Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin says war was ‘unleashed’ on Russia

The Russian president delivered his annual Victory Day speech.

More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the countries are fighting for control of areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's forces are readying a spring counteroffensive, but Putin appears to be preparing for a long and bloody war.

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Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 24, 2023, 5:42 PM EST

Nearly 200k Russian troops killed or wounded so far: Western officials

Western officials have provided a more detailed look at the scope of losses for Russia since its invasion began a year ago.

The range of Russian casualties is believed to be between 180,000 and 200,000, which includes killed and wounded figures, a U.S. official told ABC News. The official cautioned that this number is all inexact but also includes Wagner forces.

The ratio of wounded to killed soldiers is three to one among estimated Russian casualties of 175,000 to 200,000, Western officials told ABC News on Feb. 21.

On the Ukrainian side, there are "at least 100,000" Ukrainian casualties in the war so far with a ratio of 20 wounded soldiers to every dead soldier, Western officials said on Feb. 21.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez, Elle Kaufman and Zoe Magee

Feb 24, 2023, 3:19 PM EST

White House says Iran's support for Russia is expanding

The White House is now warning that Iran’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine is "expanding" with the country sending additional military aid in November with the expectation that more will be obtained.

"In November, Iran shipped artillery and tank rounds to Russia for use in Ukraine," White House spokesperson John Kirby said Friday. "Russia is planning to cooperate with Iran to obtain more military equipment."

In return, Kirby said that Russia “has been offering Iran unprecedented defense cooperation, including on missiles, electronics and air defense.”

“We believe that Russia might provide Iran with fighter jets. Iran is also seeking to purchase additional military equipment from Russia including attack helicopters, radars and combat trainer aircraft. In total, Iran is seeking billions of dollars of military equipment from Russia," Kirby said.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

Feb 24, 2023, 2:34 PM EST

Ukraine accuses Russia of conducting 'state sponsored kidnapping of children'

Ukraine accused Russia of conducting state-sponsored kidnapping of children, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement to the United Nations Security Council on Friday.

"The magnitude of the humanitarian crisis brought on by Russia's aggression against Ukraine cannot be overstated. I would like to highlight here one of numerous horrendous facts - Russia is now implementing in Ukraine probably the largest instance of state sponsored kidnapping of children in history of our modern world," Kuleba said.

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

Feb 24, 2023, 12:21 PM EST

Zelenskyy hopes China will not supply Russia with weapons

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters he wants to believe China won’t supply Russia with weapons in the ongoing conflict.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the U.S. and NATO have intelligence that China is getting ready to possibly supply Russia with weapons. China has denied these claims.

Zelenskyy said it is "priority No. 1" for him to prevent China from providing Russia with weapons.

"This is very important. This is priority No. 1 for me and I am doing my best to prevent that from happening. It is important for us," he said.

He added, "I believe China is going to side with the idea of fair peace, peace and fairness which is our side."

-ABC News' Fidel Pavlenko

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