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

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

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, Bill Hutchinson, Ivan Pereira, Patricio Chile, Kevin Shalvey, Julia Jacobo, Teddy Grant, Jon Haworth, and Mary Kekatos
Last Updated: February 24, 2023, 5:53 AM EST

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.
Feb 03, 2023, 1:41 PM EST

US announces $2.2 billion in aid to Ukraine

The U.S. announced another $2.2 billion in security assistance for Ukraine on Friday.

The package includes "critical air defense capabilities to help Ukraine defend its people, as well as armored infantry vehicles and more equipment that Ukraine is using so effectively, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, artillery ammunition, and conventional and long-range rockets for U.S.-provided [High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems]," the Department of Defense said in a statement.

Ukrainian servicemen fire a mortar toward Russian positions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on a front line near the town of Soledar in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Jan. 14, 2023.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Serhii Nuzhnenko via Reuters

The weapons package includes precision-guided rockets, or Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs, which have a longer range than the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System missiles Ukraine currently has, though not as long as the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACM) missiles that Ukraine has requested.

The package includes the authorization of presidential drawdown from existing U.S. stocks valued at up to $425 million and $1.75 billion in Ukraine Assistance Security Initiative funds for new weapons purchases, the Department of Defense said.

--ABC News' Luis Martinez

Feb 03, 2023, 11:55 AM EST

Zelenskyy: 'Nobody will give away Bakhmut'

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine will "fight for as long as we can" to hold on to the eastern city of Bakhmut in remarks on Friday.

"Nobody will give away Bakhmut," Zelenskyy said during a news conference with European Union officials after a summit in Kyiv, Reuters reported. "We consider Bakhmut our fortress."

People walk on a destroyed bridge to cross a canal towards the disputed area in Bakhmut on Feb. 1, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

"Ukraine would be able to hold Bakhmut and liberate occupied Donbas if it received long-range weapons," he added.

The remarks come as Ukrainian and Russian forces remain locked in a brutal battle in and around Bakhmut.

Feb 02, 2023, 10:54 AM EST

3 civilians killed in ballistic missile strike in Kramatorsk

At least three people were killed and 21 injured in Kramatorsk after a Russian ballistic missile hit a residential building, Mayor Alexander Goncharenko said.

People work at a site of a residential building destroyed by a Russian missile strike in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Feb. 1, 2023.
Handout via Reuters

A view shows a residential building destroyed by a Russian missile strike in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Feb. 1, 2023.
Pavlo Kyrylenko via Reuters

People work at a site of a residential building destroyed by a Russian missile strike in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Feb. 1, 2023.
Serhii Horbatenko via Reuters

"Some people are still under the rubble. No goal other than terror," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday evening. "The only way to stop Russian terrorism is to defeat it. By tanks. Fighter jets. Long-range missiles."

-ABC News' William Gretsky

Feb 01, 2023, 1:51 PM EST

US issues additional sanctions against Russian military-industrial complex

The U.S. Treasury Department announced a new round of sanctions against 22 individuals and entities across various countries it alleges have aided Russia's military-industrial complex evade other sanctions already in place. The U.S. is specifically targeting a father and son arms-dealing duo and their vast international network.

The department said these steps are part of "the U.S. strategy to methodically and intensively target sanctions evasion efforts around the globe, close down key backfilling channels, expose facilitators and enablers, and limit Russia’s access to revenue needed to wage its brutal war in Ukraine."

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

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