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 28, 2023, 4:45 PM EDT

US will support special tribunal to try 'crime of aggression' against Russia

The U.S. will support the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute top Kremlin officials for Russia's aggression toward Ukraine, State Department officials said Tuesday, marking a significant shift for the Biden administration and a notable step toward outlining what accountability on the international stage might look like after the conflict.

A department spokesperson said the administration envisioned the tribunal would take the form of an international court that is "rooted in Ukraine's judicial system" but ideally located in another European country.

The spokesperson added that such a mechanism would work to "facilitate broader international support and demonstrate Ukraine's leadership in ensuring accountability for the crime of aggression" as well as "maximize the chances of achieving meaningful accountability for the crime of aggression."

Ukraine and other Western countries have long called for a special tribunal, but until now, the U.S. has not publicly declared if it would support the creation of a new structure.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Crawford

Mar 27, 2023, 12:21 PM EDT

2 dead, 29 hurt in Russian missile strike on Sloviansk

At least two people were killed and 29 were injured Monday morning when a pair of long-range Russian missiles slammed into buildings in a city in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said.

Communal workers clean the debris from the street in front of a heavily damaged building after a Russian attack in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, March 27, 2023.
Libkos/AP

The two S-300 Russian missiles hit administrative and office buildings, and private homes in Sloviansk, according to Pavlo Kyrylenko, the regional governor.

A man with his push bike stops to look at the remains of a destroyed vehicle in front of a destroyed building after a deadly strike in the city of Sloviansk, Ukraine, March 27, 2023.
Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images

Sloviansk is in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, where heavy fighting has been waged since the start of the war.

The missiles struck the city around 10:30 a.m. local time, Kyrylenko said.

People stand in front of a heavily damaged building after a Russian attack in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, March 27, 2023.
Libkos/AP

He said the town of Druzhkivka in the Donetsk region was also targeted in Monday's missile attacks. Kyrylenko said a Russian missile "almost completely destroyed" an orphanage in Druzhkivka, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

"Another day that began with terrorism by the Russian Federation," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine "will not forgive the torturing of our people."

"All Russian terrorists will be defeated," Zelenskyy said. "Everyone involved in this aggression will be held to account."

ABC's Will Gretsky

Mar 26, 2023, 1:47 PM EDT

Ukrainian drone injures 3 inside Russia

Three people were injured in an explosion in the Kireevsky district of the Tula region on Sunday, Yekaterina Makarova, press secretary of the region's Ministry of Health, told Interfax.

Russian authorities and law enforcement agencies said a Ukrainian drone with ammunition caused the explosion in the town far from the two countries' border.

Kireevsk is about 180 miles from the border with Ukraine and 110 miles south of Moscow.

The Russian state-run news agency Tass reported authorities identified the drone as a Ukrainian Tu-141. The Latvia-based Russian news outlet Meduza reported that the blast left a crater about 50 feet in diameter and 16 feet deep.

-ABC News' Anastasia Bagaeva

Mar 24, 2023, 2:03 PM EDT

Russia says Slovakia handing over fighter jets unfriendly step, violation of international obligations

Russia called Slovakia's transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine an unfriendly step and a step aimed at destroying bilateral relations.

"We are talking about another gross violation by the Slovak side of its international obligations to re-export Russian-made weapons and military equipment," Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said in a statement.

"We regard these actions of Slovakia as an unfriendly act against the Russian Federation, aimed at destroying bilateral relations," the FSMTC said.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

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