(SAN PEDRO, Calif.) — Two people are dead and five others are injured after a shooting at Peck Park Sunday in San Pedro, California, Los Angeles police said.
The shooting possibly started as a dispute between two groups and there were likely multiple shooters, according to the LAPD.
No suspects are in custody at this time.
The incident was reported at or near the car show taking place at the park, according to ABC Los Angeles station KABC. Witnesses told the station there were hundreds of people gathered in the park at the time.
Police said some weapons were recovered at the scene, and authorities are looking into whether or not this was a gang-related incident.
The conditions of those injured was not immediately known.
Earlier Sunday, the Los Angeles Fire Department said three male and three female victims were taken to area hospitals by LAFD Paramedics. Their ages were unknown.
San Pedro is a neighborhood in Los Angeles.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — At least 17 people believed to be Haitian migrants were killed early Sunday when an alleged human-smuggling speedboat they were on capsized in the Bahamas, authorities said.
Another 25 aboard the vessel were rescued and a search was continuing Sunday afternoon for others still unaccounted for, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said at a news conference.
Davis said there were about 60 people on the boat when it capsized. He said the vessel’s destination was Miami.
The Royal Bahamas Defense Force responded to calls of the capsized boat around 1:30 a.m., officials said. Search and rescue crews found the vessel about seven miles off the coast of New Providence, the most populated island in the Bahamas, authorities said.
Davis said the passengers aboard the boat are believed to be Haitian migrants. The vessel capsized along a popular route for Haitian migrants attempting to enter the United States.
Bahamian Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said two people suspected of being human smugglers were taken into custody.
“We take this opportunity to strongly condemn the organization of smuggling operations, which risk human life and compromise our national security,” Davis said, “Those found to be involved will face prosecution.”
Fernander said a preliminary investigation suggests the twin-engine speedboat left a docking facility in New Providence around 1 a.m. and capsized a short time later.
He said one passenger was found alive under the boat’s hull and officials believe he survived by finding an air pocket.
The Royal Bahamas Defense Force released a photo showing the hull of the capsized vessel partially sticking out of the water.
The cause of the incident is under investigation. It was unclear if anyone aboard the vessel was wearing a life jacket.
The tragedy comes after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and the Miami-Dade Police Department intercepted a sailboat on Thursday packed with 150 migrants that ran aground in Boca Chita Key near Key Biscayne and the Biscayne National Park, officials said. Authorities said several children were among those rescued.
U.S. Coast Guard crews also responded to the incident in Boca Chita Key and passed out life jackets to the migrants before they were transferred to cutters and those needing treatment were taken to Homestead Hospital, according to the Coast Guard.
Since October, the U.S. Coast Guard reports it has intercepted and returned more than 6,100 Haitian migrants attempting to reach the United States.
In January, 34 Haitian migrants died when a human smuggling boat they were on capsized in the Straits of Florida. The only person to survive was found clinging to the vessel’s hull, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The survivor, according to the Coast Guard, told investigators that no one on the overturned vessel was wearing a life jacket.
Many Haitian migrants have fled their country due to the devastating impacts of natural disasters and political instability that have resulted in economic struggles.
(MARISPOSA, Calif.) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County as hundreds of firefighters are battling a fast-moving fire burning near Yosemite National Park that remained out of control on Sunday.
The Oak Fire ignited Friday afternoon and has exploded to 15,603 acres as of Sunday night, according to state fire officials. The fire is currently 0% contained.
“The fire remained active through the night moving toward the communities of Jerseydale, Darrah, and Bootjack,” Cal Fire said in its incident report Sunday.
The low humidity, which is between 5% and 10%, is expected to “hamper firefighting efforts,” according to Cal Fire.
The agency said fire activity remains “extreme with frequent runs, spot fires and group torching.” Cal Fire said emergency personnel are working to evacuate people, while at the same time protecting structures. As of Sunday night, 10 structures had been destroyed and five damaged, Cal Fire said.
Fueled by winds and 100-degree temperatures, the fire “grew significantly” between Saturday night and Sunday morning as flames crept further into the Sierra National Forest just south of Yosemite, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie took ABC News on a tour of the edge of the blaze and noted large patches of dried out vegetation that had not yet burned to illustrate the type of terrain on fire and producing high-intensity heat, saying, “this is what we’re dealing with throughout this whole incident.”
“It really is a challenge because the amount of heat that’s in this fuel. It makes it challenging to our firefighters to fight these fires,” Heggie said.
The fire started around 2 p.m. Friday near the Mariposa County town of Midpines, Cal Fire said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Newsom’s office said Saturday that the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help provide resources as it responds to the “rapidly-moving fire.”
More than 90% of Mariposa County has exceptional drought conditions, which can provide ample dry brush to fuel the fire. Hot, dry weather has also helped drive the blaze.
This is the third wildfire to burn in the county over the past two weeks.
The Washburn Fire, which started on July 7 near the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park, is 79% contained after burning over 4,800 acres.
The containment of the fire, which at one point was inching dangerously close to the park’s large sequoia grove Mariposa Grove, allowed the southern entrance of the park to open Saturday morning.
The smaller Agua Fire, which started on July 18, is now fully contained after burning some 420 acres. The fire was caused by a car, officials said.
(MARIPOSA, Calif.) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Mariposa County as hundreds of firefighters are battling a fast-moving fire burning near Yosemite National Park that remained out of control on Sunday.
The Oak Fire ignited Friday afternoon and has exploded to 14,281 acres as of Sunday morning, according to state fire officials. The fire is currently 0% contained.
“The fire remained active through the night moving toward the communities of Jerseydale, Darrah, and Bootjack,” Cal Fire said in its incident report Sunday.
The low humidity, which is between 5% and 10%, is expected to “hamper firefighting efforts,” according to Cal Fire.
The agency said fire activity remains “extreme with frequent runs, spot fires and group torching.” Cal Fire said emergency personnel are working to evacuate people, while at the same time protecting structures.
Fueled by winds and 100-degree temperatures, the fire “grew significantly” between Saturday night and Sunday morning as flames crept further into the Sierra National Forest just south of Yosemite, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jon Heggie took ABC News on a tour of the edge of the blaze and noted large patches of dried out vegetation that had not yet burned to illustrate the type of terrain on fire and producing high-intensity heat, saying, “this is what we’re dealing with throughout this whole incident.”
“It really is a challenge because the amount of heat that’s in this fuel. It makes it challenging to our firefighters to fight these fires,” Heggie said.
The fire started around 2 p.m. Friday near the Mariposa County town of Midpines, Cal Fire said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Newsom’s office said Saturday that the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help provide resources as it responds to the “rapidly-moving fire.”
More than 90% of Mariposa County has exceptional drought conditions, which can provide ample dry brush to fuel the fire. Hot, dry weather has also helped drive the blaze.
This is the third wildfire to burn in the county over the past two weeks.
The Washburn Fire, which started on July 7 near the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park, is 79% contained after burning over 4,800 acres.
The containment of the fire, which at one point was inching dangerously close to the park’s large sequoia grove Mariposa Grove, allowed the southern entrance of the park to open Saturday morning.
The smaller Agua Fire, which started on July 18, is now fully contained after burning some 420 acres. The fire was caused by a car, officials said.
(WASHINGTON) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had sharp words for the Republicans opposing a bill codifying the right to same-sex marriages, urging them to support the legislation’s passage in the Senate after it won bipartisan House approval.
Buttigieg, the first openly gay person to be confirmed to a Cabinet position, underscored during a CNN appearance on Sunday what it would mean for the legislation to become law, recounting a typical weekend morning in which he said he tries to take on household duties to give his husband, Chasten, a break.
“That half hour of my morning had me thinking about how much I depend on and count on my spouse every day. And our marriage deserves to be treated equally. I don’t know why this would be hard for a senator or a congressman,” Buttigieg said.
“I don’t understand how such a majority of House Republicans voted ‘no’ on our marriage as recently as Tuesday hours after I was in a room with a lot of them talking about transportation policy, having what I thought were perfectly normal conversations with many of them on that subject only for them to go around the corner and say my marriage doesn’t deserve to continue,” he said.
“If they don’t want to spend a lot of time on this, they can vote ‘yes’ and move on,” he continued, “and that would be really reassuring for a lot of families around America, including mine.”
Buttigieg also criticized Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., specifically after Rubio said a vote on the bill would amount to a waste of time — echoing other Republicans who oppose the measure because they say Democrats are using it as political theater when no real threat to marriage rights exist.
“If he’s got time to fight against Disney, I don’t know why he wouldn’t have time to safeguard marriages like mine. Look, this is really, really important to a lot of people. It’s certainly important to me,” Buttigieg said, referencing Rubio’s dispute with Disney over the company’s criticism of a state law restricting discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.
Rubio’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Appearing on PBS last week, Buttigieg said the LGBTQ community was in “a very precarious moment.”
“Historically, rights and freedoms have always expanded, we went from one era to the next. It’s always been more free, and more just — even if imperfectly so. That was before. And the question now is, Are we going to start going backwards right now?” he said. “It is extremely disturbing, certainly as a married gay man and a member of the LGBTQ community, not only to see our rights coming up for debate once again but to see settled law called into question.”
Buttigieg’s remarks come as Democrats push multiple bills codifying unenumerated rights in the Constitution that had been extended via Supreme Court rulings.
With Roe v. Wade overturned last month, reversing five decades of national abortion access, Democrats argue other rights granted by the high court could be at risk, such as same-sex marriage.
Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the Supreme Court’s most conservative members, wrote in his concurring opinion rejecting Roe that the court should also reconsider its decisions legalizing same-sex marriage and ensuring contraception access.
Last week, 47 Republicans in the House joined with the Democratic majority in approving the bill ensuring recognition of lawfully granted same-sex and interracial marriages. One-hundred and fifty-seven Republicans voted against it, with some citing their personal beliefs and others saying it was unnecessary.
The bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Democrats would need the support of 10 Republicans for passage.
(PEACHTREE CITY, Ga.) — A U.S. Marshal and a murder suspect were shot on Sunday while law enforcement officials attempted to arrest the suspect in Peachtree City, Georgia, according to the Pike County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials from Pike County, about one hour south of Atlanta, said that while U.S. Marshals were arresting 19-year-old suspect Antonio Murgado Jr., an officer-involved shooting occurred.
U.S. Marshals and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office attempted to execute the arrest warrant around 9:18 a.m. at the Shiloh Mobile Home when shots rang out, authorities said.
“When officers entered the home, Murgado fired a gun and hit a Task Force Officer one time,” according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. “Officers returned gunfire at Murgado, hitting him multiple times.”
Murgado and the officer have non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The Marshal is expected to be released from an area hospital on Sunday, according to ABC News Atlanta affiliate WSBTV.
Murgado was arrested and charged with felony murder for allegedly killing 19-year-old James Knight during a drug deal on July 16, WSBTV reported.
At the time of the crime, Murgado was out on bond for armed robbery in Georgia’s Clayton County and possessing methamphetamine in another county, officials said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed it has launched a probe into the officer-involved shooting.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump committed crimes related to last year’s Capitol riot and should ideally be charged by the Justice Department, House Jan. 6 committee member Adam Kinzinger contended on Sunday.
“I certainly hope they’re moving forward,” Kinzinger, R-Ill., told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl of the Justice Department’s separate investigation into the events around the insurrection. “I certainly think there’s evidence of crimes, and I think it goes all the way up to Donald Trump.”
Kinzinger’s comments come after the House committee wrapped up its summer hearings, with the final session last week focusing on Trump’s inaction for 187 minutes as his supporters ransacked the Capitol.
Democrats and other Trump critics have expressed hope that the Justice Department’s probe will ultimately target the former president. Attorney General Merrick Garland has repeatedly stressed that prosecutors’ work and decision-making will not play out in public, but he pointedly noted last week that “no person” is above the law.
When pressed by Karl about the optics of the Justice Department investigating a former president and potential future candidate, Kinzinger said he is more concerned about the precedent that would be set if Trump is not charged.
“We never want to get in a position as a country [of] what you see in failed democracies, where every last administration is prosecuted. But there is a massive difference between ‘I’m gonna prosecute the last administration for political vengeance’ and not prosecuting an administration that literally attempted a failed coup. That is a precedent I’m way more concerned about,” Kinzinger said.
“If there is evidence that this happened from a judicial perspective, if there is the ability to move forward on prosecuting and you don’t, you basically set the floor for future behavior by any president,” he added. “And I don’t think a democracy can survive that.”
Karl asked Kinzinger about one of the most notable moments from the Jan. 6 hearings so far: when former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified that she was told Trump physically lashed out after his Secret Service detailed refused to let him go to the Capitol with his supporters.
The Secret Service said soon after Hutchinson’s testimony that they would respond on the record.
“Why have you not spoken yet to the lead detail who was in that vehicle on Jan. 6 with Donald Trump or the driver of that vehicle? And is that going to come?” Karl asked.
Kinzinger insinuated the lack of new information on that front was because of the agency, not investigators.
“The committee is more than welcome, if they will testify under oath, to throw the doors wide open for them and welcome them at any moment. It is not our decision that they haven’t so far,” he said, calling Hutchinson a “very credible witness.”
Karl also asked Kinzinger about a conference call among House Republicans just days before the Jan. 6 attack. According to Kinzinger’s retelling in an interview with The Washington Post, the Illinois lawmaker warned House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that he was concerned about violence because voters had been “convinced … that the election was stolen,” and McCarthy replied, “Thanks, Adam. Next caller.” (McCarthy didn’t comment to the Post on Kinzinger’s account.)
“Would it have been different if he had stood up and he had said, ‘No, the election’s not stolen,’ and pushed back on this effort?” Karl said.
“It would be so different right now. Would he have been pushed aside in the process? Maybe,” Kinzinger said. “But the question is, what are you going to stand for in your life, you know? Are you going to go out being knowns as the guy that enabled a failed coup, or are you going to be the guy that goes out standing up, right?”
Kinzinger, a vocal member of the GOP’s anti-Trump minority, also lashed out at Republicans who echo Trump’s baseless doubts about the integrity of the 2020 election, suggesting they’re duping their voters. He called out McCarthy by name.
“Ladies and gentlemen, and particularly my Republican friends, your leaders, by and large, have been lying to you,” he said. “They know the election wasn’t stolen, but they’re going to send out fundraising requests, they’re going to take your money from you and they’re going to use you to stay in power. You’re being abused.”
He continued, “You can be mad at Liz Cheney and I — that’s fine. … We’re not the ones lying to you. It’s the people you think are telling you what you want to hear. They’re the liars, and Kevin McCarthy is among them.”
(WASHINGTON) — Some Republicans “are very concerned” about Donald Trump potentially launching a 2024 presidential bid before November’s midterm races, which could upend contests across the country, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday.
“We had discussions about that at the Republican Governors Association last week,” Hogan told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl of a possible Trump announcement, which Trump has repeatedly teased.
“I think most people are very concerned about the damage it does to the party if he announces now,” said Hogan, one of Trump’s loudest GOP critics. “And it may help in very red states or very red districts. But in competitive places and purple battlefields, it’s going to cost us seats if he were to do that.”
Karl asked Hogan about the House Jan. 6 committee hearings this summer, which most recently detailed Trump’s inaction responding to last year’s Capitol riot. Hogan contrasted that with his own decisions that day as a leader of a neighboring state.
“While the president was watching television and while the vice president [Mike Pence] was being whisked off to save his life and members of Congress, I was on the phone with the leaders of Congress. I was calling up the National Guard. I was sending in the Maryland State Police,” he said.
Hogan said the lack of response to the hearings from many leading Republicans was “disappointing,” especially in light of how they criticized Trump immediately after the Capitol attack. He said that the most striking part of the last hearing was watching outtakes from an address that Trump recorded on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after the insurrection.
The clips show a visibly frustrated Trump saying that he doesn’t want to read a line from the teleprompter that states “the election is now over.”
“Nothing really surprised me except those outtakes, I had never seen. And it showed the real thinking,” Hogan said, adding, “With those outtakes, you could see the anger.”
Hogan went on to reflect on the future of the Republican Party. He said the primary elections this year were just the start of a “long, tough fight” over GOP identity and whether Trump’s influence will endure.
“It’s not going to be easy. We’re going to win some; we’re going to lose some,” he said. “But I think the final chapter on some of this will be in November, when we lose some races.”
That was his prediction in Maryland where his handpicked choice, former state Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz, last week lost out to the Trump-backed candidate, state Del. Dan Cox, in the Republican gubernatorial primary to succeed Hogan.
Cox has been sharply critical of Hogan, who in turn said Cox is too right-wing to win in Maryland, labeling him a “conspiracy theorist.”
According to data collected by FiveThirtyEight, at least 120 election-denying candidates who ran for all sorts of down-ballot offices advanced from their primaries and will be on the general election ticket in November.
Cox likewise attacked the 2020 election. He called former Vice President Mike Pence a “traitor” for certifying the 2020 election results in now-deleted tweets. (He later apologized.) He also organized buses to drive Maryland residents to Trump’s rally on Jan. 6, 2021, though he said he didn’t go to the Capitol and denounced the rioting that broke out there.
“I would not support the guy. I wouldn’t let him in the governor’s office, let alone vote for him for the governor’s office,” Hogan told Karl on “This Week.”
“It’s a big loss for the Republican Party,” he said. “And we have no chance of saving that governor’s seat.”
While Hogan also blamed Democrats for boosting Cox’s profile in the primary through advertising, as they have done with more conservative candidates in other elections, Karl noted that it was Republican voters who ultimately chose Cox, despite or because of his history of attacking the 2020 election and more.
“It was a very small turnout. So, first of all, only 20% of the people in Maryland are Republican, and 20% of them showed up to the polls. So about 2% of the people in Maryland voted for this guy,” Hogan said.
Cox’s victory did not dissuade him from continuing to make his case for an anti-Trump GOP, he said.
“Does this make you more or less likely to run for president in 2024?” Karl asked.
“It makes me more determined than ever to continue the battle to win over the Republican Party and take us back to a bigger tent, more Reagan-esque party,” Hogan said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. But I’m certainly not giving up.”
ABC News’ Brittany Shepherd contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s doctor said Sunday that he “continue to improve significantly” after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.
Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, wrote in a letter released by the White House that Biden’s primary symptom was a sore throat and that his runny nose, cough and body aches had all “diminished considerably.”
Biden completed his third day of Paxlovid, a COVID treatment, on Saturday night.
“His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature all remain normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear,” O’Connor added in the memo to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Biden tested positive for the coronavirus three days ago. O’Connor wrote Saturday in a memo that he likely had the BA.5 subvariant, which now accounts for the majority of COVID-19 cases in the country and is more resistant to vaccines than prior strains.
The president appeared to contract a relatively minor case of the virus, according to the White House, with his symptoms consistently including a runny nose and a cough. He started experiencing a sore throat and body aches on Saturday.
O’Connor has never said Biden’s pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate or oxygen were outside normal ranges throughout his infection.
In addition to Paxlovid, Biden has been using an albuterol inhaler for a cough, according to O’Connor. He is fully vaccinated and double-boosted.
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s coronavirus coordinator, also expressed optimism on Sunday about the president’s infection, saying, “He had a great day yesterday, was feeling well.”
“This is a president who’s double-vaccinated, double-boosted, getting treatments that are widely available to Americans and has at this moment a mild respiratory illness,” Jha said on ABC’s “This Week.” “This is really good news, and this is both vaccines and treatments that are available to everyone. Really important that people go out and get vaccinated and avail themselves of these treatments if they get infected.”
Biden began presenting symptoms Wednesday evening and ultimately tested positive Thursday, according to his aides.
White House spokesman John Kirby said Friday that Biden’s positive test had “no impact” on “the national security decision-making process.”
Seventeen people have been identified as close contacts of Biden’s, though none of them tested positive for COVID-19. Among them are first lady Jill Biden, who is staying in Delaware until at least Tuesday, and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is maintaining her normal public schedule.
The president is working from the White House residence and will continue to do so until he tests negative.
(NEW YORK) — 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:
Jul 24, 5:18 PM EDT
Russian missiles destroy schools in Donetsk region
Russian forces launched a series of missile strikes on Sunday that destroyed two schools in the Donetsk region of Ukraine and damaged a kindergarten in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, according to local officials.
No one was reported injured when missiles hit schools in Kostyantynivka and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, according to Donetsk region Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. Officials said that a kindergarten in Novo Dmytrivka in the Kharkiv region was also damaged.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Russian forces also launched three Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea targeting the Khmelnytskyi region of western Ukraine. All three missiles were shot down before reaching targets, the defense ministry said.
Several powerful explosions were heard in Mykolaiv near the Black Sea in southern Ukraine and in Melitopol in southeastern Ukraine Saturday night. More explosions were heard in Mykolaiv Sunday morning, officials said.
The mayor of Melitopol posted photos on Telegram showing damage to railroad tracks in his city.
Oleksandr Sienkevych, the mayor of Mykolaiv, said in a statement that officials were collecting information on the explosions and conducting a damage assessment. According to the preliminary data, Sienkevych said there were no casualties.
-ABC News Christine Theodorou
Jul 24, 11:13 AM EDT
Russia missile strike on Odesa jeopardizes agreement to lift grain blockade
Russia’s missile strike on the Ukrainian port of Odesa Saturday cast doubt on its commitment to a U.N.-backed agreement to lift the blockade that has trapped millions of tons of grain in Ukraine and has led to a global hunger crisis.
Ukrainian officials said they still hope the deal will continue and that ships are scheduled to begin leaving next week.
Vyacheslav, a Ukrainian farmer, told ABC News Sunday that his grain harvest from last year is still being held in storage and he showed ABC News 250 tons of it sitting in a pile across from this year’s crop.
Vyacheslav said he witnessed Saturday’s missile strike from his fields as he was harvesting. Part of his land contains trenches dug by Ukraine’s military in preparation for an attack.
He said the missile strike made him skeptical of Russia following through on the agreement to lift the grain embargo.
“Russia will only start to agree once we punch it in the teeth,” Vyacheslav said.
For now, he said he doesn’t know when his grain will move. Even if the deal does hold, he’s unsure that it will solve the problem for Ukraine’s farmers since price speculation, he said, is making it unprofitable for him to move it.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Jul 23, 10:51 AM EDT
2 Americans killed in eastern Ukraine
Two Americans thought to have been fighting for Ukraine have died in the eastern reach of the country, according to officials.
“We can confirm the recent deaths of two U.S. citizens in the Donbas region of Ukraine,” a State Department spokesperson said. “We are in touch with the families and providing all possible consular assistance.”
One of the Americans killed has been identified as Luke Lucyszyn, his mother confirmed to ABC News.
-ABC News Shannon Crawford, Patrick Reevell and Rashid Haddou
Jul 23, 10:11 AM EDT
Russian missile strikes Odesa port, after grain deal to let ships leave
A Russian missile struck the Ukrainian port of Odesa on Saturday, just one day after Russia signed an agreement to allow grain ships to begin leaving the port.
The deal between Russia and Ukraine was mediated by Turkey and the United Nations. Fears of a global famine loomed as Russian ships had imposed a blockade on Ukraine exporting grain.
“It took less than 24 hours for the Russian Federation to launch a missile strike on the territory of the city of Odesa to question the agreement and promises made by it to the UN and Turkey in the document signed yesterday in Istanbul,” the Ukrainian Embassy of Turkey said in a statement. “The Russian rocket is a spit of Vladimir Putin in the face of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Erdogan, who made a huge effort to reach the deal, and to which Ukraine is grateful.”
The embassy added: “Ukraine stresses the need for persistent implementation of agreements to restore safe export of Ukrainian agricultural goods by the Black Sea from three ports: Odessa, Black Sea and South.”
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Rashid Haddou
Jul 22, 3:12 PM EDT
Biden administration making ‘preliminary explorations’ into sending fighter jets
The Biden administration announced a new $270 million weapons package for Ukraine, which includes more HIMARS and drones. The administration is also in the very early stages of considering whether to send Ukraine fighter jets to counter Russia’s military, John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications at the White House, said Friday
Kirby stressed that this is “not going to be something that they’re going to be able to execute immediately or even in the short term,” because these are advanced U.S. aircrafts and not ex-Soviet aircrafts.
“You’ve got to think about things like training, sustainment, maintenance that these aircraft would be required, you know, spare parts. There’s a whole supply chain that goes with keeping any airframe in the air and all that has to be factored in,” he said.
For now, Kirby said, the U.S. will continue to provide weapons and equipment through security packages like the new one announced Friday.
This package includes four more HIMARS advanced rocket systems, additional ammunition for those systems, anti-armor systems, vehicles and 36,000 rounds of artillery ammunition to go with the howitzers Ukrainians are using.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Jul 22, 11:12 AM EDT
Both nations sign agreement to end blockade on Ukraine grain
Russia and Ukraine have signed agreements to restart grain exports from Ukraine, said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
The agreement between the two countries was mediated with Turkey and the United Nations.
The blockade on exporting grain from Ukraine had triggered fears of global famine.
The agreement “opens a path for commercial food exports from Ukraine in the Black Sea. It will help avoid a food shortage catastrophe for millions worldwide,” Guterres tweeted. “It is a beacon of hope, possibility & relief.”
The deal will allow for the transport of grain from three Ukrainian ports. Under the deal Ukraine will not de-mine its ports; instead there will be safe channels for cargo ships to sail through.
The agreement lasts for 120 days with the possibility of an extension.
According to Russian media, in exchange for agreeing to sign the deal, Russia received a guarantee from the U.N. to work on lifting sanctions on Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Jul 22, 10:33 AM EDT
Russia signs agreement to end blockade on Ukraine grain
Russia has signed an agreement to restart grain exports from Ukraine, according to Russia’s defense ministry. Ukraine is expected to sign a separate but identical agreement.
The blockade on exporting grain from Ukraine had triggered fears of global famine.
The agreement between the two countries was mediated with Turkey and the United Nations.
Jul 20, 11:42 AM EDT
Zelenska shares photos of killed civilians in her address to Congress
Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska spoke to members of Congress on Capitol Hill Wednesday, saying, “Usually the wives of president are exclusively engaged in peaceful affairs: education, human rights, equality, accessibility. And maybe you expected for me to speak on those topics. But how can I talk about them when an unprovoked invasive terrorist war is being waged against my country?”
Zelenska said this marks the first time the wife of a president of a foreign county addressed members of Congress on the Hill.
Zelenska showed members of Congress several images and stories of carnage impacting civilians, including a photo of 4-year-old Liza who was killed by a Russian missile attack last week.
Liza’s mother was seriously hurt, and “for several days, nobody dared to tell her that Liza has died,” Zelenska said.
She highlighted an Odesa family who lost three generations of women to one missile, and a 96-year-old who survived Nazi concentration camps only to be killed in Kharkiv.
The first lady asked Congress to supply more air defense systems.
“Will my son be able to return to school in the fall? I don’t know, like millions of mothers in Ukraine. Will my daughter will be able to go to university at the beginning of the academic year and experience normal student life? I cannot answer,” she said. “We will have answers if we had air defense systems.”
“America, unfortunately, knows from its own experience what terrorist attacks are and has always sought to defeat terrorists. Help us to stop this terror against Ukrainians,” she said.
Zelenska received a standing ovation after her remarks.
Jul 20, 9:05 AM EDT
US announces four new HIMARS and more ammo for Ukraine
The U.S. will send four more HIMARS advanced rocket systems to Ukraine as part of the new presidential drawdown package coming later this week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Wednesday.
Once these four long-range rocket artillery systems arrive, Ukraine will have a total of 16 HIMARS at its disposal.
Austin said these advanced rocket systems “have made such a difference on the battlefield.”
The new package will also include more ammunition for the HIMARS and for the 155 mm artillery weapons the U.S. and other countries have sent to Ukraine, Austin said at the fourth Ukraine defense contact group meeting, with leaders from roughly 50 nations in virtual attendance.
Austin praised the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland in particular for helping Ukraine boost its ability to hit faraway targets.
Jul 19, 2:28 PM EDT
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
Jul 19, 8:25 AM EDT
US weapons help stabilize frontline, Ukrainian official says
Ukrainian forces have “stabilized” the situation along the frontline in the eastern and south-eastern 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 UK Ministry of Defence 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.
Jul 18, 4:20 PM EDT
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.
Jul 18, 1:45 PM EDT
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.
Jul 18, 8:56 AM EDT
Russia orders troops to eliminate Ukraine’s long-range missiles
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited the East group of Russian forces involved in the fighting in Ukraine and ordered his troops to eliminate the Ukrainian army’s long-range missiles and artillery ammunition it uses to shell targets in the Donbas region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
Shoigu instructed the group’s commander to give priority to the use of precision-guided weapons to destroy Ukraine’s long-range missile and artillery assets, the ministry added. Russia has accused Ukraine of using its long-range weapons to shell residential neighborhoods in Donbas communities and set fire to wheat fields and grain storage facilities.
Ukrainian officials said Russian missiles struck targets across much of eastern Ukraine on Sunday and early Monday.
Six people were killed in the town of Toretsk in the Donetsk region after Russian shelling, the state emergency service said. Missiles also struck civilian infrastructure, including a school in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions.
Russia also carried out 55 strikes on the Sumy region on Sunday. Around 60 projectiles landed in Nikopol, a dozen residential buildings were damaged and one elderly woman was wounded, local officials said.
The southern city of Mykolaiv was subjected to a massive missile strike in the early hours of Sunday as 10 missiles, presumably launched by an S-300 system, hit various parts of town.
Russian officials said on Monday that no clear timeframes have been set for the war in Ukraine, and priority should be given to its efficiency.
“We have no doubts that the special military operation will be completed after all of its objectives are attained. There are no clear timeframes, what counts most is this operation’s efficiency,” Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said as quoted by Russian media.
Officials from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic claimed on Monday that DPR territory will be liberated from the Ukrainian military this year.
“The liberation of Donbas will be completed this year,” Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the police department of the DPR, said according to Russian media.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, and Max Uzol
Jul 17, 6:20 PM EDT
Number of Ukrainian public officials accused of treason, collaborating with Russia: Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the former head of the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, in Crimea, who was dismissed in the beginning of the Russian invasion, has been notified he is being charged with treason.
“Everyone who together with him was part of a criminal group that worked in the interests of the Russian Federation will also be held accountable,” Zelenskyy said during his evening address Sunday. “It is about the transfer of secret information to the enemy and other facts of cooperation with the Russian special services.”
A number of Ukrainian public officials have been notified they will be charged for treason and for collaborating with Russia.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Jul 17, 2:20 PM EDT
‘Evil cannot win’: Priest breaks down at funeral for 4-year-old Ukrainian girl
A funeral service was held Sunday for a 4-year-old girl with Down syndrome who was among two dozen Ukrainian civilian’s killed last week in a Russian missile attack in the west-central Ukrainian town of Vinnytsia.
During the open-casket funeral for Liza Dmytrieva, a Ukrainian Orthodox priest broke down in tears as he told the little girl’s father and other relatives, “evil cannot win,” according to The Associated Press.
Liza was pushing a stroller in a park as she and her mother were headed to a speech therapist appointment when the attack unfolded Thursday afternoon in Vinnytsia, a city close to the front lines in west-central Ukraine, officials said.
The girl and 23 others Ukrainian civilians were killed, including two boys ages 7 and 8. At least 200 other civilians, including Liza’s mother, were injured, officials said.
“Look, my flower! Look how many people came to you,” Liza’s grandmother, Larysa Dmytryshyna, said, as she caressed the child lying in an open casket filled with teddy bears and flowers.
Orthodox priest Vitalii Holoskevych gave the eulogy at Liza’s funeral struggling through tears.
“I didn’t know Liza, but no person can go through this with calm because every burial is grief for each of us,” Holoskevych said. “We are losing our brothers and sisters.”
Jul 15, 10:01 AM EDT
Grandma of 4-year-old girl killed in missile strike: ‘I hate them all’
The grandmother of a 4-year-old girl killed in Thursday’s Russian missile attack in Vinnytsia told ABC News, “They took the most precious [person] I had in my life.”
Four-year-old Liza was among 23 people, including three children, killed in the strike.
Liza’s grandmother, Larysa Dmytryshyna, called her a “wonderfully sunny child.”
“She was the most wonderful girl in the world and it is so painful that her mother cannot even bury her,” she said.
Asked how she feels about Russia, Dmytryshyna, replied, “I hate them all.”
“We did not ask them to come here. They have caused so much sorrow,” she said of the Russians. “I would give my own life to extinguish the entire country.”
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Ibtissem Guenfoud and Natalya Kushnir
Jul 15, 9:04 AM EDT
Demand for artificial limbs surges in Ukraine
One of Ukraine’s leading medical experts on developing prosthetic limbs for amputees says there has been a dramatic surge in demand for artificial arms and legs since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Dr. Oleksandr Stetsenko told ABC News that financial support or donations of prosthetic parts are needed from abroad to meet the increased demand.
External support, he said, is vital so that people have the chance to continue with their lives.
“With good prosthetics people can come back to life again,” Stetsenko told ABC News.
There is currently no official figure for how many people in Ukraine have undergone surgery to remove limbs because of injuries sustained from the war but Dr. Stetsenko estimates that around 500 people have had limbs amputated since the end of February with the majority of those cases being soldiers and around a fifth being civilians.
While the number of patients in Ukraine needing artificial limbs has increased, the domestic supply of components to make prosthetic arms and legs has reduced.
That is because a third of the companies which were previously producing components in Ukraine are now located in territory which has recently been occupied by Russian forces or in areas near to the frontline, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health.
A director at the health ministry, Oleksandra Mashkevych, confirmed that Ukraine is no longer able “to cover all of the demand relating to artificial limbs.”
Mashkevych told ABC News that children who need artificial limbs are sent abroad to Europe or to the United States and that around 20 children in Ukraine are thought to have had limbs amputated since the start of the war in February.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Ibtissem Guenfoud, Natalya Kushnir and Kuba Kaminski
Jul 15, 6:49 AM EDT
Unprecedented rescue operation underway in Vinnytsia
At least 18 people are still missing after a deadly missile strike on downtown Vinnytsia in central Ukraine on Thursday, the Ukrainian National Police said.
Three Russian Kalibr missiles launched from a submarine struck an office building and damaged nearby residential buildings in Vinnytsia, located about 155 miles southwest of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Thursday morning.
At least 23 people — including 3 children — died in the attack, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said, and more than a 100 were wounded, some critically. The bodies of 2 children and 11 adults were yet to be identified on Friday morning, local authorities said.
The strike in the heart of Vinnytsia is “part of a systematic Russian campaign of attacks on residential areas of cities in Ukraine”, the Institute for the Study of War said.
The search continued on Friday morning for at least 18 people who were still missing after the attack. The ongoing rescue operation has been unprecedented in its scale, local officials said, with more than 1,000 rescuers and 200 pieces of equipment being involved in clearing the rubble and searching for those still missing.
Several dozen people were reportedly detained in Vinnytsia on Thursday for questioning under the suspicion of acting as local spotters or aimers on the ground for the Russian strikes.
The eastern city of Mykolaiv also reported 10 powerful explosions on Friday morning. The city’s two biggest universities were hit in the attack, wounding at least four people, local authorities said. Russia also struck a hotel and a shopping mall in Mykolaiv on Thursday.
Russian shelling also targeted Kharkiv, another eastern city, on Thursday night. Local officials claimed 2 schools were damaged in the attack.
The European Union and the United Nations strongly condemned Russia for what the EU called a “long series of brutal attacks against civilians.”
Russia’s missile strikes hit more than 17,000 facilities of civilian infrastructure as opposed to around 300 military facilities since the start of the war, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Fidel Pavlenko and Yuriy Zaliznyak
Jul 14, 4:02 PM EDT
Russian missile strike kills at least 23 in Vinnytsia
Russian missiles hit the heart of the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on Thursday morning, killing at least 23 people and wounding dozens, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
Three children were among the dead, the agency said.
The missiles struck an office building and damaged nearby residential buildings in Vinnytsia, located about 155 miles southwest of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The strike also ignited a massive fire that engulfed 50 cars in an adjacent parking lot, according to the National Police of Ukraine. Burned-out vehicles are peppered with holes from the missiles.
The State Emergency Service said about 115 victims in Vinnytsia needed medical attention, with 64 people hospitalized — including 34 in severe condition and five in critical.
Forty-two people are listed as missing, the agency said.
Many Ukrainians moved to Vinnytsia, a city southwest of Kyiv, to get away from the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Until now, Vinnytsia had been seen as a city of relative safety.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “an open act of terrorism” on civilians.
“Every day Russia is destroying the civilian population, killing Ukrainian children, directing missiles at civilian objects. Where there is no military (targets). What is it if not an open act of terrorism?” Zelenskyy said in a statement via Telegram on Thursday.
War crimes investigators are at the scene studying missile fragments.
Russian missile strikes targeted several other Ukrainian cities on Wednesday and early Thursday, including Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv.
At least 12 people died in the Zaporizhia strike, which hit two industrial workshops on Wednesday, according to local authorities.
At least five civilians were killed and 30 others injured in Mykolaiv on Wednesday after Russian missiles destroyed a hotel and a shopping mall, the local mayor said. The southern Ukrainian city was shelled again on Thursday morning, but no casualties were immediately reported.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Fidel Pavlenko, Max Uzol, and Yulia Drozd
Jul 14, 1:49 PM EDT
At least 18 Russian filtration camps along Russia-Ukraine border
Michael Carpenter, the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, is calling the forcible relocation of Ukrainians to Russian filtration camps is “a war crime.”
In an interview with ABC News Live on Thursday, Carpenter said the Russians are “trying to take away Ukrainians who might have Ukrainian civic impulses, who are patriots, who want to defend their country.” Carpenter said the Russians want to “erase Ukrainian identity” and “the Ukrainian nation state, as the entity that governs people’s lives in these regions.”
Carpenter said there are at least 18 filtration camps along the Russia-Ukraine border, adding that it’s impossible to get an exact total because many are located in Russia’s far east.
-ABC News’ Malka Abramoff
Jul 14, 12:04 PM EDT
Russian missile strike kills at least 17 in Vinnytsia
Russian missiles hit the heart of the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on Thursday morning, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 30 others, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.
Two children were among the dead, the prosecutor’s office said.
The missiles struck an office building and damaged nearby residential buildings in Vinnytsia, located about 155 miles southwest of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The strike also ignited a massive fire that engulfed 50 cars in an adjacent parking lot, according to the National Police of Ukraine. Burned-out vehicles are peppered with holes from the missiles.
The national police said about 90 victims in Vinnytsia sought medical attention, and 50 of them are in serious condition.
Many Ukrainians moved to Vinnytsia, a city southwest of Kyiv, to get away from the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Until now, Vinnytsia had been seen as a city of relative safety.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “an open act of terrorism” on civilians.
“Every day Russia is destroying the civilian population, killing Ukrainian children, directing missiles at civilian objects. Where there is no military (targets). What is it if not an open act of terrorism?” Zelenskyy said in a statement via Telegram on Thursday.
War crimes investigators are at the scene studying missile fragments.
Russian missile strikes targeted several other Ukrainian cities on Wednesday and early Thursday, including Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv.
At least 12 people died in the Zaporizhia strike, which hit two industrial workshops on Wednesday, according to local authorities.
At least five civilians were killed and 30 others injured in Mykolaiv on Wednesday after Russian missiles destroyed a hotel and a shopping mall, the local mayor said. The southern Ukrainian city was shelled again on Thursday morning, but no casualties were immediately reported.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Fidel Pavlenko, Max Uzol, and Yulia Drozd
Jul 13, 6:30 PM EDT
State Department aware of reports on another American detained by Russian proxies
The State Department said Wednesday it is aware of unconfirmed reports that another American has been detained by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.
The statement follows a [report from the Guardian] () on 35-year-old Suedi Murekezi, who is believed to have gone missing in Ukraine in early June.
According to the Guardian, Murekezi was able to make contact with a family member on July 7 and told them he was being held in the same prison as Alexander Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, two American veterans captured while volunteering for Ukrainian forces. Murekezi has lived in Ukraine since 2020 and was falsely accused of participating in pro-Ukraine protests, according to the report.
“We have been in contact with the Ukrainian and Russian authorities regarding U.S. citizens who may have been captured by Russia’s forces or proxies while fighting in Ukraine,” a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday. “We call on Russia to live up to its international obligations to treat all individuals captured fighting with Ukraine’s armed forces as prisoners of war.”
Another American — Grady Kurpasi — is also missing in Ukraine. A family spokesperson said the veteran was last seen fighting with Ukrainian forces in late April and is feared to have been either killed or captured.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jul 13, 8:27 AM EDT
Shelling continues throughout Donbas region
Shelling from both Russian and Ukrainian forces caused damage to the landscape and destroyed structures throughout the Donbas region on Tuesday and Wednesday, local officials said.
Russian strikes reportedly targeted the eastern town of Bakhmut, killing one person and wounding 5 others, the local governor said. Explosions were heard in several nearby towns too, with one missile falling near a kindergarten.
Shelling also continued in Izyum, Mykolayiv and Kharkiv on Tuesday. Russian troops reportedly conducted unsuccessful attacks north of Slovyansk and the town of Siversk on Tuesday, despite repeated rhetoric of an “operational pause” that Russia allegedly maintains, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report.
Russian forces continue to bomb critical areas in preparation for future ground offensive, with air and artillery strikes reported along the majority of the frontline, the experts added.
Ukrainian forces on Tuesday responded to the Russian attacks and claimed to have destroyed six Russian military facilities on occupied Ukrainian territories. Ukrainian officials claimed to have destroyed several ammunition depots, as well as a larger military unit.
Russian media reported on Tuesday that Ukrainian troops launched a “massive attack” on an air defense unit in the Luhansk region.
Ukrainian military officials also claimed to have killed at least 30 Russian troops on Tuesday, along with destroying a howitzer and a multiple rocket launcher, among other weaponry.
But the U.K. Defense Ministry in its latest intelligence update said it still expects Russian forces to “focus on taking several small towns during the coming weeks” in the Donbas region.
These towns are on the approaches to the larger cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk that likely remain the principal objectives for this phase of the Russian military operation, the ministry said.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Max Uzol, Yulia Drozd and Yuriy Zaliznyak
Jul 12, 10:27 PM EDT
US transfers $1.7 billion in economic assistance to Ukrainian government
The United States transferred $1.7 billion to Ukraine’s government Tuesday, the Treasury Department announced.
It’s the second tranche of money the Treasury transferred to Ukraine’s government as part of $7.5 billion approved for this purpose in the $40 billion Ukraine aid package Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law in May.
It’ll go, in part, to helping Ukraine’s government provide “essential health care services” and health care workers’ salaries, the Treasury Department said.
The U.S. transferred the first tranche, $1.3 billion, to Ukraine’s government two weeks ago.
-ABC News Benjamin Gittleson
Jul 12, 1:59 AM EDT
Ukraine destroys Russian ammo depot in occupied Kherson region
Ukrainian forces hit and likely destroyed a Russian ammunition depot in the Russian-occupied town of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region on Monday night, local officials said.
The strike resulted in a massive blast, videos of which soon circulated online. According to local reports, more than 40 trucks filled with gasoline were destroyed. Russian media didn’t verify the claims, saying instead that pro-Russian forces had destroyed a series of saltpeter warehouses.
“People’s windows are blown out, but they are still happy … because this means that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are close,” Sergey Khlan, from the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said in the aftermath of the attack.
Monday’s strike marked at least the fourth time Ukrainian forces destroyed ammunition depots in Nova Kakhovka, local media reported.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Tatiana Rymarenko, Max Uzol and Yulia Drozd
