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

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 advisers 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 advisers about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions, because his senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth."

-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez

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."

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.

-ABC News' Jeffrey Cook and Mireya Villareal

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.

-ABC News' Fergal Gallagher