Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin says 'certain positive movements' in negotiations

A third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine ended without any resolution.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Julia Jacobo, Nadine El-Bawab, Meredith Deliso, Ivan Pereira, Kevin Shalvey, Bill Hutchinson, and Celia Darrough
Last Updated: March 22, 2022, 10:04 AM EDT

Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation."

Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance, coming within about 9 miles as of Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 10, 2022, 4:14 AM EST

Foreign ministers from Russia and Ukraine meet in Turkey

The top diplomats from Russia and Ukraine are meeting now in Antalya, Turkey.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba arrived in the southern Turkish resort on Thursday morning ahead of the meeting -- the highest level talks between their two countries since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, talks to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, ahead of their tripartite meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kubela in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10, 2022.
In this photo provided by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, talks to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, ahead of their tripartite meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kubela in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10, 2022.
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via Reuters

Both officials first met separately with their Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, upon arrival. Cavusoglu is expected to attend their talks.

PHOTO: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, left, is welcomed by his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, ahead of their tripartite meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10, 2022.
In this photo provided by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, left, is welcomed by his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, ahead of their tripartite meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10, 2022.
Cem Ozdel/Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs via AP

Lavrov and Kuleba are expected to talk for about 90 minutes. They will hold separate press conferences afterwards.

-ABC News' Engin Bas and Joe Simonetti

Mar 09, 2022, 6:45 PM EST

Russia claims Ukraine put firing positions inside Mariupol hospital

Russia’s foreign ministry has claimed that Ukraine put firing positions inside the children’s hospital and maternity ward in Mariupol, Ukraine, that was destroyed by shelling Wednesday.

Ukrainian emergency employees work at the site of a maternity hospital damaged by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9, 2022.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

There is currently no evidence to support the claim, made by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova during a daily briefing Wednesday. The comment appears to be an implicit acknowledgment that Russia deliberately targeted the hospital, as Ukrainian officials had claimed.

Independent investigations found that in Syria, Russia’s air force deliberately bombed hospitals in rebel-held areas as a tactic of war.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Mar 09, 2022, 6:26 PM EST

State Department calls Russian bioweapons allegations 'total nonsense'

The State Department spoke out against the Kremlin's allegations of U.S. chemical or biological weapons activity in Ukraine.

"Russia has a track record of accusing the West of the very crimes that Russia itself is perpetrating," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement Wednesday, calling the allegations of U.S. biological weapons labs and chemical weapons development in Ukraine "outright lies," "conspiracy theories," "disinformation" and "total nonsense."

"Russia is inventing false pretexts in an attempt to justify its own horrific actions in Ukraine," he continued. "The United States does not own or operate any chemical or biological laboratories in Ukraine, it is in full compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention, and it does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere."

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

Mar 09, 2022, 5:56 PM EST

Pelosi on call with Zelenskyy: 'He wants the planes'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that his country needs aircraft in order to continue its resistance from the Russian invasion.

"He wants planes. He wants anti-missile weaponry. He wants armored cars ... tanks," Pelosi said of the 45-minute call on Wednesday. "He wants the planes, the planes, the planes."

It was not clear whether Pelosi was aware of the Pentagon’s statement rejecting a plan from Poland to provide Soviet jets to Ukraine in exchange for newer American replacements. She also continued to dim the prospects of the U.S. instituting a "no-fly" zone.

"He also said that we're going to need everybody's help rebuilding Ukraine," Pelosi said.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Benjamin Siegel and Rachel Scott

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