More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the countries are fighting for control of areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's forces are readying a spring counteroffensive, but Putin appears to be preparing for a long and bloody war.
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Two Americans have died while volunteering to fight in Ukraine, the U.S. Department of State said Wednesday.
Edward Wilton and Grady Kurpasi died in combat during the conflict, bringing the total number of Americans killed to at least eight.
Wilton, 22, died on April 7 fighting in Bakhmut, his half brother Parker Cummings told ABC News. He was from Marianna, Florida.
Wilton served in the U.S. Army, Cummings said, and informed his half brother about his plans to fight in Ukraine through a message sent from a plane en route to Poland on April 10, 2022.
“My brother was very selfless. My brother was very honorable and traditional," Cummings told ABC News. "He cared more about freedom for all than for his own safety. Edward was a true hero and he will be missed until we see him again.”
Joshua Cropper, who told ABC News he fought with Wilton in Ukraine’s International Legion between April and early July 2022, said of Wilton: “He was so young, but immensely brave. Fearless. We’d need three guys to do any task, he's always going to have his hand up. He was as mature as anybody I've ever known.”
Kurpasi was reportedly last seen in April 2022 and was widely reported to be missing last June.
As recently as last fall, his family said they believed he was in critical condition in a Russian-controlled hospital in Donetsk, but it’s not clear exactly when he was confirmed dead or if he was ever hospitalized.
A GoFund Me page organized on behalf of Kurpasi's wife provides few details on his time in Ukraine, but states that he “ended up leading a squad into battle and was killed in action.”
“We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine. We are in touch with the family and providing all possible consular assistance,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement when asked about his case. “When a U.S. citizen dies overseas, including in Ukraine, the Department of State supports the legal representative and family of the deceased in numerous ways, including by providing information on the disposition of remains and estates and issuing a consular report of death.”
The spokesperson added: “The U.S. government takes its role in such a situation very seriously, providing all appropriate assistance through the legal representative, next of kin or their designee.”
Regarding Wilton, a State Department official confirmed that a U.S. citizen died near Bakhmut and said they're in touch with the family and providing all appropriate consular services.
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford and Chris Looft
Days after the U.S. designated Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as wrongfully detained in Russia, Russian officials referred to pressure from the U.S. to release him as futile.
"Any attempts to put pressure on the Russian authorities and the court, insisting on a 'special treatment' for U.S. citizens who have violated Russian law, are senseless and futile," the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
-ABC News' Natalia Shumskaia
After some missed calls, President Joe Biden finally connected with the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Tuesday.
"He felt it was really important to connect with Evan's family," she told reporters on Air Force One as the president travels to Ireland.
Meanwhile, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Gershkovich's detention is "pretty fresh" and officials are still trying to get consular access to Gershkovich, which they have not been able to do.
He would not get into any specific conversations the U.S. is having with Russians about releasing Gershkovich or if a prisoner swap is a possibility.
"I just want to make a couple of things clear that is, the determination of wrongful detention, it doesn't start the clock necessarily on communicating with the Russians about getting him released," Kirby said. "We're very early in this process here and I certainly, I think you can understand why I wouldn't talk about any discussions we might be having with the Russians about his release or Paul [Whelan]'s release. We certainly wouldn't do that."
Kirby said the administration is "certainly having discussions about what we can do to get him released."
"I don't want to go into details about these internal deliberations, having things out in the public sphere viscerally might actually make it harder to get Evan and Paul home, and that's what we're focused on," Kirby said.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has determined that Wall Street Journalist reporter Evan Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained by Russia, according to a statement released Monday afternoon.
Two Americans are now considered to be wrongfully detained by Russia -- Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.
Gershkovich’s case will now be transferred to the Office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, the U.S. government’s top hostage negotiator.
Gershkovich, a 31-year-old New Jersey native who has lived and worked in Moscow as an accredited journalist for the last six years, was in a restaurant in Yekaterinburg on March 29 when Russia's Federal Security Service arrested him on espionage charges that the Wall Street Journal, his colleagues and the U.S. government have said are absurd.
-ABC News' Shannon K. Crawford
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited Kyiv Monday and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to reaffirm the U.S.'s financial support to Ukraine.
Yellen announced $1.25 billion in economic and budgetary assistance, which helps the Ukrainian government continue to run, funds payroll for soldiers on the front lines and shores up critical infrastructure, according to the Treasury Department.
Yellen said the money is part of the $45 billion Congress approved for Ukraine in December.
"I bring to Kyiv a clear message from President Biden and the American people: We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," Yellen said in her remarks during her sitdown with Zelenskyy.
Yellen told Zelenskyy that the U.S. will provide over $8 billion in this type of assistance "over the coming months," according to the Treasury Department. A readout of the meeting stated the U.S. will provide $9.9 billion total during the first three quarters of 2023.
-ABC News' Sarah Kolinovsky
