of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which Russian forces have shelled heavily in recent weeks.

Mar 30, 6:11 am
Russia bombards Chernihiv hours after claiming to curb assault

Air raid sirens sounded off across almost all of Ukraine overnight and into early Wednesday, hours after Russia said it would scale back its military operations around Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Russian forces bombarded the besieged northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv as well as Khmelnytsky Oblast in western Ukraine, while several missiles were shot down over the capital, Kyiv, according to Vadim Denisenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister. The damage and any casualties were still being assessed Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, the Luhansk Oblast has been under heavy shelling for days, Denisenko said.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed Wednesday that the Russian military continues to withdraw part of its troops from near Kyiv and Chernihiv, and are possibly “regrouping units to concentrate the main efforts in the eastern direction.” However, the General Staff said it believes the real goals of the so-called withdrawal are a rotation of individual units, misleading Ukraine’s military leadership and creating an erroneous idea about Russia’s refusal from the plan to encircle Kyiv.

Mar 30, 5:27 am
Over four million refugees have fled Ukraine: UNHCR

More than four million people have been forced to flee Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the United Nations Refugee Agency.

The tally from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) amounts to just over 9% of Ukraine’s population — which the World Bank counted at 44 million at the end of 2020 — on the move across borders in 35 days.

More than half of the refugees crossed into neighboring Poland, UNHCR figures show.

Mar 30, 3:41 am
Russian authorities may ‘single out and detain’ Americans in Russia and Ukraine, US warns

The United States is warning that Russian authorities “may single out and detain U.S. citizens” in both Russia and Ukraine.

The warning came Tuesday as the U.S. Department of State issued new travel advisories for the two warring countries.

The State Department previously warned Americans in Russia that they could be targets for harassment by Russian authorities. But the latest advisory makes it explicit that U.S. citizens could be “singled out,” “including for detention.”

The State Department has also previously warned Americans against traveling to Ukraine to join the fight against Russian forces, pointing to statements from Russian authorities that anyone detained while fighting will not be considered a lawful combatant. That could mean mistreatment or worse, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

“There are continued reports of U.S. citizens being singled out and detained by the Russian military in Ukraine and when evacuating by land through Russia-occupied territory or to Russia or Belarus,” the latest advisory for Ukraine states.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been on the State Department’s “Travel Advisory Level 4 – Do Not Travel” for months, as tensions ratcheted up and with little to no diplomatic presences on the ground.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DZHEZKAZGAN, Kazakstan) — NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth Wednesday, after spending a record-breaking 355 days in low-Earth orbit. Vande Hei shared a spacecraft with two Russian cosmonauts as tensions between the Russia and the U.S. continue amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Vande Hei returned in a Soyuz spacecraft with Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov, making a parachute-assisted landing at 7:28 a.m. in Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. The trio had departed the International Space Station at 3:21 a.m. ET.

Vande Hei broke the record for the longest spaceflight by a NASA astronaut by 15 days. The record was previously held by retired astronaut Scott Kelly.

On this spaceflight, Vande Hei completed 5,680 orbits of the Earth and a journey of more than 150 million miles, roughly the equivalent of 312 trips to the Moon and back, according to NASA.

This trip gave Vande Hei a lifetime total of 523 days in space.

“Mark’s mission is not only record-breaking, but also paving the way for future human explorers on the Moon, Mars, and beyond,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a press release. “Our astronauts make incredible sacrifices in the name of science, exploration, and cutting-edge technology development, not least among them time away from loved ones.”

Nelson added: “NASA and the nation are proud to welcome Mark home and grateful for his incredible contributions throughout his year-long stay on the International Space Station.”

According to NASA, Vande Hei contributed to dozens of studies from the hundreds executed during his mission, including six science investigations supported by NASA’s Human Research Program.

As NASA plans to return to the Moon, under the Artemis program, and prepares for the exploration of Mars, the agency said Vande Hei’s extended mission will provide researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on humans.

After the crew goes through post-landing medical checks, they will be flown to the recovery staging city in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, on Russian helicopters. Vande Hei will then board a NASA plane to Cologne, Germany, for refueling, prior to his return home.

Shkaplerov and Dubrov will be flown home to Star City, Russia, on a Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center aircraft.

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