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ABC News

Russia-Ukraine updates: 2 US veterans who joined Ukrainian forces missing

PHOTO: Ukrainian servicemen fire with a French self-propelled 155 mm/52-calibre gun Caesar towards Russian positions at a front line in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 15, 2022.
27:37
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
The First Lady of Ukraine: Olena Zelenska | Robin Roberts Reporting
By Morgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, Ivan Pereira, Bill Hutchinson, Kevin Shalvey
Last Updated: June 17, 2022, 11:52 AM

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.

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:

  • 'Ukraine belongs to the European family'
  • Biden announces additional $1B in military, $225M in humanitarian assistance
  • Russia turns to outdated missiles
  • Ukraine pleads for heavy weapons ahead of NATO meeting
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Jun 17, 2022 11:52 AM

Ukrainian casualties mounting

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has already engaged around 330,000 Russian personnel, Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromo of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces told local media on Thursday.

“[Russian] groups at various axes are close to 150,000 strong. If we add their air and sea components, there are about 220,000 military personnel,” Hromo said. Russia also deployed “units of the national army combat reserve, the federal service of guard forces, and mobilization units,” the Brigadier General added.

Hromo's sobering account came on the back of claims made by a top Ukrainian official earlier on Wednesday that revealed mounting Ukrainian casualties. Up to 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers are being killed or wounded each day in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, with 200 to 500 killed on average and many more wounded, said David Arakhamia, who heads the presidential faction in the Ukrainian parliament.

In early June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said daily fatalities among Ukrainian ranks at the Donbas front were between 60 to 100 troops.

Arakhamia, one of Zelenskyy's closest advisers who oversees Ukraine's stalled negotiations with Russia, has been leading a Ukrainian delegation in Washington this week in a bid to lobby the Biden administration and Congress.

Arakhamia's team want to see the pace of weapons shipments increased and is pushing for a designation of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak, Yulia Drozd and Max Uzol


Jun 17, 2022 8:50 AM

New sanctions target enablers of forced adoptions

The United Kingdom announced a new wave of sanctions on Thursday targeting Russians involved in the barbaric treatment of children in Ukraine.

Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's Children Rights Commissioner, tops the new list of sanctioned individuals for her alleged involvement in the forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children. She has been accused of enabling 2,000 vulnerable children being violently taken from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and orchestrating a new policy to facilitate their forced adoptions in Russia.

“Today we are targeting the enablers and perpetrators of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war who have brought untold suffering to Ukraine, including the forced transfer and adoption of children,” U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a press release.

More than 900 children were injured in Ukraine as a result of the full-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s latest report. Over 320 children were killed and more than 580 were injured.

These figures are far from being final, with more information slowly trickling in from places of active hostilities, as well as the temporarily occupied and liberated territories.

The UK's sanction list also includes Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, for his support and endorsement of Putin’s war.

Several members of Putin's political elite, along with four Military Colonels from a unit known to have killed, raped and tortured civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, appear on the list too.

“Putin’s allies continue to choose to turn a blind eye to alleged war crimes and support his bloody offensive,” the U.K. government said. With Putin’s aggression reaching beyond Ukraine as Russian exports fuel conflict across the globe, the official press release read, the new sanctions also hit Myanmar’s military Junta.

The Junta relies heavily on Russian air assets and limiting it will cut Putin off from profiting from sales that fund his war machine, the U.K. said.

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak, Yulia Drozd and Max Uzol


Jun 16, 2022 8:23 PM

State Dept. still hasn't confirmed reports of Americans missing in Ukraine

The State Department has still not confirmed reports that two former U.S. service members who volunteered to help Ukrainian forces have gone missing, spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday.

The Americans, Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh and Alexander Drueke, are both from Alabama.

PHOTO: Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh are Americans who had volunteered to join the Ukrainian forces. Both are now missing in Ukraine.
Drueke family | Joy Black
Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh are Americans who had volunteered to join the Ukrainian forces. Both are now missing in Ukraine.
Drueke family | Joy Black

"We are limited in terms of what we know at the moment," Price said. "We're closely monitoring the situation we are in contact with Ukrainian authorities, as well as with the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the families of the two reported missing U.S. citizens."

The department has not "seen anything from the Russians indicating that two such individuals are in their custody," Price said.

"If the Russians were to claim that they had such individuals, I assume we would pursue that. If we had reason to believe -- credible reasons to believe -- that these individuals were in Russian custody, we would pursue that as appropriate," Price continued.

Price was asked whether the department was tracking any other cases of Americans purportedly captured on the battlefield, and he said the department was aware of reports about "one additional American whose whereabouts are unknown.”

"Similarly, our understanding was that this individual had traveled to Ukraine to take up arms," Price said. He said the person was identified as missing "in recent weeks" and that the State Department was also in contact with their family.

Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell said that Drueke’s mother reached out to her office after losing contact with him. Sewell is helping the family locate him. Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt said his office is helping in the search for Huynh after his family reached out to the congressman's office this week.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford



Jun 16, 2022 4:36 PM

'Ukraine belongs to the European family'

In the first visit of EU leaders to the Ukrainian capital since Russia’s invasion, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis made clear their message of support and solidarity.

Scholz said, "My colleagues and I came here to Kyiv today with a clear message: Ukraine belongs to the European family."

PHOTO: From left, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis pose for a picture in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 16, 2022.
Natacha Pisarenko/AP
From left, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis pose for a picture at the Mariyinsky Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 16, 2022. Four European leaders made a high-profile visit to Ukraine, where they were saw the ruins of a Kyiv suburb and denounced the brutality of a Russian invasion that has killed many civilians.
Natacha Pisarenko/AP

Macron added, "All four of us support [Ukraine's] immediate EU candidacy."

The leaders discussed the possibility of further sanctions against Russia as well as how to rebuild Ukraine after the war.

Earlier in the day, the EU leaders toured Irpin, a town northeast of Kyiv, which was hit by heavy Russian artillery early in the war.

-ABC News' Britt Clennett and Ibtissem Guenfoud


Apr 11, 2022 5:20 PM

US, India discuss 'destabilizing effects' of war

At a virtual meeting on Monday, President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about Russia's war in Ukraine -- a topic that has caused some friction between the two countries as India has taken a more neutral stance.

Biden said, "I want to welcome India's humanitarian support from people in Ukraine, who are suffering a horrific assault, including a tragic shelling in a train station last week that killed dozens of innocent children and women and civilians attempting to flee the violence. The United States and India are going to continue our close consultation on how to manage the destabilizing effects of this Russian war."

PHOTO: Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a house in Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 11, 2022.
Felipe Dana/AP
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at a house in Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 11, 2022.
Felipe Dana/AP

Biden added, "I'm looking forward to our discussion today, Mr. Prime Minister. Our continued consultation and dialogue are key to ensuring the US-India relationship continues to grow deeper and stronger, delivering our people and our global good -- good that we all are seeking to manage particularly in your part of the world."

Modi said the situation in Ukraine was "very worrying," noting he has spoken to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and called for peace and direct talks between the two.

Modi called the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha "very worrying." "We instantly condemned the killings and have called for an independent inquiry. We hope that the ongoing discussions between Russia and Ukraine will lead to peace," Modi said via a translator.

"We have also emphasized the importance of the security of civilians in Ukraine and the unhindered supply of humanitarian assistance to them," he added. "We have sent medicines and other relief material to Ukraine and to its neighboring countries. And on Ukraine's request, we will be sending them another consignment of medicines very soon."

PHOTO: Medical workers assist evacuated and wounded people that arrived by a special train from Bakhmut and Slovyansk for treatment, in Lviv, Ukraine, April 10, 2022.
Roman Baluk/Reuters
Medical workers assist evacuated and wounded people that arrived by a special train from Bakhmut and Slovyansk for treatment, in Lviv, Ukraine, April 10, 2022.
Roman Baluk/Reuters

PHOTO: Praskovya, 77, watches out of a window of a medical evacuation train on its way to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, April 10, 2022.
Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images
Praskovya, 77, watches out of a window of a medical evacuation train on its way to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, April 10, 2022. Doctors Without Borders (MSF), in cooperation with the Ukrainian railways and the Ministry of Health, evacuated 48 patients by medical train from areas near the frontline in east of the country.
Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

After the leaders' call, a senior administration official told reporters that "there was no sort of concrete ask and concrete answer" on India's response to the war in Ukraine.

Asked about India's purchase of Russian oil during the conflict, the official said energy was brought up on the call but that the U.S. "hasn't asked India to do anything in particular."

"We know not all countries will be able to do what we've done" to ban Russian energy imports, the official said. "Other countries have to make their own choices."

"That said, we don't think India should accelerate or increase the import of Russian energy," the official said.

Asked about India's abstention from the United Nations General Assembly vote to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council, the official said, "India is going to make its own judgements."

PHOTO: Territorial guards strengthen their position in the town of Barvinkove, eastern Ukraine, on April 9, 2022.
Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images
Territorial guards strengthen their position in the town of Barvinkove, eastern Ukraine, on April 9, 2022.
Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images

The official also suggested that India can play a role in mitigating the threat the war has posed to the global food supply, and that there was discussion "about what more India might be able to do."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle and Ben Siegel


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