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.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jun 30, 2022, 7:09 PM EDT
Snake Island 'significantly changes' situation in Black Sea, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation on Snake Island, which was freed of Russian forces Thursday, "significantly changes the situation in the Black Sea."
"It does not guarantee safety yet, it does not yet guarantee that the enemy will not return. But it already limits the actions of the occupiers significantly," he said in his latest national address.
This handout satellite photo taken and released by Planet Labs PBC on June 30, 2022, shows Snake Island in the Black Sea.
Planet Labs PBC via AFP via Getty Images
The rocky Ukrainian island, located in the Black Sea, has been the target of Russia since day one of the invasion.
Ukrainian military officials claimed Thursday to have taken back control of Snake Island overnight following a successful military operation. Meanwhile, the Russian defense ministry said Thursday that it withdrew all its forces from Snake Island as a "gesture of goodwill."
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou and Joe Simonetti
Jun 30, 2022, 2:24 PM EDT
Fierce fighting ongoing near last Luhansk Oblast city under Ukraine’s control
Fierce fighting is ongoing southwest of Lysychansk -- the last city in Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast that remains under Ukrainian control, Ukraine’s General Staff said. If Lysychansk falls, one of the two Donbas regions would effectively be seized by Russia.
Aftermath of Russia army air strikes on Lysychansk, a city in the Sievierodonetsk Region of the Luhansk Oblast of Ukraine, is seen on June 17, 2022.
EPN/Newscom
Russian forces have secured positions in the northwestern and southeastern parts of the Lysychansk Oil Refinery and are firing artillery on Ukrainian forces around the refinery and in nearby settlements, Ukraine’s General Staff said.
Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk RMA, said Russian forces are shelling the city from several directions, but there’s no street fighting in Lysychansk and the city is not yet encircled.
-ABC News' Max Uzol and Fidel Pavlenko
Jun 30, 2022, 10:22 AM EDT
Biden announces $800M more in aid, 'going to support Ukraine as long as it takes'
President Joe Biden at his press conference in Madrid Thursday announced $800 million more in aid for Ukraine, including air defense systems and offensive weapons.
A reporter asked how to explain to the American people a joint statement from Biden and other G-7 leaders Monday that read: "We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."
Ukrainian soldiers move a U.S.-supplied M777 howitzer into position to fire at Russian positions in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, June 18, 2022. U.S. officials will send another $450 million in military aid to Ukraine.
Efrem Lukatsky/AP, FILE
Asked if that meant indefinite support from the U.S., or whether there would be a time support from the U.S. would stop, Biden replied: "We are going to support Ukraine as long as it takes."
"I don't know what -- how it's going to end," Biden added, "But it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said recently that the war needs to end by the winter. But Biden said that, "no," that assessment hadn’t changed his calculation in terms of the pace and kind of assistance the U.S. is sending Ukraine.
President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid, June 30, 2022.
Susan Walsh/AP
Biden was also pressed on record high gas prices that he has attributed to the war in Ukraine. "How long is it fair to expect American drivers and drivers around the world to pay that premium for this war?" he was asked by a reporter.
"As long as it takes," he replied. "Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. This is a critical, critical position for the world."
Biden highlighted his domestic efforts to bring down the price at the pump, like releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and asking Congress and states to approve a gas tax holiday to help save consumers money at the pump.
"So I think there's a lot of things we can do, and we will do, but the bottom line is ultimately the reason why gas prices are up is because of Russia," he said. "Russia, Russia, Russia. The reason why the food crisis exists is because of Russia. Russia not allowing grain to get out of Ukraine."
-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Molly Nagle
Jun 30, 2022, 8:10 AM EDT
Nearly all released Azov defenders return wounded
Almost all soldiers of the Ukrainian Azov Regiment who were released from Russian captivity return home wounded, a representative of the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders told local media on Wednesday.
"Almost everyone – 99% – were left without arms, without legs. Some do not hear, some do not see, but their eyes are happy,” Tetiana Kharko said.
According to Kharko, the sister of a captured Marine commander, some troops “talk with tears in their eyes, some can't [speak].” The representative added that the soldiers from the latest exchange of prisoners need urgent medical care and an examination.
In his Wednesday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 95 Azovstal defenders returned home from Ukrainian captivity, along with dozens of other troops.
-ABC News' Edward Szekeres, Max Uzol, Natalya Kushnir and Yuriy Zaliznyak
