Russia-Ukraine updates: 2 US veterans who joined Ukrainian forces missing

The Americans, Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh and Alexander Drueke, are both from Alabama.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.

The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine's disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

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Two Men at War
Two Men at War
A look at the two leaders at the center of the war in Ukraine and how they both rose to power, the difference in their leadership and what led to this moment in history.
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Strike on Kramatorsk train station 'another war crime,' Zelenskyy says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Friday's deadly missile attack on the Kramatorsk train station in eastern Ukraine "another war crime of Russia."

"All the world's leading powers have already condemned Russia's attack on Kramatorsk," Zelenskyy said during his latest national address Friday. "We expect a firm, global response to this war crime."

The president called for the missile strike, which killed at least 50, to be among the charges in a war crimes tribunal against Russia.

"All the efforts of the world will be aimed to establish every minute: who did what, who gave orders. Where did the rocket come from, who was carrying it, who gave the order and how the strike was coordinated," Zelenskyy said. "Responsibility is inevitable."


Claims Russia not involved in train attack 'unconvincing': Pentagon

During his daily press briefing, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby was clear that the U.S. believes that Russia was behind the rocket attack on a train station in eastern Ukraine earlier Friday.

"We find unconvincing Russian claims that they weren't involved, particularly when the ministry actually announced it and then when they saw reports of civilian casualties they decided to unannounce it,” Kirby said during Friday afternoon's briefing. "So our assessment is that this was a Russian strike and they used a short-range ballistic missile to conduct it."

Kirby called it a part of the trend by Russia of "brutality" and "carelessness" in not avoiding civilian casualties as they carry out this war in Ukraine.

At least 50 people, including five children, were killed in the rocket attack in Kramatorsk, Ukrainian authorities said.

A Kremlin spokesman denied involvement in the attack, saying Russia's Armed Forces do not use the type of missile used in the strike and that no combat tasks were planned in the region.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez


EU president witnesses mass grave in Bucha

European Union President Ursula Von der Leyen was seen on camera witnessing a mass grave in Bucha, Ukraine, during a visit to the demolished city with the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

After touring Bucha, Von der Leyen met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and handed him an envelope with a questionnaire, marking the first step toward membership in the EU. Zelenskyy said he'd have responses in one week.

Global officials have accused Russian troops of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of civilians lying dead in the streets of Bucha following the withdrawal of Russian forces.

At a press conference Thursday Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "The sickening images and accounts coming out of Bucha and other parts of Ukraine have only strengthened our collective resolve and unity."


Russia has lost 15-20% of combat power, US says

The Pentagon is "not buying" Russia's denial of responsibility for the Ukraine train station attack that killed at least 50, a senior U.S. defense official said Friday.

"They originally claimed a successful strike and then only retracted it when there were reports of civilian casualties," the official said. "It's our full expectation that this was a Russian strike -- we believe they used a short-range ballistic missile, an SS-21."

As Russian troops retreat from some Ukrainian cities, some of the Russian battalion tactical groups (or BTGs, with roughly 800-1,000 troops each) that have withdrawn back across the Belarusian and Russian borders have been essentially "eradicated" from the fighting in Ukraine, according to the senior defense official.

"There's just nothing left of the BTG except a handful of troops and maybe a small number of vehicles," the official said.

In terms of total losses -- counting troops, tanks, aircraft and missile inventory -- Russia has lost between 15-20% of the combat power it originally had arrayed against Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion, according to the official.

According to the official, some of the withdrawn Russian forces are now making their way to the Russian cities of Belgorod and Valuyki, to the northwest of Donbas. But there are "no indications" that fresh troops are waiting there to join them, the official said.

For now, degraded Russian BTGs are "exploring the option of" consolidating, banding together remaining troops and supplies to form new units, the official said.

Russia is also aiming to recruit upwards of 60,000 new troops, according to the official.

After Russian BTGs rebuild, "the most likely course of action would be for them to move immediately south right into the Donbas," the official said.

The Pentagon now estimates more than 40 Russian BTGs are positioned in or near the Donbas region. The estimate was "more than 30" on Wednesday, meaning up to 10,000 more troops have arrived in recent days.

-ABC News' Matt Seyler


Ukrainian casualties mounting

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has already engaged around 330,000 Russian personnel, Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromo of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces told local media on Thursday.

“[Russian] groups at various axes are close to 150,000 strong. If we add their air and sea components, there are about 220,000 military personnel,” Hromo said. Russia also deployed “units of the national army combat reserve, the federal service of guard forces, and mobilization units,” the Brigadier General added.

Hromo's sobering account came on the back of claims made by a top Ukrainian official earlier on Wednesday that revealed mounting Ukrainian casualties. Up to 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers are being killed or wounded each day in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, with 200 to 500 killed on average and many more wounded, said David Arakhamia, who heads the presidential faction in the Ukrainian parliament.

In early June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said daily fatalities among Ukrainian ranks at the Donbas front were between 60 to 100 troops.

Arakhamia, one of Zelenskyy's closest advisers who oversees Ukraine's stalled negotiations with Russia, has been leading a Ukrainian delegation in Washington this week in a bid to lobby the Biden administration and Congress.

Arakhamia's team want to see the pace of weapons shipments increased and is pushing for a designation of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

-ABC News' Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak, Yulia Drozd and Max Uzol