Russia-Ukraine updates: US sanctions Russian military shipbuilder, diamond miner

Russia's largest military shipbuilding and diamond mining firms were targeted.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Nadine El-Bawab, Ivan Pereira, Julia Jacobo, Meredith Deliso, Bill Hutchinson, Kevin Shalvey, Celia Darrough, Mary Kekatos, and Samara Lynn
Last Updated: March 11, 2022, 3:18 PM EST

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.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 11, 2022, 3:18 PM EST

NATO to hold scheduled exercise in Norway starting next week

NATO will be holding its scheduled Exercise Cold Response 2022 military exercises in Norway for two weeks starting Monday.

The long-running exercise is held every two years and will involve 30,000 NATO troops, including 3,000 U.S. Marines.

About 220 aircraft and more than 50 ships will take part in the exercise.

U.S. forces began training in Norway in December as Marine units conducted cold weather training and planning in the lead up to the exercise.

-ABC New's Luis Martinez

Mar 11, 2022, 2:50 PM EST

Save the Children says millions of children exposed to illnesses like hypothermia as big freeze hits Ukraine

Millions of children inside Ukraine and those fleeing to neighboring countries are at risk of hypothermia, hunger and death, as temperatures could dip below -4 degrees Fahrenheit, non-profit group Save the Children said Friday.

Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, was hit with an "extreme Arctic cold blast" this past week, according to Save the Children

"As temperatures plummet, children who have been forced from their homes are trekking through the brutal cold, with high winds and snow, carrying whatever they could grab before they fled," said Irina Saghoyan, Save the Children’s Eastern Europe director.

-ABC News' Zoe Magee

Mar 11, 2022, 2:18 PM EST

Russian forces claim Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant belongs to its state atomic agency

Russian forces claim the Ukrainian power plant Zaporizhzhia belongs to Russia's state atomic agency, Rosatom, the head of Ukraine's nuclear energy company, Energoatom, said Friday on Ukrainian TV.

Russian forces took control of the Zaporizhzhia region last week.

Energoatom’s chief Petro Kotin said that officials from the Russian agency, backed by the 500 Russian troops surrounding it, tried to enter the plant and take control of it this week.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Mar 11, 2022, 1:50 PM EST

Russians reportedly bringing bio-chem weapon suits into Ukraine, US official says

A senior administration official told ABC News Friday that the U.S. is getting reports the Russians are starting to bring in biochemical weapon suits into Ukraine.

The reports comes as the Russians accuse Ukraine and the U.S. of developing biochemical weapons, which the U.S. has denied.

"We believe it is an ominous sign they are possibly doing it for cover," the official said.

According to the official, as much as one-fifth of the Russian force is currently "inoperable," meaning they are either dead, wounded or do not have the support or equipment needed to continue.

But even though the Russians are bogged down they realize that everything depends on taking Kyiv and continue to put all effort into that, according to the official.

There are also concerns about boxing Putin in as well as his consistent and casual mention of nuclear weapons. According to the official, that is one of the reasons he has not been publicly labeled as a war criminal because "we just don't know what he will do."

-ABC News' Martha Raddatz

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