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:
Russian strike damages clinic, injuring 1: Ukrainian official
One person was injured after a Russian missile hit a medical clinic in the town of Krasnotorka, Ukraine, in the eastern Donetsk oblast, Ukrainian regional military chief Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a Facebook post.
-ABC News' Max Uzol
Zelenskyy says he's open to meet with Chinese president
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a press conference in Kyiv on Friday he would like to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Zelenskyy said he’d like to talk about the Chinese government's offer to discuss a peace agreement in detail, "because it’s about our country." However, the president noted that the Chinese government hasn't directly talked to Ukrainian's government.
"The first point of their plan is 'recognition of national sovereignty and territorial integrity,' but they didn’t even mention the country. I hope they meant us, Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. "If it’s us, everybody understands that territorial integrity can be achieved by withdrawal of Russian troops from all occupied territories."
Zelenskyy said it is "priority number one" for him to prevent China from providing Russia with weapons for the ongoing conflict.
"I believe China is going to side with the idea of fair peace, peace and fairness which is our side," he added.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
Nearly 200k Russian troops killed or wounded so far: Western officials
Western officials have provided a more detailed look at the scope of losses for Russia since its invasion began a year ago.
The range of Russian casualties is believed to be between 180,000 and 200,000, which includes killed and wounded figures, a U.S. official told ABC News. The official cautioned that this number is all inexact but also includes Wagner forces.
The ratio of wounded to killed soldiers is three to one among estimated Russian casualties of 175,000 to 200,000, Western officials told ABC News on Feb. 21.
On the Ukrainian side, there are "at least 100,000" Ukrainian casualties in the war so far with a ratio of 20 wounded soldiers to every dead soldier, Western officials said on Feb. 21.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez, Elle Kaufman and Zoe Magee
White House says Iran's support for Russia is expanding
The White House is now warning that Iran’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine is "expanding" with the country sending additional military aid in November with the expectation that more will be obtained.
"In November, Iran shipped artillery and tank rounds to Russia for use in Ukraine," White House spokesperson John Kirby said Friday. "Russia is planning to cooperate with Iran to obtain more military equipment."
In return, Kirby said that Russia “has been offering Iran unprecedented defense cooperation, including on missiles, electronics and air defense.”
“We believe that Russia might provide Iran with fighter jets. Iran is also seeking to purchase additional military equipment from Russia including attack helicopters, radars and combat trainer aircraft. In total, Iran is seeking billions of dollars of military equipment from Russia," Kirby said.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
Russian missile attack in Dnipropetrovsk region hits Ukrainian cities: Reports
A Russian missile airstrike was reported in different areas of Ukraine Sunday evening.
Sixteen Russian Tu-95 bombers were reported in the air from various airfields and explosions were reported in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine at 10:51 p.m. local time.
“Presumably, Kh-101 cruise missiles are actively flying at the Pavlograd-1 and Pavlograd-2 railway stations, where trains with APU (Ukrainian Armed Forces) equipment and people were located,” a Russian Telegram channel, Military Chronicle, said.
Several explosions were heard in the city of Pavlograd, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, local Ukrainian media reported.
An air alert was announced for the region at 9:30 p.m. local time and about 10:00 p.m., social networks began to report explosions in Pavlograd.
According to local media, repeated explosions were heard in the city at 10:20 p.m.
The strikes destroyed Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles for the S-300 complex on Pavlograd, Russian Telegram channel Intel Slava reported.
S-300s are long-range surface-to-air missiles.
Supply vehicles with reserve ammunition that belong to the Ukrainian Armed Forces were also hit, the channel said, citing eyewitness accounts.
Intel Slava is funded by the Russian government.
“The detonation of rockets has been going on for almost an hour,” the Intel Slava post said.
It's unclear how many people were injured or killed.
-ABC News' Fidel Pavlenko and Anastasia Bagaeva