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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Ukrainian drone injures 3 inside Russia

Three people were injured in an explosion in the Kireevsky district of the Tula region on Sunday, Yekaterina Makarova, press secretary of the region's Ministry of Health, told Interfax.

Russian authorities and law enforcement agencies said a Ukrainian drone with ammunition caused the explosion in the town far from the two countries' border.

Kireevsk is about 180 miles from the border with Ukraine and 110 miles south of Moscow.

The Russian state-run news agency Tass reported authorities identified the drone as a Ukrainian Tu-141. The Latvia-based Russian news outlet Meduza reported that the blast left a crater about 50 feet in diameter and 16 feet deep.

-ABC News' Anastasia Bagaeva


Russia says Slovakia handing over fighter jets unfriendly step, violation of international obligations

Russia called Slovakia's transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine an unfriendly step and a step aimed at destroying bilateral relations.

"We are talking about another gross violation by the Slovak side of its international obligations to re-export Russian-made weapons and military equipment," Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said in a statement.

"We regard these actions of Slovakia as an unfriendly act against the Russian Federation, aimed at destroying bilateral relations," the FSMTC said.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky


Ukraine says Russia's Bakhmut assault loses steam, counterstrike coming soon

Ukrainian troops, on the defensive for four months, will launch a long-awaited counterassault "very soon" now that Russia's huge winter offensive is losing steam without taking Bakhmut, Ukraine's top ground forces commander Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Thursday.

"The aggressor does not give up hope of taking Bakhmut at any cost, despite the losses in manpower and equipment," Syrskyi said.

Adding, "Without sparing anything, they lose considerable strength and exhale. Very soon we will take advantage of this opportunity, as we once did near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Balaklia and Kupyansk."

-ABC News' Will Gretsky


Slovakia hands over 4 fighter jets to Ukraine

Slovakia has handed over four MiG-29 fighter jets to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to Slovakian Defense Minister Jaro Nad.

The remaining aircrafts promised to Ukraine will be handed over in the following weeks, Nad said.

In response to the news, Russia accused NATO and the EU of continuing to escalate the conflict in Ukraine and seeking to prolong it.

"The Russian Federation considers the transfer of four fighter jets by Slovakia to Ukraine a destructive step that runs counter to the EU's rhetoric about seeking peaceful solutions," Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in a statement.

Adding, "The Russian Federation will measure its reaction with the specific military activities of NATO on the territory of Finland."

-ABC News' Will Gretsky


Leader of Russian mercenary group threatens mutiny

The Russian oligarch behind the Wagner private paramilitary group fighting for the Kremlin in Ukraine is threatening a mutiny if his forces are not resupplied with ammunition soon.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner and curator of the Wagner group, penned a letter to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigue, demanding ammunition be provided to his forces on the battlefield.

In the letter, Prigozhin wrote that if supply problems are not fixed fast, he will complain to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his mercenaries would abandon their positions in Bakhmut, Ukraine, where heavy fighting has been going on for weeks, The Moscow Times reported.

“I appeal to Shoigu with a request to immediately issue ammunition. In case of refusal, I consider it necessary to convey to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief information about the existing problem in order to make a decision and about the advisability of further presence of Wagner PMC in Bakhmut in the conditions of a shortage of ammunition," Prigozhin wrote.

He added, "If the deficit is not replenished ... we will be forced to withdraw part of the units from this territory, and then everything else will crumble. Therefore, the bell is already ringing -- it is called an alarm."

Emphasizing the urgency, Prigozhin noted that Ukraine is planning to launch a counteroffensive soon.

There was no immediate public response from Shoigu or the Kremlin.

"We need to stop deceiving the population and telling that everything is fine with us," Prigozhin wrote. "I must honestly say: Russia is on the brink of disaster. If these screws are not adjusted today, the 'aircraft' will crumble in the air."