Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin suspends key US-Russia nuclear treaty

President Vladimir Putin said he'd sought an "open dialogue" with the West.

Almost a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout the east and south.

Putin's forces pulled out of key positions in November, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the southern port city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.

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Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 31, 2023, 7:31 AM EST

Human Rights Watch calls on Ukraine to investigate use of landmines in Izium

Human Rights Watch is calling on Ukraine to investigate its military's "apparent use of thousands of rocket-fired antipersonnel landmines in and around the eastern city of Izium where Russian forces occupied the area."

The international non-governmental organization issued a press release on Monday saying it has "documented numerous cases in which rockets carrying PFM antipersonnel mines, also called 'butterfly mines' or 'petal mines,' were fired into Russian-occupied areas near Russian military facilities." Ukraine is a state party to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which prohibits any use of antipersonnel mines.

Human Rights Watch said it has previously documented Russian forces’ use of antipersonnel landmines in Ukraine in 2022.

"Ukrainian forces appear to have extensively scattered landmines around the Izium area, causing civilian casualties and posing an ongoing risk," Steve Goose, arms division director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "Russian forces have repeatedly used antipersonnel mines and committed atrocities across the country, but this doesn't justify Ukrainian use of these prohibited weapons."

Jan 29, 2023, 7:34 PM EST

Reports of 3 dead, 6 wounded in Kherson from Russian shelling: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy highlighted the Russian shelling of Kherson in his evening address Sunday, saying there are "reports of six wounded and three dead" from the recent shelling.

"Today, the Russian army has been shelling Kherson atrociously all day. Residential buildings, various social and transport facilities, including a hospital, post office and bus station, have been damaged," Zelenskyy said. "Two women, nurses, were wounded in the hospital. As of now, there are reports of six wounded and three dead."

Zelenskyy spoke with the president-elect of the Czech Republic Sunday and invited him to come to Ukraine, he said.

Zelenskyy also noted the progress that was made last week in getting NATO members and allied countries to commit to sending more weapons to Ukraine, but added, "We have to make the next week no less powerful for our defense."

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

Jan 26, 2023, 1:11 PM EST

11 dead, 11 injured in missile strikes on Ukraine

Eleven people died and 11 others were injured in Russian missile strikes throughout 11 regions of Ukraine on Thursday, according to Ukrainian emergency services.

Two fires broke out and 35 buildings were damaged in the strike.

PHOTO: A woman waves as she stands in a crater following the Russian missile attacks on Jan. 26, 2023 in the settlement Hlevakha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine.
A woman waves as she stands in a crater following the Russian missile attacks on Jan. 26, 2023 in the settlement Hlevakha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine. Air sirens sounded across Ukraine as Russia fires missiles from aircraft and vessels, causing fatalities and damaging power plants a day after Germany and the United States announced new deliveries of tanks to Ukraine.
Roman Pilipey/Getty Images

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Jan 26, 2023, 11:17 AM EST

US designates Russia's Wagner Group as 'transnational criminal organization'

The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against a number of individuals and entities associated with the Wager Group in Russia and across the world in an effort to "degrade the Russian Federation’s capacity to wage war against Ukraine," the department said in a statement.

The U.S. designated Russia's Wagner Group a "transnational criminal organization," not just for the alleged atrocities it has committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but also for its alleged human rights abuses in African countries like the Central African Republic.

PHOTO: A man wearing a camouflage uniform walks out of PMC Wagner Centre, a project implemented by the founder of the Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block in Saint Petersburg, Nov. 4, 2022.
A man wearing a camouflage uniform walks out of PMC Wagner Centre, which is a project implemented by the businessman and founder of the Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block in Saint Petersburg, Nov. 4, 2022.
Igor Russak/Reuters, FILE

The U.S. believes the Wagner Group has 50,000 people fighting in Ukraine, including 40,000 convicts, according to the White House. The group's leader is Russian President Vladimir Putin's ally Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who was already facing several U.S. sanctions.

Last week, the White House first announced the U.S. would take this step.

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