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:
Ukraine says it's 'ready' for counteroffensive
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Friday the military is "ready" to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces.
"It's up to the general staff and the command," Reznikov said during a press briefing in Kyiv. "We will do it as soon as there is God's will, the weather and the commanders' decision."
Ukraine has received Patriot missile defense systems from the United States as well as Germany and the Netherlands. The Ukrainian military has been trained on how to use the systems and "mastered" them within weeks, according to Reznikov.
"The exact number of batteries, I'm sorry, I won't say," he added. "Let the enemy guess."
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the world not to consider or call the anticipated counteroffensive "a decisive battle." Speaking at a press conference in Odesa on Friday, Kuleba said the decisive battle is the one that will lead to the liberation of all occupied Ukrainian territories.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Missile strike in Mykolaiv kills 1, wounds 23
One person was killed and 23 people, including a child, were wounded in a Russian missile strike in Mykolaiv early Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The missile struck a block that had apartments, houses and a historic building, according to Zelenskyy.
"The terrorists will not get away with this yet another crime against humanity," the president said in a statement.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Zelenskyy has 1st call with China's Xi Jinping since war began
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping in what was the two leaders' first official contact since January 2022, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Xi announced that he will send a special envoy to visit Ukraine and "other countries" to work on a political solution.
"I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine's ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations," Zelenskyy said in a statement on Twitter.
The Chinese government's official position still refuses to call the war an "invasion."
The call between the two leaders is said to have lasted an hour, according to Zelenskyy's office.
"Before the full-scale Russian invasion, China was Ukraine's number one trading partner. I believe that our conversation today will give a powerful impetus to the return, preservation and development of this dynamic at all levels," Zelenskyy said in a statement.
-ABC News' Karson Yiu, Cindy Smith and Will Gretsky
At least 2 dead, 10 injured in strike that hit Ukrainian museum
At least two people were killed and 10 injured after a Russian missile hit a Ukrainian museum Tuesday, officials said.
The local history museum is located in the city center of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region.
"The terrorist country is doing everything to destroy us completely. Our history, our culture, our people," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media while sharing a video that showed the damaged building. "Killing Ukrainians with absolutely barbaric methods."
At least 21 killed in Kherson region shelling: Ukrainian officials
At least 21 people were killed and 48 injured by shelling in the Kherson region on Wednesday, Ukrainian officials said, as the death toll continues to rise.
A railway station and market in the city of Kherson were hit in strikes, which occurred across the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, officials said.
"A railway station and a crossing, a house, a hardware store, a grocery supermarket, a gas station -- do you know what unites these places? The bloody trail that [Russia] leaves with its shells, killing civilians in Kherson and Kherson region," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Twitter.
All the victims were civilians, Zelenskyy said.
An ambulance was also damaged in the strikes, according to Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin.
"No military objects here. Just civilians, including children," Kostin said on Twitter.
At least one person was killed and three injured in the strike on the railway station, officials previously said.