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.
Jun 03, 2022, 12:17 PM EDT

Marriott suspends all operations in Russia

Marriott International announced Friday that it will suspend all its operations in Russia, after operating there for 25 years, due to the conflict in Ukraine.

It said the suspension comes as newly announced U.S., U.K. and EU restrictions will make it impossible for it to operate or franchise hotels in Russia.

Marriott closed its corporate office in Moscow and all upcoming hotels and future developments and investments were paused on March 10.

The company also announced it has given $1 million in disaster relief funds for associates and their families who have been directly affected by the war. Lodging is being offered to refugees from Ukraine at 85 hotels in neighboring countries.

-ABC News' Alexandra Faul

Jun 03, 2022, 7:50 AM EDT

Russia now controls over 90% of Luhansk region

Russia now controls over 90% of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast and "is likely to complete control in the next two weeks," the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Friday in an intelligence update.

"Russia is now achieving tactical success in the Donbas. Russian forces have generated and maintained momentum and currently appear to hold the initiative over Ukrainian opposition," the ministry said. "Russia has achieved these recent tactical successes at significant resource cost, and by concentrating force and fires on a single part of the overall campaign."

Russia has been unable to advance its other fronts or axes, "all of which have transitioned to the defensive," according to the ministry. In fact, the ministry noted, none of the strategic objectives of Moscow's original plan have been achieved.

PHOTO: Ukrainian servicemen park a Russian BMP-2, an infantry combat vehicle, in the Kharkiv area of eastern Ukraine, May 29, 2022.
Ukrainian servicemen park a Russian BMP-2, an infantry combat vehicle, in the Kharkiv area of eastern Ukraine, May 29, 2022. The Ukrainian military has been recovering abandoned Russian combat vehicles on the frontline to repair them and use them to their advantage.
Bernat Armangue/AP

Russian forces failed to achieve their initial objectives to seize Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and other major cities.

"Staunch Ukrainian resistance and the failure to secure Hostomel airfield in the first 24 hours led to Russian offensive operations being repulsed," the ministry said. "Following the failure of the initial plan, through false planning assumptions and poor tactical execution, Russia adapted its operational design to focus on the Donbas."

Russian forces are now battling Ukrainian troops for control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which comprises Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.

"In order for Russia to achieve any form of success will require continued huge investment of manpower and equipment, and is likely to take considerable further time," the ministry added.

Jun 03, 2022, 5:48 AM EDT

100 days of war

Friday marked the 100th day since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine.

In a statement, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the "full-scale invasion" as a "continuation of Russia’s aggressive actions it unleashed 8 years ago by occupying Crimea and parts of territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions."

"Today, our people defend not only their right to exist and live in an independent state, but the security of Europe and the whole democratic world," the ministry said. "Every day our defenders, at the cost of their own lives, bravely repel Russia’s war machine and fight for freedom and peaceful future of the continent."

"For 100 days of war, the Kremlin has failed to reach its main goal -- conquest of Ukraine," the ministry added. "Instead, Russia has become the most sanctioned state in the world, and its activities within international organizations and participation in international events have been significantly limited or stopped. The Ukrainian army is bravely holding the line and has liberated territories in a number of regions. Ukraine is determined to have a complete victory over the Russian invader."

A woman walks past a building partially destroyed by shelling in the village of Moshchun, Kyiv region, June 2, 2022, on the 99th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP via Getty Images

The ministry thanked the "dozens of countries around the world who provide significant support" to Ukraine. It also called on the international community to support the establishment of a special tribunal to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

"In order to stop Russia's crimes against the Ukrainian people, destruction of our economy and blackmail of the whole world by famine, consistent support for Ukraine should continue. Assistance to our state today is the best investment in peace and sustainable development of all mankind," the ministry said. "The main pillars for our victory remain unchanged: maximum sanction pressure on Russia, deliveries of necessary weapons and granting Ukraine the status of candidate on the way to full-fledged EU membership."

A destroyed room in the school where a graduation ceremony, called the Last School Bell, was supposed to take place in Kharkiv, Ukraine, June 2, 2022.
Andrii Marienko/AP

Meanwhile, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova applauded progress that's been made in the so-called special military operation in Ukraine.

"The special military operation will be continued until all of its objectives declared by the Russian administration, including denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, are achieved," Zakharova said at a press briefing Friday. "A lot has been done in this area: militants of the Azov nationalistic formation have surrendered in Mariupol and the liberation of Donbas has been consistently carried out."

Jun 02, 2022, 1:34 PM EDT

Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine's territory, Zelenskyy says

Russia now controls over 46,300 square miles of Ukraine, which accounts for about 20% of Ukraine's territory, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

A service member of pro-Russian troops rides on top of an armored personnel carrier during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk Region, Ukraine, June 2, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

Since Russia's invasion began, Russian forces have gained control of over 16,602 square miles, or roughly 7% of Ukraine's territory -- an area that's comparable to the size of the Netherlands, Zelenskyy said Thursday in a speech to the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg. Combined with the territory from Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the war in the Donbas region, Russia's control of Ukraine now accounts for 20% of its territory, he said.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Related Topics