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.
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.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 10, 2022, 12:39 PM EST
Lukashenko to meet with Putin in Moscow on Friday
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will travel to Russia on Friday for a meeting with his close ally and Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders will meet in Moscow where they "will discuss key issues concerning bilateral relations, the development of union cooperation and economic cooperation in conditions of sanctions pressure," according to the Pool of the First Man channel on Telegram, which is reportedly linked to Belarusian state media.
"The situation in the region and in Ukraine is on the agenda as well," the channel said.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting with members of the Council of Ministers and Security Council in Minsk, Belarus, March 1, 2022.
Nikolai Petrov/BelTA/Handout via Reuters, File
Mar 10, 2022, 12:18 PM EST
Western Union suspends operations in Russia, Belarus
Western Union announced Thursday that it is suspending its operations in Russia and close ally Belarus amid the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
The Denver-based money-transfer and payments company said in a statement that it "stands with the world in condemning the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine."
"All of us share the shock, disbelief, and sadness around this tragedy and humanitarian disaster," the company added. "Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine and to our colleagues, customers, agents, and partners who have been impacted."
A sign warning of COVID-19 requirements is displayed outside a Western Union office in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2022.
Alexander Shcherbak/TASS via Getty Images, FILE
Company leadership have engaged in extensive dialogue with a wide variety of stakeholders "in an earnest effort to arrive at the right decision regarding our services in Russia and Belarus," according to Western Union.
"We have thoroughly evaluated internal and external considerations, including the consequences for our valued teammates, partners, and customers," the company said. "Ultimately, in light of the ongoing tragic impact of Russia’s prolonged assault on Ukraine, we have arrived at the decision to suspend our operations in Russia and Belarus."
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
Mar 10, 2022, 12:13 PM EST
Harris announces $50 million in aid to UN World Food Program after meeting with Polish president
Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the U.S. will be giving $50 million in humanitarian assistance to the United Nations World Food Program.
Harris made the announcement during a joint press conference after she met with Poland's President Andrzej Duda.
USAID will deliver the funds to the WFP, which go toward providing emergency food aid, such as high-energy biscuits, to refugees and supporting the WFP's operations to get aid into Ukraine, according to a release from USAID.
Including the aid money announced Thursday, the U.S. has provided $107 million in humanitarian aid since Russia's war against Ukraine started, according to USAID.
In the press conference, Harris and Duda spoke about the unified partnership between the U.S. and Poland on the war in Ukraine.
"We will do everything together in partnership, in solidarity, to support what is necessary this very moment in terms of the humanitarian and security needs of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," Harris said.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Polish President Andrzej Duda hold a press conference at Belwelder Palace in Warsaw, Poland, March 10, 2022.
Saul Loeb/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Harris and Duda also condemned the Russian attack on a maternity hospital which killed 3 people and wounded 17, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"We have been witnessing for weeks, and certainly just in the last 24 hours, atrocities of unimaginable proportions,” Harris said.
Duda went as far as saying if hospitals and residential buildings are bombed where there are no military installations, "this is an act of barbarity baring the features of a genocide."
“We cannot accept such military activities that bare the characteristics of genocide," Duda said.
Harris also announced that the U.S. has delivered Patriot missile systems to Poland, which it had promised earlier this week, and noted the recent deployment of 4,700 U.S. troops to Poland.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle and Conor Finnegan
Mar 10, 2022, 11:40 AM EST
At least 549 civilians, including 41 children, killed in Ukraine: OHCHR
At least 549 civilians, including 41 children, have been killed in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Meanwhile, at least 957 civilians, including 52 children, have been injured, OHCHR figures show.
Dead bodies are placed into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine, March 9, 2022, as people cannot bury the dead because of the heavy shelling by Russian forces.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
The tallies are civilian casualties that occurred in Ukraine from Feb. 24 to March 9 and have been verified by OHCHR, which cautioned that "actual figures are much higher."