Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin suspends key US-Russia nuclear treaty in speech denouncing West
President Vladimir Putin said he'd sought an "open dialogue" with the West.
Almost a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout the east and south.
Putin's forces pulled out of key positions in November, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the southern port city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.
For previous coverage, please click here.
Latest headlines:
Helicopter crash near Kyiv kills interior minister
Ukrainian officials were killed on Wednesday morning in a helicopter crash near Kyiv.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi, deputy Evgeniy Yenin and the state secretary of the interior ministry, Yuriy Lunkovych, died when a helicopter crashed in Brovary, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, chief of the national police Igor Klymenko said on Facebook.
The emergency services helicopter crashed near a kindergarten in a residential area, according to officials.
According to the interior ministry, at least 18 people died, including 3 children. Another 22 people, including 10 children, were wounded, officials said.
The cause of the crash is unclear for now.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd
Zelenskyy confirms Netherlands sending Patriot Missile System
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the Netherlands will provide Ukrainian forces a Patriot Missile System.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces will now have three guaranteed Patriot batteries.
-ABC News Will Gretsky
White House condemns Dnipro attack
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre talked about the latest developments in Ukraine and slammed Russia over its missile strike on the apartment building in Dnipro.
"This weekend’s strikes are another example, as you've heard us say, of the brutal and barbaric war that Russia is waging against the Ukrainian people,” she told reporters during a White House press briefing.
“And we have seen this over and over again," she added.
Jean-Pierre also praised the UK’s announcement Monday that it plans to send Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
The press secretary didn't say whether the U.S. would provide tanks to Ukraine or if Biden would pressure other countries to do so.
She noted that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was going to host another multinational meeting on Friday of the "Ukraine Contact Group" -- a gathering of defense ministers to discuss security assistance to Ukraine.
-ABC News' Ben Gittleson
Kyiv's infrastructure under critical strain: Mayor
Kyiv's infrastructure could collapse at any second as Russia's sporadic missile attacks along with freezing winter temperatures put local authorities under increasing strain, the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko told Reuters.
"It's pretty cold in Ukraine right now so living without electricity and heating is almost impossible. The situation is critical. We are fighting to survive," he told Reuters.
Klitschko, who is attending World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, pleaded with allies to speed up deliveries of air defense systems.
"We don't talk about the collapse, but it can happen ... at any second (because) Russian rockets can destroy our critical infrastructure in Kyiv," he said.