Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian missile strikes hit multiple Ukrainian cities

Dozens of injuries were reported in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

Russia has continued a nearly 19-month-long invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Recently, though, the Ukrainians have gone on a counteroffensive, fighting to reclaim occupied territory.

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Russian drone strikes northern Ukraine, fatalities reported

At least two people were killed and 19 others injured from a Russian drone attack in northern Ukraine, the Sumy Regional Military Administration said.

An administrative building and two apartment buildings were damaged in the four drone strikes, officials said.

Four people have been hospitalized, according to officials. Two of the patients were listed in intensive care.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily evening address that the lack of air defense systems is part of the reason buildings were hit.

"The enemy is taking advantage of this," he said.

-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman


US ambassador to Moscow meets with detained WSJ journalist

Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Moscow, met with detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich on Monday, the ambassador's press secretary told ABC News.

Tracy met with Wall Street Journal reporter at Moscow's Lefortovo prison where he's being held, according to the press secretary.

This is the second visit between Tracy and Gershkovich since his initial detention in March.

-ABC News' Tanya Stukalova and Ellie Kaufman


Prigozhin releases new message

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group leader who led the rebellion in Russia, reportedly released a new message Monday, his first in a week, to a social media account with ties to the PMC.

In a short audio message posted by Grey Zone telegram account, which believed to be run by a Wagner member that frequently posts about events on the frontline in Ukraine, Prigozhin claimed the June 24 rebellion against Moscow was aimed at "fighting traitors and mobilizing our society."

"I think we have achieved a lot of it. In the near future, I am sure that you will see our next victories at the front. Thanks guys," he allegedly said.

The Wagner Group leader said "today, more an ever, we need your support."

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell


Ukraine holds disaster drills amid fears Russia could sabotage Zaporizhzhia plant

Amid fears Russia might blow up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine is holding drills to prepare emergency services with how to deal with a potential radioactive disaster.

ABC News was invited to the drills in the city of Zaporizhzhia this week, about 30 miles from the plant, where firefighters in hazmat gear simulated decontaminating people from radiation during an evacuation.

Emergency workers demonstrated scanning civilians with Geiger counters as they disembarked buses, stripping some civilians and hosing them with water as they lay on stretchers. Firefighters in yellow suits sprayed down vehicles and moved them through a large washer system rigged up between fire trucks.

This week, Ukraine's chief of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, claimed Russia had now completed preparation to potentially sabotage the plant if it chooses.

Read more about the drills here.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell


US 'prepared to defend every inch of NATO territory' against Russia

The United States "is prepared to defend every inch of NATO territory," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Wednesday, amid Russia's threats of military retaliation if Sweden and Ukraine officially join the alliance.

"At the end of the day, Russia does not get a vote in who joins NATO," Sullivan told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos during an interview Wednesday on "Good Morning America."

"If Russia does choose to test Article 5, President Biden has said he is prepared to defend every inch of NATO territory," he added. "And later tonight, when he addresses a large crowd in Vilnius in a speech about his vision for Euro-Atlantic security and for American leadership, he will reinforce this point about the sanctity of Article 5."

Article 5 of the NATO treaty states that the signed parties "agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all."

Sweden and Finland, which have historically embraced neutrality, applied for NATO membership together last year despite warnings from Moscow against doing so, as Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Finland officially joined the alliance in April following Turkish ratification, but Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify Sweden’s membership. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced Monday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to send Sweden’s NATO accession documents to Turkey’s Parliament for approval "as soon as possible," one of the last steps in the membership process.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is pushing hard for NATO membership as Russia’s war presses on. Stoltenberg announced Tuesday that the bloc "will issue an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO when allies agree and conditions are met," pledging to speed up the process by eliminating bureaucratic hurdles, but without offering a timeline.

"All 31 allies got together yesterday to say with one voice that Ukraine's future is in NATO. The real question is just how we work down the pathway to get them in," Sullivan told ABC News on Wednesday. "So the signal that NATO sent yesterday was very positive to Ukraine about its future prospects for joining NATO, and we will work in terms of the democratic and security sector reforms that are necessary. And in the meantime, we're not just going to sit around. We're going to provide Ukraine with the weapons and military assistance it needs to defend its territory against Russia and to deter future aggression from Russia."

Ukraine has requested F-16 fighter jets and long-range missiles to aid its counteroffensive against Russian forces. Sullivan said the U.S. has already taken steps with NATO allies to begin the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s, which "will take some time," and then the aircraft will be transferred to Ukraine "likely from European countries that have excess F-16 supplies." As for the long-range missiles, Sullivan said the U.S. will continue to look into the issue and discuss it with Ukraine.