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.
Apr 04, 2022, 6:01 AM EDT
Russian troops, Wagner mercenaries move into Ukraine's Donbas region
Russian forces are continuing to consolidate and reorganize as they refocus their offensive into the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update Monday.
"Russian troops, including mercenaries from the Russian state-linked Wagner private military company, are being moved into the area," the ministry added.
Wagner is the best-known of an array of Russian mercenary groups and has ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian company has deployed fighters to countries in the Middle East and Africa. U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson John Kirby told reporters last month that Wagner "has an interest in increasing their footprint in Ukraine."
Apr 03, 2022, 10:37 PM EDT
Zelenskyy speaks at Grammys: 'Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a brief speech at the 2022 Grammy Awards on Sunday night.
Zelenskyy, in a video message, said war is the opposite of music, but hopes soon the silence of death will be filled with the sound of music.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 03: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks on screen prior to John Legend performing onstage during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording A
"The war doesn't let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence. Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos," Zelenskyy told the audience. "They sing to the wounded. In hospitals. Even to those who can't hear them. But the music will break through anyway."
Apr 03, 2022, 8:14 PM EDT
7 dead, 34 wounded in Kharkiv shelling, 70% of Chernihiv destroyed
At least seven civilians are dead and 34 are wounded following shelling in Kharkiv, the region's prosecutor's office announced Sunday.
The shelling occurred Sunday evening in the city's Slobidskyi district, according to the Kharkiv regional military administration Oleg Sinehubov, who added that children are among the victims.
Meanwhile, in Chernihiv, around 70% of the city has been destroyed, according to Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko, who was speaking on Ukrainian TV.
He added that businesses are not operating. Ukrainian soldiers have been able to liberate several villages in the Chernihiv region in the past couple of days.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
Apr 03, 2022, 4:20 PM EDT
'Concentrated evil has come,' Zelenskyy addresses civilian deaths in Bucha
Following graphic images of casualties coming out of Bucha, Ukraine, after Russian military withdrawal, Ukrainian President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has strong words about what he called, "concentrated evil," in his daily address Sunday. Here are excerpts from that address:
"Hundreds of people were killed. Tortured, executed civilians. Corpses on the streets. Mined area. Even the bodies of the dead were mined!"
"Concentrated evil has come to our land. Murderers. Torturers. Rapists. Looters. Who call themselves the army. And who deserve only death after what they did."
Bodies lie in the street in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, in Ukraine on April 2, 2022 after Russian forces withdrew from the town.
Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
"I want every mother of every Russian soldier to see the bodies of the killed people in Bucha, in Irpin, in Hostomel. What did they do? Why were they killed? What did the man who was riding his bicycle down the street do? Why were ordinary civilians in an ordinary peaceful city tortured to death? Why were women strangled after their earrings were ripped out of their ears? How could women be raped and killed in front of children? How could their corpses be desecrated even after death? Why did they crush the bodies of people with tanks? What did the Ukrainian city of Bucha do to your Russia? How did all this become possible?"
"All partners of Ukraine will be informed in detail about what happened in the temporarily occupied territory of our state. War crimes in Bucha and other cities during the Russian occupation will also be considered by the UN Security Council on Tuesday."
A dog reacts as communal service workers collect a body of a man, possible it's owner, killed by Russian troops shelling in town of Bucha, not far from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, April 3, 2022.
Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
Zelenslyy also invited former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Ukraine to witness the carnage.
"We do not blame the West. We do not blame anyone but the specific Russian military who did this against our people," Zelenskyy, who has pleaded with the U.S. and NATO allies to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a measure so far, that President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have refused to do, said.
