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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


Apr 06, 2022 5:03 PM

Yellen says goal of sanctions is to 'impose maximum pain on Russia' while shielding allies from economic harm

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testified before the House Committee on Financial Services that the Treasury would continue to take steps to prevent Russia from participating in the international financial system.

"Russia's actions, including the atrocities committed against innocent Ukrainians in Bucha, are reprehensible, represent an unacceptable affront the rules based global order and will have enormous economic repercussions in Ukraine and beyond," she said.

PHOTO: People react as they gather close to a mass grave in town of Bucha, just northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, April 3, 2022.
Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
People react as they gather close to a mass grave in town of Bucha, just northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, April 3, 2022.
Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

Yellen said the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have assisted Ukraine, allowing the country "fiscal space to pay salaries for civilians, soldiers, doctors and nurses."

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., asked Yellen why the U.S. continues to provide licenses that permit certain bank transactions related to Russian energy despite a ban on Russian oil imports. Yellen said that although the sanctions aim to cripple Russia’s economy, some of the U.S.'s European allies are still dependent on Russian gas.

"Our goal from the outset has been to impose maximum pain on Russia while, to the best of our ability, shielding the United States and our partners of undue economic harm," she said. "Unfortunately, many of our European partners remain heavily dependent on Russian natural gas as well as oil."

-ABC News' Armando Tonatiuh Torres-García


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