Days after the U.S. designated Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as wrongfully detained in Russia, Russian officials referred to pressure from the U.S. to release him as futile.

"Any attempts to put pressure on the Russian authorities and the court, insisting on a 'special treatment' for U.S. citizens who have violated Russian law, are senseless and futile," the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

-ABC News' Natalia Shumskaia

After some missed calls, President Joe Biden finally connected with the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Tuesday.

"He felt it was really important to connect with Evan's family," she told reporters on Air Force One as the president travels to Ireland.

Meanwhile, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Gershkovich's detention is "pretty fresh" and officials are still trying to get consular access to Gershkovich, which they have not been able to do.

He would not get into any specific conversations the U.S. is having with Russians about releasing Gershkovich or if a prisoner swap is a possibility.

"I just want to make a couple of things clear that is, the determination of wrongful detention, it doesn't start the clock necessarily on communicating with the Russians about getting him released," Kirby said. "We're very early in this process here and I certainly, I think you can understand why I wouldn't talk about any discussions we might be having with the Russians about his release or Paul [Whelan]'s release. We certainly wouldn't do that."

Kirby said the administration is "certainly having discussions about what we can do to get him released."

"I don't want to go into details about these internal deliberations, having things out in the public sphere viscerally might actually make it harder to get Evan and Paul home, and that's what we're focused on," Kirby said.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has determined that Wall Street Journalist reporter Evan Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained by Russia, according to a statement released Monday afternoon.

Two Americans are now considered to be wrongfully detained by Russia -- Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.

Gershkovich’s case will now be transferred to the Office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, the U.S. government’s top hostage negotiator.

Gershkovich, a 31-year-old New Jersey native who has lived and worked in Moscow as an accredited journalist for the last six years, was in a restaurant in Yekaterinburg on March 29 when Russia's Federal Security Service arrested him on espionage charges that the Wall Street Journal, his colleagues and the U.S. government have said are absurd.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Crawford

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that the tanks Poland agreed to give Ukraine are already in the country, including the Leopards.

"Poland has fulfilled everything it declared about tanks," Zelenskyy said during his nightly address, adding that there is also an agreement on 200 Rosomak armored personnel carriers and "self-propelled mortars, additional missiles, MiGs."

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko arrived on a state visit to China on Tuesday, according to Sputnik, a Russian state-owned news agency.

During his planned three-day visit, Lukashenko will hold a series of meetings with top Chinese officials, according to Sputnik.

Belarus has been an unofficial ally of Russia since the war began.

Lukashenko's visit comes at a time when Western officials have issued warnings about the Chinese government possibly aiding Russia in its invasion.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said they have intelligence showing China is preparing to send lethal aid to Russia.

Last week, the Chinese foreign minister visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia. During remarks at that meeting, Putin said he is planning for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Russia this spring.

-ABC News' Natalia Shumskaia