(NEW YORK) — Senate Judiciary Committee member Amy Klobuchar said Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should recuse himself from certain cases after it emerged that his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, sent text messages to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows urging him to help overturn the 2020 election results, calling it “a textbook case for” recusal.
Meadows voluntarily turned over the messages to the committee last year before deciding not to cooperate with the inquiry. In January, the court declined to block the Jan. 6 committee from obtaining Trump White House records over the objection of only one justice: Thomas.
“The facts are clear here. This is unbelievable,” Klobuchar, D-Minn., told “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl in an exclusive interview on Sunday. “You have the wife of a sitting Supreme Court justice … advocating for overturning a legal election to the sitting president’s chief of staff.”
“She also knows this election — these cases are going to come before her husband,” she added. “This is a textbook case for removing him, recusing him from these decisions.”
Karl followed up, and “if he doesn’t recuse himself?”
Klobuchar said “the entire integrity of the court is on the line here” and that she’s looking to leadership from Chief Justice John Roberts and the rest of the bench to speak out on the issue.
“They had better speak out on this because you cannot have a justice hearing cases related to this election and, in fact, the ethics rules that apply to all the other federal judges say that if it involves a family member, appearance of impartiality, they have to recuse themselves,” she said.
“So not only should he recuse himself, but this Supreme Court badly needs ethics rules,” Klobuchar added.
Following a week of contentious hearings to consider President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Karl pressed Klobuchar, who was present for those hearings, on whether any Republicans would vote for Jackson, the first Black woman to be nominated to the high Court. With West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin making clear his intention to vote for Jackson, she is on track for confirmation with or without GOP support.
“I think she (will). She has in every other nomination that she’s had for very levels of the court… I can’t tell you who. I can’t tell you how much. But I think that will be very important to this process,” Klobuchar said, applauding Jackson as “the pillar of strength” for how she handled Republicans’ “attacks” during the hearings.
In a defining moment of his presidency, Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin to not “even think about moving on one single inch of NATO territory,” during a Saturday speech from the grounds of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland.
He also surprised many when he said Putin “cannot stay in power,” leading White House officials to clarify that the United States is not calling for regime change in Russia.
But Karl noted “that was the headline around the world,” and “that was the message heard in Moscow.”
Klobuchar responded by saying she’s been on the Polish-Ukrainian border and seen and heard firsthand the horrors from refugees escaping Ukraine “leaving everything they have behind, everything, their little stuffed animals and their backpacks, moms with suitcases leaving their husbands behind to fight.”
“Vladimir Putin is a monster,” she said. “But the position of the United States government is not to send troops there. It is to give all the aid we can to Ukraine…it’s the humanitarian aid, over $1 billion pledged, taking in over 100,000 refugees, that is what we are doing.”
Karl pressed: “And it’s not regime change in Moscow?”
“That has been made very clear,” she said.
ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel, Katherine Faulders, Jonathan Karl and Devin Dwyer contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance. Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Kyiv, as well as major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol. Russia also bombed western cities for the first time last week, targeting Lviv and a military base near the Poland border.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 27, 1:51 pm
Ukrainian forces purportedly take back towns, villages
Ukrainian forces appear to have had several successes Sunday, retaking several villages and towns in the northern and eastern parts of the country as they continue to wage fierce counterattacks against Russian troops, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukrainian authorities claimed their troops have retaken control of some villages around Malaya Rogan near Kharkiv in the east, close to the Russian border.
Ukrainian forces also drove Russian troops from the town of Trostyanets in northern Ukraine between Kharkiv and the strategic city of Sumy, according to the mayor of Trostyanets. Video posted online appeared to show Ukrainian troops in Trostytanets.
There is also a report from Ukrainian officials that two villages were retaken near Mykolaiv in the south, where Ukrainian forces have launched a counterattack near the Russian-occupied city of Kherson.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 27, 1:09 pm
3.8 million refugees have fled Ukraine
At least 3.8 million people have fled Ukraine since Russian forces invaded the country on Feb. 24, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Sunday.
Most of the refugees, about 2.26 million, have gone to Poland, while more than 586,000 have ended up in Romania, according to the UNHCR.
Moldova and Hungary have taken in more than 350,000 refugees each. More than 272,000 refugees have also gone to Slovakia, the UNHCR reported.
The UNHCR said 271,254 refugees have also fled to Russia and 6,341 to Belarus.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Mar 27, 11:58 am
Agreement reached on new round of in-person peace talks
Ukraine and Russia have agreed to hold a new round of in-person peace talks, in Turkey this week, in a sign of some possible progress.
A member of Ukraine’s delegation said the talks would take place March 28-30, while Russia’s lead negotiator said they wouldn’t start until March 29.
The two sides have been talking every day by video conference, officials said.
David Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and part of the country’s delegation negotiating with Russia, wrote on Facebook that in the last video discussions with his Russian counterparts, the parties agreed to meet in-person.
Previous in-person peace talks were held in Belarus.
Ukraine is insisting on security guarantees from western countries in any deal, with its lead negotiator telling a German newspaper over the weekend that such guarantees “don’t make sense” without the involvement of the United States.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 27, 10:22 am
Humanitarian aid arrives in Kharkiv
Sixty tons of food and relief items have arrived in the bombed-out city of Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The badly needed humanitarian aid arrived on Saturday and includes food, water and essential hygiene items, ICRC officials said. The Ukrainian Red Cross will distribute the supplies to residents in the war-torn area, many taking shelter in the city’s metro station.
Maxime Zabaloueff of the ICRC said the aid will go to help “the people who have suffered the terrible consequences of the shelling on this city.”
The ICRC is boosting its humanitarian response in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Poltava, Dnipro, Odessa and other areas across the country to address a growing humanitarian crisis, Zabaloueff said.
The ICRC has also dispatched more than 140 additional staff to the region, including surgeons and other medical workers, psychologists, weapon contamination specialists and engineers.
Mar 27, 7:09 am
139 children killed in invasion, Ukraine says
At least 139 children have been killed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said.
Another 205 children have been injured, the office said on Sunday.
Mar 27, 6:46 am
Battlefield ‘static’ in northern Ukraine, UK says
Russian forces in northern Ukraine have been “largely static,” as Ukrainian resistance and counterattacks have been “hampering” their attempts to reorganize, the UK Ministry of Defence said on Sunday.
“Russian forces appear to be concentrating their effort to attempt the encirclement of Ukrainian forces directly facing the separatist regions in the east of the country, advancing from the direction of Kharkiv in the north and Mariupol in the south,” the Ministry’s update said.
Mar 26, 7:17 pm
Zelenskyy calls for 1% of NATO’s arsenal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his call for 1% of NATO’s arsenal during his latest national address.
“One percent! We did not ask for more. And we do not ask for more. And we have already been waiting for 31 days!” he said.
Zelenskyy, who similarly pleaded for more military aid during an address at this week’s NATO summit, said Ukraine is especially in need of more planes and tanks.
“Ukraine cannot shoot down Russian missiles using shotguns, machine guns, which are too much in supplies,” he said. “And it is impossible to unblock Mariupol without a sufficient number of tanks, other armored vehicles and, of course, aircraft.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs and the minister of defense met with U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, in Poland Saturday to address these “vital interests.”
Mar 26, 6:13 pm
Biden speaks with Belarusian opposition leader
President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya from Air Force One, the White House said Saturday.
Biden “underscored the continued support of the United States for the Belarusian people in defending and advancing human rights, including freedom of expression, and free and fair elections,” the readout of the call stated.
Tsikhanouskaya attended Biden’s address in Warsaw on Saturday, according to the readout.
Belarus has served as a staging area for Russian attacks on Ukraine during the war. Its president, Alexander Lukashenko, is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
-ABC News’ Armando Garcia
Mar 26, 4:03 pm
Blinken announces $100 million in ‘civilian security’ aid to Ukraine
The U.S. will be providing Ukraine with $100 million in “civilian security” assistance, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Saturday, hours after he and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with their Ukrainian counterparts.
The aid will provide equipment including armored vehicles, medical supplies, personal protective equipment and communications equipment, according to the Department of State.
The aid will go to Ukraine’s border guard, law enforcement and government infrastructure protection, Blinken said in a statement.
“With the U.S. government’s vital assistance, Ukrainian law enforcement officers are playing a key role in rescuing victims of the Russian government’s brutal assault, leading and protecting convoys of those displaced by attacks, and providing security to civilian areas torn apart by ruthless and devastating bombing,” Blinken continued in the statement
Mar 26, 3:39 pm
Missile strikes hit oil depot, defense facility, Lviv officials confirm
Two Russian missile strikes in Lviv hit an oil depot and a defense facility, Maksym Kozytskyi, Lviv’s regional governor, confirmed in a press briefing Saturday.
Kozytskyi confirmed five people were injured at the site of the first strike and said firefighters are still putting out fires at the facility.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi told reporters a school near the oil depot was damaged in the strike.
Both officials asked the media not to film the sites of the strikes.
Mar 26, 3:17 pm
Biden tells Ukrainian people: ‘We stand with you’ in Warsaw address
President Joe Biden told the Ukrainian people, “We stand with you” in an address he gave at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday.
“We’ll not cease the efforts to get humanitarian relief wherever it is needed in Ukraine and for the people who’ve made it out of Ukraine. Notwithstanding the brutality of Vladimir Putin, let there be no doubt that this war [has] already been a strategic failure for Russia,” Biden said.
“Putin thought Ukrainians would roll over and not fight, not much of a student of history,” Biden said.
Biden also addressed the Russian people, telling them: “You, the Russian people, are not our enemy.”
“The American people stand with you and the brave people of Ukraine for peace,” Biden said.
Mar 26, 2:59 pm
‘This man cannot remain in power’ Biden says in Warsaw speech
In an address from Warsaw Saturday, President Joe Biden made remarks seemingly directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine. “For god’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said.
After the speech, the White House released a statement saying the president wasn’t calling for a regime change.
“The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,” a White House official said.
“These are not the actions of a great nation,” Biden said, addressing the Russian people during his speech.
“Vladimir Putin’s aggression have cut you, the Russian people, off from the rest of the world, and it’s taking Russia back to the 19th century. This is not who you are,” Biden said.
Biden praised Ukrainian resistance, saying the U.S. stands with the people of Ukraine and will continue to support them.
“A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people’s love for liberty. Brutality will never grind down their will to be free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness,” Biden said.
Mar 26, 2:00 pm
‘Don’t even think’ about moving in NATO territory: Biden warns in Warsaw speech
President Joe Biden warned: “Don’t even think about moving onto one single inch of NATO territory,” Saturday in an address that just ended.
Biden spoke to an audience of between 750 and 1,000 attendees in Warsaw, Poland, including Polish President Andrzej Duda, members of parliament, local officials, students from local universities and U.S. embassy staff, according to the White House.
Mar 26, 1:01 pm
There are ‘continuous battles’ for Mariupol’s territory that continue daily: Ukrainian official
“Continuous battles” for Mariupol’s territory continue daily, the city’s deputy mayor, Serhiy Orlov, told ABC News Saturday.
The deputy mayor estimated that 150,000 people remain in the city.
He was unable to give an update on the hundreds of of civilians believed to have been killed in Russian strikes that hit a theater that was being used as a shelter. A sign indicated that children were sheltering inside satellite imagery shows.
“The situation becomes worse, so people still have a lack of everything,” he told ABC News in a remote interview.
The mayor added: “The lack of water, electricity, heat and sanitary system, lack of medicine, food. So they’re just surviving … it’s not a secret that from 50 to 100 airstrikes, the Russian aircraft do each day and the one-third or one-half of all the bombing of airstrikes in Ukraine goes on Mariupol.”
Mar 26, 12:24 pm
Missile strikes in Lviv leave 5 injured, Ukrainian official says
Two missile strikes in Lviv left five people injured on Saturday, according to preliminary data, the governor of Lviv, Maksym Kozytskyi, said in a statement.
The official said there is still a threat of a missile strike and told people to stay in shelters, not to walk down the street or take pictures of anything.
The Governor of Lviv has asked people not to share footage of the blast site, in a statement.
“Everything that can be reported for security reasons, I will report,” Kozytskyi said.
The official could not confirm reports that there was an impact on a residential building or other infrastructure facilities.
Home to many refugees passing through on their way out of the country, Lviv has been spared some of the worst shelling seen so far.
Mar 26, 12:03 pm
Biden meets with refugees in Warsaw, calls Putin a ‘butcher’
President Joe Biden met with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday. When asked by reporters what he thought of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin after meeting with refugees, Biden said, “He’s a butcher.”
Biden was greeted by Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki outside the PGE Narodowy Stadium and he met several volunteers and refugees.
After meeting with refugees, Biden briefly spoke with reporters and said he’s always in awe of the depth and strength of the human spirit of refugees.
“I’ve been to an awful lot of places like this, a lot of refugee camps, in my life, and what I’m always surprised by, is the depth and strength of the human spirit. I mean it sincerely. They’re — it’s incredible. It’s incredible. See all those little children? Just want to hug, they just want to say thanks. I mean — I mean, it just makes you so damn proud,” Biden said.
“Each one of those children said something to the effect, say a prayer for my dad, or my grandfather or my brother, who’s back there fighting. And I remember what it’s like when you have someone in a war zone. Every morning you get up and you wonder. You just wonder, you pray you don’t get that phone call,” Biden said.
Mar 26, 11:39 am
Zelenskyy calls for increased energy production to prevent Russian ‘blackmail’ of the world
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise video appearance at the Doha Forum in Qatar, addressing the energy-rich nation directly, calling on it and other energy-producing countries to increase energy production.
“The responsible states, in particular the State of Qatar, are reliable and reputable suppliers of energy resources. And they can contribute to stabilizing the situation in Europe. They can do much to restore justice,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy added, “The future of Europe depends on your efforts! I urge you to increase energy production! So that Russia understands that no state should use energy as a weapon to blackmail the world.”
Zelenskyy also warned that a food crisis will come after the migration crisis.
“Wheat, oil, corn and other agricultural products from our country are the basis of stability and internal security of many countries in different parts of the world… Russian troops mine fields in Ukraine, blow up agricultural machinery, destroy fuel reserves needed for sowing. They blocked our seaports,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy added: “Our state will have enough food. But the lack of exports from Ukraine will hit many nations in the Islamic world, Latin America and other parts of the world. Where some invaders still dream of going to strengthen their old privileges.”
Zelenskyy also drew direct comparisons between the destruction of Mariupol and the Russian bombing of Aleppo.
He criticized Russia for threatening the world with nuclear weapons, and called on countries to boost their production to counteract the global dependence on Russian oil.
Mar 26, 10:47 am
Biden, Duda give joint remarks ahead of meeting
President Joe Biden and Polish President Andrjez Duda delivered brief remarks ahead of their expanded bilateral meeting, with both sides stressing their strong relationship, and the importance of unity in the midst of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Biden is set to give a speech in Warsaw later Saturday.
Biden recalled a previous trip he made to Warsaw 25 years ago, after advocating for Poland to Join Nato, and said his message then is the same as today: “For your freedom and for ours.”
Biden also reiterated the U.S.’s commitment to NATO’s Article 5.
“The single most important criterion in this time-changing world — so much has changed, not just here, but in other parts of the world — is that NATO’s stay absolutely, completely, thoroughly united. [There needs] to be no separation, and our points of view, and whatever we do, we do in unison, and everyone, everyone comes along,” Biden said.
Biden added: “I’m confident that Vladimir Putin was counting on being able to divide NATO, and being able to separate the Eastern flank from the West. To be able to separate nations based on past histories. But he hasn’t been able to do it. We’ve all stayed together. And so I just think it’s so important that we, Poland and the United States, keep in lockstep the power pursuit.”
Biden also spoke about Poland’s work on the humanitarian side of the crisis, praising the country for taking in so many refugees, but acknowledging that it should not be just on Poland to handle the brunt of the load.
“We do acknowledge that Poland is taking on a significant responsibility that I don’t think should just be Poland, It should be the whole world — all of NATO’s responsibility. The fact that you have so many, so many Ukrainians seeking refuge and this country of Poland,” Biden said.
He added: “We understand that because we have on our southern border thousands of people a day –literally, not figuratively –trying to get into the United States. But we believe that we the United States, should do our part relative to Ukraine as well by opening our borders to another 100,000 people. And with that, and in addition to that, I think it’s important that we are in constant contact, about how we each wish to proceed, relative to what Russia is doing, and how to proceed.
Mar 26, 9:46 am
Biden, Poland’s president hold bilateral meeting
President Joe Biden arrived at the Polish presidential palace Saturday for a bilateral meeting with Polish President Andrjez Duda, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.
Biden and Duda shook hands and stood shoulder to shoulder as both countries’ national anthems played.
Biden was met by three branches of the Polish military, as the two leaders reviewed the troops. They then headed inside for the meeting.
Biden was joined by a delegation of seven U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who participated in the meeting, according to the White House.
The Polish delegation consisted of six officials, including the ministers of foreign affairs and national defense, according to the White House.
Mar 26, 9:40 am
Biden drops by meeting between US and Ukrainian officials
President Joe Biden dropped by a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and their Ukrainian counterparts Saturday morning.
The meeting between the secretaries lasted for an hour and 46 minutes, according to the State Department.
The two secretaries pledged continued U.S. economic, military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and provided the Ukrainians updates after Thursday’s NATO, EU and G-7 summits.
“The Secretaries and Ministers discussed outcomes of the March 24 extraordinary NATO Summit in Brussels, and the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of the Russian Federation’s increasingly brutal assault on Ukrainian cities and civilian population,” said Ned Price, a spokesperson for the Department of State, in a statement.
In a statement from the White House, Biden reaffirmed the U.S.’s commitment to Ukraine, saying the officials discussed further efforts to help Ukraine defend its territory.
“The President updated the Ministers on U.S. efforts to rally the world in support of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, including through the President’s meetings this week in Belgium, and the significant military and humanitarian assistance the United States is providing to Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement.
The White House added: “They also discussed the United States’ ongoing actions to hold President Putin accountable for Russia’s brutal aggression, in coordination with our allies and partners, including through the new sanctions actions announced by the President in Brussels on March 24.
Mar 26, 9:24 am
Unexploded missile near nuclear site in Kharkiv cause for concern, IAEA says
There is an unexploded missile in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear research facility in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s regulatory authority told the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The IAEA said it is continuing to monitor the situation.
“The regulator confirmed reports of an unexploded rocket of the multiple launch rocket system 9K58 Smerch ‘detected in the immediate vicinity’ of a nuclear research facility that has previously been damaged by shelling,” the IAEA said in a statement.
It added: “the regulator said ‘constant shelling’ of the area meant that no measures had yet been taken to dispose of the rocket.”
The facility is used for research and development and radioisotope production for medical and industrial applications. The site’s nuclear material cannot sustain a fission chain reaction and the radioactive inventory is low, according to the IAEA.
Eight of Ukraine’s 15 operational reactors, at four sites, are continuing to operate, including two at the Zaporizhzhya power plant. The other reactors are shut down for regular maintenance, the IAEA said.
Mar 26, 8:38 am
136 children have been killed, 199 injured, Ukraine officials say
Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office said that 136 children have been killed in the war and 199 have been injured, as of Saturday morning local time.
The grim update comes on Day 31 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mar 26, 8:34 am
Russia using artillery to ‘demoralize’ Ukraine’s forces, British Ministry of Defense says
The Russian army is reluctant to engage in large-scale infantry operations, the British Ministry of Defense said Saturday.
“Russia continues to besiege a number of major Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol. Russian forces are proving reluctant to engage in large scale urban infantry operations, rather preferring to rely on the indiscriminate use of air and artillery bombardments in an attempt to demoralize defending forces,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement posted online.
It added: “It is likely Russia will continue to use its heavy firepower on urban areas as it looks to limit its own already considerable losses, at the cost of further civilian casualties.”
Mar 25, 6:24 pm
Jill Biden meets with Ukrainian pediatric cancer patients
During a visit to Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden privately met with two Ukrainian families who have loved ones being treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Four Ukrainian children, ages 20 months to 8 years, as well as 10 of their family members, were airlifted from Poland to St. Jude on Monday to continue treatment, according to Michael LaRosa, the First Lady’s press secretary.
Biden said in remarks during her visit that her “heart has ached watching the videos” of devastation in Ukraine.
“Parents weeping over their child’s broken bones … bodies in the streets. The senselessness of it all is just staggering,” she said.
She added, “When I learned that St. Jude was working with hospitals in Europe to bring some of the Ukrainian children with cancer and their families here, I felt so proud and I wanted to join you in welcoming them. We stand with Ukraine and we’re praying for their families.”
Mar 25, 4:44 pm
Fox News correspondent injured in Ukraine is back in U.S.
Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall is back in the U.S. after suffering serious injuries while reporting in Ukraine, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a statement.
Hall was hurt in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, on March 14 when his vehicle was hit by incoming fire, Scott said at the time. Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian producer and fixer Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova were killed in the incident.
Scott said Hall has been transferred from the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas.
Hall has undergone multiple surgeries, Scott said.
“He remains in good spirits despite everything he has endured,” Scott wrote. “His strength and resiliency in the face of this crisis has been nothing short of extraordinary.”
Mar 25, 3:03 pm
U.S. official: Russians on defensive around Kyiv, now focusing on Donbas
Russian forces around Kyiv have fallen into defensive positions and have stopped offensive ground movements toward the capital city, a senior U.S. defense official said Friday.
“We’re still seeing airstrikes, but not nothing from the ground,” the official said.
The U.S. official said — as Russians also noted Friday — that Russian troops are currently focusing on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where there’s been heavy fighting.
The Russians “are putting their priorities and their effort in the east of Ukraine, and that’s where still there remains a lot of heavy fighting,” the official said. “And we think they are trying to not only secure some sort of, more substantial gains there as a potential negotiating tactic at the table, but also to cut off Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country.”
Also, the official noted that Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine that’s north of Crimea, doesn’t seem to be “as solidly in Russian control as it was before.”
“That would be significant if the Ukrainians were able to take Kerson back,” the official said. “It’s a significant port city. It would also put it much greater risk the Russian positions around Mykolaiv [in southern Ukraine], and again if they have ground desires on Odessa [in southern Ukraine], losing Kherson and therefore putting their troops between Ukrainians, you’ll be sandwiched between Ukrainian forces in Kherson and those in Mykolaiv. … That would put them smack in the middle and that would make it very, very difficult for them to make any kind of ground movement on Odessa. If in fact, that was their plan.”
The U.S. is also seeing indications that the Russians are trying to send in some reinforcements from the breakaway regions of Georgia, the official said.
Mar 25, 2:09 pm
Russian military claims ‘main goal’ of invasion is ‘liberation’ of eastern Ukraine
In a Friday briefing, Russian military officials tried to reshape the narrative of the war, claiming the “main goal” of the invasion — what Russia calls a “military operation” — is to “liberate” Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region and not to seize other parts of Ukraine.
General Sergey Rudskoy, the head of the main operational directorate of Russia’s General Staff, said the main objectives of the “first phase” of the operation have been achieved, meaning Ukraine’s “combat capabilities have been significantly reduced.” Rudskoy said that allows Russia to now focus “on achieving the main goal the liberation of Donbas.”
The Donbas region contains the two Russian-controlled separatist statelets, the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, the defense of which Russia used as a pretext for invading. Rudskoy claimed Russia has “liberated” 93% of the Luhansk region and 54% of Donetsk.
The Ukrainian city of Mariupol is also within the Donbas region. Russian forces have been relentlessly bombarding Mariupol since the invasion began, destroying homes and leaving thousands of residents trapped.
Rudskoy claimed Russia’s “military operation” had two courses of action: the first being limiting operations to Donbas, but he said that would have allowed Ukraine to constantly reinforce its troops, so he said Russia took a second course of action, attacking cities across the whole country. Rudskoy claimed the course of the war “confirmed the validity” of that decision.
“These actions are carried out with the aim of causing such damage to military infrastructure, equipment, personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the results of which allow not only to shackle their forces and do not give them the opportunity to strengthen their grouping in the Donbas, but also will not allow them to do so until the Russian army completely liberates the territories of the DPR and LPR,” he said.
Rudskoy claimed Russia has successfully blocked Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv, and that the cities of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are under full Russian control.
He claimed Russia “initially” never had any intention of storming those cities, although he said they “did not rule out such a possibility” now.
“Initially, we did not plan to storm them in order to prevent destruction and minimize losses among personnel and civilians. And although we do not rule out such a possibility, however, as individual groups complete their tasks, and they are being solved successfully, our forces and means will concentrate on the main thing — the complete liberation of Donbas,” he said.
Rudskoy also made the dubious claim that Russia has sought to minimize civilian casualties. The U.N. reports that over 1,000 civilians have died since the invasion began.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 25, 12:50 pm
Biden says he’s in Poland to see humanitarian crisis firsthand
President Joe Biden, flanked by Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and Samantha Powers of the U.S. Agency for International Development, spoke at a briefing on humanitarian efforts Friday, again calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal.”
“The single-most important thing that we can do on the outset, is keep the democracies united in our opposition, and our effort to curtail the devastation that is occurring at the hands of a man, who quite frankly, I think is a war criminal. And I think we’ll meet the legal definition of that, as well,” Biden said.
Biden said he’s in Poland to see the “humanitarian crisis” “firsthand,” but said he’s disappointed he “can’t see it firsthand like I have in other places.”
“They will not let me … cross the border and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine,” Biden said. “But, you know, I’m eager to hear from you, the humanitarian community, about what you see, what you’re doing, and where you think we go from here.”
Since the invasion began on Feb. 24, over 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine, with more than 2.2 million of those refugees going to Poland, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“Whether it’s food, or a blanket, or cash, or the care for medical teams that we send in, or child welfare specialists, they need it now. They need it as rapidly as we can get it there,” Biden said.
Mar 25, 12:12 pm
Biden tells troops ‘what’s at stake’ is beyond Ukraine
President Joe Biden spoke to members of the 82nd Airborne Division in Jasionka, Poland, Friday, telling them, “What you’re doing is consequential — really consequential.”
“What’s at stake” is beyond Ukraine, Biden said.
“What are your kids and grandkids gonna look like in terms of their freedom?” Biden said. “The last 10 years there have been fewer democracies that have been formed than we’ve lost in the world.”
“What you’re engaged in is much more than just whether or not you can alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Ukraine,” Biden said.
Biden commended the troops, saying “the rest of the world looks to us, because, you know, we not only lead by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. And your generation combines both. The rest of the world looks at you and sees who you are. They see you are a multiethnic group of Americans that are in fact together and united in one resolve, to defend your country, and to help those who need help.”
Mar 25, 11:12 am
Biden thanks troops in Poland
In Jasionka, Poland, on Friday, President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited American troops, thanking them for working alongside Polish allies.
Biden and Austin first greeted members of the 82nd Airborne Division in a makeshift barbershop.
Biden and Austin then stopped by a mess hall and ended up staying for a slice of pizza.
Biden also shared a story about searching for his son, Beau, in a mess hall in Baghdad, only to find him using his mother’s maiden name — Hunter — on his fatigues.
“I said, ‘Beau, what the hell’s going on?’ His name was Beau Biden, and he was a colonel, I mean, a major, excuse me,” Biden said.
“And I said, ‘What happened?’ And he said, ‘Dad, with the name Biden, everybody thinks something’s going on. So I’m Hunter.’ That was his mother’s maiden name,” Biden said.
Mar 25, 10:29 am
Ukrainian troops have retaken towns, UK intelligence says
Ukrainian troops have been able to retake towns and defensive positions up to 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) east of Kyiv due to counter-attacks and Russian forces falling back on overextended supply lines, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Friday in an intelligence update on the situation.
Ukrainian troops are likely to continue to attempt to push Russian forces back along the northwestern axis from the Ukrainian capital toward Antonov Airport in Hostomel, a suburb of Kyiv, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
In southern Ukraine, Russian forces are still attempting to circumvent the densely populated city of Mykolaiv as they look to drive west toward Odesa, with their progress being slowed by logistic issues and Ukrainian resistance, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said.
Mar 25, 10:25 am
Biden arrives in Poland
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived at Poland’s Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport Friday afternoon, where he will get a firsthand look at the international efforts to help some of the millions of people fleeing Ukraine.
Biden was greeted on the tarmac by four U.S. commanding generals. While in Rzeszow on Friday, Biden will receive a briefing on the humanitarian situation and meet with humanitarian aid groups as well as service members of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
He will later travel to Warsaw, where he will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda as well as refugees from Ukraine on Saturday.
Mar 25, 10:07 am
US says Russian attacks have capacity to put NATO at risk
U.S. President Joe Biden’s support of NATO battle groups on the eastern flank stems from the belief that Russia’s attacks in Ukraine have the capacity to put the alliance’s territories at risk, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
“We do believe Russian aggression in Ukraine shows a willingness by the Russians to disregard international borders and to disregard the basic rules of the road of the international community that have been built in sustained over the course of seven decades,” Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday.
“It is important in this moment to send a clear message to Russia that the United States and NATO will defend every inch of NATO territory and to deter any thinking that Putin might have about further Russian aggression into NATO,” he said.
Sullivan noted that Belarus’ willingness to station Russian troops on its soil, in particular, has a “significant impact particularly on our NATO allies in the Baltics and Poland.”
Sullivan said Biden has made clear that any diplomatic agreement reached is one that Ukraine will have to determine for itself, meaning Washington is not going to push or pressure Kyiv into any outcome.
Currently, Washington’s priority is to ensure Ukraine has the capabilities to defend itself as Russian forces continue pushing forward, Sullivan told reporters.
Mar 25, 10:02 am
Pope Francis to consecrate Russia, Ukraine
Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Friday, inviting people around the world to join him in the prayer.
“This Act of Consecration is meant to be a gesture of the universal Church, which in this dramatic moment lifts up to God, through His Mother and ours, the cry of pain of all those who suffer and implore an end to the violence, and to entrust the future of our human family to the Queen of Peace,” Francis said in a statement.
He also called for an end to the violence.
Consecration is an act of surrender in which the pope recognizes both Russians and Ukrainians as children of god, and entrusts them to Mary’s care, Father Alexandre Mello, the secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life, told Crux.
Mello also said consecration aims to build bridges as the prayer’s goal is to have a healing effect and remind Russians and Ukrainians of their shared roots and identities as children of the same God.
The ceremony is tied to the Marian apparitions in Fatima, Portugal in 1917, in which many Catholics believe the Virgin Mary appeared to three children, asking that the pope consecrate Russia to her immaculate heart.
The Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be prayed during the Lenten penitential service in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome which begins at 5 p.m. local time. The pope will start the prayer at around 6:30 p.m. local time and has asked all Catholic Bishops and priests to join him spiritually.
U.S. bishops, including Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., and Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, announced they will be holding consecration ceremonies on Friday.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said he will join in the prayer from his converted monastery in Vatican City, where he has lived since he resigned.
Mar 25, 9:27 am
Biden to meet with Polish president, refugees from Ukraine in Warsaw
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda as well as refugees from Ukraine in Warsaw on Saturday, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Poland on Friday, Sullivan noted that Biden will also deliver a “major address” before departing Saturday.
“He will give a major address tomorrow that will speak to the stakes of this moment, the urgency of the challenge that lies ahead, what the conflict in Ukraine means for the world, and why it is so important that the free world sustain unity and resolve in the face of Russian aggression,” Sullivan said. “He’ll also talk about the context and history of this conflict and where he sees it going from here.”
Upon arrival in Rzeszow, Poland, on Friday, Biden will meet with humanitarian aid groups as well as service members of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, according to Sullivan.
“He will be able to talk through with a range of different humanitarian leaders and experts, both from the region and from the international community as well as the US government experts who are playing a key role in this, on how the efforts are going so far and what further steps need to be taken to make sure that we’re investing those dollars as wisely as possible,” Sullivan said. “He will also have the chance to visit with troops from the 82nd Airborne Division, who have been deployed to Poland to reassure our NATO ally and to deter further aggression on the eastern flank. And he will also get a briefing from the commanders of those units who will have the chance to lay out for him the various tasks and missions that the American troops stationed at the airfield here have been undertaking and continue to undertake.”
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Mar 25, 8:03 am
Ukrainian rescuers work to remove unexploded devices from homes
Video has emerged showing Ukrainian rescuers working to remove unexploded devices from civilian homes amid the Russian invasion.
The video, released Friday by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and verified by ABC News, shows pyrotechnic units in the northern city of Chernihiv using special equipment to carefully search for and remove unexploded shells, missiles and mines that landed in houses.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said it was called in to seize ammunition 18 times over the past day. The agency warned people not to approach the objects because they could explode “at any time” and to immediately report such findings to rescuers or police.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Mar 25, 7:34 am
Biden departs Brussels for Poland
U.S. President Joe Biden departed Belgium on Friday morning and was en route to Poland for the final leg of his four-day trip aimed at maintaining unity among allies and supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Biden was seen boarding Air Force One in the European Union’s de facto capital, Brussels, at 6:42 a.m. ET. He is expected to land in Rzeszow, Poland, at around 9:15 a.m. ET, where he will receive a briefing on the humanitarian response to the millions of people fleeing Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion. He will also meet with service members from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Mar 25, 6:36 am
300 dead in airstrike on Mariupol theater, officials say
About 300 people were killed last week in a Russian airstrike on a drama theater-turned-bomb shelter in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the city’s government said Friday, citing eyewitnesses.
“We didn’t want to believe in this horror,” the Mariupol City Council. said in a statement. “But the words of those who were inside the building at the moment of this terrorist act say the opposite.”
As many as 1,500 civilians had been taking refuge in the grand, columned Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama in central Mariupol when it was struck on March 16, according to the Ukrainian government. Satellite images showed huge white letters on the pavement in front of and behind the building spelling out “CHILDREN” in Russian — “DETI” — to alert warplanes to those inside.
Video circulating online and verified by ABC News shows the immediate aftermath of the strike on the theater. People covered in dust are seen trying to make their way out of the theater, walking down from the first floor staircase in an area of the building that was still standing at the time.
Since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian forces have been relentlessly bombarding Mariupol, destroying homes and leaving thousands of residents trapped. Ukraine has defied Russia’s ultimatum for its troops to lay down arms and surrender the strategic southeastern port city of 430,000.
-ABC News Patrick Reevell
Mar 25, 5:20 am
Russia claims to have seized 5 more localities in Ukraine
Russia claimed Friday that its forces had captured five more localities in Ukraine.
“The grouping of troops of the Russian Armed Forces advanced another 4 kilometers overnight and captured Batmanka, Mikhailovka, Krasny Partizan, Stavki and Troitskoe,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the claim.
Mar 25, 5:10 am
US, EU announce plan to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian gas
U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Friday a joint task force to “reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and strengthen European energy security,” amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Named the “Task Force for energy security,” the group will be chaired by one representative from the White House and one representative from the European Commission. They will work to ensure energy security for Ukraine and the European Union ahead of the next two winters by focusing on two main goals — diversifying liquefied natural gas supplies and reducing demand for natural gas, according to a fact sheet from the White House.
As part of the agreement, the United States will work with international partners to put more liquefied natural gas on the EU market, pledging to make at least 15 billion cubic meters available in 2022, with increases expected going forward.
The White House stressed that the task force would also work with an eye towards clean energy, looking to reduce greenhouse gas intensity of all new liquefied natural gas infrastructure as well as demand for liquefied natural gas by “accelerating market deployment of clean energy measures.” Those measures include expediting planning of clean energy projects, like wind and solar power, and using smart thermostats and heat pumps in homes.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Mar 24, 5:44 pm
Biden meets with European Council
U.S. President Joe Biden’s final meeting in Brussels on Thursday was with the European Council.
“They reviewed their ongoing efforts to impose economic costs on Russia and Belarus, as well as their readiness to adopt additional measures and to stop any attempts to circumvent sanctions,” the White House said in a statement.
The leaders said they willl continue “providing humanitarian assistance, including to neighboring countries hosting refugees, and underscored the need for Russia to guarantee humanitarian access to those affected by or fleeing the violence,” according to the White House.
They also “discussed EU-U.S. cooperation to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels, accelerate the transition to clean energy, as well as the need to respond to evolving food security needs worldwide,” the White House said.
(BOULDER, Colorado) — Diminishing winds on Sunday were helping firefighters battle a wildfire that came close to homes near Boulder, Colorado, and forced the evacuation of about 19,000 people, authorities said.
The blaze, dubbed the NCAR Fire because its proximity to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, ignited Saturday and has burned roughly 200 acres southwest of Boulder, fire officials said.
The fire was initially fueled by thick brush and fanned by strong winds, prompting officials on Saturday to evacuate around 8,000 homes and around 19,000 people. The fire came within 1,000 yards of houses near the west end of Boulder, said Mike Smith, a wildland fire specialist for Boulder Fire Rescue and the incident commander on the NCAR Fire.
On Sunday morning, fire officials said the winds had died down overnight, and firefighters worked to get 21% of the blaze contained. Most of the evacuations were lifted overnight.
Officials said 1,629 people remained evacuated from nearly 700 homes.
Smith said at a news conference Sunday that there was 0% containment on some areas of the fire and air tankers were expected to drop fire retardant on those problem areas.
He also said no homes or structures have been damaged by the fire and no injuries have been reported.
“So, we’re very happy to report that yesterday we had a great day as far as our initial attack when we had over 200 firefighters from over 30 agencies,” Smith said. “That, combined with all of the fuels mitigation treatments that we’ve done in this area, is one of the reasons that we had such great success.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The fire ignited around 2 p.m. Saturday near the National Center for Atmospheric Research on the southwestern edge of Boulder and forced evacuations in south Boulder and the Eldorado Springs area.
The blaze occurred near the area where a fire ignited on Dec. 30 and burned more than 6,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 structures, including 500 homes.
“I think this is just a sign of the way things are going to go,” Smith said. “We continue to work on our planning processes. We continue to work on team building and work with our partners to make sure that we’re as dialed as we can be. We’re feeling good, but we’re a little nervous about the upcoming season.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance. Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Kyiv, as well as major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol. Russia also bombed western cities for the first time last week, targeting Lviv and a military base near the Poland border.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 26, 4:03 pm
Blinken announces $100 million in ‘civilian security’ aid to Ukraine
The U.S. will be providing Ukraine with $100 million in “civilian security” assistance, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Saturday, hours after he and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with their Ukrainian counterparts.
The aid will provide equipment including armored vehicles, medical supplies, personal protective equipment and communications equipment, according to the Department of State.
The aid will go to Ukraine’s border guard, law enforcement and government infrastructure protection, Blinken said in a statement.
“With the U.S. government’s vital assistance, Ukrainian law enforcement officers are playing a key role in rescuing victims of the Russian government’s brutal assault, leading and protecting convoys of those displaced by attacks, and providing security to civilian areas torn apart by ruthless and devastating bombing,” Blinken continued in the statement
Mar 26, 3:39 pm
Missile strikes hit oil depot, defense facility, Lviv officials confirm
Two Russian missile strikes in Lviv hit an oil depot and a defense facility, Maksym Kozytskyi, Lviv’s regional governor, confirmed in a press briefing Saturday.
Kozytskyi confirmed five people were injured at the site of the first strike and said firefighters are still putting out fires at the facility.
Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi told reporters a school near the oil depot was damaged in the strike.
Both officials asked the media not to film the sites of the strikes.
Mar 26, 3:17 pm
Biden tells Ukrainian people: ‘We stand with you’ in Warsaw address
President Joe Biden told the Ukrainian people, “We stand with you” in an address he gave at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday.
“We’ll not cease the efforts to get humanitarian relief wherever it is needed in Ukraine and for the people who’ve made it out of Ukraine. Notwithstanding the brutality of Vladimir Putin, let there be no doubt that this war [has] already been a strategic failure for Russia,” Biden said.
“Putin thought Ukrainians would roll over and not fight, not much of a student of history,” Biden said.
Biden also addressed the Russian people, telling them: “You, the Russian people, are not our enemy.”
“The American people stand with you and the brave people of Ukraine for peace,” Biden said.
Mar 26, 2:59 pm
‘This man cannot remain in power’ Biden says in Warsaw speech
In an address from Warsaw Saturday, President Joe Biden made remarks seemingly directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine. “For god’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Biden said.
After the speech, the White House released a statement saying the president wasn’t calling for a regime change.
“The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,” a White House official said.
“These are not the actions of a great nation,” Biden said, addressing the Russian people during his speech.
“Vladimir Putin’s aggression have cut you, the Russian people, off from the rest of the world, and it’s taking Russia back to the 19th century. This is not who you are,” Biden said.
Biden praised Ukrainian resistance, saying the U.S. stands with the people of Ukraine and will continue to support them.
“A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people’s love for liberty. Brutality will never grind down their will to be free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness,” Biden said.
Mar 26, 2:00 pm
‘Don’t even think’ about moving in NATO territory: Biden warns in Warsaw speech
President Joe Biden warned: “Don’t even think about moving onto one single inch of NATO territory,” Saturday in an address that just ended.
Biden spoke to an audience of between 750 and 1,000 attendees in Warsaw, Poland, including Polish President Andrzej Duda, members of parliament, local officials, students from local universities and U.S. embassy staff, according to the White House.
Mar 26, 1:01 pm
There are ‘continuous battles’ for Mariupol’s territory that continue daily: Ukrainian official
“Continuous battles” for Mariupol’s territory continue daily, the city’s deputy mayor, Serhiy Orlov, told ABC News Saturday.
The deputy mayor estimated that 150,000 people remain in the city.
He was unable to give an update on the hundreds of of civilians believed to have been killed in Russian strikes that hit a theater that was being used as a shelter. A sign indicated that children were sheltering inside satellite imagery shows.
“The situation becomes worse, so people still have a lack of everything,” he told ABC News in a remote interview.
The mayor added: “The lack of water, electricity, heat and sanitary system, lack of medicine, food. So they’re just surviving … it’s not a secret that from 50 to 100 airstrikes, the Russian aircraft do each day and the one-third or one-half of all the bombing of airstrikes in Ukraine goes on Mariupol.”
Mar 26, 12:24 pm
Missile strikes in Lviv leave 5 injured, Ukrainian official says
Two missile strikes in Lviv left five people injured on Saturday, according to preliminary data, the governor of Lviv, Maksym Kozytskyi, said in a statement.
The official said there is still a threat of a missile strike and told people to stay in shelters, not to walk down the street or take pictures of anything.
The Governor of Lviv has asked people not to share footage of the blast site, in a statement.
“Everything that can be reported for security reasons, I will report,” Kozytskyi said.
The official could not confirm reports that there was an impact on a residential building or other infrastructure facilities.
Home to many refugees passing through on their way out of the country, Lviv has been spared some of the worst shelling seen so far.
Mar 26, 12:03 pm
Biden meets with refugees in Warsaw, calls Putin a ‘butcher’
President Joe Biden met with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday. When asked by reporters what he thought of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin after meeting with refugees, Biden said, “He’s a butcher.”
Biden was greeted by Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki outside the PGE Narodowy Stadium and he met several volunteers and refugees.
After meeting with refugees, Biden briefly spoke with reporters and said he’s always in awe of the depth and strength of the human spirit of refugees.
“I’ve been to an awful lot of places like this, a lot of refugee camps, in my life, and what I’m always surprised by, is the depth and strength of the human spirit. I mean it sincerely. They’re — it’s incredible. It’s incredible. See all those little children? Just want to hug, they just want to say thanks. I mean — I mean, it just makes you so damn proud,” Biden said.
“Each one of those children said something to the effect, say a prayer for my dad, or my grandfather or my brother, who’s back there fighting. And I remember what it’s like when you have someone in a war zone. Every morning you get up and you wonder. You just wonder, you pray you don’t get that phone call,” Biden said.
Mar 26, 11:39 am
Zelenskyy calls for increased energy production to prevent Russian ‘blackmail’ of the world
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise video appearance at the Doha Forum in Qatar, addressing the energy-rich nation directly, calling on it and other energy-producing countries to increase energy production.
“The responsible states, in particular the State of Qatar, are reliable and reputable suppliers of energy resources. And they can contribute to stabilizing the situation in Europe. They can do much to restore justice,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy added, “The future of Europe depends on your efforts! I urge you to increase energy production! So that Russia understands that no state should use energy as a weapon to blackmail the world.”
Zelenskyy also warned that a food crisis will come after the migration crisis.
“Wheat, oil, corn and other agricultural products from our country are the basis of stability and internal security of many countries in different parts of the world… Russian troops mine fields in Ukraine, blow up agricultural machinery, destroy fuel reserves needed for sowing. They blocked our seaports,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy added: “Our state will have enough food. But the lack of exports from Ukraine will hit many nations in the Islamic world, Latin America and other parts of the world. Where some invaders still dream of going to strengthen their old privileges.”
Zelenskyy also drew direct comparisons between the destruction of Mariupol and the Russian bombing of Aleppo.
He criticized Russia for threatening the world with nuclear weapons, and called on countries to boost their production to counteract the global dependence on Russian oil.
Mar 26, 10:47 am
Biden, Duda give joint remarks ahead of meeting
President Joe Biden and Polish President Andrjez Duda delivered brief remarks ahead of their expanded bilateral meeting, with both sides stressing their strong relationship, and the importance of unity in the midst of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Biden is set to give a speech in Warsaw later Saturday.
Biden recalled a previous trip he made to Warsaw 25 years ago, after advocating for Poland to Join Nato, and said his message then is the same as today: “For your freedom and for ours.”
Biden also reiterated the U.S.’s commitment to NATO’s Article 5.
“The single most important criterion in this time-changing world — so much has changed, not just here, but in other parts of the world — is that NATO’s stay absolutely, completely, thoroughly united. [There needs] to be no separation, and our points of view, and whatever we do, we do in unison, and everyone, everyone comes along,” Biden said.
Biden added: “I’m confident that Vladimir Putin was counting on being able to divide NATO, and being able to separate the Eastern flank from the West. To be able to separate nations based on past histories. But he hasn’t been able to do it. We’ve all stayed together. And so I just think it’s so important that we, Poland and the United States, keep in lockstep the power pursuit.”
Biden also spoke about Poland’s work on the humanitarian side of the crisis, praising the country for taking in so many refugees, but acknowledging that it should not be just on Poland to handle the brunt of the load.
“We do acknowledge that Poland is taking on a significant responsibility that I don’t think should just be Poland, It should be the whole world — all of NATO’s responsibility. The fact that you have so many, so many Ukrainians seeking refuge and this country of Poland,” Biden said.
He added: “We understand that because we have on our southern border thousands of people a day –literally, not figuratively –trying to get into the United States. But we believe that we the United States, should do our part relative to Ukraine as well by opening our borders to another 100,000 people. And with that, and in addition to that, I think it’s important that we are in constant contact, about how we each wish to proceed, relative to what Russia is doing, and how to proceed.
Mar 26, 9:46 am
Biden, Poland’s president hold bilateral meeting
President Joe Biden arrived at the Polish presidential palace Saturday for a bilateral meeting with Polish President Andrjez Duda, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues.
Biden and Duda shook hands and stood shoulder to shoulder as both countries’ national anthems played.
Biden was met by three branches of the Polish military, as the two leaders reviewed the troops. They then headed inside for the meeting.
Biden was joined by a delegation of seven U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who participated in the meeting, according to the White House.
The Polish delegation consisted of six officials, including the ministers of foreign affairs and national defense, according to the White House.
Mar 26, 9:40 am
Biden drops by meeting between US and Ukrainian officials
President Joe Biden dropped by a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and their Ukrainian counterparts Saturday morning.
The meeting between the secretaries lasted for an hour and 46 minutes, according to the State Department.
The two secretaries pledged continued U.S. economic, military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and provided the Ukrainians updates after Thursday’s NATO, EU and G-7 summits.
“The Secretaries and Ministers discussed outcomes of the March 24 extraordinary NATO Summit in Brussels, and the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of the Russian Federation’s increasingly brutal assault on Ukrainian cities and civilian population,” said Ned Price, a spokesperson for the Department of State, in a statement.
In a statement from the White House, Biden reaffirmed the U.S.’s commitment to Ukraine, saying the officials discussed further efforts to help Ukraine defend its territory.
“The President updated the Ministers on U.S. efforts to rally the world in support of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, including through the President’s meetings this week in Belgium, and the significant military and humanitarian assistance the United States is providing to Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement.
The White House added: “They also discussed the United States’ ongoing actions to hold President Putin accountable for Russia’s brutal aggression, in coordination with our allies and partners, including through the new sanctions actions announced by the President in Brussels on March 24.
Mar 26, 9:24 am
Unexploded missile near nuclear site in Kharkiv cause for concern, IAEA says
There is an unexploded missile in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear research facility in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s regulatory authority told the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The IAEA said it is continuing to monitor the situation.
“The regulator confirmed reports of an unexploded rocket of the multiple launch rocket system 9K58 Smerch ‘detected in the immediate vicinity’ of a nuclear research facility that has previously been damaged by shelling,” the IAEA said in a statement.
It added: “the regulator said ‘constant shelling’ of the area meant that no measures had yet been taken to dispose of the rocket.”
The facility is used for research and development and radioisotope production for medical and industrial applications. The site’s nuclear material cannot sustain a fission chain reaction and the radioactive inventory is low, according to the IAEA.
Eight of Ukraine’s 15 operational reactors, at four sites, are continuing to operate, including two at the Zaporizhzhya power plant. The other reactors are shut down for regular maintenance, the IAEA said.
Mar 26, 8:38 am
136 children have been killed, 199 injured, Ukraine officials say
Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office said that 136 children have been killed in the war and 199 have been injured, as of Saturday morning local time.
The grim update comes on Day 31 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mar 26, 8:34 am
Russia using artillery to ‘demoralize’ Ukraine’s forces, British Ministry of Defense says
The Russian army is reluctant to engage in large-scale infantry operations, the British Ministry of Defense said Saturday.
“Russia continues to besiege a number of major Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol. Russian forces are proving reluctant to engage in large scale urban infantry operations, rather preferring to rely on the indiscriminate use of air and artillery bombardments in an attempt to demoralize defending forces,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement posted online.
It added: “It is likely Russia will continue to use its heavy firepower on urban areas as it looks to limit its own already considerable losses, at the cost of further civilian casualties.”
Mar 25, 6:24 pm
Jill Biden meets with Ukrainian pediatric cancer patients
During a visit to Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden privately met with two Ukrainian families who have loved ones being treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Four Ukrainian children, ages 20 months to 8 years, as well as 10 of their family members, were airlifted from Poland to St. Jude on Monday to continue treatment, according to Michael LaRosa, the First Lady’s press secretary.
Biden said in remarks during her visit that her “heart has ached watching the videos” of devastation in Ukraine.
“Parents weeping over their child’s broken bones … bodies in the streets. The senselessness of it all is just staggering,” she said.
She added, “When I learned that St. Jude was working with hospitals in Europe to bring some of the Ukrainian children with cancer and their families here, I felt so proud and I wanted to join you in welcoming them. We stand with Ukraine and we’re praying for their families.”
Mar 25, 4:44 pm
Fox News correspondent injured in Ukraine is back in U.S.
Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall is back in the U.S. after suffering serious injuries while reporting in Ukraine, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a statement.
Hall was hurt in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, on March 14 when his vehicle was hit by incoming fire, Scott said at the time. Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian producer and fixer Oleksandra “Sasha” Kuvshynova were killed in the incident.
Scott said Hall has been transferred from the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas.
Hall has undergone multiple surgeries, Scott said.
“He remains in good spirits despite everything he has endured,” Scott wrote. “His strength and resiliency in the face of this crisis has been nothing short of extraordinary.”
Mar 25, 3:03 pm
U.S. official: Russians on defensive around Kyiv, now focusing on Donbas
Russian forces around Kyiv have fallen into defensive positions and have stopped offensive ground movements toward the capital city, a senior U.S. defense official said Friday.
“We’re still seeing airstrikes, but not nothing from the ground,” the official said.
The U.S. official said — as Russians also noted Friday — that Russian troops are currently focusing on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where there’s been heavy fighting.
The Russians “are putting their priorities and their effort in the east of Ukraine, and that’s where still there remains a lot of heavy fighting,” the official said. “And we think they are trying to not only secure some sort of, more substantial gains there as a potential negotiating tactic at the table, but also to cut off Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country.”
Also, the official noted that Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine that’s north of Crimea, doesn’t seem to be “as solidly in Russian control as it was before.”
“That would be significant if the Ukrainians were able to take Kerson back,” the official said. “It’s a significant port city. It would also put it much greater risk the Russian positions around Mykolaiv [in southern Ukraine], and again if they have ground desires on Odessa [in southern Ukraine], losing Kherson and therefore putting their troops between Ukrainians, you’ll be sandwiched between Ukrainian forces in Kherson and those in Mykolaiv. … That would put them smack in the middle and that would make it very, very difficult for them to make any kind of ground movement on Odessa. If in fact, that was their plan.”
The U.S. is also seeing indications that the Russians are trying to send in some reinforcements from the breakaway regions of Georgia, the official said.
Mar 25, 2:09 pm
Russian military claims ‘main goal’ of invasion is ‘liberation’ of eastern Ukraine
In a Friday briefing, Russian military officials tried to reshape the narrative of the war, claiming the “main goal” of the invasion — what Russia calls a “military operation” — is to “liberate” Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region and not to seize other parts of Ukraine.
General Sergey Rudskoy, the head of the main operational directorate of Russia’s General Staff, said the main objectives of the “first phase” of the operation have been achieved, meaning Ukraine’s “combat capabilities have been significantly reduced.” Rudskoy said that allows Russia to now focus “on achieving the main goal the liberation of Donbas.”
The Donbas region contains the two Russian-controlled separatist statelets, the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, the defense of which Russia used as a pretext for invading. Rudskoy claimed Russia has “liberated” 93% of the Luhansk region and 54% of Donetsk.
The Ukrainian city of Mariupol is also within the Donbas region. Russian forces have been relentlessly bombarding Mariupol since the invasion began, destroying homes and leaving thousands of residents trapped.
Rudskoy claimed Russia’s “military operation” had two courses of action: the first being limiting operations to Donbas, but he said that would have allowed Ukraine to constantly reinforce its troops, so he said Russia took a second course of action, attacking cities across the whole country. Rudskoy claimed the course of the war “confirmed the validity” of that decision.
“These actions are carried out with the aim of causing such damage to military infrastructure, equipment, personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the results of which allow not only to shackle their forces and do not give them the opportunity to strengthen their grouping in the Donbas, but also will not allow them to do so until the Russian army completely liberates the territories of the DPR and LPR,” he said.
Rudskoy claimed Russia has successfully blocked Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv, and that the cities of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are under full Russian control.
He claimed Russia “initially” never had any intention of storming those cities, although he said they “did not rule out such a possibility” now.
“Initially, we did not plan to storm them in order to prevent destruction and minimize losses among personnel and civilians. And although we do not rule out such a possibility, however, as individual groups complete their tasks, and they are being solved successfully, our forces and means will concentrate on the main thing — the complete liberation of Donbas,” he said.
Rudskoy also made the dubious claim that Russia has sought to minimize civilian casualties. The U.N. reports that over 1,000 civilians have died since the invasion began.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 25, 12:50 pm
Biden says he’s in Poland to see humanitarian crisis firsthand
President Joe Biden, flanked by Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and Samantha Powers of the U.S. Agency for International Development, spoke at a briefing on humanitarian efforts Friday, again calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal.”
“The single-most important thing that we can do on the outset, is keep the democracies united in our opposition, and our effort to curtail the devastation that is occurring at the hands of a man, who quite frankly, I think is a war criminal. And I think we’ll meet the legal definition of that, as well,” Biden said.
Biden said he’s in Poland to see the “humanitarian crisis” “firsthand,” but said he’s disappointed he “can’t see it firsthand like I have in other places.”
“They will not let me … cross the border and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine,” Biden said. “But, you know, I’m eager to hear from you, the humanitarian community, about what you see, what you’re doing, and where you think we go from here.”
Since the invasion began on Feb. 24, over 3.6 million people have fled Ukraine, with more than 2.2 million of those refugees going to Poland, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“Whether it’s food, or a blanket, or cash, or the care for medical teams that we send in, or child welfare specialists, they need it now. They need it as rapidly as we can get it there,” Biden said.
Mar 25, 12:12 pm
Biden tells troops ‘what’s at stake’ is beyond Ukraine
President Joe Biden spoke to members of the 82nd Airborne Division in Jasionka, Poland, Friday, telling them, “What you’re doing is consequential — really consequential.”
“What’s at stake” is beyond Ukraine, Biden said.
“What are your kids and grandkids gonna look like in terms of their freedom?” Biden said. “The last 10 years there have been fewer democracies that have been formed than we’ve lost in the world.”
“What you’re engaged in is much more than just whether or not you can alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Ukraine,” Biden said.
Biden commended the troops, saying “the rest of the world looks to us, because, you know, we not only lead by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. And your generation combines both. The rest of the world looks at you and sees who you are. They see you are a multiethnic group of Americans that are in fact together and united in one resolve, to defend your country, and to help those who need help.”
Mar 25, 11:12 am
Biden thanks troops in Poland
In Jasionka, Poland, on Friday, President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited American troops, thanking them for working alongside Polish allies.
Biden and Austin first greeted members of the 82nd Airborne Division in a makeshift barbershop.
Biden and Austin then stopped by a mess hall and ended up staying for a slice of pizza.
Biden also shared a story about searching for his son, Beau, in a mess hall in Baghdad, only to find him using his mother’s maiden name — Hunter — on his fatigues.
“I said, ‘Beau, what the hell’s going on?’ His name was Beau Biden, and he was a colonel, I mean, a major, excuse me,” Biden said.
“And I said, ‘What happened?’ And he said, ‘Dad, with the name Biden, everybody thinks something’s going on. So I’m Hunter.’ That was his mother’s maiden name,” Biden said.
Mar 25, 10:29 am
Ukrainian troops have retaken towns, UK intelligence says
Ukrainian troops have been able to retake towns and defensive positions up to 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) east of Kyiv due to counter-attacks and Russian forces falling back on overextended supply lines, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Friday in an intelligence update on the situation.
Ukrainian troops are likely to continue to attempt to push Russian forces back along the northwestern axis from the Ukrainian capital toward Antonov Airport in Hostomel, a suburb of Kyiv, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
In southern Ukraine, Russian forces are still attempting to circumvent the densely populated city of Mykolaiv as they look to drive west toward Odesa, with their progress being slowed by logistic issues and Ukrainian resistance, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said.
Mar 25, 10:25 am
Biden arrives in Poland
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived at Poland’s Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport Friday afternoon, where he will get a firsthand look at the international efforts to help some of the millions of people fleeing Ukraine.
Biden was greeted on the tarmac by four U.S. commanding generals. While in Rzeszow on Friday, Biden will receive a briefing on the humanitarian situation and meet with humanitarian aid groups as well as service members of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
He will later travel to Warsaw, where he will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda as well as refugees from Ukraine on Saturday.
Mar 25, 10:07 am
US says Russian attacks have capacity to put NATO at risk
U.S. President Joe Biden’s support of NATO battle groups on the eastern flank stems from the belief that Russia’s attacks in Ukraine have the capacity to put the alliance’s territories at risk, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
“We do believe Russian aggression in Ukraine shows a willingness by the Russians to disregard international borders and to disregard the basic rules of the road of the international community that have been built in sustained over the course of seven decades,” Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday.
“It is important in this moment to send a clear message to Russia that the United States and NATO will defend every inch of NATO territory and to deter any thinking that Putin might have about further Russian aggression into NATO,” he said.
Sullivan noted that Belarus’ willingness to station Russian troops on its soil, in particular, has a “significant impact particularly on our NATO allies in the Baltics and Poland.”
Sullivan said Biden has made clear that any diplomatic agreement reached is one that Ukraine will have to determine for itself, meaning Washington is not going to push or pressure Kyiv into any outcome.
Currently, Washington’s priority is to ensure Ukraine has the capabilities to defend itself as Russian forces continue pushing forward, Sullivan told reporters.
Mar 25, 10:02 am
Pope Francis to consecrate Russia, Ukraine
Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Friday, inviting people around the world to join him in the prayer.
“This Act of Consecration is meant to be a gesture of the universal Church, which in this dramatic moment lifts up to God, through His Mother and ours, the cry of pain of all those who suffer and implore an end to the violence, and to entrust the future of our human family to the Queen of Peace,” Francis said in a statement.
He also called for an end to the violence.
Consecration is an act of surrender in which the pope recognizes both Russians and Ukrainians as children of god, and entrusts them to Mary’s care, Father Alexandre Mello, the secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life, told Crux.
Mello also said consecration aims to build bridges as the prayer’s goal is to have a healing effect and remind Russians and Ukrainians of their shared roots and identities as children of the same God.
The ceremony is tied to the Marian apparitions in Fatima, Portugal in 1917, in which many Catholics believe the Virgin Mary appeared to three children, asking that the pope consecrate Russia to her immaculate heart.
The Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be prayed during the Lenten penitential service in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome which begins at 5 p.m. local time. The pope will start the prayer at around 6:30 p.m. local time and has asked all Catholic Bishops and priests to join him spiritually.
U.S. bishops, including Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., and Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, announced they will be holding consecration ceremonies on Friday.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said he will join in the prayer from his converted monastery in Vatican City, where he has lived since he resigned.
Mar 25, 9:27 am
Biden to meet with Polish president, refugees from Ukraine in Warsaw
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda as well as refugees from Ukraine in Warsaw on Saturday, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Poland on Friday, Sullivan noted that Biden will also deliver a “major address” before departing Saturday.
“He will give a major address tomorrow that will speak to the stakes of this moment, the urgency of the challenge that lies ahead, what the conflict in Ukraine means for the world, and why it is so important that the free world sustain unity and resolve in the face of Russian aggression,” Sullivan said. “He’ll also talk about the context and history of this conflict and where he sees it going from here.”
Upon arrival in Rzeszow, Poland, on Friday, Biden will meet with humanitarian aid groups as well as service members of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, according to Sullivan.
“He will be able to talk through with a range of different humanitarian leaders and experts, both from the region and from the international community as well as the US government experts who are playing a key role in this, on how the efforts are going so far and what further steps need to be taken to make sure that we’re investing those dollars as wisely as possible,” Sullivan said. “He will also have the chance to visit with troops from the 82nd Airborne Division, who have been deployed to Poland to reassure our NATO ally and to deter further aggression on the eastern flank. And he will also get a briefing from the commanders of those units who will have the chance to lay out for him the various tasks and missions that the American troops stationed at the airfield here have been undertaking and continue to undertake.”
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Mar 25, 8:03 am
Ukrainian rescuers work to remove unexploded devices from homes
Video has emerged showing Ukrainian rescuers working to remove unexploded devices from civilian homes amid the Russian invasion.
The video, released Friday by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and verified by ABC News, shows pyrotechnic units in the northern city of Chernihiv using special equipment to carefully search for and remove unexploded shells, missiles and mines that landed in houses.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said it was called in to seize ammunition 18 times over the past day. The agency warned people not to approach the objects because they could explode “at any time” and to immediately report such findings to rescuers or police.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
Mar 25, 7:34 am
Biden departs Brussels for Poland
U.S. President Joe Biden departed Belgium on Friday morning and was en route to Poland for the final leg of his four-day trip aimed at maintaining unity among allies and supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
Biden was seen boarding Air Force One in the European Union’s de facto capital, Brussels, at 6:42 a.m. ET. He is expected to land in Rzeszow, Poland, at around 9:15 a.m. ET, where he will receive a briefing on the humanitarian response to the millions of people fleeing Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion. He will also meet with service members from the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Mar 25, 6:36 am
300 dead in airstrike on Mariupol theater, officials say
About 300 people were killed last week in a Russian airstrike on a drama theater-turned-bomb shelter in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the city’s government said Friday, citing eyewitnesses.
“We didn’t want to believe in this horror,” the Mariupol City Council. said in a statement. “But the words of those who were inside the building at the moment of this terrorist act say the opposite.”
As many as 1,500 civilians had been taking refuge in the grand, columned Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama in central Mariupol when it was struck on March 16, according to the Ukrainian government. Satellite images showed huge white letters on the pavement in front of and behind the building spelling out “CHILDREN” in Russian — “DETI” — to alert warplanes to those inside.
Video circulating online and verified by ABC News shows the immediate aftermath of the strike on the theater. People covered in dust are seen trying to make their way out of the theater, walking down from the first floor staircase in an area of the building that was still standing at the time.
Since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russian forces have been relentlessly bombarding Mariupol, destroying homes and leaving thousands of residents trapped. Ukraine has defied Russia’s ultimatum for its troops to lay down arms and surrender the strategic southeastern port city of 430,000.
-ABC News Patrick Reevell
Mar 25, 5:20 am
Russia claims to have seized 5 more localities in Ukraine
Russia claimed Friday that its forces had captured five more localities in Ukraine.
“The grouping of troops of the Russian Armed Forces advanced another 4 kilometers overnight and captured Batmanka, Mikhailovka, Krasny Partizan, Stavki and Troitskoe,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the claim.
Mar 25, 5:10 am
US, EU announce plan to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian gas
U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Friday a joint task force to “reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and strengthen European energy security,” amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Named the “Task Force for energy security,” the group will be chaired by one representative from the White House and one representative from the European Commission. They will work to ensure energy security for Ukraine and the European Union ahead of the next two winters by focusing on two main goals — diversifying liquefied natural gas supplies and reducing demand for natural gas, according to a fact sheet from the White House.
As part of the agreement, the United States will work with international partners to put more liquefied natural gas on the EU market, pledging to make at least 15 billion cubic meters available in 2022, with increases expected going forward.
The White House stressed that the task force would also work with an eye towards clean energy, looking to reduce greenhouse gas intensity of all new liquefied natural gas infrastructure as well as demand for liquefied natural gas by “accelerating market deployment of clean energy measures.” Those measures include expediting planning of clean energy projects, like wind and solar power, and using smart thermostats and heat pumps in homes.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Mar 24, 5:44 pm
Biden meets with European Council
U.S. President Joe Biden’s final meeting in Brussels on Thursday was with the European Council.
“They reviewed their ongoing efforts to impose economic costs on Russia and Belarus, as well as their readiness to adopt additional measures and to stop any attempts to circumvent sanctions,” the White House said in a statement.
The leaders said they willl continue “providing humanitarian assistance, including to neighboring countries hosting refugees, and underscored the need for Russia to guarantee humanitarian access to those affected by or fleeing the violence,” according to the White House.
They also “discussed EU-U.S. cooperation to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels, accelerate the transition to clean energy, as well as the need to respond to evolving food security needs worldwide,” the White House said.
(CHICAGO) — It’s no surprise Americans are feeling the impact of the country’s worst inflation in 40 years. In fact, the Federal Reserve is already considering raising interest rates again, according to Chairman Jerome Powell. They raised rates by a quarter-point just last week.
Americans feeling the financial strain are now finding creative ways to save. Enter The Swap-O-Rama in Alsip, Illinois, on the south side of Chicago.
The self-declared oldest flea market in Chicago is advertised to be home to hundreds of vendors, selling thousands of different products at affordable prices.
“You get a lot of stuff in bulk and it’s a lot cheaper.”
That’s Marquita of Gary, Indiana. She told ABC News’ Perspective podcast that she’s seen her dollar getting stretched further and further as she shops for her family of six.
“If I go to the store and I get a meal, I want to say it’s been like $100 for a whole meal. And that’s just like if I get like 10 things […] I try to go to the store, even the cheaper stores, it’s now become $100 for a full meal.”
Sherman is a local vendor and sells all the things you’d normally find at CVS or Walgreens, but for a fraction of the price. He understands why people come to the flea market looking to save.
“They figure I’m at the flea market, I should be able to get it cheaper than store.”
But consumers aren’t the only ones feeling the sting of inflation.
Clay is a bracelet vendor at Swap-O-Rama. He says he’s struggling to turn a profit. What cost him $40 in supplies a year-and-a-half-ago is costing him closer to $100 today. Now, he has to charge shoppers more, which some aren’t willing to pay.
“The last month, people are actually looking to negotiate more. You know, I guess because they’re paying more for everything else. So everyone’s pretty much looking for more of a deal now.”
Listen to the rest of this past week’s highlights in the Perspective podcast.
(NEW YORK) — Last fall, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to the state’s school board association saying public schools shouldn’t have “obscene” books and called on certain books about gender and sexual orientation, among others, to be removed.
During last year’s gubernatorial race in Virginia, Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin campaigned on removing certain books from schools, including Toni Morrison’s book “Beloved,” which deals with slavery and has graphic sexual encounters.
Texas is the latest state to introduce legislation concerning how controversial subjects including race and even the Holocaust are taught in schools. There have been over 122 such bills introduced across the country since last year.
Books focusing on LGBTQ and racial issues that critics say are inappropriate for students are being banned across the country. Now, some librarians are joining together to protest those bans.
“We felt that a different image needed to be portrayed of librarians…And so we really wanted a positive message to go out about our work and to shed light on what was going on in Texas,” Carolyn Foote, a Texas librarian and co-founder of FReadom Fighters, told ABC News.
FReadom Fighters was formed by Foote and three other Texas librarians who advocate for students’ freedom to read books. They came together in November 2021 in response to Republican Texas Rep. Matt Krause’s request that schools inform him if they carry books that focus on LGBTQ and racial issues.
FReadom Fighters started as a social media movement with the hashtag “#FReadom” in protest of Krause’s request, and then blossomed into activism.
“For them, this is personal. It isn’t just about adults arguing about what books should be on the shelves of the library. It’s about stories about their lives, being removed from the shelves, and stories that speak to them,” Foote said.
While Foote and some librarians are fighting for these books to stay on shelves, others disagree and are fighting to keep them off.
“I felt that I had a duty as a parent, because this type of material is so over the top in terms of inappropriateness … I felt I had a duty as a parent, to warn other parents and to bring it to the attention of the school board, because quite honestly, you know, I didn’t know at that moment who’s making these decisions as to what books are put into our school library,” Stacy Langton, a Virginia mother and co-founder of Mama Grizzly, a conservative grassroots organization that she says aims to protect “our children’s learning environments.”
In other states, including North Carolina, Maine and Missouri, Republicans have begun campaigns targeting books that deal with segregation and racism.
However, according to an American Library Association poll, 71% of Americans are opposed to banning books.
“What we found overall is in this polling is that vast majorities of all voters from all political persuasions, and parents, especially don’t support book bans. What we’re hearing from is a very vocal minority,” Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, tells ABC News.
Foote says that despite their efforts for the books, they are not fighting for students to read them or to agree with everything in them, just that students have the opportunity to read them if they choose.
“It’s just really important that we understand that just because we read something or watch a TV show or read a newspaper article, it doesn’t mean we personally or our students are going to go out and enact anything they read about. Books just have ideas in them, and ideas cause us to think, and we can use our own minds to make critical decisions. And as educators … we train students to ask critical questions like, ‘Where did this data come from? And who wrote this? What is their point of view?'” Foote said.
“And I think that if parents considered that point of view, then they would understand that we’re all in this together as partners,” she added.
(QUEENSLAND, Australia) — One of the world’s most cherished natural wonders — the Great Barrier Reef — has suffered a widespread sixth bleaching event, officials confirmed on Friday after completing aerial surveyance of the 1,400-mile-long marine park.
United Nations scientists are currently in Queensland, Australia, to carry out a ten-day mission to examine the condition of the reef, and see whether enough is being done to protect the sprawling ecosystem that extends over 133,000 square miles.
This is the fourth time in six years that the Great Barrier Reef has been impacted by bleaching, a response by the corals when they’re stressed by increased temperatures, causing them to expel the green algae that gives them color, and reveal a white skeleton.
Scientists are particularly concerned that this bleaching event has taken place during La Niña, a weather system which normally creates cooler temperatures.
While bleaching does not automatically cause the coral to die, it can make corals more vulnerable to disease and impede their ability to spawn, experts say.
Scientists warn that if high ocean temperatures continue, bleaching events will become more frequent. The stressed coral will then have less time to recover and more will die as a result.
Leonardo DiCaprio sounded the alarm of a potential bleaching event on Twitter on Thursday, a day before it was officially announced by Great Barrier Reef authorities. DiCaprio said that coral scientist Professor Terry Hughes “claims a 6th mass bleaching is unfolding.”
“The next bleaching event is just around the corner. We anticipate moderate or severe coral bleaching in the weeks or months coming,” Hughes told ABC News back in November last year.
Hughes, who directs the Center for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Australia, forewarned about the devastating effects climate change is having on the Great Barrier Reef. At that time, the climate summit in Glasgow was underway, and Hughes made it unequivocally clear that cutting carbon emissions is the only way to save the reef.
“We should all be worried. The future of the Great Barrier Reef and coral reefs generally throughout the tropics depends on the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions and the temperature trajectories over the rest of this century,” he said then.
“What’s happening here in Australia on coral reefs is simply typical of coral reefs everywhere,” Hughes said, “Throughout the tropics, coral reefs support the livelihoods and food security of about 400 million people.”
Hughes said there are strong social and economic reasons why the Australian government should be doing “a better job” at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Here in Australia, a relatively wealthy country. It’s also economically important, 65,000 people work in reef tourism here in Queensland. It’s worth about $5 billion each year to the economy of Australia,” he said.
The Australian government has made a $700-million commitment to reef-protecting measures, but critics would like to see bolder measures toward combating climate change and a permanent pivot from the economy’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Canberra, the capital city of Australia, has also lobbied to keep the reef off a UNESCO World Heritage list of sites considered “in danger,” with fears, it has said, the label would taint the reef’s image as a natural wonder and hurt tourism.
If cooler waters return, it is possible for the reef to make a comeback. All scientists agree, though, that the Great Barrier Reef’s long-term survival will depend on how well we can act on climate change, and on that, it is a race against the clock, Hughes said.
(FERNLEY, Nev.) — A suspect in the alleged kidnapping of a Nevada teenager who was last seen in a Walmart parking lot has been arrested, authorities said Friday.
The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said it has also impounded a pickup truck that was “possibly involved” in 18-year-old Naomi Irion’s disappearance, which has since spawned a nationwide search.
The suspect was identified by the sheriff’s office as Troy Driver, 41, of Fallon, Nevada. He is being held on kidnapping charges.
Meanwhile, the search for the missing teenager remains active, authorities said.
The update comes nearly two weeks after Irion disappeared.
She was last seen inside her car in the parking lot of a Walmart in Fernley, Nevada, outside Reno, according to the sheriff’s office. Surveillance video captured a man getting into the driver’s seat of her car and leaving in an unknown direction with Irion in the passenger seat.
The sheriff’s office initially characterized her disappearance as “suspicious in nature.” After locating her car on March 15 in an industrial park about a mile from the Walmart, the sheriff’s office said investigators found evidence suggesting her disappearance was “criminal in nature.”
Investigators had previously identified a Chevrolet pickup truck whose driver they believed may have a “direct connection” to her current whereabouts, said the sheriff’s office, which released an image of the vehicle while urging the public to help locate it.
The sheriff’s office has also released multiple photos and a video of the man authorities say entered Irion’s car. He has a distinct gait that investigators hoped would help in identifying him.
Detectives have not publicly released surveillance video showing the exact moment the suspect gets into Irion’s car, citing the nature of the ongoing investigation. According to her brother, Casey Valley, who said he has seen the video, Irion was sitting in the driver’s seat, but the suspect “did say or do something to Naomi to make her move over.”
Irion was waiting for a shuttle bus on March 12 around 5 a.m. to take her to her job at Panasonic Energy of North America in the Reno area. Valley, who lives with Irion, reported her missing the following day when she never came home from work.
Irion’s family has made multiple public pleas for her safe return.
“We need everyone’s help across the nation because the incident happened so close to [Interstate] 80,” her mother, Diana Irion, said during a press event earlier this week. “She could be anywhere, anywhere in the nation.”
“Please save my daughter and bring her home,” she said.
(SALT LAKE CITY) — The Utah state legislate has voted to override Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto of an anti-transgender sports bill that would ban transgender girls’ participation in sports.
The state House and Senate each gathered the necessary two-thirds of votes to override Cox’s veto Friday. The ban will take effect July 1.
Cox wrote a letter Tuesday to state Senate President Sen. J. Stuart Adams and state House Speaker Rep. Brad R. Wilson listing the “fundamental flaws” he considered when vetoing the bill.
He wrote that he chose to veto it “because the bill was substantially changed in the final hours of the legislative session with no public input and in a way that will likely bankrupt the Utah High School Athletic Association and result in millions of dollars in legal fees for local school districts.”
Adams responded by vowing to override the veto.
“Doing nothing is taking a step backward for women. Finding a solution to this complicated issue is necessary to maintain fair competition now and in the future,” Adams said in a March 22 online statement.
HB11 initially allowed trans participation in girls’ sports and proposed that a commission decide if there is a threat to safety or fairness against cisgender girls in competitions.
However, on the last day of the legislative session, a substitute of the bill was introduced to implement an all-out ban on transgender women’s participation in sports, and the commission would only come into play if a court prohibited the ban.
“It is important to note that a complete ban was never discussed, never contemplated, never debated and never received any public input prior to the Legislature passing the bill on the 45th and final night of the session,” Cox wrote.
Cox warned that school districts will also be liable for any lawsuits to come from this ban.
He states that only four trans students are playing sports in the state, with only one athlete in girls’ sports, and they are not unfairly dominating. He said the high rates of mental health challenges transgender youth face due to discrimination also influenced his decision.
“Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. Four kids trying to get through each day,” Cox said.
He added, “Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few. I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live.”
Cox warned legislators that he also plans on calling a special session to change the section of the bill in order to avoid bankrupting the athletic association and local schools if they override his veto.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has also vetoed a transgender sports bill this week and is also facing attempts from the legislature to override his decision.
At least 11 other states have implemented bans against transgender athletes.
(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.
Here are highlights of what a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Friday on Day 30:
In apparent shift, Russian offensive toward Kyiv stopped, troops now in defensive positions
The official described how Russian forces around Kyiv appear to have stopped offensive operations toward the capital city and are moving into defensive positions as they seem to be prioritizing offensive operations in the Donbas, the eastern part of the country.
“It appears that the Russians are at the moment not pursuing a ground offense or ground offensive towards Kiev,” said the official. They are digging in. They are establishing defensive positions.” However, the official said that the bombardment of the city using long-range weapons is continuing.
“They don’t show any signs of being willing to move on Kyiv from the ground,” said the official. “And that is in keeping with our assessment of a couple of days ago that they are going to prioritize the eastern part of the country with in terms of ground offense. And that is exactly what we’re seeing.”
Earlier on Friday, a top Russian general told reporters that Russia’s initial military operations had been completed and that operations would now focus “on the most important thing, the complete liberation of Donbas.”
“They have stopped trying to move forward and what they have started to do is try to defend what they have,” said the senior U.S. defense official. “We’re seeing the Ukrainians really go now on the offense on them around Kyiv and that includes to the west of it.” The official described heavy fighting in the towns of Bucha and Irpin northwest of Kyiv where he said the Ukrainians are ‘trying hard to dislodge the Russians.'”
Russian military now prioritizing operations in Donbas in eastern Ukraine
“They are putting their priorities and their effort in the east of Ukraine and that’s where still there remains a lot of heavy fighting,” said the official. “We think they are trying to not only secure some sort of more, more substantial gains there as a potential negotiating tactic at the table, but also to cut off Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country.”
“They are more focused on the Donbas,” said the official, describing the easternmost area of the country where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting against Ukraine’s military for the past eight years.
“The defensive crouch that they’re now taking in Kyiv, we think is consistent with their desire now to be more on the offense and to be more aggressive in the east and Donbas.” And that includes increased air bombardment in the region including in the port city of Mariupol that continues to see what the official described as “vicious vicious fighting.”
Russian forces lose full control of strategic southern city of Kherson
In a significant setback, Russian forces have lost full control of the strategic southern city of Kherson according to the official. If the Ukrainians were to retake the city, it would mark the first time that Russian troops will have been pushed out of a major city seized by Russia.
“It doesn’t appear to be as solidly in Russian control as it was before,” said the official. “The Ukrainians are trying to take Kherson, but we would argue that Kherson is actually contested territory again.”
If Ukrainian forces were to retake the port city, it “would be a significant development, no question about that in terms of the southern part of the war,” the official said. If that happened Russian troops would be “sandwiched” between Ukrainian forces in Mykolaiv to the west and Kherson, the official said.
“That would put them smack in the middle and that would make it very, very difficult for them to make any kind of ground movement on Odessa. If in fact, that was their plan,” the official said.
Russian reinforcements headed to Ukraine from Georgia
“We’ve seen our first indications that they are trying to send in some reinforcements from Georgia,” said the official. “We have seen the movement of some number of troops from Georgia.
In recent days, U.S. officials have said that it appeared that Russia was seeking reinforcements for its military operations in Ukraine, but interestingly from outside of Russia.
“We don’t have an exact number,” said the official. “I couldn’t tell you whether it’s a whole BTG (battalion tactical group) or how many troops.”
Russian troops have been in breakaway Russian areas of Georgia since 2008.
Russian missile failure rates between 20% and 60%
The senior U.S. defense official did not dispute press reports that Russian missiles are failing to launch between 20% and 60% of the time.
“It’s hard for us to assess that perfectly in terms of numbers, but we have seen some failures,” said the official.
“The ranges I’ve seen in the press from anywhere from 20 to 60%. I would not push back on that assessment,” said the official.
“But again, it’s a range, and it’s very nearly from day to day, but we have seen times … when our assessment is they have they have experienced a significant amount of failure in their missiles,” the official added.
While the airspace over Ukraine remains contested, the official said that Russian planes are now flying about 300 sorties a day and are continuing to fire a lot of missiles that are causing their supplies to dwindle.
“They still have more than 50% but that’s the air launch cruise missiles in particular the thing that they’re running the lowest on,” said the official.
Since the start of the war, Russia has fired more than 1,250 missiles into Ukraine.
