(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:
May 30, 10:56 am
French journalist killed in Ukraine
A French journalist working for cable channel BFM TV has been killed in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, according to Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration.
French President Emmanuel Macron identified the journalist as Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.
“On board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombs, he was fatally shot,” Macron tweeted. “I share the pain of the family, relatives and colleagues of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, to whom I send my condolences. To those who carry out the difficult mission of informing in theaters of operations, I would like to reiterate France’s unconditional support.”
May 29, 1:38 pm
31% of Kharkiv region occupied by Russian forces, Ukrainian officials say
A significant portion of Kharkiv, a town in northwest Ukraine near the Russian border, is occupied by Russian forces, Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit on Sunday.
Just 5% of the region has been liberated by Ukrainian forces, Synegubov said.
“We are not yet able to fully inspect some of the liberated settlements, conduct full-fledged de-mining and begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, as shelling continues,” Synegubov said, according to a statement from Zelenskyy’s office. “Where we can do it remotely – we do it.”
During the trip to Kharkiv, Zelenskyy inspected destroyed residential buildings in the Saltivka district. The northern and eastern districts of the city suffered the most destruction, with more than 30% of total housing damaged.
Zelenskyy noted that there will be an opportunity to modernize new constructions and that new housing will have to include bomb shelters.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 27, 1:32 pm
Zelenskyy calls for Russia to unblock Ukraine’s seaports amid ‘food crisis’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Russia to unblock Ukraine’s seaports to end a global “food crisis” while speaking at the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia think tank Friday, according to his office.
“Russia has blocked access to our ports in the Black Sea and occupied our part of the Sea of Azov. As a result of this military blockade, most traditional Ukrainian trade routes have been closed,” said Zelenskyy, noting that 22 million tons of grain are currently in storage facilities in Ukraine. “We cannot direct them to the world market, where they are needed right now, at this time.”
According to the president, this block has already affected the prices for grain and soon will affect the prices for other food products. He predicted that many countries will run out of last year’s harvest stockpiles in July.
“The sooner our ports are unblocked, the sooner the food crisis will stop, because we will be able to send our stocks and new crops to the world market,” Zelenskyy said.
May 27, 7:08 am
Bucha resident who lost husband, unborn son tries to rebuild her life
Anna Polonska had struggled to get pregnant. So when she did, it was a moment of sheer joy; a happy family life lay ahead.
But days after Russia invaded Ukraine, her unborn son and husband were killed in shelling as they tried to flee Ukraine, she told ABC News.
She was also gravely injured in the attack, and doctors did not think she would survive.
Adding to her loss, soldiers stole almost all of her possessions and destroyed her apartment, she recalled.
But in a remarkable interview, Anna said she is now focusing on picking up the pieces — showing incredible courage and determination to live and walk again.
At least 3,998 civilians have been killed and 4,693 others have been injured in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
At least 260 children were among the dead and 404 among the injured, according to the OHCHR.
“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes,” the agency said in a statement Thursday. “OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.”
Those areas include Mariupol in the Donetsk Oblast, Izium in the Kharkiv Oblast and Popasna in the Luhansk Oblast, where the OHCHR said “there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties.” Casualty numbers from those locations “are being further corroborated” and thus are not included in the latest statistics, according to the agency.
May 26, 6:06 am
Russia’s airborne forces suffer ‘heavy casualties’ after ‘tactical failures,’ UK says
The Russian military’s airborne forces, known as the VDV, “have been heavily involved in several notable tactical failures since the start of Russia’s invasion” of neighboring Ukraine, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
“This includes the attempted advance on Kyiv via Hostomel Airfield in March, the stalled progress on the Izium axis since April, and the recent failed and costly crossings of the Siverskyi Donets River,” the ministry said Thursday in an intelligence update.
“Russian doctrine anticipates assigning the VDV to some of the most demanding operations,” the ministry added. “The 45,000-strong VDV is mostly comprised of professional contract soldiers. Its members enjoy elite status and attract additional pay. The VDV has been employed on missions better suited to heavier armoured infantry and has sustained heavy casualties during the campaign.”
The VDV’s “mixed performance likely reflects a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia’s failure to secure air superiority,” according to the ministry.
“The misemployment of the VDV in Ukraine highlights how Putin’s significant investment in the armed forces over the last 15 years has resulted in an unbalanced overall force,” the ministry said. “The failure to anticipate Ukrainian resistance and the subsequent complacency of Russian commanders has led to significant losses across many of Russia’s more elite units.”
May 24, 4:47 pm
Drone footage shows devastation inside Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol
Drone footage released by Russian media shows the devastation inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces fended off Russian troops for weeks amid intense fighting before surrendering.
The drone footage released by the Russian news outlet MIC Izvestia showed the collapsed walls of the plant and twisted metal and debris strewn about the entire facility.
The Russian Defense ministry on Friday said the last Ukrainian fighters defending Azovstal had surrendered, giving Russia full control of the port city of Mariupol.
The seizure of Mariupol, gives Russia command of a land route linking the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized in 2014, with mainland Russia and parts of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatists.
Rick Mave/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(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:
May 31, 5:42 am
Up to 12,000 civilians may be trapped in fight for Severodonetsk
As Russian forces battle for control of a key eastern Ukrainian city, up to 12,000 civilians may be trapped in the crossfire, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
“I am horrified to see Severodonetsk, the thriving city where we had our operational headquarters, become the epicentre of yet another chapter of the brutal war in Ukraine,” NRC Secretary-General Jan Egeland said in a statement Tuesday. “We fear that up to 12,000 civilians remain caught in crossfire in the city, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity. The near-constant bombardment is forcing civilians to seek refuge in bomb shelters and basements, with only few precious opportunities for those trying to escape.”
Over the past week, the Oslo-based humanitarian organization has been working with local Ukrainian partners to provide thousands of monthly food and hygiene parcels to civilians remaining in Severodonetsk and the greater Luhansk Oblast, according to Egeland. The city is the last still held by Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast.
“But now the intensified fighting makes aid delivery impossible,” he added. “We cannot save lives under the hail of grenades.”
NRC has been operational in Ukraine since 2014, serving people affected by conflict in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of eastern Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.
“Almost one hundred days since the war in Ukraine escalated, we have seen bombs destroy critical infrastructure across the country and reduce entire cities like Severodonetsk to rubble,” Egeland said. “More than 14 million men, women and children are displaced within Ukraine or sheltering in other countries with no idea when they will be able to safely return to their homes.”
May 31, 4:50 am
Russians, Ukrainians fight street by street in key eastern city
Russian and Ukrainian forces are believed to be fighting street by street on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, a key city in Ukraine’s east, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Tuesday in an intelligence update.
“Russia’s capture of Lyman supports its operational main effort, which likely remains the encirclement of Sieverodonetsk and the closure of the pocket around Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast,” the ministry said. “Heavy shelling continues, while street fighting is likely taking place on the outskirts of Sieverodonetsk town.”
After several days of fighting, the Russian military claimed Saturday to have fully seized the strategic town of Lyman, which serves as a railway hub in the Donetsk Oblast, west of Severodonetsk.
“Russia’s political goal is likely to occupy the full territory of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts,” the ministry added. “To achieve this, Russia will need to secure further challenging operational objectives beyond Sieverodonetsk, including the key city of Kramatorsk and the M04 Dnipro-Donetsk main road.”
Rick Mave/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(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:
May 31, 5:42 am
Up to 12,000 civilians may be trapped in fight for Severodonetsk
As Russian forces battle for control of a key eastern Ukrainian city, up to 12,000 civilians may be trapped in the crossfire, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
“I am horrified to see Severodonetsk, the thriving city where we had our operational headquarters, become the epicentre of yet another chapter of the brutal war in Ukraine,” NRC Secretary-General Jan Egeland said in a statement Tuesday. “We fear that up to 12,000 civilians remain caught in crossfire in the city, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity. The near-constant bombardment is forcing civilians to seek refuge in bomb shelters and basements, with only few precious opportunities for those trying to escape.”
Over the past week, the Oslo-based humanitarian organization has been working with local Ukrainian partners to provide thousands of monthly food and hygiene parcels to civilians remaining in Severodonetsk and the greater Luhansk Oblast, according to Egeland. The city is the last still held by Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast.
“But now the intensified fighting makes aid delivery impossible,” he added. “We cannot save lives under the hail of grenades.”
NRC has been operational in Ukraine since 2014, serving people affected by conflict in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of eastern Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.
“Almost one hundred days since the war in Ukraine escalated, we have seen bombs destroy critical infrastructure across the country and reduce entire cities like Severodonetsk to rubble,” Egeland said. “More than 14 million men, women and children are displaced within Ukraine or sheltering in other countries with no idea when they will be able to safely return to their homes.”
May 31, 4:50 am
Russians, Ukrainians fight street by street in key eastern city
Russian and Ukrainian forces are believed to be fighting street by street on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, a key city in Ukraine’s east, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Tuesday in an intelligence update.
“Russia’s capture of Lyman supports its operational main effort, which likely remains the encirclement of Sieverodonetsk and the closure of the pocket around Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast,” the ministry said. “Heavy shelling continues, while street fighting is likely taking place on the outskirts of Sieverodonetsk town.”
After several days of fighting, the Russian military claimed Saturday to have fully seized the strategic town of Lyman, which serves as a railway hub in the Donetsk Oblast, west of Severodonetsk.
“Russia’s political goal is likely to occupy the full territory of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts,” the ministry added. “To achieve this, Russia will need to secure further challenging operational objectives beyond Sieverodonetsk, including the key city of Kramatorsk and the M04 Dnipro-Donetsk main road.”
(LONDON) — Queen Elizabeth will be celebrated this week with what is being described as a once-in-a-lifetime celebration to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
The royal family and the public will take part in festivities including ranging from the traditional Trooping the Colour birthday parade to a star-studded concert to celebrate the 96-year-old queen, the first British monarch to reach a Platinum Jubilee — 70 years on the throne.
Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne following the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb. 6, 1952.
As the celebrations get underway, here is a look back at seven of the queen’s most memorable moments from 70 years on the throne:
1. A history-making coronation
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation on June 2, 1953, was the first to be televised.
The nearly three-hour service in Westminster Abbey was watched on TV by 27 million people in the United Kingdom alone, according to the royal family.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s oldest child, Prince Charles, attended the coronation, becoming the first child to witness his mother’s coronation.
Following the service, the queen and Prince Philip joined a 16,000-person strong procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.
Among the thousands of journalists covering the queen’s coronation was Jacqueline Bouvier, who at the time worked for the Washington Times-Herald and would go on to become first lady of the United States alongside her husband, President John F. Kennedy, according to the royal family.
2. The first royal ‘walkabout’ to greet fans
While royal watchers are used to seeing royals including Prince William and Duchess Kate greet fans at each stop they make, a practice called the “walkabout,” that was not the case before Queen Elizabeth.
The queen upended royal tradition while on a tour of Australia and New Zealand with Prince Philip in 1970. Instead of waving to crowds from a protected distance, Queen Elizabeth walked out and greeted people in-person, the first royal “walkabout.”
3. Meeting 13 sitting U.S. presidents
Queen Elizabeth has met with every U.S. president during her 70 years on the throne, except for Lyndon B. Johnson.
She met with President Joe Biden last June at Windsor Castle, marking her 13th meeting with a sitting U.S. president.
Queen Elizabeth has hosted just three presidents for an official state visit — Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
4. Celebrating jubilees in a history-making reign as queen
In 1977, Queen Elizabeth celebrated her Silver Jubilee, 25 years on the throne, with a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, where she repeated her pledge to a life of service.
More than two decades later, in 2002 — the same year both her mother and sister passed away — Queen Elizabeth celebrated 50 years on the throne, her Golden Jubilee.
The queen was escorted through the streets of London in a four-ton golden coach, previously used only when she was crowned and at her Silver Jubilee. In a ceremony that dates back almost 800 years, she touched a sword handed to her by the Lord Mayor of London, symbolizing the supreme power of the monarch.
In June 2012, Queen Elizabeth celebrated 60 years on the throne, her Diamond Jubilee, with a parade down the Thames and a concert outside Buckingham Palace.
Three years later, in 2015, Queen Elizabeth made history, becoming Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, at 63 years.
5. ‘Parachuting’ into the London Olympics with James Bond
The same year as her Diamond Jubilee, in 2012, Queen Elizabeth memorably starred alongside actor Daniel Craig in a clip that aired during the opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
The queen portrayed herself in the clip, which featured Craig, as James Bond, picking her up at Buckingham Palace. Stunt actors then portrayed the two helicoptering across London and parachuting into the Olympics venue, while Queen Elizabeth herself arrived at her seat, accompanied by Prince Philip.
6. Serving as matriarch of a growing royal family
Queen Elizabeth has been an omnipresent force not just on the world stage, but also within her own family.
The queen, a mother of four, is the matriarch of an ever-growing family, which now includes eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
She has been present for weddings, as well as divorces that made headlines.
She has also guided her family through scandal and discord, most recently amid a lawsuit against her son Prince Andrew, as well as the exit of her grandson Prince Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan, from their senior royal roles.
7. Saying goodbye to her husband of 73 years
Queen Elizabeth faced a deeply personal and sad moment in her reign last April when she said goodbye to her husband , Prince Philip, following his death at age 99.
Due to restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, the queen sat alone during the April 17, 2021, funeral service for Philip, her husband of 73 years.
Known as one of the hardest-working members of the royal family, Philip, the duke of Edinburgh, was also a stalwart supporter of his wife.
“He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments, but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years,” Queen Elizabeth said in 1997, paying tribute to her husband on their golden wedding anniversary. “And I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”
(UVALDE, Texas) — A small town in rural Texas is reeling after a gunman opened fire at an elementary school on Tuesday, killing 19 children.
Two teachers were also among those killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, according to authorities.
Prior to opening fire at the school, the suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother, officials said.
The alleged gunman — identified by authorities as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a student at Uvalde High School — is dead.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 30, 12:26 pm
Two injured adults upgraded to good condition
The two injured adults who remain hospitalized at the Brooke Army Medical Center have been upgraded to good condition, the hospital said Monday.
Three other survivors remain at University Hospital: a 10-year-old girl in serious condition, a 9-year-old girl in good condition and the suspect’s grandmother who is in fair condition, according to the hospital.
Seventeen people overall were injured in Tuesday’s mass shooting.
May 30, 11:46 am
Biden says he hasn’t engaged with Republicans on gun reform
As President Joe Biden arrived at the White House Monday, he said he met with victims and their families Sunday for three hours and 40 minutes, adding that their “pain is palpable” and “unnecessary.”
The back-to-back mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, prompted a group of bipartisan senators to engage in some initial conversations about gun legislation. Biden said he hasn’t spoken to Republicans about gun reform. Asked by a reporter if he thinks anything will now be different for Republicans, Biden said he did not know, but that he believes they’ll “take a hard look.”
Noting that he has asked for Congress to act on guns, a reporter asked Biden if he has a particular responsibility now to get this done. Biden said he’d continue to take any executive action he can, but admitted that without Congress, he “can’t outlaw a weapon” or change background checks.
May 30, 11:35 am
State senator: ‘Every day is one day closer to students dying’
Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez is counting down the days until the start of the next school year, which he said is 77 days.
Without change, “every day is one day closer to students dying,” Gutierrez, a Democrat, told ABC News.
He is among the lawmakers calling on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to convene a special session to address gun violence.
The senator also mentioned potential plans to tear down Robb Elementary and build a new campus.
“I want what families want. Every person has told me they don’t want to go back. Little kids I’ve met have told me they don’t want to go in that school,” he said.
May 29, 3:52 pm
Bidens attend Mass in Uvalde
As President Joe Biden left Mass at a Catholic Church in Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday afternoon, he walked over to a crowed of people outside chanting, “Do something.”
Biden looked at the crowd and mouthed the words, “We will.”
Biden and first lady Jill Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. As they entered the sanctuary, Jill Biden reached out and lightly touched the hands of several people seated along the aisle as she and the president made their way to their seat in the first-row pew.
About 600 people attended the service.
The president and first lady were greeted at the church by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, according to the White House.
“In the midst of collapse and devastation, we have come once more to this our house. To pray. And to be together,” one of the service leaders said as the Mass got underway.
Garcia-Siller invited children to come to the front of the church and sit.
“They passed away. But you are alive,” the archbishop told the children, referring to the 19 students and two teachers killed in the attack at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday.
Garcia-Siller told the children that he believes they will help the community heal. He noted how Jesus died and “rose from the dead,” and then went to heaven.
“He prepared a place for the 19 little ones we lost,” the archbishop said.
The archbishop said he has experienced the goodness of people in the wake of the horrific tragedy. He reflected on Jesus’ message of peace, saying, Jesus felt fear and pain, but did not become bitter.
Garcia-Siller spoke of the joy of heaven.
“Our children in Uvalde who left us already join in this joy,” he said. “Heaven is open for all.”
May 29, 3:42 pm
Suspected shooter’s grandmother in fair condition
The Uvalde school shooting suspect’s grandmother, who was the first person shot in Tuesday’s attack, has been upgraded to fair condition, University Health officials tweeted Sunday.
The 66-year-old woman, who police said was allegedly shot in the head by her grandson, is being treated at University Hospital in San Antonio, officials said.
Two young victims who survived the shooting at Robb Elementary School remained in University Hospital on Sunday. A 10-year-old girl was listed in serious condition at the hospital, while a 9-year-old girl was listed in good condition, hospital officials said.
May 29, 1:37 pm
Chaos, confusion and the decision to enter school: Sources
When federal agents from Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations arrived at Robb Elementary School Tuesday, they immediately encountered a scene of confusion and chaos, according to multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the attack.
Some arrived with heavy equipment, others with whatever they could carry as they ran to the scene on foot.
Initially, these agents, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News, tried to discern who was doing what, where was shooter who was engaging law enforcement and how were children were being evacuated.
Once the tactical team assembled with enough gear, they became aware of an order not to enter the classroom because they were told the suspect had barricaded himself, the sources told ABC News.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has said the incident commander wrongly believed the shooting had stopped.
Eventually, the special agent-in-charge of Homeland Security Investigations gave the instruction to all federal agents under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security that they were free to use their best judgment and to do what they felt was best, the sources said.
The federal agents were unsure whether any children could be saved at that point, but they were interested in evacuating the wounded. Some agents brought children in other classrooms out through windows.
The tactical team went in at 12:50 p.m. CDT and fatally shot the suspect, 77 minutes after the shooting started, officials said.
The suspect was dead at the scene, the sources said. He was found with more than a dozen bullet wounds.
May 29, 1:10 pm
Justice Department to investigate police response to Uvalde shooting
The Justice Department will conduct a critical incident review to examine the law enforcement response to last week’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, a spokesperson announced on Sunday.
The review is being conducted at the request of Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin and the DOJ will publish a report on its findings at the conclusion.
“The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events. The review will be conducted with the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing,” the DOJ said in a statement.
“As with prior Justice Department after-action reviews of mass shootings and other critical incidents, this assessment will be fair, transparent, and independent. The Justice Department will publish a report with its findings at the conclusion of its review.”
May 29, 1:53 pm
President, first lady place bouquet of roses at Robb Elementary School memorial
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid their respects at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School on Sunday, placing a bouquet of white roses and viewing and touching photos of the 19 children and two teachers killed in Tuesday’s attack at the school.
The Bidens’ motorcade arrived to applause from community residents lining the street nearby.
The president and first lady met Robb Elementary School principal Mandy Gutierrez. The president hugged Gutierrez and appeared to officer words of comfort.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also joined the Bidens at the memorial.
May 29, 12:08 pm
Biden, first lady arrive in Uvalde
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have arrived in Uvalde, Texas, Sunday morning and plan to meet with loved ones of 19 students and two teachers killed in Tuesday’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.
The Bidens arrived at Uvalde’s Garner Field on Marine One just before noon after flying on Air Force One at Kelly Field in San Antonio earlier Sunday.
The Bidens were met on the tarmac at Garner Field by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin and other local dignitaries.
The White House said the [president}() and first lady intend “to grieve with the community that lost twenty-one lives in the horrific elementary school shooting.”
The Bidens are scheduled to visit a growing memorial outside Robb Elementary School and attend Mass at a local Catholic church before meeting with the family members of those killed in the attack and first responders.
May 29, 11:32 am
Senators hold bipartisan negotiations on federal gun legislation
Some Democrat and Republican senators are negotiating through the Memorial Day weekend in an attempt to find “common ground” on potential federal gun laws intended to prevent massacres like the one at a Uvalde, Texas, school, according to Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy.
“There are serious negotiations and we are going to continue to meet through early next week to try to find some common ground,” Murphy, a Democrat, told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday.
Murphy said negotiations with Republican senators have included discussions of “red flag” laws, expansion of the federal background check system, safe storage, mental health resources and increased security funding for schools.
“What we’re talking about is not insignificant,” Murphy said.
He said the goal is to come up with a package “that really in the end could have a significant downward pressure on gun violence in this country and break the logjam.”
“Maybe that’s the most important thing we could do is just show that progress is possible and that the sky doesn’t fall for Republicans if it supports some of these common sense measures,” Murphy said.
Murphy, who took up the cause of combatting gun violence a decade ago following the deadly 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, said he is hearing from more Republicans than ever agreeing on the need for new federal gun legislation, or to bolster laws on the books now.
Republican Rep Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., told Karl that “raising the age of gun purchase to 21 is a no brainer.”
“If you look at the Parkland shooting, you look at Buffalo, you look at this shooting, these are people under the age of 21,” Kinzinger said. “We know that the human brain develops and matures a lot between the age of 18 and 21. We just raised — without really so much as a blink — the age of purchasing cigarettes federally to 21.”
May 28, 3:05 pm
Shooter fired on at least 6 occasions after police arrived
Alleged school shooter Salvador Ramos was in the classroom for 77 minutes before officers entered and killed him. During that time, he discharged 315 rounds of ammunition, with hundreds of those rounds fired within the first four minutes of his arrival, authorities said.
After the initial barrage, the police commander on the scene mistakenly believed the shooter was barricaded and it was no longer an active shooter incident, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told reporters in an update Friday. But as officers gathered outside the classroom, the gunman kept shooting on at least six occasions, the new details show.
At 11:35 a.m., as the first three officers entered the building and approached classrooms 111 and 112, the suspect fired into the hallway through a closed door, where two officers sustained “grazing wounds,” McCraw said.
He fired an additional 16 rounds two minutes later — at 11:37 a.m. — and again at 11:38 a.m., 11:40 a.m. and 11:44 a.m., according to McCraw, who did not specify whether the additional discharges were directed at officers in the hallway or at those inside the classrooms.
At 12:21 p.m., with as many as 19 officers then gathered outside the classroom, the suspect again fired at the closed door, forcing officers to “move down the hallway,” McCraw said.
Despite those additional spurts of gunfire – and a 911 call from inside one of the classrooms alerting a dispatcher that eight or nine people remained alive — officers did not enter the classroom and kill Ramos until 12:50 p.m., according to McCraw.
The police response to the shooting is now being investigated, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday.
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman
May 28, 1:14 pm
Texas active shooter training instructs ‘move in, confront attacker,’ manual shows
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District in Texas hosted active shooter training for its six-member police force two months prior to the massacre at Robb Elementary, based on the “Active Shooter Response for School-Based Law Enforcement” course from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, which explicitly states: “First responders to the active shooter scene will usually be required to place themselves in harm’s way and display uncommon acts of courage to save the innocent.”
The course manual also includes this sobering instruction: “A first responder unwilling to place the lives of the innocent above their own safety should consider another career field.”
The training makes clear the “first priority is to move in and confront the attacker.”
It is “safer” and “preferable” to have a team of at least four officers move on a subject but, since “time is the number one enemy during active shooter response,” even a single officer is expected to act, according to the training document.
In Uvalde, 19 officers entered the school but remained in the hallway, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said at a press conference Friday.
Only when an attacker is isolated and “can do no more harm to students, staff, or visitors” is the officer not obligated to enter the room, which is what McCraw said the incident commander, Uvalde ISD Chief Pete Arredondo, believed.
“It was the wrong decision,” McCraw said.
-ABC News’ Mike Levine and Aaron Katersky
May 27, 5:23 pm
Texas governor: ‘I was misled’ on police response to shooting
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he was “misled” about the response to the Uvalde school shooting.
“I am livid about what happened,” Abbott said during a press briefing Friday, hours after the Texas Department of Public Safety detailed missteps that led to a 35-minute wait to breach the classroom where the shooter was.
“As everybody has learned, the information that I was given turned out, in part, to be inaccurate, and I’m absolutely livid about that,” Abbott said Friday. “There are people who deserve answers the most, and those are the families whose lives have been destroyed. They need answers that are accurate, and it is inexcusable that they may suffer from any inaccurate information whatsoever.”
The governor said there will be investigations into the release of information on the shooting and the strategy employed in the response.
On Wednesday, Abbott said an officer had confronted the shooter at the entrance to the school building, which was not the case.
“But the reality is, as horrible as what happened, it could have been worse,” he also said at the time. “The reason it was not worse, is because law enforcement officials did what they do.”
May 27, 4:37 pm
Texas official says gunman had 1,657 rounds of ammunition
The gunman had purchased a total of 1,657 rounds of ammunition, 315 of which were inside the school, Steven McCraw, director of Texas Department of Public Safety, said Friday.
McCraw said 142 of those rounds were spent cartridges and 173 were live rounds.
Officials found 922 rounds outside of the school, but on school property. Of those rounds, 22 were spent cartridges and 900 were live rounds. Another 422 live rounds were found at the crash site, McCraw said.
The suspect had a total of 60 30-round magazines, 58 of which were at the school. He had fired nearly 200 rounds, most of them inside the school, said McCraw.
May 27, 3:42 pm
5 of 17 injured in shooting remain hospitalized
Five of the 17 people injured in the elementary school shooting remain in the hospital on Friday, according to officials.
Two children and one adult are being treated at University Hospital in San Antonio, two of whom are in serious condition, and two adults are at Brooke Army Medical Center, both in fair condition.
A 10-year-old girl was discharged from University Health in San Antonio.
Eight children and three adults were treated and discharged from Udalve Medical Center earlier this week.
-ABC News’ Jennifer Watts
May 27, 3:13 pm
Texas DPS conducting review of law enforcement actions during shooting
As part of its ongoing investigation into Tuesday’s shooting, the Texas Department of Public Safety is conducting a review of law enforcement actions.
This comes after the visibly shaken Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, revealed a cascading series of police failures before and during one of the deadliest school shootings in the nation’s history.
The incident commander, the chief of Uvalde ISD Police, wrongly believed the incident had transitioned from an active shooter situation to a barricaded subject situation, where the suspect had stopped firing and barricaded himself in a classroom, no longer posing a threat to children, McCraw said.
“He thought there was time,” McCraw said.
McCraw said there may have been a belief by the incident commander that no one was alive anymore inside the classrooms. But, he detailed multiple 911 calls made from inside the classrooms, on which callers explicitly said several children were alive and trapped inside with the shooter. Callers at several points asked for police to be sent in.
-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky
May 27, 1:53 pm
Several 911 calls were made from inside classroom as police waited outside
Those inside a classroom with the shooter made several calls to 911, but the tactical unit that arrived at 12:15 p.m. waited 35 minutes before breaching the classroom, Steven McCraw, director of Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a press conference Friday.
A 911 call was made at 12:03 p.m. from room 112 and lasted 23 seconds. McCraw did not identify the caller.
She called back at 12:10 p.m. and advised that there were multiple dead in the classroom, McCraw said.
The person then called again at 12:13 p.m. and again at 12:16 p.m., when she said there were eight to nine students who were still alive, McCraw said.
A call was made by someone else from room 111 at 12:19 p.m., the caller hung up when another student told her to hang up, McCraw said.
At 12:21 p.m., three shots were heard over a 911 call. At 12:36 p.m., another 911 call was made by the initial caller and it lasted for 21 seconds. The student caller was told to stay on the line and be very quiet. She told 911 that the gunman shot the door, McCraw said.
At approximately 12:43 p.m. and 12:47 p.m., she asked 911 to please send the police now, McCraw said.
The caller said she could hear police next door at 12:46 p.m. At 12:50 p.m., the Border Patrol tactical unit finally breached the door and shot the suspect.
May 27, 1:18 pm
Suspect reportedly involved in online chats about guns, school shootings in recent weeks
Authorities shed more light on some of the suspect’s digital footprint in the weeks and months before Tuesday’s mass shooting.
In September 2021, suspected gunman Salvador Ramos asked his sister to buy him a gun and she “flatly refused,” Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told reporters during a briefing Friday. He did not note where this exchange took place.
On Feb. 28, in an Instagram group chat with four people, they discussed “Ramos being a school shooter,” McCraw said.
The next day, on March 1, in an Instagram chat with four people, Ramos discussed buying a gun, according to McCraw.
Two days later, on March 3, in another four-person chat, someone said, “Word on the street is you are buying a gun,” according to McCraw. Ramos reportedly replied, “Just bought something.”
On March 14, Ramos posted on Instagram, “Ten more days,” according to McCraw. Someone replied, “Are you going to shoot up a school or something?” to which Ramos replied, “No. Stop asking dumb questions. You’ll see,” according to McCraw.
Investigators are also looking into people the suspect may have communicated with in video game chat rooms who “may have known something,” McCraw said.
May 27, 12:36 pm
Officers did not breach classroom for 35 minutes while shooter was inside
Steven McCraw, director of Texas Department of Public Safety, admitted it was the “wrong decision” for officers not to go into the classroom where the suspect was for 35 minutes. Children were inside the classroom with him, making 911 calls, McCraw said in a press conference Friday.
The incident commander believed he was dealing with was a barricaded subject inside the school and the children were not at risk, he said.
A tactical team from CBP was on scene at 12:15 p.m., but did not breach the classroom until 12:50 p.m.
“Of course it wasn’t the right decision,” McCraw said. “It was the wrong decision.”
May 27, 11:23 am
US Marshals say they never arrested or handcuffed anyone outside school
The U.S. Marshals said they never placed anyone in handcuffs, but they say they “maintained order and peace in the midst of the grief-stricken community that was gathering around the school,” in a statement posted on Twitter.
U.S. Marshals arrived on scene from Del Rio, Texas, at 12:10 p.m., and the first deputy U.S. Marshal went into the school to assist BORTAC, the elite tactical CBP team that ultimately shot the alleged shooter, the statement said.
They came from 70 miles away and got the first call around 11:30 a.m., according to the statement.
“These Deputy US Marshals also rendered emergency trauma first aid for multiple victims,” the statement said.
“Additional Deputy U.S. Marshals were asked to expand and secure the official law enforcement perimeter around the school,” the statement said. “Our hearts are heavy with sorrow and sadness at this horrific crime. We send our condolences to all the victims and families affected by this tragedy.”
Angeli Rose Gomez, a mother waiting outside for her children, told the Wall Street Journal she was one of numerous parents urging police and law enforcement officers to go into the school sooner, first politely and then more urgently. She said U.S. Marshals put her in handcuffs, and told her she was being arrested for intervening in an active investigation.
Angel Garza, the stepfather of one of the children killed in the shooting, ran to try to reach and help his child, and was restrained and handcuffed by a local police officer, Desirae Garza, the girl’s aunt, recounted to the New York Times.
May 27, 6:30 am
10-year-old survivor recalls gunman saying: ‘You’re all gonna die’
There was blood in the hallway and children were covered in it, one of the students who survived the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, told ABC News.
Salinas was a student in Irma Garcia’s fourth-grade class. They were scheduled to graduate Thursday, but the ceremony was canceled because Garcia, another teacher and 19 third- and fourth-grade students were killed in Tuesday’s massacre.
Salinas said his aunt dropped him off for school on Tuesday morning.
“It was a normal day until my teacher said we’re on severe lockdown,” he told ABC News, “and then there was shooting in the windows.”
Salinas said the gunman came into his classroom, closed the door and told them, “You’re all going to die,” before opening fire.
“He shot the teacher and then he shot the kids,” Salinas said, recalling the cries and yells of students around him.
-ABC News’ Samira Said
May 26, 9:57 pm
Accused shooter’s mother at one point worked at same establishment of gun purchase: Sources
Sources told ABC News the accused school shooter’s mother, Adriana Reyes, at one point worked at Oasis Outback, the same store where the gunman purchased two weapons just after his 18th birthday earlier this month.
The establishment is half gun retailer, half restaurant; Reyes’ employment was with the restaurant portion, sources say.
It is unclear if she had any role in her son’s purchase of the firearms. The owner of Oasis declined to comment to ABC News and added he would only speak with law enforcement at this time. Reyes has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
-ABC News’ Matt Gutman, Laura Romero and Victor Ordonez
May 26, 6:49 pm
Law enforcement examining if lockdown was audible to students, staff: Sources
The response by school officials and law enforcement is becoming a key focus in the ongoing investigation into the Uvalde school shooting, law enforcement sources told ABC News Thursday.
It is unclear whether any students and teachers heard an official call for a lockdown once the gunman entered the building, the sources said.
Additionally, investigators are looking into whether officers on site could have made other attempts to enter the school to end the gunman’s rampage faster, the sources said. Responding police were met with gunfire and called for tactical teams with proper equipment to enter the classroom and neutralize the gunman, according to the sources.
-ABC News’ Matt Gutman, Josh Margolin, Aaron Katersky and Luke Barr
May 26, 5:19 pm
10-year-old survivor recalls moments after hearing shots fired
A student who was in the classroom next door to the one the gunman entered recounted to ABC News what she did next.
Gemma Lopez, 10, said she heard five to six gunshots and commotion outside her classroom at Robb Elementary School before a bullet whizzed by her arm and into the wall. She recalled seeing a puff of smoke, which is when she knew they were all in danger.
She said she turned off the lights and then ducked under the tables — what she learned to do in the active shooter training she has undergone since kindergarten. There were no locks inside and they did not have a key in the classroom to lock the door from the inside, she said.
Authorities yelled at the gunman to put down his weapon, to which he reportedly shouted in response, “Leave me alone please,” in Spanish, Gemma recalled.
Gemma said her best friend, Amerie Jo Garza, was one of the 19 children killed in the massacre.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden headed to Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day to take part in the traditional wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, along with first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
After laying the wreath, Biden saluted and then made the sign of the cross as a bugler played taps, the lonely call floating in the late-spring air.
He was then set to speak at the Arlington’s amphitheater as the nation observes the 154th Memorial Day.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley were scheduled to speak as well.
Monday’s observance comes after the Bidens spent an emotional day Sunday mourning the victims of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
After arriving from Delaware Monday morning, Biden and the first lady held what has become another Memorial Day tradition: a White House breakfast for Gold Star families.
When they return to the White House from Arlington, the Bidens will be joined by families of the fallen in a tree-planting ceremony on the White House South Lawn.
They’ll plant a magnolia tree in honor of those who lost their lives in service to the nation.
Memorial Day was originally know as Decoration Day, designated in 1868 after the Civil War to decorate the graves of soldiers.
It became a federal holiday in 1971.
According to the cemetery’s website, members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment — known as “The Old Guard” — decorate the graves with small American flags on the Thursday before Memorial Day, known as the “Flags in” ceremony.
In the space of a few hours, Old Guard service members plant flags in front of approximately 280,000 headstones and the bottom of about 7,000 niche (for cremated remains) rows — a tradition since 1948.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated in 1921 after four unknown Americans were exhumed from cemeteries in France following World War I.
The remains of Americans killed in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam war were added in the years after.
Soldiers from the regiment — known as Sentinels — keep solemn watch at the Tomb all day and night, 365 days a year, in any weather.
(NEW YORK) — Todd English is the latest celebrity chef to embrace cooking with cannabis.
The James Beard award-winning chef and restaurateur recently rolled out his cannabis-infused line of gourmet mac and cheese, the first product launch from his new packaged food brand, LastLeaf.
“We’re getting a great response,” English told ABC News Live.
The mac and cheese currently comes in two flavors, white cheddar with shells, and a classic cheddar with elbow macaroni.
Cannabis-infused food and beverages have exploded onto the culinary scene as more states legalize marijuana. Already, 18 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the sale of recreational marijuana for adults over the age of 21.
English’s twist on traditional mac and cheese is currently only available in California, but later this year he hopes to expand the line to more cities that have legalized marijuana for recreational use.
Cooking with cannabis is not a new concept for English. He began preparing dishes with the ingredient more than a decade ago when his sister Wendy was undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
“I saw my sister and a number of my relatives go through horrible cancer,” English said.
“My sister passed away, unfortunately, but during the time she was in remission, I would prepare things with cannabis and it seemed to really help her get through the struggles of how she felt after chemo,” he said.
Together with his business partner, Keith Burkard, English set out to develop healthy food products that contain THC and CBD.
“Consumers are ready for it, but it’s going to take a little bit of time to get embedded into the marketplace,” Burkard said.
“The cannabis industry started out with a lot of secondary food groups like drinks, chips, snacks, chocolates, candies,” he added. “We’re introducing primary food group edibles.”
There is some scientific evidence that marijuana may benefit those with cancer, easing chronic pain and chemotherapy-induced nausea.
Medical experts, however, have cautioned against using cannabis to treat mental health conditions, as it may be ineffective or worsen symptoms in some people.
The cheesy packaged pasta is far from the last of English’s ventures. LastLeaf says it plans to launch cannabis-infused pasta sauces, rubs and olive oil in the coming months.
You won’t find the cannabis concoctions on his restaurant menus just yet — the chef currently owns a number of eateries in places like Las Vegas, Boston and New York City, as well as a handful of international hotspots. For the moment, he’s busy opening up new establishments, including The English Hotel in Las Vegas.
Located off the Vegas strip in the Arts District, English says his namesake hotel is a “very artisanal, little boutique hotel” with a “funky vibe.” It is also home to his new restaurant, The Pepper Club, a reflection of English’s two favorite cuisines, Mediterranean and Japanese.
While the global pandemic has hit the hospitality industry particularly hard, English said business at some of his restaurants, including in Alabama, Connecticut, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.
“Weekends are jamming and people are out,” he said. “It’s just a question of us being able to handle the business because we don’t have all the pieces in place yet — staffing, supply chain — but it’s getting there.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden was headed to Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day to take part in the traditional wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, along with first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
He was then set to speak at the Arlington’s amphitheater as the nation observes the 154th Memorial Day.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley were scheduled to speak as well.
Monday’s observance comes after the Bidens spent an emotional day Sunday mourning the victims of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
After arriving from Delaware Monday morning, Biden and the first lady held what has become another Memorial Day tradition: a White House breakfast for Gold Star families.
When they return to the White House from Arlington, the Bidens will be joined by families of the fallen in a tree-planting ceremony on the White House South Lawn.
They’ll plant a magnolia tree in honor of those who lost their lives in service to the nation.
Memorial Day was originally know as Decoration Day, designated in 1868 after the Civil War to decorate the graves of soldiers.
It became a federal holiday in 1971.
According to the cemetery’s website, members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment — known as “The Old Guard” — decorate the graves with small American flags on the Thursday before Memorial Day, known as the “Flags in” ceremony.
In the space of a few hours, Old Guard service members plant flags in front of approximately 280,000 headstones and the bottom of about 7,000 niche (for cremated remains) rows — a tradition since 1948.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated in 1921 after four unknown Americans were exhumed from cemeteries in France following World War I.
The remains of Americans killed in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam war were added in the years after.
Soldiers from the regiment — known as Sentinels — keep solemn watch at the Tomb all day and night, 365 days a year, in any weather.
(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:
May 30, 10:56 am
French journalist killed in Ukraine
A French journalist working for cable channel BFM TV has been killed in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, according to Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration.
French President Emmanuel Macron identified the journalist as Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.
“On board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombs, he was fatally shot,” Macron tweeted. “I share the pain of the family, relatives and colleagues of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, to whom I send my condolences. To those who carry out the difficult mission of informing in theaters of operations, I would like to reiterate France’s unconditional support.”
May 29, 1:38 pm
31% of Kharkiv region occupied by Russian forces, Ukrainian officials say
A significant portion of Kharkiv, a town in northwest Ukraine near the Russian border, is occupied by Russian forces, Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit on Sunday.
Just 5% of the region has been liberated by Ukrainian forces, Synegubov said.
“We are not yet able to fully inspect some of the liberated settlements, conduct full-fledged de-mining and begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, as shelling continues,” Synegubov said, according to a statement from Zelenskyy’s office. “Where we can do it remotely – we do it.”
During the trip to Kharkiv, Zelenskyy inspected destroyed residential buildings in the Saltivka district. The northern and eastern districts of the city suffered the most destruction, with more than 30% of total housing damaged.
Zelenskyy noted that there will be an opportunity to modernize new constructions and that new housing will have to include bomb shelters.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 27, 1:32 pm
Zelenskyy calls for Russia to unblock Ukraine’s seaports amid ‘food crisis’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Russia to unblock Ukraine’s seaports to end a global “food crisis” while speaking at the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia think tank Friday, according to his office.
“Russia has blocked access to our ports in the Black Sea and occupied our part of the Sea of Azov. As a result of this military blockade, most traditional Ukrainian trade routes have been closed,” said Zelenskyy, noting that 22 million tons of grain are currently in storage facilities in Ukraine. “We cannot direct them to the world market, where they are needed right now, at this time.”
According to the president, this block has already affected the prices for grain and soon will affect the prices for other food products. He predicted that many countries will run out of last year’s harvest stockpiles in July.
“The sooner our ports are unblocked, the sooner the food crisis will stop, because we will be able to send our stocks and new crops to the world market,” Zelenskyy said.
May 27, 7:08 am
Bucha resident who lost husband, unborn son tries to rebuild her life
Anna Polonska had struggled to get pregnant. So when she did, it was a moment of sheer joy; a happy family life lay ahead.
But days after Russia invaded Ukraine, her unborn son and husband were killed in shelling as they tried to flee Ukraine, she told ABC News.
She was also gravely injured in the attack, and doctors did not think she would survive.
Adding to her loss, soldiers stole almost all of her possessions and destroyed her apartment, she recalled.
But in a remarkable interview, Anna said she is now focusing on picking up the pieces — showing incredible courage and determination to live and walk again.
At least 3,998 civilians have been killed and 4,693 others have been injured in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
At least 260 children were among the dead and 404 among the injured, according to the OHCHR.
“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes,” the agency said in a statement Thursday. “OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.”
Those areas include Mariupol in the Donetsk Oblast, Izium in the Kharkiv Oblast and Popasna in the Luhansk Oblast, where the OHCHR said “there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties.” Casualty numbers from those locations “are being further corroborated” and thus are not included in the latest statistics, according to the agency.
May 26, 6:06 am
Russia’s airborne forces suffer ‘heavy casualties’ after ‘tactical failures,’ UK says
The Russian military’s airborne forces, known as the VDV, “have been heavily involved in several notable tactical failures since the start of Russia’s invasion” of neighboring Ukraine, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
“This includes the attempted advance on Kyiv via Hostomel Airfield in March, the stalled progress on the Izium axis since April, and the recent failed and costly crossings of the Siverskyi Donets River,” the ministry said Thursday in an intelligence update.
“Russian doctrine anticipates assigning the VDV to some of the most demanding operations,” the ministry added. “The 45,000-strong VDV is mostly comprised of professional contract soldiers. Its members enjoy elite status and attract additional pay. The VDV has been employed on missions better suited to heavier armoured infantry and has sustained heavy casualties during the campaign.”
The VDV’s “mixed performance likely reflects a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia’s failure to secure air superiority,” according to the ministry.
“The misemployment of the VDV in Ukraine highlights how Putin’s significant investment in the armed forces over the last 15 years has resulted in an unbalanced overall force,” the ministry said. “The failure to anticipate Ukrainian resistance and the subsequent complacency of Russian commanders has led to significant losses across many of Russia’s more elite units.”
May 24, 4:47 pm
Drone footage shows devastation inside Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol
Drone footage released by Russian media shows the devastation inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces fended off Russian troops for weeks amid intense fighting before surrendering.
The drone footage released by the Russian news outlet MIC Izvestia showed the collapsed walls of the plant and twisted metal and debris strewn about the entire facility.
The Russian Defense ministry on Friday said the last Ukrainian fighters defending Azovstal had surrendered, giving Russia full control of the port city of Mariupol.
The seizure of Mariupol, gives Russia command of a land route linking the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized in 2014, with mainland Russia and parts of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatists.
(UVALDE, Texas) — When gunfire rang out at Robb Elementary School Tuesday, 9-year-old Daniel Garza said his teacher, Elsa Avila, ran to the door to lock their classroom, which was near the rooms where 19 students and two teachers were killed.
Avila was shot through the glass and dropped to the floor, Daniel told ABC News, but she still told her students to stay quiet and said she was playing dead. A student in the class was also injured when the gunman shot through the door.
Daniel said he hid under a table next to a wall with some classmates. Daniel and his terrified peers stayed quiet, listening to the gunshots and the gunman banging on the neighboring door.
“I personally can’t thank my son’s teacher enough,” Daniel’s mother, Briana Ruiz, told ABC News. “I think what she did saved all of their lives.”
Though Daniel survived, he lost his beloved cousin, Ellie Garcia, who was in a neighboring classroom and among the 19 children slain in the massacre.
“I was worried a lot for her because I didn’t hear any screaming from the class,” he said.
Although her son is enduring mental trauma from the massacre, Ruiz said the 9-year-old insisted on speaking to journalists to take the focus off the gunman and shine it on the victims.
“That’s why I agreed to let him do this. If he feels like it’s going to help him, I’m OK with it, because I do want him to recover,” she said.
Since the shooting, Ruiz said her son hasn’t wanted to go into his bedroom and has stopped playing video games.
“When I ask him why he doesn’t want to play, he says, ‘I don’t want to hear gun shots.’ We’re not watching cable — any mention of shooting does trigger him,” she said. “That’s something they’re gonna have to live with forever and it’s going to be hard.”
Ruiz said the gunman was a former student of hers, when she was a teaching assistant.
As for Daniel’s feelings about the gunman: “I feel mad at him. I play football with a lot of those guys and they didn’t make it out.”
ABC News’ Marcus Moore contributed to this report.
