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.
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.
Apr 10, 2022, 1:32 PM EDT
Austrian chancellor to meet with Putin
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer confirmed he plans to travel to Moscow on Monday and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Nehammer noted in a Twitter post on Sunday that while Austria is militarily neutral, the country's position on Russia's war against Ukraine is that it must stop.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer meets with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in an undated photo.
Nehammer said that humanitarian corridors and a ceasefire need to be established and that a full investigation should take place appraising allegations of war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
The chancellor said he has notified Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his European partners of his plan to meet with Putin.
Nehammer's decision to meet with Putin comes after he visited Kyiv on Saturday and met with Zelenskyy.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
Apr 10, 2022, 12:39 PM EDT
More than 1,200 bodies found in Kyiv region since start of invasion
A top Ukrainian prosecutor said the bodies of more than 1,200 Ukrainians allegedly killed by Russian forces have been found in or near the capital of Kyiv since the start of the Russian invasion in February.
Ukraine's prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova. made the grim announcement on Sunday, the 46th day of the war in Ukraine.
Police officers work on identifying bodies of civilians, before sending them to the morgue, in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 6, 2022.
Rodrigo Abd/AP
"As of the morning of April 10, we found the bodies of 1,222 people who died during the Russian occupation of Kyiv region. This is only in Kyiv region," Venediktova said.
Venediktova said many of the bodies recovered in the Kyiv region are those of civilians.
"Of course, what we have seen on the ground in all regions of Ukraine are war crimes, crimes against humanity and we will do everything to prosecute them," Venediktova said.
A photo published on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Telegram channel, shows blood stains among bags and a baby carriage at the railway station in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, April 8, 2022.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's Telegram via AP
In addition to the atrocities found near the capital city, Venediktova mention at rocket attack Friday on a train station in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine that killed 50 people, including five children. Venediktova called the deadly attack in Kramatorsk a "war crime."
Apr 10, 2022, 9:13 AM EDT
Pope calls for Easter truce in Ukraine
Pope Francis prayed for an Easter truce in Ukraine during Palm Sunday services at the Vatican, telling thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square that "nothing is impossible for God."
In his angelus prayer following Palm Sunday Mass, the pope expressed hope for a period of calm to allow leaders in the now 46-day war to negotiate peace.
Pope Francis blesses the olive branches as he leads the Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter square, at the Vatican on April 10, 2022.
Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images
"Let the weapons be put down! Let the Easter truce begin," Pope Francis said. "But not to provide more weapons and pick up the combat again – no! – a truce that will lead to peace, through real negotiation that is even disposed to some sacrifice for the good of the people. In fact, what victory is there in planting a flag on a pile of rubble?"
Vatican police estimated that about 65,000 people made the pilgrimage to St. Peter's Square for the start of Holy Week. It was the first Palm Sunday Mass celebrated in St. Peter's Square in two years due to the pandemic.
Many of those in attendance held palm branches in a symbolic gesture commemorating the return of Jesus to Jerusalem.
“When we resort to violence ... we lose sight of why we are in the world and even end up committing senseless acts of cruelty," Francis said during his homily. "We see this in the folly of war, where Christ is crucified yet another time."
Apr 10, 2022, 7:31 AM EDT
Eastern Ukraine 'on fire' as Russian shelling continues
Russian forces on Saturday night attacked cities throughout eastern Ukraine, with shelling near Mariupol and Kharkiv, Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a statement on Sunday.
Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed overnight near Izyum, near Kharkiv, in the Donetsk Oblast, as Russian troops attempted to "break through" the local defense, the statement said.
"The East of Ukraine is on fire again," Lesia Vasylenko, a government minister, said. "All news of the morning: troops amassing around Kharkiv, artillery attacks all across towns in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The same geography as in 2014/15, just wider. Russian aggression continues."
Firefighters work to secure a building previously damaged by a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 9, 2022.
Felipe Dana/AP
Russian missiles fired during the night hit a military base near Zvonetskoe, west of Izyum, Russia's Armed Forces said in a Sunday morning update. Moscow claimed its missiles also had hit Chuhuev military airfield, near Kharkiv, destroying anti-aircraft missile launchers and systems.
Ukraine's military claimed to have repelled eight Russian attacks, destroying four tanks, since Saturday morning.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense on Saturday warned that Russia's attacks throughout the country carried high risks to civilians.
"Russian forces continue to use IEDs to inflict casualties, lower morale, and restrict Ukrainian freedom of movement," the ministry said. "Russian forces also continue to attack infrastructure targets with a high risk of collateral harm to civilians, including a nitrate acid tank at Rubizhne."
