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ABC News

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

FILE PHOTO: An employee sorts rough diamonds at a sorting center, owned by Russian diamond mining company Alrosa, in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 18, 2013.
2:17
Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters, File
What is genocide and has the legal threshold been crossed in Ukraine?
By Morgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Nadine El-Bawab, Ivan Pereira, Julia Jacobo, Meredith Deliso, Bill Hutchinson, Kevin Shalvey, Celia Darrough, Mary Kekatos, Samara Lynn
Last Updated: April 8, 2022, 4:50 AM

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.

For previous coverage, please click here.

Two Men at War
Two Men at Wartitle
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.

Latest headlines:

  • US sanctions Russian military shipbuilding and diamond mining companies
  • Fox News' Benjamin Hall provides 1st update since being severely injured in shelling
  • Situation in Borodyanka 'much worse' than other Ukrainian towns, Zelenskyy says
  • Blinken shares graphic details of alleged atrocities in Ukraine
  • UN votes to suspend Russia from Human Rights Council
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Apr 08, 2022 4:50 AM

US sanctions Russian military shipbuilding and diamond mining companies

The Biden administration announced it's levying sanctions against Russia's largest military shipbuilding and diamond mining companies on Thursday night.

The move blocks their access to the U.S. financial system as the United States looks to exact more economic pain on Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine.

FILE PHOTO: An employee sorts rough diamonds at a sorting center, owned by Russian diamond mining company Alrosa, in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 18, 2013.
Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters, File
An employee sorts rough diamonds at a sorting center, owned by Russian diamond mining company Alrosa, in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 18, 2013.
Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters, File

Alrosa is the world's largest diamond mining company and accounts for about 90% of Russia's diamond mining capacity, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Alrosa generated over $4.2 billion in revenue in 2021. Diamonds are one of Russia's top 10 non-energy exports by value.

The State Department also said it was blacklisting the United Shipbuilding Corporation, as well as its subsidiaries and board members. The moves against the two state-owned companies come a day after the U.S. announced it was targeting the two adult daughters of Putin, two of Russia's largest banks and banning new American investment in Russia.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan


Apr 08, 2022 2:23 AM

Fox News' Benjamin Hall provides 1st update since being severely injured in shelling

A Fox News reporter severely injured in a shelling in Ukraine last month that killed two other journalists tweeted for the first time Thursday to update his condition and pay tribute to his colleagues.

Fox News State Department correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured in an attack in Gorenka, outside Kyiv, on March 14. Ukrainian producer and fixer Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova and Fox News cameraperson Pierre Zakrzewski were both killed after incoming fire hit their car.

To sum it up, I've lost half a leg on one side and a foot on the other. One hand is being put together, one eye is no longer working, and my hearing is pretty blown… but all in all I feel pretty damn lucky to be here - and it is the people who got me here who are amazing! pic.twitter.com/HNjO6PbdGf

— Benjamin Hall (@BenjaminHallFNC) April 8, 2022

"Its (sic) been over three weeks since the attack in Ukraine and I wanted to start sharing it all," Hall said. "But first I need to pay tribute to my colleagues Pierre and Sasha who didnt (sic) make it that day. Pierre and I traveled the world together, working was his joy and his joy was infectious."

Hall also shared a Fox News segment in which a Ukrainian parliament member paid tribute to Kuvshynova.

The journalist, who was initially treated at a German hospital before being transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, detailed his injuries in another tweet.

Its been over three weeks since the attack in Ukraine and I wanted to start sharing it all. But first I need to pay tribute to my colleagues Pierre and Sasha who didnt make it that day. Pierre and I traveled the world together, working was his joy and his joy was infectious. RIP pic.twitter.com/gbHduLmd5e

— Benjamin Hall (@BenjaminHallFNC) April 8, 2022

"To sum it up, I've lost half a leg on one side and a foot on the other. One hand is being put together, one eye is no longer working, and my hearing is pretty blown… but all in all I feel pretty damn lucky to be here - and it is the people who got me here who are amazing!" he said.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan


Apr 07, 2022 10:36 PM

Situation in Borodyanka 'much worse' than other Ukrainian towns, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in Borodyanka is "much worse" than what Ukrainians have found in other towns where Russian forces have departed.

In his daily address, Zelenskyy said there are "even more victims of the Russian occupiers," in Borodyanka.

PHOTO: A cyclist passes by a destroyed building in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv, on April 6, 2022.
Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images
A cyclist passes by a destroyed building in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv, on April 6, 2022.
Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

Zelenskyy has warned in previous statements that they expected to find many more victims in Borodyanka than the number discovered so far in Bucha.

He also said the United Nations General Assembly's decision to suspend Russia's membership from the Human Rights Council was "quite logical, quite rightly."

"Russia has had nothing to do with the concept of human rights for a long time ... maybe someday that will change," Zelenskyy said.

-ABC News' Fidel Pavlenko



Apr 07, 2022 9:38 PM

EU approves 5th round of sanctions against Russia

The European Union approved a fifth round of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, officials said.

🔴#Ukraine | COREPER II approves a new package of sanctions in the context of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. This very substantial package extends the sanctions against Russia to new areas and notably includes ⤵️ 1/5#EU2022FR pic.twitter.com/njjN0XpGCo

— Présidence française du Conseil de l’UE 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@Europe2022FR) April 7, 2022

The "substantial" package extends sanctions to "oligarchs, Russian propaganda actors, members of the security and military apparatus and entities in the industrial and technological sector linked to the Russian aggression against Ukraine," according to the French Presidency of the Council of the EU.

It also includes a ban on coal imports from Russia, an embargo on arms to Russia and a freeze on the assets of several Russian banks, among other sanctions.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou


Mar 14, 2022 9:49 AM

Ukraine, Russia to begin 4th round of talks

A fourth round of talks between Russia and Ukraine are due to begin on Monday, following optimistic comments from both sides over the weekend that they are moving towards a compromise.

Both sides have confirmed the latest round of the talks will take place today -- the previous three rounds were held in Belarus, but these will take place remotely.

On Sunday, one of Russia’s negotiators, an MP Leonid Slutsky told Russian media that he believed “substantial progress” had been made and that he believed that progress could even “grow into a unified position” in documents for signing in the next few days.

PHOTO: A Ukrainian firefighter drags a hose inside a large food products storage facility which was destroyed by an airstrike in the early morning hours on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 13, 2022.
Vadim Ghirda/AP
A Ukrainian firefighter drags a hose inside a large food products storage facility which was destroyed by an airstrike in the early morning hours on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 13, 2022
Vadim Ghirda/AP

Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Mykhailo Podolyak, in interviews and videos posted on Twitter on Sunday also said that Russia “looks at the situation far more properly” and has stopped throwing out “ultimatums.”

Podolyak told the Russian newspaper Kommersant the sides were discussing concrete proposals and that the key issue was "security guarantees” for both Russia and Ukraine. He said the sides were discussing a cease-fire, as well as compensation to Ukraine’s infrastructure destroyed during the war. But he did say that “some time is still needed” for Russia to understand the reality of its situation.

PHOTO: A police car parked at closed Red Square with the St. Basil's Cathedral in the background in Moscow, Russia, March 13, 2022.
AP
A police car parked at closed Red Square with the St. Basil's Cathedral in the background in Moscow, Russia, March 13, 2022.
AP

The comments have raised hopes Russia may be lowering its war aims as a result of the fierce Ukrainian resistance and tough response from Western countries.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told Fox News on Sunday that the U.S. also sees Russia is showing signs of a "willingness to have real, serious negotiations.”

But is unclear where the compromise might be found.

Last week, Russia was insisting that Ukraine change is constitution to guarantee it will not join NATO or the European Union. Ukraine had signalled that was not possible but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hinted there might be some negotiating space around NATO, which he has acknowledged Ukraine is not close to joining.

In a video posted to Twitter Monday morning before the start of the talks, Podolyak said Ukraine’s positions were “unchanged”: it was demanding an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops. He said only after that could any political settlements be discussed.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell


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