Russia-Ukraine live updates: Putin says ‘certain positive movements’ in negotiations

(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”

Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance, coming within about 9 miles as of Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.

For previous coverage please see here.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Mar 11, 1:50 pm
Russians reportedly bringing bio-chem weapon suits into Ukraine, US official says

A senior administration official told ABC News Friday that the U.S. is getting reports the Russians are starting to bring in biochemical weapon suits into Ukraine.

The reports comes as the Russians accuse Ukraine and the U.S. of developing biochemical weapons, which the U.S. has denied.

“We believe it is an ominous sign they are possibly doing it for cover,” the official said.

According to the official, as much as one-fifth of the Russian force is currently “inoperable,” meaning they are either dead, wounded or do not have the support or equipment needed to continue.

But even though the Russians are bogged down they realize that everything depends on taking Kyiv and continue to put all effort into that, according to the official.

There are also concerns about boxing Putin in as well as his consistent and casual mention of nuclear weapons. According to the official, that is one of the reasons he has not been publicly labeled as a war criminal because “we just don’t know what he will do.”

-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz

Mar 11, 1:29 pm
Evidence is mounting that Russia’s attacks will result in war crimes: White House

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates fell short of calling Putin’s actions in Ukraine war crimes despite acknowledging that that evidence is mounting that Russia’s attack in the country will result in war crimes on Friday.

“We’ve all seen the devastating images coming out of Ukraine and are appalled by Russia’s brutal tactics. Pregnant women on stretchers, apartment buildings – buildings shelled, families killed while seeking safety from this terrible violence,” Bates said while briefing reporters aboard Air Force One.

“These are disgusting attacks, civilian casualties are increasing. If Russia is intentionally targeting civilians, that would be a war crime,” he said.

Bates said the administration would share any evidence that is collected with its allies and hinted that it expects evidence will show that war crimes are being committed.

“If Russia is intentionally targeting civilians, that would be a war crime and as we are all seeing on live television evidence is mounting, and we are documenting it as it takes place,” Bates said.

-ABC News’ Armando Tonatiuh Torres-García

Mar 11, 1:28 pm
US says task force dedicated to targeting sanctioned Russian oligarchs is ‘up and running’

The U.S. Department of Justice said its new task force dedicated to targeting sanctioned Russian oligarchs and their assets is “up and running,” a senior DOJ official told reporters on Friday.

The DOJ is building out an experienced team of criminal and national security attorneys weighing a number of possible criminal charges to bring against those helping to support Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine, according to the official.

The “KleptoCapture” task force is now being led by assistant U.S. attorney Andrew Adams, a co-chief of the Southern District of New York’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises unit.

David Lim, a trial attorney in DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Michael Khoo, an attorney in DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, have been appointed as deputy directors for the task force.

“Our goal is to bring any appropriate charge against any sanctioned Russian oligarch or entity and those who would help them to evade economic sanctions,” the DOJ official said.

The official added, “Offenses under investigation are going to include sanctions evasion, money laundering, bank and wire fraud — but the task force will bring any charge that might undermine and disrupt the comfort that these oligarchs achieved through crime and corruption.”

Last week, charges were brought in the Southern District of New York against Jack Hanick, the first ever individual charged with violating U.S. sanctions arising from Russia’s 2014 actions in Ukraine.

-ABC News’ Alexander Mallin

Mar 11, 12:15 pm
Russia claims more than 34,500 people evacuated to Russia from Ukraine in past 24 hours

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Friday claimed more than 34,500 people were evacuated from Ukraine to Russia in the last 24 hours, without help from Kyiv authorities.

People were evacuated from various Ukrainian regions, including Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, Mikhail Mizintsev, said at a press briefing.

“In the past 24 hours, 34,555 people, including 3,562 children, were evacuated from dangerous zones in various Ukrainian regions and the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics without Ukraine’s involvement,” Mizintsev said.

He added, “In total, more than 223,000 people, including 50,258 children, have already been evacuated since the launch of the special military operation.”

Mizintsev claimed Ukrainian authorities are refusing humanitarian corridors in Russia’s direction and prohibiting local authorities from having contacts with the Russian side.

According to Mizintsev, the city of Volnovakha is under control of the Donetsk militia and residents are reluctant to evacuate. He claimed the troops “are already establishing a return to peaceful life in Volnovakha.”

“Relevant humanitarian events involving the population are underway, and none of the residents are going to leave their homes,” Mizintsev said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry also claimed that Ukrainian officials are disrupting evacuations from Izium to Lozova.

“The travel itineraries are planted with landmines, and parts of the road are being shelled with small arms and mortars by Ukrainian territorial defense units on approaches to Lozova,” he said.

Mizintsev claimed Mariupol is blocked. “All bridges and approaches to it are destroyed, the main roads have been mined by nationalists, and gunmen are roaming the streets, firing indiscriminately, thereby forcing the civilian population to stay in,” he said.

Mizintsev also claimed Ukrainian forces blew up “a building of the institute of physics and technology in Kharkiv to hide nuclear research” and that up to 50 of its employees might be missing.

Mar 11, 11:26 am
Ukrainian air force claims Russia carried out false flag airstrike in Belarus

Ukraine’s air force claimed Friday that Russia carried out an alleged false flag airstrike in a Belarusian village near the border with Ukraine.

In a post on Facebook, Ukraine’s air force claimed Russian jets took off from a base in Belarus and entered Ukraine’s airspace, then a fire started in the village of Kopani.

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksy Reznikov earlier claimed in a Facebook post that Russian forces would launch a strike against Kopani to “pull the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus into the war with Ukraine.”

-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell

Mar 11, 11:15 am
US Restricts the export of luxury goods to Russia, Belarus

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Friday that it will restrict the export of U.S. luxury goods to Russia and Belarus, as well as “certain Russian and Belarusian oligarchs and malign actors located worldwide,” as a result of their actions in Ukraine.

The Department of Commerce said it will impose restrictions on the export, reexport and transfer of luxury items including certain spirits, tobacco products, clothing items, jewelry, vehicles and antique goods.

“Putin’s war of choice in Ukraine continues to take a devastating toll on innocent civilians in Ukraine, fueling one of the worst humanitarian crises Europe has seen in decades,” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

Raimondo added, “Putin and the oligarchs who fund him have gotten rich off of Putin’s rampant corruption and the exploitation of the Russian people. We will not allow Putin and his cronies to continue living in opulence while causing tremendous suffering throughout Eastern Europe. Today’s action takes away another source of comfort and reminds them that Russia is increasingly isolated.”

-ABC News’ Luke Barr

Mar 11, 10:16 am
WHO advised Ukraine to destroy pathogens to prevent ‘accidental spill’

The World Health Organization said Friday that it is urging Ukraine to now destroy its pathogen samples because Russia’s war in the country risks an “accidental spill,” according to WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević.

“This is part of us providing a public health advice to every country to try to ensure there is a minimized risk of any harm to population because of any possible accidental leak of pathogens,” Jašarević said Friday from Lviv.

-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan

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