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 FM says NATO has 'returned to the schemes of the Cold War'
The NATO summit in Vilnius showed that the NATO "alliance has finally returned to the schemes of the Cold War," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
"NATO consistently lowers the threshold for the use of force and strengthens the nuclear component in military planning," the statement added.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also noted NATO countries "promised to continue supplying more and more long-range weapons to Kyiv," saying they are doing so in order to "prolong the conflict."
-ABC News' Tanya Stukalova
Zelenskyy says he received 'unambiguous statement' Ukraine will be in NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he received assurances that Ukraine will become a member of NATO and told reporters he believes it will happen "as soon as the security situation is stabilized," when answering questions after the conclusion of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Wednesday.
When asked what Zelenskyy got out of the summit, he said he received "support from the leaders and an unambiguous statement that Ukraine will be in NATO."
"I believe that we will be in NATO as soon as the security situation is stabilized. In simple terms, the moment the war is over, Ukraine will definitely be invited to join NATO and Ukraine will definitely become a member of the alliance. I have not heard any other opinion today," Zelenskyy said.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
Wagner forces turn over weapons, military equipment to Russian forces
Wagner forces are turning over weapons and military equipment to the Russian Armed Forces, the country's defense ministry said Wednesday.
More than 2,000 pieces of equipment and weapons were transferred to the Russian Armed Forces from Wagner forces, including hundreds of tanks, air defense systems, self-propelled artillery mounts, armored personnel carriers and more, the defense ministry said.
Among the equipment, dozens of units have never been used in combat before.
Russian forces also received more than 2,500 tons of various ammunition and about 20,000 small arms, the defense ministry said.
Separately, the Belarusian Interior Ministry has "begun talks seeking to invite Wagner Group members to train its troops," Interfax, a Russian news agency, reported Wednesday.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
Zelenskyy has 'powerful' meeting with Biden
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his in-person meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Lithuania’s capital on Wednesday was "very good" and "powerful."
Zelenskyy took to Twitter after their meeting ended in Vilnius, saying it lasted "twice as long as planned" and "was as meaningful as it needed to be."
"If the protocol had not stopped the meeting, we would have talked even longer," he tweeted.
Zelenskyy said their meeting covered "all the topics," including long-term support for Ukraine, weapons, politics and NATO membership.
"We clearly see how to end this war with our common victory," he added. "Thank you, Mr. President!"
US sanctions alleged illicit gold companies funding Wagner Group
The U.S. announced additional sanctions targeting the Wagner Group, specifically going after gold companies and a Russian man it says are illicitly funding the Wagner Group’s operations in Ukraine and Africa.
Central African Republic based companies Midas Resources SARLU and Diamville SAU, Dubai based company Industrial Resources General Trading and Russia based company Limited Liability Company, re connected to Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is already subject to U.S. sanctions along with numerous other entities linked to the Wagner Group, according to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Andrey Nikolayevich Ivanov, a Russian national, and an executive in the Wagner Group, allegedly worked closely with Prigozhin’s entity Africa Politology and senior Malian government officials on weapons deals, mining concerns, and other Wagner Group activities in Mali, OFAC said.
"The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali," Brian Nelson, the U.S. under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a written statement. "The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group’s revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa, Ukraine, and anywhere else."
-ABC News' Ben Gittleson