(GLAMIS, Calif.) — A military aircraft crashed in a remote, desert area of Southern California on Wednesday, authorities said.
Five people were on board an MV-22B Osprey when it went down, according to a Marine official, who did not have any further update on their condition.
The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office and Imperial County Fire Department responded to the scene of the crash, located near Glamis.
The downed aircraft belonged to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, in San Diego.
Naval Air Facility El Centro in Imperial County said it received reports of a downed aircraft near Highway 78 and Coachella Canal Road, and that military and civilian first responders were at the scene.
Reports of a downed military aircraft in the region came in midday Wednesday, according to Broadcastify audio obtained by ABC News.
ABC News’ Matt Seyler and Alex Stone contributed to this report.
Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Since an initial voluntary recall on J.M. Smucker peanut butter in May, multiple other products — from protein power snacks to baked goods — have been added to a growing list of related items consumers should avoid, the Food and Drug Administration announced recently.
In addition to the initial Jif brand peanut butter products that were first recalled in multiple states due to Salmonella infection risk, 18 other companies that further processed the peanut butter by either repackaging it or using it as an ingredient have issued their own recalls as well.
“The FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners, are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Senftenberg infections linked to certain Jif peanut butter products produced at the J.M. Smucker Company facility in Lexington, Kentucky,” the agency said in its recall announcement. “CDC’s review of epidemiological information indicates that five out of five people reported consuming peanut butter and four of the five people specifically reported consuming different varieties of Jif brand peanut butter prior to becoming ill.”
The FDA conducted Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) analysis on a sample from the brand’s facility that the agency said matched “the strain causing illnesses in this current outbreak.”
“Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not eat, sell, or serve any recalled Jif brand peanut butter, including recalled products that contain the recalled Jif peanut butter,” the FDA recommended. “Consumers should also avoid feeding recalled peanut butter to pets or other animals, including wild birds.”
For a full list of the affected products, lot code information and further details about the recall click here. The agency said that list will be updated as it receives any notification of new recalls.
Additionally, the FDA has shared helpful information on how consumers may check for affected Jif products in their own home.
“Locate the lot code on the back of the jar, under the Best If Used By Date (the lot code may be next to the Best If Used By Date for cups or squeeze pouches). In the lot code, if the first four digits are between 1274 and 2140, and if the next three numbers after that are ‘425’, this product has been recalled and you should not consume this product,” the FDA wrote.
The FDA also recommends washing and sanitizing surfaces and utensils if someone used the recalled Jif brand peanut butter.
The initial Jif recall was first announced in May. At that time, the FDA reported several people had fallen ill after eating peanut butter products. All of those who reported brand information said they had eaten some variety of Jif peanut butter.
Among the list of recalled products were Jif Creamy and Crunchy Peanut Butters, in varying sizes, including “To Go” packs; Natural and Natural Honey Peanut Butters; and Jif Squeezable Pouches. Cases were reported across several states.
“Our top priority is ensuring our consumers understand the details of the recall and are supported,” Jif stated at the time. “We recognize your trust, and our reputation are built on our fundamental commitment to high standards for ingredients and manufacturing. We take your concerns seriously and are committed to producing safe, high quality peanut butter.”
(NEW YORK) — A North Carolina bill would examine whether closing gun stores near schools can improve safety after a series of high-profile mass shootings across the country.
The proposal would study the impact of gun stores within 1,400 feet of schools and daycare centers to see if banning them would make a positive impact on the safety of school-aged children. The proposal would not look to close existing gun shops, but make it harder for new ones to open.
North Carolina state Sen. Natalie Murdock told ABC News the idea for the bill came shortly after the back-to-back shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York. That same week, the 4-year-old niece of her friend died from an accidental shooting after finding a gun in her home, she says.
She noted that safe zones currently exist near schools. She says if sex offenders cannot be within certain distance of a school, it shows that there’s a way to prevent having guns in close proximity to schools.
The state senator says new gun shops should have to answer how close they are to schools and daycares, and conversations should be had about whether they are too close.
Murdock, who says she grew up in a gun-owning household, says for years North Carolina lawmakers proposed gun reform legislation from universal background checks, red flag laws, to raising the age to purchase guns to 21.
Those ideas, she says, have not garnered much traction.
She added, “I am tired of quite frankly politicians that are afraid to talk about gun safety and gun reforms. We’re getting this wrong.”
With the North Carolina legislature currently in session, Murdock says she plans to hand deliver her proposed amendment to Republican majority leaders and hopes to pass the bill with bipartisan support.
She says she wants to have a flexible approach to the legislation given that they are in a short legislative session.
Murdock says her team has also been in talks with lawmakers in legislatures in California, New Jersey and New York.
In Durham, North Carolina, Mayor Pro Tempore Mark-Anthony Middleton tells ABC News he plans on introducing the study in the city council.
Middleton, who says he is a gun owner and Second Amendment supporter, tells ABC News the measure isn’t about shutting down gun stores. Instead, he said, it “is about what kind of future we want to craft, maintaining the Second Amendment and keeping our kids alive. I don’t think that’s mutually exclusive.”
Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist and the founder of communications consulting firm Winning Margins, said he is supporting Murdock’s efforts to localize and nationalize this study. He told ABC News that he feels that Democrats can win on gun control if they coordinate with local governments.
Republicans have been successful in their efforts to codify lax gun laws in the courts because of their ability to win local elections, Ceraso says.
Murdock says gun reform doesn’t necessarily mean being anti-gun, but it does mean gun safety that includes laws, rules and regulations to protect children. She says she believes this is a tipping point for the country on the issue.
“The nation is listening and watching, and I don’t think we can let this opportunity pass us by I think we have to honor all of those who have been murdered recently, unfortunately, to say, we got to step up and do something from the federal level to the state level,” she said.
(NEW YORK) — Students from several elementary schools gathered at Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem this morning, unveiling benches they painted to advocate for social justice issues. Most notably, they spoke about gun control.
The students at Isaac Newton Middle School for Math and Science painted a bench featuring a handgun with a twisted barrel and two daisies growing out of the muzzle to signify a future without mass shootings and violence.
12-year-old Nicholas Anderson felt strongly about the issue.
“Kids deserve to be in the world, and they need to get an education, and they need to live a life,” he said.
This event was part of a larger city-wide initiative to get students involved in activism through art by CEI Benchmarks. Its summer exhibition served approximately 1,250 children from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.
Initially, these benches were displayed in Washington Square Park last month, two days after the devastating shooting at Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde, Texas. Some students were already working on benches to raise awareness about gun violence, but now the issue has new relevance in their young lives.
“Many little kids are left out because they get killed each day, and they don’t have a lot of security people to protect them,” said 11-year-old David Sanchez.
The benches have been moved to Thomas Jefferson Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Prospect Park, and Reverend T. Wendell Foster Park and will remain there until Sept. 15.
(WASHINGTON) — While some of their friends and loved ones are still being buried at home, both survivors and families of victims in recent mass shootings challenged lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week to reach a deal on gun reform negotiations or risk continuing a 30-year trend of inaction in the wake of tragedies from Sandy Hook to Parkland.
As Senate negotiators continue talks, House Democrats on Wednesday will move to pass a sweeping package — called the “Protect Our Kids Act” — which would raise the age limit for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, ban high-capacity magazines, create firearm safe storage requirements, and tighten the regulation of bump stocks and “ghost guns.”
Republican leaders pushed back ahead of the vote, with Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the House GOP Whip, noting, “there wasn’t a conversation about banning airplanes,” after the Sept. 11 attacks — and calling for the majority to hold bipartisan talks like their Senate counterparts. Though the legislation is doomed in the upper chamber, it’s intended to put pressure on Republicans who have been hesitant to enact — or outright blocked — reform at the federal level, despite growing calls for change.
The real opportunity to change policy lies in the Senate, where a small group of bipartisan negotiators is inching closer to reaching a gun reform deal in principle.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., leaving a meeting with the group of roughly 11 lawmakers on Wednesday, said they were discussing “a series of concrete proposals” that he’s “hopeful in the next day will all be reduced to a framework that includes a broad range of commitments, in terms of dollar amounts and purposes.”
But questions remain around what the final deal will include — and if it will go as far as many Americans are demanding.
“Somewhere out there, a mom is hearing our testimony and thinking to herself, ‘I can’t even imagine their pain,’ not knowing that our reality will one day be hers — unless we act now,” said Kimberly Rubio, mother of Lexi Rubio, a fourth-grade student among the 19 kids and two teachers killed in Uvalde, Texas. “So, today, we stand for Lexi. And as her voice, we demand action. We seek a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines.”
“You expect us to continue to just forgive and forget over and over again. And what are you doing?” asked Garnell Whitfield Jr., a son of Ruth Whitfield, the oldest victim of the Buffalo shooting, which left 10 Black people dead, asked senators Tuesday. “My mother’s life mattered. Your actions here will tell us if, and how much, it mattered to you.”
Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, who said he learned responsible gun ownership growing up in Uvalde, also offered a passionate plea from the White House after lobbying lawmakers on both sides of the aisle this week, saying that Americans are more united on the issue of guns, but it’s Congress that’s divided.
“Enough of the invalidation of the other side. Let’s come to the common table that represents the American people. Find a middle ground, the place where most of us Americans live anyway, especially on this issue,” McConaughey said in an emotional and lengthy speech. “Because I promise you, America — you and me, who — we are not as divided as we’re being told we are.”
The bipartisan group of senators, led by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, is aiming to reach a compromise this week on a package that could garner enough support to pass Congress — but they’re considering measures much smaller in scope than what both victims and President Joe Biden have publicly called for.
Instead of universal background checks, supported by 89% of Americans according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, negotiators are looking to expanding background checks to look at juvenile records. Regarding red-flag laws, supported by 86% of Americans according to the same poll, laws which temporarily remove guns from the hands of individuals who are considered a danger to themselves or others, the group is considering incentivizing states to implement their own, as opposed to enacting red-flag laws at a federal level.
Funding to states for mental health resources — a measure Republicans pushed for, along with increased funding for school safety — is about 80% complete, according to Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who is part of the talks.
Senate Democrats support the expanded versions of these measures as well as raising the age to buy assault-style weapons from 18 to 21 — but they don’t have enough Republican support to become law. Democrats need 10 Senate Republicans to join them on any legislation to meet the chamber’s 60-vote threshold, required by the filibuster rule, and allow a bill to advance for final passage.
So far, it’s not clear there is enough support even for a more modest deal.
Despite Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky expressing a willingness in private to support lowering the age to buy assault-style weapons, sources told ABC News’ Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, the measure is a nonstarter for most Republicans.
Asked by a CNN reporter why Americans would need an AR-15, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said people use them in his state “to shoot prairie dogs and, you know, other types of varmints.”
Less than 24 hours later, a Uvalde pediatrician, who treated the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting, described to House lawmakers the damage the gunman’s AR-15 there had on the tiny bodies.
“Two children, whose bodies had been so pulverized by the bullets fired at them, over and over again, whose flesh had been so ripped apart, that the only clue as to their identities were the blood spattered cartoon clothes still clinging to them,” said Pediatrician Dr. Roy Guerrero.
What’s next?
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has given negotiators roughly until the end of the week to come up with a framework agreement, after which it would take more time to then develop legislative language and get the requisite budget analyses.
“I’m encouraging my Democratic colleagues to keep talking, to see if Republicans will work with us to come up with something that will make a meaningful change in the lives of the American people and stop gun violence,” he said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Making real progress is very important. Sen. Murphy has asked for space to have the talks continue, and I have given him the space.”
But not every negotiator appears on board with that swift timeline.
Lead Republican on the talks, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, told reporters on Wednesday that his “aspirational goal” would be to reach a deal “in the next couple of weeks, by the end of this work period” on June 27.
While negotiators appear to be closing in on a framework deal by Friday, one GOP aide familiar with the matter said that paper is still being exchanged by each side. It’s possible that members announce a deal in principle and then take a few more weeks to finalize language, as was seen with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Senate Democrats need 10 Republicans to join them in theory, but some think any agreement is going to need even broader Republican support to pass — under the thinking more in the GOP will be willing to support the measure if it has the backing of their larger conference.
If negotiators do not come to an agreement, Schumer has vowed to get every senator on the record by holding a vote on doomed-to-fail comprehensive gun reform legislation, ahead of the fall midterm elections.
ABC News’ Trish Turner, Benjamin Siegel and Allie Pecorin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — A California man was charged with attempted murder of a U.S. Supreme Court justice for allegedly making threats against Justice Brett Kavanaugh and showing up near his Maryland home armed, federal court records show.
The suspect was angry over the recent mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and the leaked draft of the Supreme Court’s decision impacting Roe v. Wade, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent submitted in support of a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.
The man — identified by the Department of Justice as 26-year-old Nicholas Roske of Simi Valley — was allegedly spotted by two U.S. Marshals wearing black clothes and carrying a backpack getting out of a cab in front of Kavanagh’s house at approximately 1:05 a.m. Wednesday, according to the affidavit. A Glock 17 pistol, two magazines, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crowbar, pistol light and duct tape were in the backpack, according to the affidavit.
The suspect then allegedly called the Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center to say he wanted to kill a Supreme Court justice, according to the affidavit.
“Roske also told the call taker he came from California to kill a specific United States Supreme Court Justice,” the complaint stated.
The suspect was arrested at about 1:50 a.m. Wednesday and was taken into custody in Montgomery County, a Supreme Court spokesperson said. Montgomery County police said the case has been transferred to the FBI.
“Roske indicated that he believed the Justice that he intended to kill would side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws,” the affidavit stated. “Roske stated that he’d been thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided he would kill the Supreme Court Justice after finding the Justice’s Montgomery County address on the internet.”
Roske is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court Wednesday afternoon. Attorney information for him wasn’t available in online court records.
The charge of attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The Department of Homeland Security warned in May that there could be threats against Supreme Court justices over the leaked draft of the Roe v. Wade decision.
A bulletin obtained by ABC News in May said the draft leak “prompted a significant increase in violent threats — many made online via social media and some of which are under investigation –directed toward some U.S. Supreme Court Justices and the Supreme Court building.”
The National Capital Threat Intelligence Consortium identified at least 25 violent threats on social media that were referred to partner agencies for further investigation, the bulletin said.
“Some of these threats discussed burning down or storming the U.S. Supreme Court and murdering Justices and their clerks, members of Congress, and lawful demonstrators,” the bulletin said.
U.S. Marshals bolstered their protective details for the justices and began guarding their homes around the clock in the wake of the leaked draft, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday.
“This kind of behavior is obviously behavior that we will not tolerate,” Garland said. “We will do everything we can to prevent them [violence and threats of violence] and to hold people who do them accountable.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday, “This is exactly, exactly the kind of event that many feared the terrible breach of the court’s rules and norms could fuel.”
McConnell used the incident to call on the House to pass legislation increasing protection for Supreme Court Justices and their families.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., a member of the Judiciary Committee, called on President Joe Biden to condemn those who target justices.
“Political violence is un-American. President Biden needs to personally and forcefully condemn violence and threats against Supreme Court justices,” he said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement, “I call on leaders in both parties in Washington to strongly condemn these actions in no uncertain terms. It is vital to our constitutional system that the justices be able to carry out their duties without fear of violence against them and their families.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday that Biden “condemns this individual in the strongest possible terms” and is grateful for the quick law enforcement response in apprehending the suspect.
“As the president has consistently made clear, public officials, including judges, must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety, or that of their families,” she said.
The Department of Justice has U.S. Marshals providing support to the Supreme Court marshal, she said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky and Molly Nagle contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Merrick Garland has named a team of nine law enforcement experts to advise the Justice Department in its review of the law enforcement response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
The goal of the review, according to the DOJ, will be to “provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses, identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events, and provide a roadmap for community safety and engagement before, during and after such incidents.”
At an appearance Wednesday announcing plans for the review, Garland said that members of the review team will conduct regular site visits to Uvalde and interview a “wide variety” of stakeholders, including law enforcement, government officials, school officials, witnesses, families of the victims and community members.
The team of experts includes several members of law enforcement who handled the response to previous major mass shootings or led similar review teams.
Team members include retired Sacramento, California, police chief Rick Braziel, retired Virginia Tech deputy chief Gene Deisinger, retired Coral Gables, Florida, public safety director Frank Fernandez, FBI Unit Chief Albert Guarnieri, retired Pennsylvania State Police Major Mark Lomax, McElroy Media Group CEO Laura McElroy, Orange County, Florida, sheriff John Mina, Vibrant Emotional Health assistant vice president April Naturale, and retired Aurora, Illinois, chief Kristen Ziman.
Asked whether he was concerned about the lack of transparency thus far from authorities in Uvalde, and whether the team leading the review will have the tools necessary in the event that officials choose to not cooperate, Garland cited assurances from Uvalde’s mayor, who had asked the DOJ to conduct its independent review.
“As I said, we’ve been invited by the mayor, we have been promised, assured and welcomed with respect to cooperation at every level of law enforcement — state, federal and local — and we’ll participate in that vein,” Garland said. “We don’t expect any problems.”
When pressed further, Garland said, “We expect voluntary cooperation from everybody at every level.”
The attorney general reiterated that the review, as stated earlier, “is not a criminal investigation,” and compared it to past reviews that followed the San Bernardino and Pulse nightclub mass shootings.
The assessment will examine the policies and training that authorities who responded to the shooting had received, and will provide a “complete incident reconstruction” detailing how the various law enforcement agencies responded during and after the shooting, DOJ officials said.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump, his eldest son and eldest daughter have agreed to sit for depositions as part of a civil investigation by the New York Attorney General’s Office next month unless the state’s highest court intervenes, according to a stipulation filed Wednesday said.
Absent court intervention, former President Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump will appear for testimony beginning July 15, and concluding by the following week, the stipulation said.
A state appellate court ruled in May that the subpoenas for their testimony were not, as the Trumps argued, part of a politically motivated investigation into how the family valued its real estate holdings.
The stipulation gave the Trumps until Monday to file for a stay to the Court of Appeals.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(PHILADELPHIA) — A $30,000 reward is being offered in the search for a third suspect in a Philadelphia mass shooting that erupted Saturday night in the busy South Street entertainment district that left three people dead and 12 injured, authorities said.
The Philadelphia Police Department released a series of security video clips and still images showing the teenage suspect from multiple angles on South Street around the time of the shooting.
“This male is considered armed and dangerous,” police said in a statement.
The episode was one of at least 11 mass shootings across the country over the weekend, including one that left three people dead and 11 injured in Chattanooga, Tennessee, another in which three people were killed at a graduation party in Socorro, Texas, and yet another that left a 14-year-old girl dead and eight people injured at a strip mall in Phoenix.
In total, 17 people were killed and 62 were injured in the mass shootings.
As the search for the third suspect in the Philadelphia shooting continued Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee was holding a hearing on gun violence in which survivors and relatives of those killed in recent mass shootings at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school and a Buffalo, New York, supermarket testified.
The Philadelphia mass shooting occurred just before midnight Saturday when a physical confrontation on the street prompted multiple people to open fire near the intersection of South and Second streets, which was teeming with people at the time.
Two of the three people killed and many of those injured were innocent bystanders, police said. Police initially said 11 people were injured, but that number was revised to 12 in the police department’s latest statement.
Police said four or five different guns were used in the shooting and two, including an untraceable ghost gun — a firearm without serial numbers — .with an extended magazine, were found within a two-block crime scene.
Investigators said arrest warrants for additional suspects could be issued as the investigation unfolds.
Police said the wanted suspect still at large is Black, in his late teens, tall and heavyset, light- to medium-complected and with bushy hair. He was wearing a COVID-style mask and a black hooded shirt with distinctive markings, police said. Video released by police showed the suspect wearing dark sneakers with brightly colored shoe laces as he went into stores and mingled with people on the street.
Two other suspects have been arrested and charged in the shooting. Arrest warrants were issued Monday for Quran Garner, 18, and Rashaan Vereen, 34.
Garner, who was shot in the hand by a police officer during Saturday’s episode, was already in custody at a hospital when Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced on Monday that he is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated assault on law enforcement officers.
Vereen was arrested by U.S. Marshals Monday afternoon at a home in South Philadelphia. He is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, conspiracy, violating the uniform firearms act, possession of an instrument of crime, tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice.
Citing security video, Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore said the shooting started after one of the victims she identified as Mika Townes got into a physical confrontation with Gregory Jackson, a 34-year-old man who was killed in the shooting.
Pescatore said Townes and Jackson were passing each other on the same side of South Street when words were exchanged, setting off a melee. She said Jackson is captured on video punching Townes in the face and then Vereen, who was with Jackson at the time, allegedly helping Jackson beat Townes.
Jackson and Townes, who both had valid permits to carry concealed weapons, both drew weapons during the confrontation, Pescatore said. She said Townes, who police have deemed a victim in the incident and is not facing charges, fatally shot Jackson in self-defense before he was was allegedly shot and seriously injured by Vereen.
She said Garner, who was with Townes at the time, then allegedly drew a weapon and fired in the direction of where the melee occurred as police converged on the scene. Garner, who Pescatore alleged was armed with the ghost gun police recovered at the scene, then allegedly aimed his weapon at officers, who fired at him, striking him in the hand.
Innocent bystanders Kris Minners, a resident adviser at Girard College prep school in Philadelphia, and Alexis Quinn, were killed in the shooting.
Minners was out celebrating his 22nd birthday when he was shot.
“The loss of Kris reminds us that gun violence can and will touch everyone in our nation as long as our elected officials allow it to continue,” the Girard College teachers’ union said in a statement read.
Quinn was described by her mother, Tina Quinn, as a loving daughter whose favorite color was purple and someone who learned every new TikTok dance.
“She said ‘mom, you’re my Valentine,’ I say ‘awww,” Tina Quinn told ABC Philadelphia station WPVI.
The mother described her 24-year-old daughter as her “mini-me.” She said her daughter called her “old lady.”
“That’s what I’m going to miss. I’ll miss the morning phone calls. Every day she called me. ‘Hey! Hey old lady, what’re you doing?'” Tina Quinn said.
She added, “I just want closure for my daughter you know? I just want this gun violence to end.”
(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:
Jun 08, 12:53 pm
Russian-occupied Mariupol faces ‘catastrophic lack of medical staff’
The Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, Ukraine, is facing a “catastrophic lack of medical staff,” Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, said on the Telegram app.
He said Russians are trying to convince locals who are over 80 years old to go back to work at hospitals.
He warned, “In this state of medicine, any infectious disease turns into a deadly epidemic.”
Jun 08, 8:36 am
Putin-Zelenskyy meeting not possible, Kremlin says
A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not currently possible, the Kremlin said.
When asked about a recent comment from Zelenskyy that he’s willing to meet with Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “Our position is well-known here: good preparations need to be made for a top-level meeting. We know that the Ukrainian side has withdrawn from the negotiation track, and therefore it is currently not possible to prepare for this sort of top-level meeting.”
Jun 08, 5:06 am
Ukrainian defenses in key eastern city ‘holding,’ despite Russian attacks
Ukrainian troops defending the eastern city of Sieverodonetsk are “holding,” despite attacks in three directions from Russian forces, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Wednesday in an intelligence update.
“Russia continues to attempt assaults against the Sieverodonetsk pocket from three directions although Ukrainian defences are holding,” the ministry said. “It is unlikely that either side has gained significant ground in the last 24 hours.”
Sieverodonetsk, an industrial hub, is the largest city still held by Ukrainian troops in the contested Donbas region of Ukraine’s east, which comprises the self-proclaimed republics in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts. In recent days, Russian forces have encircled the city as they advanced in Donbas, creating a pocket that could trap Ukrainian defenders there and in the neighboring city of Lysychansk.
Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk are the last major cities in the Luhansk area still controlled by Ukraine.
Last week, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Russian forces had seized most of Sieverodonetsk, but that the main road into the pocket likely remained under Ukrainian control.
With the frontage of the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine stretching for over 300 miles, “both Russia and Ukraine face similar challenges in maintaining a defensive line while freeing up capable combat units for offensive operations,” according to the ministry.
“While Russia is concentrating its offensive on the central Donbas sector, it has remained on the defensive on its flanks,” the ministry said in its intelligence update Wednesday. “Ukrainian forces have recently achieved some success by counter-attacking in the south-western Kherson region, including regaining a foothold on the eastern bank of the Ingulets River.”
Jun 07, 3:12 pm
At least 3 dead in shelling in Kharkiv
At least three people were killed and six others were injured in the Kharkiv area from ongoing shelling by Russian forces, according to the Kharkiv regional governor, Oleg Synegubov.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Jun 07, 11:48 am
Ukraine official: Hard to win ‘without speeding up the supply of modern weapons’
Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, told ABC News that “it will be difficult for Ukraine to win this war without speeding up the supply of modern weapons.”
He added, “The country is ready for long-term resistance, because we are fighting for our freedom.”
This comes as the Donetsk People’s Republic claims an advance in territory.
DPR Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova told reporters, “We can say that the allied forces — the DPR militia and units of the Russian Defense Ministry — are in control of over 70% of the territory.”
Jun 07, 11:02 am
Ukrainian grain may be leaving ports — but on Russian ships
There is evidence of Russian vessels departing “from near Ukraine with their cargo holds full of grain,” a U.S. Department of State spokesperson told ABC News on Monday night.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported that Russia seized at least 400,000 to 500,000 tons of grain worth over $100 million, according to the State Department spokesperson.
“Ukraine’s MFA also has numerous testimonies from Ukrainian farmers and documentary evidence showing Russia’s theft of Ukrainian grain,” the spokesperson said.
The news of Ukrainian grain aboard Russian ships partly confirms a recent report by The New York Times that Moscow is seeking to profit off of grain plundered from Ukraine by selling the product while subverting sanctions. Ukraine has already accused Russia of shipping the stolen grain to buyers in Syria and Turkey.
Russia and Ukraine — often referred to collectively as Europe’s breadbasket — produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but Kyiv has been unable to ship exports due to Moscow’s offensive. A Russian blockade in the Black Sea, along with Ukrainian naval mines, have made exporting siloed grain virtually impossible and, as a result, millions of people around the world — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — are now on the brink of famine.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jun 06, 12:26 pm
Two planes owned by Russian oligarch grounded by US prosecutors
Two planes — a Gulfstream G650 and a Boeing 787 — have been grounded after federal prosecutors said their owner, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, violated U.S. sanctions by flying the aircraft to Moscow in March.
The sanctions require a license for any U.S.-made aircraft to fly to Russia. The sanctions also prohibit an aircraft that is owned, controlled or under charter or lease by a Russian national from being flown to Russia.
“No licenses were applied for or issued. Nor was any license exception available, including because the Boeing and the Gulfstream were each owned and/or controlled by a Russian national: Roman Abramovich,” said the affidavit supporting a seizure warrant.
The Boeing plane is believed to be among the most expensive private aircraft in the world, worth $350 million, the affidavit said.
Jun 06, 9:05 am
Russia beefs up air defense on Snake Island
Russia has likely moved multiple air defense assets, including SA-15 and SA-22 missile systems, to Snake Island in the western Black Sea, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Monday in an intelligence update.
The move follows the loss of the Russian warship Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
“It is likely these weapons are intended to provide air defence for Russian naval vessels operating around Snake Island,” the ministry added. “Russia’s activity on Snake Island contributes to its blockade of the Ukrainian coast and hinders the resumption of maritime trade, including exports of Ukrainian grain.”
Russian forces captured Ukraine’s Snake Island in the early days of the invasion, memorably when Ukrainian soldiers defending the tiny islet told an attacking Russian warship to “go f— yourself.” Ukrainian troops have failed in their attempts to retake the previously inconsequential territory.
Meanwhile, in eastern Ukraine’s contested Donbas region, heavy fighting continues in the war-torn city of Sieverodonetsk, according to the ministry.
“Russian forces continue to push towards Sloviansk as part of their attempted encirclement of Ukrainian force,” the ministry said.
And in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Russian air-launched cruise missiles struck rail infrastructure Sunday in the early morning hours, “likely in an attempt [to] disrupt the supply of Western military equipment to frontline Ukrainian units,” according to the ministry.
Jun 05, 3:39 pm
Russian missiles target Kyiv
After five weeks of relative calm in Kyiv, Russian rockets hit Ukraine’s capital city on Sunday as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of strikes on “new targets” if the United States goes through with plans to supply Ukraine with longer-range missiles.
Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said the war is still in its “hot phase” and “capturing Kyiv is still Russia’s main goal.”
An ABC News crew visited Kyiv’s Darnytskyy district, where several Russian cruise missiles slammed into a railway repair plant. One building was still on fire when the ABC News crew arrived. Nearby, another missile strike left a creater on a cement path.
It took hours before Ukrainian authorities permitted media access to the site, saying the area needed to be cleared for safety first.
The Russians claimed the attack in Darnystskyy destroyed military vehicles and armaments. Ukrainian officials said the missiles hit a railway repair plant where no tanks were stored.
Speaking on Russian TV on Sunday, Putin issued a warning to the West on supplying the Ukrainians with high-powered rocket systems. He said if the West carried through with it, Russia would hit “new targets they had not attacked before.”
Jun 05, 7:05 am
Putin warns of strikes if West supplies longer-range missiles
President Vladimir Putin warned that Russian forces would strike new targets if the West began supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles.
“But if they [missiles] are actually delivered, we will draw appropriate conclusions and apply our own weapons, which we have in sufficient quantities to carry out strikes on targets we aren’t striking yet,” Putin told Rossyia 1 TV Channel in an interview on Sunday.
