俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京对邻国乌克兰的“特殊军事行动”始于2月24日，俄罗斯军队从北部的白俄罗斯和东部的俄罗斯入侵。据美国官员称，乌克兰军队进行了“顽强抵抗”。
此后，俄罗斯军队从乌克兰北部撤退，留下了一连串的死亡和破坏。美国和许多欧洲国家指责俄罗斯犯有战争罪，此前基辅附近的布加勒斯特镇出现了平民死亡的图片。俄罗斯军方现已在乌克兰东部有争议的顿巴斯地区发起全面地面攻势，试图占领战略港口城市马里乌波尔，并确保通往莫斯科吞并的克里米亚半岛的沿海走廊。
代表团离开俄罗斯官员
白宫证实，在周三举行的20国集团(G20)经济和财政部长会议上，包括美国财政部长珍妮特·耶伦(Janet Yellen)在内的几个国家的代表团在俄罗斯代表开始发言时走出了房间。
加拿大财政部长克里斯蒂娅·弗里兰(Chrystia Freeland)在推特上发布了一张多名官员的照片，包括她本人、耶伦、美国美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔(Jerome Powell)和欧洲央行(ECB)行长克里斯蒂娜·拉加德(Christine Lagarde)，他们站在会议室外面，声援乌克兰财政部长谢尔盖·马尔琴科(Serhiy Marchenko)。
白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基对记者说:“这表明普京总统和俄罗斯已经成为国际舞台上的弃儿。”。
美国财政部周三还公布了针对数十名俄罗斯和白俄罗斯人和机构的新制裁措施，其中包括一家重要的商业银行和一家虚拟货币矿业公司。
普萨基说:“这是我们加紧努力打击那些试图逃避我们前所未有的制裁的人的一部分。”
国务卿安东尼·布林肯说，国务院还对克里姆林宫支持的600多名俄罗斯人、白俄罗斯人和乌克兰分裂分子实施了签证限制。
联合国秘书长寻求与普京和谈
一名联合国发言人周三表示，联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯(António Guterres)周二分别致函俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京和乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽伦斯基(Volodymyr Zelenskyy)，要求会面“讨论实现乌克兰和平的紧急步骤”。
总统办公室主任顾问Mykhailo Podoliak在推特上说，乌克兰准备在马里乌波尔举行一轮特别谈判。
美国官员称，又有数千俄罗斯人进入顿巴斯
一名美国高级国防官员周三表示，过去24小时内，又有四个俄罗斯营进入乌克兰，每个营由大约800至1000人组成。该官员称，其中三个营——或多达3000人的部队——转移到了乌克兰东部有争议的顿巴斯地区。
这位官员说，在过去24小时内，拜登政府最新的8亿美元一揽子计划中载有包括火炮在内的军事援助的四架飞机抵达乌克兰。这位官员说，更多的物资将在第二天到达。
当美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)问及美国为何决定派遣炮兵时，这位官员回应道:“由于地形以及我们认为他们将与俄罗斯军队对抗的情况，我们很清楚炮兵在他们目前和未来几天的战斗中的重要性。”
据该官员称，另一个原因是“乌克兰人知道如何使用它们不需要繁重的培训”，以及快速运输它们的能力。
马里乌波尔的人道主义走廊周三没有按计划运行
乌克兰副总理韦列什丘克(Iryna Vereshchuk)表示，周三从马里乌波尔出发的人道主义走廊没有按计划运行，但疏散工作将在周四上午继续进行。
亚历山大·埃尔莫琴科/路透社
在南部的乌克兰-俄罗斯冲突期间，撤离者登上一辆巴士离开城市...
“由于缺乏对地面上自己军队的控制，占领者无法确保适当的停火，”韦列舒克在一份声明中说。
Vereshchuk说，也没有“及时将人们运送到几十辆公共汽车和救护车等待的地方”。
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Blinken warns Mariupol atrocities 'far worse' than Bucha
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.
Russian forces have since retreated from northern Ukraine, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction. The United States and many European countries accused Russia of committing war crimes after graphic images emerged of dead civilians in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv. The Russian military has now launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine's disputed Donbas region, as it attempts to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Delegations walk out on Russian official
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During a G20 meeting of economic and finance ministers on Wednesday, delegations from several countries, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, walked out of the room while Russia's delegate began his remarks, the White House confirmed.
Canada's Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, tweeted a photo of several officials, including herself, Yellen, U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde, outside of the meeting room, standing in solidarity with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.
"It's an indication of the fact that President Putin and Russia has become a pariah on the global stage," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
The Treasury also unveiled new sanctions Wednesday against dozens of Russian and Belarusian people and institutions, including a key commercial bank and a virtual currency mining company.
"This is part of our stepped-up effort to crack down on those attempting to evade our unprecedented sanctions," Psaki said.
The State Department has also imposed visa restrictions on over 600 Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainian separatists backed by the Kremlin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
UN chief seeks peace talks with Putin, Zelenskyy
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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres wrote separate letters to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday asking to meet "to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine," a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the president's office, tweeted that Ukraine is ready to hold a special round of negotiations in Mariupol.
Thousands more Russians enter Donbas: US official
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Four more Russian battalions, each made up of roughly 800 to 1,000 troops, have crossed into Ukraine over the last 24 hours, a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday. Three of those battalions -- or up to 3,000 troops -- moved to the disputed Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the official said.
Four flights carrying military aid, including artillery, from the Biden administration's most recent $800 million package arrived in Ukraine over the last 24 hours, the official said. More supplies are set to arrive over the next day, the official said.
When ABC News asked why the U.S. decided to send artillery, the official responded: "We're mindful of the importance of artillery in the fight that they're in right now and in the fighting in the days to come because of the terrain, and because of what we think they're going to be up against with Russian forces."
Another reason was "the fact that it wouldn't require an onerous amount of training for the Ukrainians to know how to use them" and the ability to ship them quickly, according to the official.
Humanitarian corridor from Mariupol didn't work as planned Wednesday
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Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Wednesday's humanitarian corridor from Mariupol didn't work as planned but evacuation efforts will continue Thursday morning.
"Due to the lack of control over their own military on the ground, the occupiers were unable to ensure a proper ceasefire," Vereshchuk said in a statement.
There also wasn't "timely transportation of people to the point where dozens of our buses and ambulances were waiting," Vereshchuk said.
