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 troops, on the defensive for four months, will launch a long-awaited counterassault "very soon" now that Russia's huge winter offensive is losing steam without taking Bakhmut, Ukraine's top ground forces commander Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Thursday.
"The aggressor does not give up hope of taking Bakhmut at any cost, despite the losses in manpower and equipment," Syrskyi said.
Adding, "Without sparing anything, they lose considerable strength and exhale. Very soon we will take advantage of this opportunity, as we once did near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Balaklia and Kupyansk."
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Mar 23, 2023, 11:51 AM EDT
Slovakia hands over 4 fighter jets to Ukraine
Slovakia has handed over four MiG-29 fighter jets to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to Slovakian Defense Minister Jaro Nad.
The remaining aircrafts promised to Ukraine will be handed over in the following weeks, Nad said.
In response to the news, Russia accused NATO and the EU of continuing to escalate the conflict in Ukraine and seeking to prolong it.
"The Russian Federation considers the transfer of four fighter jets by Slovakia to Ukraine a destructive step that runs counter to the EU's rhetoric about seeking peaceful solutions," Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in a statement.
Adding, "The Russian Federation will measure its reaction with the specific military activities of NATO on the territory of Finland."
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Mar 22, 2023, 11:01 AM EDT
1 dead, 33 injured in Zaporizhzhia missile strike
One person is dead and 33 others were injured after a missile strike hit the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, according to the head of Zaporizhzhia's regional military administration Yurii Malashko.
Among the victims are two children, who are 7 and 9 years old. Eleven adults were hospitalized, with four in serious condition, according to the secretary of the city council, Anatoly Kurtev.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Mar 22, 2023, 9:34 AM EDT
Zelenskyy visits troops after night of Russian strikes
Chinese President Xi Jinping hadn't even left Moscow when the drones started exploding. It came a matter of hours after Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed they were the ones who wanted to make "peace" in Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials say 21 lethal attack drones were launched overnight and into this morning by Russia, with 16 shot down by the Ukrainians.
An apartment block was hit in a town southeast of Kyiv, killing at least four people and injuring others, officials said. Russian officials claim Ukrainian soldiers were based there. The Ukrainians are calling it a "civilian" building.
A Ukrainian service member embraces Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a position near a frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, March 22, 2023.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters
Russian missiles later hit an apartment block in the heart of the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
And in an apparent repost to the geopolitical theatrics in Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited his troops on Wednesday in the eastern Donbas, not far from the embattled city of Bakhmut, according to his officials.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits a hospital near the frontline town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, March 22, 2023.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via AFP/Getty Images
Bakhmut has become a potent symbol of Ukrainian resistance and sacrifice and despite being surrounded on three sides Ukrainian forces inside the city are, after months of fighting there, still holding on.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awards a Ukrainian service member at a position near a frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, March 22, 2023.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters
Zelenskyy's office released video of him addressing troops and also visiting injured soldiers in a military medical facility in the region. He told troops their "destiny was difficult but important" because they were fighting to save the motherland.