Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian missiles hit close to nuclear reactors: IAEA director
Shelling is ongoing near the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
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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Latest headlines:
- Russian missiles hit close to nuclear reactors: IAEA director
- IAEA hopes to go to Zaporizhzhia plant 'hopefully in the next few days'
- Zaporizhzhia '1 step away' from emergency radiation: Ukraine nuclear agency head
- All reactors at power plant shut down for 1st time in history
- Biden, Zelenskyy discuss weapons assistance, nuclear plant during phone call
Ukrainian first lady visits White House
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden greeted Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska at the White House Tuesday afternoon.
Zelenska was presented with a bouquet of flowers in Ukrainian colors: yellow sunflowers, blue hydrangeas and white orchids.
Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., arrived with Zelenska.
Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff then held a bilateral meeting with the Ukrainian delegation. Jill Biden said they'll discuss mental health issues for mothers and children who have "suffered such tragedy and the atrocities" during the war.
Zelenska will address Congress on Wednesday.
-ABC News' John Parkinson
US weapons help stabilize front line, Ukrainian official says
Ukrainian forces have "stabilized" the situation along the front line in the eastern and southeastern regions of the country, in large part thanks to U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers, the Ukrainian military said on Monday.
“We managed to stabilize the situation. It is complex, intense, but completely controlled,” Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said.
An important factor contributing to Ukraine's retention of its defensive lines and positions is the timely arrival of U.S. supplied M142 HIMARS -- High Mobility Artillery Rocket System -- rocket launchers, Zaluzhny added. These highly precise and modern weapons have been delivering “targeted strikes” on Russian “control points, ammunition and fuel storage depots,” the top commander added.
Ukrainian troops struck a Russian military facility in the area of an asphalt plant in the eastern town of Nova Kakhovka on Monday, Ukrainian military officials said. Ukrainian forces also hit an administrative building and a hangar filled with Russian fuel tankers in the southern town of Beryslav, killing more than 100 Russian soldiers, the Ukrainian military said on Monday.
Russian forces shelled the town of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region about 40 times on Monday night, local authorities said. Explosions were also reported in the Odesa region, injuring several civilians. Russian troops also fired cluster shells at the city of Mykolaiv late on Monday.
Russia's stated immediate objective is to seize all of the Donetsk region, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday. Even if Russian troops make further territorial gains, the tempo of their advance is likely to be very slow, the ministry added.
Russian units, severely under-manned, face a dilemma between deploying more forces to the Donbas or defending against Ukrainian counter-attacks in the Kherson area, the observers said.
-ABC News' Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Max Uzol and Yuriy Zaliznyak
Ukraine's first lady to meet with Jill Biden
Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska will meet with first lady Jill Biden in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Biden's office said, one day before Zelenska addresses Congress.
Ukraine's first lady to address Congress on Wednesday
Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska will make remarks Wednesday before members of Congress on Capitol Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced.
All members of the House and Senate are invited to the event, which is set for 11 a.m ET.