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.
Apr 06, 2023, 8:00 PM EDT

Pentagon reviewing reported leak of classified Ukraine war planning documents to social media

The Pentagon is investigating the reported leak of classified U.S. and NATO documents posted on Twitter and Telegram, a spokesperson said.

The New York Times first reported the investigation.

"We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the Department is reviewing the matter," Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a statement provided to ABC News.

The war plans provided statistics on Ukrainian troop and casualty numbers as well as information about weapons deliveries and Ukrainian troop schedules, the New York Times reported.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

Apr 05, 2023, 12:16 PM EDT

Blinken says he views WSJ reporter as 'wrongfully detained' in Russia

At a press conference following a bilateral NATO meeting in Brussels, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters the U.S. is going through a formal process to determine whether it will designate Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as wrongfully detained in Russia, but said he has no doubt that is the case.

"In Evan’s case, we are working through the determination on wrongful detention, and there's a process to do that, and it is something that we are working through very deliberately but expeditiously as well," Blinken answered a WSJ reporter who had asked about the determination.

"I'll let that process play out. In my own mind, there's no doubt that he's being wrongfully detained by Russia, which is exactly what I said to Foreign Minister [Sergey] Lavrov when I spoke to him over the weekend and insisted that Evan be released immediately," Blinken added.

Blinken said he expected the formal process to be "completed soon."

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Apr 04, 2023, 5:22 PM EDT

Zelenskyy invited to NATO summit in July

NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that he invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11 and 12.

Zelenskyy will meet with alliance member states, according to Stoltenberg.

-ABC News' William Gretsky

Apr 04, 2023, 3:35 PM EDT

US 'working diligently' to get WSJ reporter consular access: White House

The U.S. is continuing to push for consular access for Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing Tuesday, adding that "this is a priority" for President Joe Biden.

Asked how worrying it was the U.S. still didn't have consular access, Jean-Pierre said, "We're concerned."

"We're taking this very seriously," Jean-Pierre said, pointing to Secretary Antony Blinken’s conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the weekend. "We're working diligently, very hard to get a counselor to Evan.”

Jean-Pierre declined to say whether the U.S. was close to determining that Gershkovich was being "wrongfully detained" or provide a timeline of when that determination may happen, saying the State Department's process "is currently ongoing." That classification would allow the federal government to use more resources to try to free him.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

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