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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Two Men at War

A look at the two leaders at the center of the war in Ukraine and how they both rose to power, the difference in their leadership and what led to this moment in history.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 17, 2022, 3:13 PM EDT

Blinken says he 'personally' agrees Russia committed war crimes

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Thursday that he "personally" agrees with President Joe Biden that Russia is committing war crimes by intentionally targeting civilians in Ukraine.

Blinken said State Department experts from the Office of Global Criminal Justice are documenting and evaluating evidence for a formal determination and will share those findings with those responsible for accountability.

"There's going to have to be, one way or another, accountability for this war of aggression," Blinken said.

Smoke billows as fire burns at the Barabashova market, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, March 17, 2022.
Stringer/Reuters

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy presents flowers to Kateryna Vlasenko, 16-years-old girl who was injured as she fled with her family from the town of Vorzel, at a hospital in Kyiv, Ukraine March 17, 2022.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters

While Ukrainian officials have been engaged in talks with Russian counterparts, Blinken expressed pessimism about the talks, saying the U.S. hasn't seen "any meaningful effort" by Russia to end the war through diplomacy. If anything, Blinken warned, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated in his remarks Wednesday that he's doubling down on military aggression.

People clear debris outside a medical center damaged after parts of a Russian missile, shot down by Ukrainian air defense, landed on a nearby apartment block, according to authorities, in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 17, 2022.
Vadim Ghirda/AP

Evacuees sit in the body of a cargo vehicle while waiting in a line to leave the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, March 17, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

Mar 17, 2022, 2:31 PM EDT

23 killed in shelling on school, community center

Twenty-three people were killed and 26 others were wounded from shelling on a school and community center in Merefa, which is near Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the Kharkiv Region Prosecutor's Office said.

-ABC News' Fidel Pavlenko

Mar 17, 2022, 1:46 PM EDT

Hundreds of bulletproof vests meant for Ukraine stolen in NYC

About 400 bulletproof vests that were set to be sent to aid Ukraine were stolen from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America's headquarters in Manhattan's East Village, according to the New York City Police Department.

No arrests have been made in the burglary, which took place early Wednesday, police said.

-ABC News' Derricke Dennis

Mar 17, 2022, 12:35 PM EDT

Biden calls Putin's actions 'inhumane' in talk with Irish Taoiseach

During a virtual bilat with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Thursday, President Joe Biden said the world is "united" as Russia's invasion in Ukraine continues.

“We have to be united and we certainly are,” Biden said. “But Putin’s brutality and what he's doing, and his troops are doing in Ukraine, is just inhumane."

Black smoke rises into the sky from the Barabashovo market - one of the largest markets in the eastern Europe after being reportedly hit by shelling, in Kharkiv, March 17, 2022.
Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images

A man injured in a bombing lies on a stretcher at a hospital hallway during an air raid alarm in Brovary, north of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 17, 2022.
Felipe Dana/AP

The Taoiseach told Biden, “I share with you our horror at the barbaric attack on the civilians,” and said Biden’s leadership through this has been “firm,” “determined" and “strong.”

Biden commended Ireland for taking in Ukrainian refugees, saying it "speaks so loudly about your principles."

President Joe Biden meets virtually with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in the Oval Office of the White House, March 17, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Martin tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday.
Patrick Semansky/AP

-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez

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