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

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

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.

Hulu

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:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Apr 08, 2022, 9:36 AM EDT

Russia isn't telling most families who've lost sons in war: US official

A senior U.S. administration official told ABC News that Russia isn't informing the majority of families when someone is killed in the war.

The official said mothers and spouses are starting to show up outside military bases to try to get information but are told to leave.

The official said mobile crematoriums are being used to burn the bodies of some Russian soldiers.

-ABC News' Martha Raddatz

Apr 08, 2022, 9:00 AM EDT

EU, UK target Putin's daughters in fresh sanctions

The European Union announced Friday a fifth set of sanctions against Russian individuals and businesses, including a prohibition to buy and import coal and solid fossil fuels, with the package expected to include sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters.

The fresh sanctions also include a prohibition on Russian flagged ships accessing E.U. ports, further export bans on technologically goods and import bans on raw materials, accounting for billions of dollars.

Two E.U. officials told The Associated Press that Putin's adult daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, who were sanctioned by the United States earlier this week, have been hit with asset freezes and a travel ban. An E.U. spokesperson would not confirm to ABC News on Friday morning that Putin's daughters were among the latest individuals targeted, but said more details would be announced later in the day.

A pigeon flies past one of the Kremlin towers and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Moscow, Russia, on April 5, 2022.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

The bloc's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in a statement Friday that the "latest sanctions were adopted following the atrocities committed by Russian armed forces in Bucha and other places under Russian occupation."

"The aim of our sanctions is to stop the reckless, inhuman and aggressive behaviour of the Russian troops and make clear to the decision makers in the Kremlin that their illegal aggression comes at a heavy cost," Borrell added.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom formally announced new sanctions against Putin’s two daughters as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, targeting the "lavish lifestyles of the Kremlin's inner circle."

"Our unprecedented package of sanctions is hitting the elite and their families, while degrading the Russian economy on a scale Russia hasn't seen since the fall of the Soviet Union," U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement Friday. "But we need to do more. Through the G-7, we are ending the use of Russian energy and hitting Putin's ability to fund his illegal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine."

"Together, we are tightening the ratchet on Russia's war machine, cutting off Putin's sources of cash," she added.

-ABC News' Guy Davies

Apr 08, 2022, 8:09 AM EDT

Russia denies attack on Ukrainian train station

Russia denied involvement in a rocket attack that killed dozens of people at a train station in eastern Ukraine on Friday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov alleged that the involvement of Russian forces in the attack on the railway station in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk was already ruled out by the Russian Ministry of Defense, based on the type of missile that was used -- a Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile.

"Our Armed Forces do not use missiles of this type," Peskov told reporters during a press briefing Friday. "No combat tasks were set or planned for today in Kramatorsk."

Apr 08, 2022, 6:19 AM EDT

EU president, top diplomat to meet with Zelenskyy in Kyiv

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the bloc's top diplomat, Joseph Borrell, were due to arrive in Ukraine's capital on Friday.

While in Kyiv, the pair will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It will be their first visit to the Ukrainian capital since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24.

Related Topics