Russia-Ukraine updates: US sanctions Russian military shipbuilder, diamond miner

Russia's largest military shipbuilding and diamond mining firms were targeted.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Nadine El-Bawab, Ivan Pereira, Julia Jacobo, Meredith Deliso, Bill Hutchinson, Kevin Shalvey, Celia Darrough, Mary Kekatos, and Samara Lynn
Last Updated: April 8, 2022, 4:34 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation” into Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with troops crossing the border from Belarus and Russia. Moscow's forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces retreated last week from the Kyiv suburbs, leaving behind a trail of destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, U.S. and European officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.

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Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 16, 2022, 5:26 PM EDT

Ukraine says it's trying to launch counter-attacks on edge of Kyiv

Ukraine’s military said it is trying to launch counter-attacks in northern areas on the edge of Kyiv, seeking to push Russian forces back from the towns at the gates of the capital where they've been bogged down for two weeks.

The sounds of intense shelling and fighting could be heard from the north of Kyiv the last three days. Battles have been raging in the towns of Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel, just a few miles from the city limits and from where thousands of civilians have been fleeing.

"The situation remains difficult, especially in the south and east [of Ukraine]. But more and more often our defenders are moving into counterattacks in various parts of the front: from Kyiv and Mykolaiv regions to the Luhansk region,” Ukrainian officials said in a statement Wednesday, referring to regions in southern and eastern Ukraine.

Authorities have imposed a full curfew from Tuesday evening to Thursday morning, locking down the capital and forbidding people from going outside. Plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the direction of the northern areas and the popping sound of small arms fire heard occasionally throughout the day Wednesday.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Mar 16, 2022, 3:17 PM EDT

Biden calls Putin a 'war criminal' for 1st time

"I think he is a war criminal," President Joe Biden said Wednesday of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin in Moscow, March 11, 2022.
Sputnik/via Reuters

The president initially told the reporter "no" when asked if he was ready to label Putin a war criminal, but moments later Biden circled back, asking her to repeat the question.

This marked the first time Biden has called Putin a war criminal since the invasion began. The White House had previously said there was an official review underway before the administration could formally accuse Putin of war crimes.

-ABC News' Mary Bruce

Mar 16, 2022, 2:56 PM EDT

Kidnapped Melitopol mayor freed from Russian captivity

Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol, has been freed after being kidnapped by Russian troops, according to Ukrainian officials.

Fedorov was freed in a "special operation," Kirill Timoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, said. He didn't give additional information.

His kidnapping was reported on March 11.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a video of him talking to Fedorov on the phone. The president told the mayor he was very glad to speak with him and said, "We don't leave ours behind."

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Mar 16, 2022, 2:26 PM EDT

UNICEF highlights dangers Ukrainian children face as refugees

More than half of the 3 million people who have fled Ukraine are children, according to UNICEF.

“We realized that it’s about 75,000 a day… that’s about 55 Ukrainian children becoming refugees every minute. Essentially, one every second since this war started,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told ABC News Live.

Raquela, 2, and Manuela watch cartoons on an iPhone at Dumbraveni sports arena which has been converted to a temporary shelter, after they fled with their families from the beseiged Ukraine in Suceava, Romania March 15, 2022.
Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

PHOTO: Aleina, left, looks on as nurses tend to her baby Snizhana seconds after giving birth in the maternity ward while sirens announce air raids in Mykolaiv on March 14, 2022.
Aleina, left, looks on as nurses tend to her baby Snizhana seconds after giving birth in the maternity ward while sirens announce air raids in Mykolaiv on March 14, 2022. Almost half of the 49 women have had to give birth in the basement since Feb. 24. Mykolaiv is the scene of violent clashes with Russian troop.
Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images

Many children are suffering from a lack of food and freezing temperatures, he said.

"Many of them haven’t had clean water in two days,” he said.

Elder also highlighted the psychological trauma.

“They’ve been under bombardment. Many of them have seen family members or community members killed," he said.

Elder added that UNICEF is “desperately concerned” about human trafficking, warning that any large number of children coming into a new country are at a higher risk of being abducted.

-ABC News' Shannon Caturano

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