Russia-Ukraine updates: US sanctions Russian military shipbuilder, diamond miner

Russia's largest military shipbuilding and diamond mining firms were targeted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation” into Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with troops crossing the border from Belarus and Russia. Moscow's forces have since been met with “stiff resistance” from Ukrainians, according to U.S. officials.

Russian forces retreated last week from the Kyiv suburbs, leaving behind a trail of destruction. After graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha, U.S. and European officials accused Russian troops of committing war crimes.

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Two Men at War

A look at the two leaders at the center of the war in Ukraine and how they both rose to power, the difference in their leadership and what led to this moment in history.

Apr 07, 2022, 10:24 PM EDT

Fox News' Benjamin Hall provides 1st update since being severely injured in shelling

A Fox News reporter severely injured in a shelling in Ukraine last month that killed two other journalists tweeted for the first time Thursday to update his condition and pay tribute to his colleagues.

Fox News State Department correspondent Benjamin Hall was injured in an attack in Gorenka, outside Kyiv, on March 14. Ukrainian producer and fixer Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova and Fox News cameraperson Pierre Zakrzewski were both killed after incoming fire hit their car.

"Its (sic) been over three weeks since the attack in Ukraine and I wanted to start sharing it all," Hall said. "But first I need to pay tribute to my colleagues Pierre and Sasha who didnt (sic) make it that day. Pierre and I traveled the world together, working was his joy and his joy was infectious."

Hall also shared a Fox News segment in which a Ukrainian parliament member paid tribute to Kuvshynova.

The journalist, who was initially treated at a German hospital before being transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, detailed his injuries in another tweet.

"To sum it up, I've lost half a leg on one side and a foot on the other. One hand is being put together, one eye is no longer working, and my hearing is pretty blown… but all in all I feel pretty damn lucky to be here - and it is the people who got me here who are amazing!" he said.

-ABC News' Conor Finnegan

Apr 07, 2022, 6:36 PM EDT

Situation in Borodyanka 'much worse' than other Ukrainian towns, Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in Borodyanka is "much worse" than what Ukrainians have found in other towns where Russian forces have departed.

In his daily address, Zelenskyy said there are "even more victims of the Russian occupiers," in Borodyanka.

A cyclist passes by a destroyed building in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv, on April 6, 2022.
Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images

Zelenskyy has warned in previous statements that they expected to find many more victims in Borodyanka than the number discovered so far in Bucha.

He also said the United Nations General Assembly's decision to suspend Russia's membership from the Human Rights Council was "quite logical, quite rightly."

"Russia has had nothing to do with the concept of human rights for a long time ... maybe someday that will change," Zelenskyy said.

-ABC News' Fidel Pavlenko

Apr 07, 2022, 5:40 PM EDT

EU approves 5th round of sanctions against Russia

The European Union approved a fifth round of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, officials said.

The "substantial" package extends sanctions to "oligarchs, Russian propaganda actors, members of the security and military apparatus and entities in the industrial and technological sector linked to the Russian aggression against Ukraine," according to the French Presidency of the Council of the EU.

It also includes a ban on coal imports from Russia, an embargo on arms to Russia and a freeze on the assets of several Russian banks, among other sanctions.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Apr 07, 2022, 5:21 PM EDT

Biden calls UN suspension of Russia a 'meaningful step'

President Joe Biden applauded Thursday's vote by the United Nations General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.

"This is a meaningful step by the international community further demonstrating how Putin’s war has made Russia an international pariah," he said in a statement.

"Russia is committing gross and systemic violations of human rights. Russian forces are committing war crimes," he continued. "Russia has no place on the Human Rights Council."

Biden referenced the "horrifying" images out of Bucha and other areas of Ukraine.

"The signs of people being raped, tortured, executed -- in some cases having their bodies desecrated -- are an outrage to our common humanity," he said. "Russia's lies are no match for the undeniable evidence of what is happening in Ukraine."

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

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