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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US announces fresh sanctions targeting Russia
The United States announced Friday a series of fresh sanctions against those who are supporting Russia's war in Ukraine.
The White House said the new sanctions target more than 200 people and companies in Russia and other countries around the world. The Biden administration will also target a dozen Russian financial institutions as well as Russian officials and will restrict U.S. companies from exporting products to around 90 companies in Russia and other countries, including China, according to the White House.
The products that will be limited, such as semiconductor chips, are being used for "sanction evasion and backfill activities in support of Russia's defense sector," the White House said.
The U.S. will also increase tariffs on Russian metals, minerals and chemicals, which will eventually cost Moscow some $2.8 billion, according to the White House.
"These sanctions, export controls, and tariffs are part of our ongoing efforts to impose strong additional economic costs on Russia," the White House said. "We will continue to work with our allies and partners to use all economic tools available to us to disrupt Russia’s ability to wage its war and degrade its economy over time."
The announcement came on the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
No end in sight as Russia's war in Ukraine enters 2nd year
As tens of thousands of Russian troops lined up along Ukraine’s eastern and northern borders for "military exercises" last February, some international observers warned that Russia was about to do the unthinkable.
U.S. President Joe Biden had declassified intelligence in the weeks prior that showed an attack on Ukraine's sovereignty was imminent. That intel was shared with allies, in an attempt to rally support and to stop the war, but the effort proved unsuccessful. The invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022.
The following four seasons have seen some of the bloodiest fighting on European soil in generations. Tens of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian troops have been killed. And Ukrainian civilians have been terrorized by missiles aimed at energy infrastructure, city centers and apartment buildings.
This month marks both the 9-year anniversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which he illegally annexed in 2014, and the first anniversary of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The ends to which he'd go in his mission to capture Ukraine have become clear in the last year.
-ABC News' Kevin Shalvey
Ukraine braces for Russian missile strikes on 1-year anniversary of war
There was a somber mood over Kyiv on Friday morning as the country marks the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion while bracing for a potential barrage of missile strikes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with the country's top general and the defense minister, took part in a military ceremony in Sofia Square in the historical center of the capital city. Zelenskyy and Poland's president also visited a memorial wall for fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukrainians are anticipating Russian missile strikes to mark the anniversary, amid warnings from the Ukrainian Air Force that there is a high risk of them. But so far it has been quiet, with no major strikes beyond routine shelling in northern and eastern Ukraine.
-ABC News' Patrick Reevell
Key events in the year since Russia invaded Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Feb. 21, 2022, that he had recognized two Russian-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent states.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy followed the announcement by saying that Ukraine had cut diplomatic ties with Russia. Putin then gave a speech on Feb. 24, 2022, announcing he would launch a "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Minutes after the announcement, explosions could be heard in Kyiv. What followed was a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with thousands of troops crossing the country's borders. Here are the key events that occurred in the year since then.
-ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab
Blinken warns China is 'contemplating lethal assistance' for Russia
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Friday that China is "actively thinking about" providing lethal assistance to Russian forces in war-torn Ukraine.
"We're very concerned that they're thinking about it. Up until now, Chinese companies have provided non-lethal support," Blinken told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos during an interview on "Good Morning America."
"From Day One, President Biden warned President Xi not to provide material lethal assistance to Russia for use against Ukraine or to engage in the systematic evasion of sanctions. And the information we have suggests that they’re now actively thinking about it, which is why we've been public about warning them not to," he added. "It could make a material difference in Russia's capacity on the ground at a time when we want to bring this war to an end, not add fuel to the fire and have it continue."
The U.S. government has "shared a lot of information with other countries, with allies and partners," regarding the fact that China is now considering lethal assistance, according to Blinken.
"We always have to get the balance right between making sure that we're protecting the way we get our information and releasing it," he said. "But we thought it was really important to make clear that China's looking at this. And what they're hearing not just from us but from many other countries around the world is: Don't do it."
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a position paper on Friday, calling for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, the resumption of peace talks, an end to unilateral sanctions and the consideration of sovereignty, territorial integrity and security concerns of all countries. Blinken told ABC News that the U.S. government is "taking a look at it."
"No one wants peace more than the Ukrainians and any proposal that can advance peace is something that's worth looking at," he said. "But, you know, there are 12 points in the Chinese plan. If they were serious about the first one, sovereignty, then this war could end tomorrow."
"China's been trying to have it both ways," he added. "It's on the one hand trying to present itself publicly as neutral and seeking peace, while at the same time it is talking up Russia's false narrative about the war, it is, as I said, providing non-lethal assistance to its companies and now contemplating lethal assistance."