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.
Mar 21, 2023, 6:09 PM EDT

Explosions reported in several Ukrainian cities

Explosions were heard and felt in the cities of Odesa and Kherson and the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk on Tuesday evening, officials and people on the ground in Ukraine reported on social media channels.

During the attack on Odesa, Ukraine's air defense shot down two X-59 guided missiles launched by Russian fighter jets, the Ukrainian Air Force said on its Telegram channel.

A view shows a monastery damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine, March 21, 2023.
Serhii Smolientsev/Reuters

Russia fired four missiles at Odesa, Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office, said on his Telegram channel. Two rockets were shot down by Ukrainian air defense, and two rockets hit the city, he said.

A monastery damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine, March 21, 2023.
Serhii Smolientsev/Reuters

Three people were wounded, and a three-story building on the complex of a monastery was damaged, Yermak said.

Three people were killed, and four were wounded as a result of Russian shelling in the Donetsk region, the Ukrainian Office of the Prosecutor General reported on Facebook.

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

Mar 21, 2023, 4:29 PM EDT

Ukrainian Patriot missile training at Fort Sill nearly complete

The Patriot missile training for Ukrainian troops at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, is wrapping up soon, an Army spokesman said Tuesday.

Sixty-five Ukrainian soldiers have been training at Fort Sill since mid-January in an expedited training cycle on using the Patriots -- training that typically can last up to a year.

The Ukrainians will depart the Army post in the coming days for Europe, where they will receive additional training, before heading back to Ukraine "in the coming weeks," Col. Marty O’Donnell of U.S. Army Europe/Africa told ABC News.

"In Europe, the Ukrainians training here will meet up with Ukrainians training in Europe, and with U.S., German, and Dutch equipment donations to validate the systems and ensure interoperability," O'Donnell said.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Mar 21, 2023, 12:48 PM EDT

US to speed up delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine

The United States is going to speed up the manufacture and delivery of the 31 Abrams tanks President Joe Biden approved sending to Ukraine, a U.S. official confirmed Tuesday.

Instead of making new tanks from scratch, the Department of Defense will now refurbish the hulls of several older models that will be equipped with more modern equipment, according to the official.

A M1A2 Abrams battle tank of the US army that will be used for military exercises by the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, is pictured at the Baltic Container Terminal in Gdynia, Dece. 03, 2022.
Mateusz Slodkowski/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

The new delivery target date is fall 2023, the official said; previously the anticipated delivery time was believed to be mid-2024.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby hinted at the accelerated timeline on Tuesday.

"We're working on that," Kirby said on MSNBC. "There's some changes that you can make to the process to sort of speed that up."

-ABC News' Luis Martinez and Teresa Mettela

Mar 21, 2023, 11:49 AM EDT

Japanese PM visits Ukraine for 1st time during war

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Ukraine on Tuesday for the first time since the start of Russia's invasion.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits the Wall of Remembrance to pay tribute to killed Ukrainian soldiers, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 21, 2023.
Gleb Garanich/Reuters

In Kyiv, Kishida laid a wreath at the memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers. In Bucha, where Ukrainian officials said more than 400 civilians were killed last year by Russian forces, he laid a wreath outside a church before observing a moment of silence and bowing.

"The world was astonished to see innocent civilians in Bucha killed one year ago," Kishida said. "I really feel great anger for all the atrocious acts."

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

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