Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian missiles hit close to nuclear reactors: IAEA director

Shelling is ongoing near the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: August 24, 2023, 10:20 AM EDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.

The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine's disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

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Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jun 23, 2022, 2:58 PM EDT

Ukraine granted candidate status for EU membership

The European Council has granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status for EU membership, European Council President Charles Michel tweeted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the announcement on Twitter, calling it a "unique and historical moment," adding, "Ukraine's future is within the EU."

It could take years for Ukraine to become an EU member. Five other countries that have been granted candidate status are currently negotiating their EU membership: Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.

Jun 23, 2022, 2:08 PM EDT

Russian forces advancing on Lysychansk in Luhansk region

Russian forces are advancing toward the city of Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region, putting the Lysychansk-Severodonetsk pocket "under increasing pressure," the British Defense Ministry said. Some Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from Lysychansk, "probably to avoid being encircled," the officials said.

A man walks in front of damaged residential building in the town of Lysychansk, June 21, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

The Ukrainian army claims Ukrainian soldiers stopped the Russian offensive in the southern outskirts of Lysychansk on Thursday, inflicting losses and forcing them to retreat, and that to resume the offensive, Russian forces put forward reserves.

-ABC News' Fidel Pavlenko

Jun 23, 2022, 1:05 PM EDT

$450 million military aid package to be announced

The U.S. is expected Thursday to announce a new $450 million military aid package that will include more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS.

PHOTO: Ukrainian soldiers move a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer into position to fire at Russian positions in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, June 18, 2022.
Ukrainian soldiers move a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer into position to fire at Russian positions in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, June 18, 2022. U.S. officials will send another $450 million in military aid to Ukraine.
Efrem Lukatsky/AP, FILE

Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov tweeted Thursday that the initial HIMARS package from the U.S. has arrived in Ukraine, and he thanked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for the "powerful tools."

The new aid package will include more small arms, grenade launchers, vehicles and patrol craft.

The U.S. has committed over $6 billion to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began, according to the Pentagon.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Jun 23, 2022, 6:26 AM EDT

More than 8 million have fled Ukraine, UN says

More than 8 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, according to an update by the United Nations.

People wait to board a train to Dnipro and Lviv during an evacuation effort from war-affected areas of eastern Ukraine, amid Russia's invasion of the country, in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine June 18, 2022.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters

More than 4 million Ukrainians fled through Poland -- by far the preferred route for the displaced, the U.N. report said. Hungary, the second most used route, reported just over 800,000 crossings.

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres, Max Uzol, Fidel Pavlenko and Yuriy Zaliznyak

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