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.
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.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 31, 2022, 8:15 AM EDT
'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.
Chernihiv Mayor Vadyslav Atroshenko, right, speaks to a journalist near a shopping mall damaged by overnight shelling in Chernihiv, northern Ukraine, on March 30, 2022.
Vladislav Savenok/AP
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.
A Ukrainian service member carries a dog next to a destroyed bridge over the Irpin River in the town of Irpin, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, March 30, 2022, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Ratushniak/Reuters
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, 2022, 7:46 AM EDT
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, 2022, 7:27 AM EDT
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.
Destroyed apartment buildings are seen in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 30, 2022, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
"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 local resident walks with a suitcase past destroyed apartment buildings in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 30, 2022, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
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.
-ABC News' Julia Drozd
Mar 31, 2022, 6:21 AM EDT
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."
Local resident Pavel, 42, stands next to the grave of his friend Igor, who was killed by shelling while they were riding together in a car amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in a residential area in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, March 30, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters, File
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."
Elderly people talk outside their partially destroyed residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 29, 2022, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images
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.
