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

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

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, Ivan Pereira, Bill Hutchinson, and Kevin Shalvey
Last Updated: May 30, 2022, 6:10 PM EDT

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.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
May 30, 2022, 6:10 PM EDT

EU leaders agree to partially ban Russian oil exports

The European Union has agreed to partially ban Russian oil exports to the EU, leaders announced on Monday.

The new ban "immediately" covers more than two-thirds of oil imports from Russia, "cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine," Charles Michel, president of the European Council, tweeted on Monday.

"We agreed in Versailles to phase out our dependency on Russian gas, oil & coal as soon as possible," European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen tweeted. "But this requires a plan."

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

May 30, 2022, 2:17 PM EDT

New US ambassador to Ukraine arrives in Kyiv

Bridget Brink, the new U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, has arrived in Kyiv, the U.S. Embassy confirmed.

Brink was nominated by President Joe Biden in April and confirmed by the Senate on May 18.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

May 30, 2022, 12:04 PM EDT

French journalist killed in Ukraine

A French journalist working for cable channel BFM TV has been killed in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, according to Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration.

French President Emmanuel Macron identified the journalist as Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.

French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, 32, was killed after being hit by shrapnel, May 30, 2022, while covering an evacuation operation near Sievierodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, according to French broadcaster BFM TV.
BFM TV via AP

"On board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombs, he was fatally shot," Macron tweeted. "I share the pain of the family, relatives and colleagues of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, to whom I send my condolences. To those who carry out the difficult mission of informing in theaters of operations, I would like to reiterate France's unconditional support."

-ABC News' Ibtissem Guenfoud and Anna Rabemanantsoa

May 29, 2022, 1:38 PM EDT

31% of Kharkiv region occupied by Russian forces, Ukrainian officials say

A significant portion of Kharkiv, a town in northwest Ukraine near the Russian border, is occupied by Russian forces, Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit on Sunday.

Just 5% of the region has been liberated by Ukrainian forces, Synegubov said.

"We are not yet able to fully inspect some of the liberated settlements, conduct full-fledged de-mining and begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, as shelling continues," Synegubov said, according to a statement from Zelenskyy’s office. "Where we can do it remotely - we do it."

Ukrainian servicemen inspect a Russian MT-LB in the Kharkiv area, eastern Ukraine, May 29, 2022.
Bernat Armangue/AP

During the trip to Kharkiv, Zelenskyy inspected destroyed residential buildings in the Saltivka district. The northern and eastern districts of the city suffered the most destruction, with more than 30% of total housing damaged.

Zelenskyy noted that there will be an opportunity to modernize new constructions and that new housing will have to include bomb shelters.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

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