(WASHINGTON) — U.S. Southern Command said it targeted three vessels traveling in a convoy in undisclosed international waters — leaving “narco-terrorists” as survivors after they jumped overboard, according to a social media statement.
The strikes occurred on Dec. 30, according to the post on X.
“Three narco-terrorists aboard the first vessel were killed in the first engagement,” the statement said. “The remaining narco-terrorists abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels.”
At least six people survived the Dec. 30 strikes, which took place in the Eastern Pacific, according to a U.S. official.
The U.S. Coast Guard was notified to begin searching for the survivors in a search and rescue operation, the statement said.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that a search-and-rescue operation was underway, and that Coast Guard C-130 aircraft had been deployed for the operation. The Coast Guard has put out a signal to other mariners for the survivors in distress.
In a statement shared with ABC News, the Coast Guard said, “on December 30th, the U.S. Coast Guard was notified by the Department of War of mariners in distress in the Pacific Ocean.”
“The U.S. Coast Guard is coordinating search and rescue operations with vessels in the area, and a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft is en route to provide further search coverage,” it said.
Several hours after announcing the Dec. 30 strikes, Southern Command posted on social media that another series of strikes — carried out on New Year’s Eve — had targeted two more vessels alleged to be engaged in drug trafficking. The post did not specify where the strike took place.
A total of five people were killed — three in the first vessel and two in the second, according to the post.
There have now been at least 34 strikes — and at least 115 people killed — in the U.S. military campaign in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific targeting alleged drug traffickers since September.
In the posts about the strikes, the military said the vessels targeted were operated by designated terrorist organizations and that intelligence confirmed the vessel were “were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and engaged in narco-trafficking.”
The U.S. campaign targeting alleged drug boats came under scrutiny last month after the Trump administration acknowledged survivors of an initial series of strikes on an alleged drug vessel on Sept. 2 were killed in a follow-up series of strikes.
In another attack in the Caribbean in October, two survivors of a strike on a submarine suspected of carrying drugs were later returned to the countries of origin — Ecuador and Colombia — to be detained and prosecuted, President Donald Trump said.
On Oct. 27, a mariner, now presumed dead, also survived U.S. strikes.
Fireworks light up the sky over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House during New Year’s Eve celebrations on January 01, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. (Izhar Khan/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Countries across the globe are beginning to usher in 2026.
The Pacific island nation of Kiribati was the first to ring in the new year, while Alaska and Hawaii will be among the last places to say goodbye to 2025.
New Zealand
At 6 a.m. ET, New Zealand was one of the first countries to reach 2026, ringing in the new year with a fireworks display.
Australia
In Australia, fireworks over the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge went along as planned, but law enforcement presence was ramped up in Sydney in the wake of this month’s mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump invited Zelensky to his private club to work on the U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, as the conflict approaches four years since the sudden full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump should visit Ukraine, amid the latest U.S.-led push for a peace deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
“He talks about advocating a plan to end the war,” Zelenskyy said of Trump, answering questions in a group WhatsApp chat with reporters.
“I told him that we would be glad to see him. It is very useful for Ukraine. If U.S. President Trump flies to Ukraine, and it is desirable that he flies by plane not to Poland, but to Ukraine, then this will indicate that we definitely have the opportunity to count on a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said.
Earlier this week, Trump told reporters that the negotiating teams are “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to achieving a peace deal to end Moscow’s invasion, which has been ongoing since February 2022.
Zelenskyy traveled to Florida to meet with Trump on Sunday and discuss a 20-point plan that he described as a possible foundation for the end of the war. Trump also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone before and after meeting Zelenskyy, the White House said.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is discussing the possibility of an American troop presence as part of a settlement, and as part of the post-war security guarantees Kyiv says it needs to prevent a repeat Russian attack.
“These are U.S. troops and that is why it is America that makes such decisions,” Zelenskyy said. “Of course, we are discussing this with President Trump and with representatives of the ‘Coalition of the Willing.'”
“We would like this. This would be a strong position in security guarantees,” Zelenskyy added.
Zelenskyy also denied Russian reports of a rift between the U.S. and Ukraine. On Monday, Moscow accused Kyiv — without providing any supporting evidence — of launching a drone attack on Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region.
After speaking with Putin by phone about the alleged attack, Trump said he was “very angry,” though also acknowledged that it may not have happened.
“Despite all the media accusations of the Russians about the breakdown of our talks with the Americans, we are working every day,” Zelenskyy told reporters.
The Ukrainian president said there had been “several calls” on Tuesday between Rustem Umerov — the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council and a key negotiator — and American representatives, among them presidential envoy Steve Witkoff. “We are discussing our next steps,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy also posted to social media on Tuesday previewing a gathering of national security advisers of the mostly European “Coalition of the Willing” nations in Ukraine on Jan. 3, which is expected to be followed by a meeting of national leaders in France on Jan. 6.
Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, made in February 2023 a surprise trip to Kyiv, where he met with Zelenskyy prior to the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Biden flew into Poland and undertook a 10-hour train journey to get to the Ukrainian capital, senior administration officials said at the time.
Both Russia and Ukraine continued their exchange of long-range drone strikes overnight.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 127 drones into the country overnight into Wednesday morning, of which 101 were shot down or suppressed. Twenty drones impacted across 11 locations, the air force said.
The southern port city of Odesa was among the targets of the latest overnight barrage, officials said.
Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said in a post to Telegram that at least six people were injured by Russian drone strikes, among them three children. One adult was hospitalized and is in a critical condition, Kiper said.
“In total, four multi-apartment residential buildings, at least 14 cars and private garages were damaged,” Kiper said.
“These attacks are another indication of the terrorist tactics of the enemy, who deliberately attacks the civilian infrastructure of peaceful cities in the Odesa region, threatening the lives and health of people,” the governor added.
Kiper also reported at least two fresh strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the Odesa region. “Overall, during December, 10 substations in Odessa and the region were damaged as a result of enemy shelling,” he wrote. “Since the beginning of the year, Russia has attacked 25 energy facilities in the region.”
“The damage is significant and the repair work will take time,” Kiper said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down 86 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday morning, of which 56 were reportedly downed over the Black Sea.
Rosaviatsiya — Russia’s federal air transport agency — reported temporary flight restrictions at airports in the southern Russian cities of Gelenjik and Krasnodar, as well as in Ivanovo and Yaroslavl which both sit northeast of Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump following their meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump invited Zelensky to his private club to work on the U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, as the conflict approaches four years since the sudden full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — A top Russian official on Monday issued personal threats against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russia claimed that Ukraine launched a drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residences.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov alleged that Ukraine launched a drone attack on Putin’s state residence in Novgorod region on the night of Dec. 29. Lavrov offered no evidence to support the assertion, which Zelenskyy was quick to dismiss as a Russian disinformation effort.
Dmitry Medvedev — the former Russian president and prime minister now serving on the country’s Security Council — posted to X accusing Zelenskyy of “trying to derail the settlement of the conflict,” referring to the ongoing U.S.-sponsored peace talks.
“He wants war. Well, now at least he’ll have to stay in hiding for the rest of his worthless life,” Medvedev wrote.
In separate posts to Telegram, Medvedev — who, during Moscow’s full-scale war on Ukraine, has become known as a particularly hawkish voice within Putin’s security establishment — even appeared to suggest that Zelenskyy should be “exhibited” in St. Petersburg after his “imminent demise.”
Kiril Dmitriev, the Kremlin aide who also serves as the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and has been closely involved in negotiations with U.S. representatives, also questioned the Ukrainian president’s future.
“Who is after Zelenskyy?” Dmitriev said in a post to X.
The Kremlin said U.S. President Donald Trump was informed of the alleged attack during a Monday phone call with Putin. Russian officials also threatened retaliatory strikes in Ukraine.
Yuri Ushakov, a top aide to Putin, told the state-run Tass news agency that Putin and Trump discussed the issue by phone on Monday, with the U.S. leader expressing his surprise and anger.
Zelenskyy rejected the Russian reports of the supposed Ukrainian drone attack as “yet another lie.”
“Now, with their statement that some residence of theirs was attacked, they are simply preparing — I am sure — preparing the ground, in principle, to launch strikes, probably on the capital and, probably, on state buildings,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post to X on Tuesday that “Russia still hasn’t provided any plausible evidence to its accusations of Ukraine’s alleged ‘attack on Putin’s residence.’ And they won’t. Because there’s none. No such attack happened.”
It is unclear what the latest developments might mean for the ongoing peace talks.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that the alleged Ukrainian attack would prompt a “hardening of the Russian Federation’s negotiating position,” as quoted by the state-run Tass news agency.
“Russia is not withdrawing from the negotiation process,” Peskov added, describing the alleged attack as an effort aimed “at disrupting President Trump’s efforts to promote a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.”
After talks with Zelenskyy — which were preceded and followed by phone calls between Trump and Putin — at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Sunday, Trump told reporters that the negotiating teams are “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to achieving a peace deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion, which Moscow launched in February 2022.
Lavrov said that Russia does not intend to withdraw from the negotiation process following the alleged attack. But the foreign minister said that the “targets and timing of Russia’s retaliatory strike” had “been determined.”
Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday that Russia launched two missiles and 60 drones into the country overnight into Tuesday morning, of which one missile and 52 drones were shot down or suppressed. One missile and eight drones impacted across five locations, the air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that four Ukrainian drones were shot down on Tuesday morning over the southern Krasnodar region.
The operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region reported on Telegram that two people sustained shrapnel injuries caused by drones. Drone wreckage fell on a railway station in the region, the headquarters said.
Rosaviatsiya — Russia’s federal air transport agency — reported temporary flight restrictions at Krasnodar airport.
A large flash is seen in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 13, 2025. (ABC News)
(LONDON) — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran is in a “full-scale” war with the U.S., Israel and Europe, describing the country’s diplomatic situation as “complicated and difficult.”
“In my opinion, we are in a full-scale war with America, Israel, and Europe; they do not want our country to stand on its feet,” Pezeshkian said in a lengthy interview posted to the official website of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
“This war is worse than the war in Iraq with us; if one understands well, this war is much more complicated and difficult,” Pezeshkian added, referring to the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
Pezeshkian said that despite sanctions and foreign pressure, Iran remains steadfast and capable of defending its national interests.
The interview was published ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the U.S., where he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the latter’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Iran is among the topics expected to be under discussion.
The meeting is expected to be on advancing the Gaza peace plan, disarming Hamas, demilitarizing Gaza and the fate of the last hostage still remaining in the Strip, a spokesperson for the Israeli foreign ministry said before the Israeli delegation departed on Sunday for the U.S. The spokesperson added that Netanyahu’s agenda is expected to include the “danger Iran poses” to both the Middle East and United States.
The U.S. and Israel combined to attack Iran in June during a 12-day conflict that killed some 1,100 Iranians and saw strikes against Iran’s key nuclear facilities, its air defense network and prominent military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sites around the country.
Senior military, IRGC and nuclear research personnel were among those killed. Retaliatory missile attacks by Iran killed 28 people in Israel.
In the lead up to and during the June conflict, Netanyahu repeatedly hinted that Israel may pursue a regime change strategy in Iran, seeking to topple the Khamenei-led theocracy there. “This is your opportunity to stand up,” Netanyahu said in an address to Iranians during the war.
Trump even raised the prospect of killing Khamenei in the days before the U.S. joined Israel’s campaign. “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump wrote on social media. “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”
The months since the conflict have seen little progress on a new deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program or cap its ballistic missile arsenal — two goals long expressed by Trump.
Earlier this month, Trump said that Iran “can try” to rebuild its ballistic missile program, but “it’s going to take them a long time to come back.”
“But if they do want to come back without a deal, then we’re going to obliterate that one, too,” Trump said. “You know, we can knock out their missiles very quickly, we have great power.”
Netanyahu will meet with Trump on Monday shortly after Iran conducted a major military exercise involving ballistic missiles. Referring to recent Iranian activity, Netanyahu warned last week that “any action against Israel will be met with a very severe response.”
At home, the Iranian regime faces serious economic challenges as the country’s currency — the rial — edged lower over recent weeks, causing widespread dissatisfaction and protests.
Over the weekend, groups of shop-owners closed their businesses in two large malls in downtown Tehran protesting the rapid drop in the value of the rial.
Pezeshkian was elected to replace late President Ebrahim Raisi — who died in a helicopter crash in 2024 — with the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s presidential election history. He was widely seen as a moderate alternative to hardliners aligned with the IRGC.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) welcomes President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) at his Mar-a-Lago residence for a meeting and closed-door lunch afterwards in Florida, United States on December 28, 2025. (Photo by Ukranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s “peace efforts” after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to the White House on Sunday to discuss a possible peace deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country.
“The whole world appreciates President Trump and his team’s peace efforts,” Dmitriev, who also serves as the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and has been closely involved in negotiations with U.S. representatives, said in a post to X.
Dmitriev also posted criticism of what he called “UK/EU warmongers” for their continued backing of Ukraine, echoing the established Kremlin narrative that seeks to frame U.S. diplomatic efforts as being undermined by NATO and European allies.
Trump and Zelenskyy met at the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
Before the meeting, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. The call was “organized at the initiative of Trump,” Ushakov said, as quoted by Russia’s state-run Tass news agency.
After his meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump told reporters that the negotiating teams are “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to achieving a peace deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion, which Moscow launched in February 2022.
“We had a terrific meeting. We discussed a lot of things. As you know, I had an excellent phone call with President Putin that lasted for over two hours. We discussed a lot of points, and I do think we’re getting a lot closer,” Trump said.
The president said the two leaders covered “95%” of the issues needed to end the war. Trump then detailed a call with European leaders after his bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, indicating that it went well.
The thorniest negotiating issues still appeared unsettled following the White House meeting. Both Trump and Zelenskyy said the question of Ukrainian territorial concessions — specifically regarding the eastern Donbas region — was yet to be agreed upon.
Russia wants Ukrainian forces to withdraw from the entirety of the Donbas — which is formed of Donetsk and Luhansk regions — in exchange for a peace deal. Zelenskyy has instead proposed a “demilitarized zone” covering the area.
Trump also again dismissed the idea of an immediate ceasefire to facilitate subsequent peace negotiations, which Ukraine has repeatedly proposed. Instead, Trump indicated sympathy with Putin’s demand for a full peace deal before any halt to the fighting.
“He feels that look, you know, they’re fighting and to stop and then, if they have to start again, which is a possibility, he doesn’t want to be in that position,” Trump said of Putin. “I understand that position.”
Zelenskyy nonetheless gave a positive readout of his White House visit in subsequent posts to social media.
“Thank you to President Trump and his team for the negotiations,” he wrote on Telegram. “Thank you to the United States for their support. Together, we have and can implement our vision of a series of steps towards peace.”
Zelenskyy described the talks as “a wonderful meeting,” which included “a meaningful discussion on all issues and highly appreciate the progress made by the Ukrainian and American teams over the past few weeks.”
Zelenskyy also thanked presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have been fronting the White House’s recent shuttle diplomacy.
“We discussed all aspects of the peace framework and achieved significant results. We also discussed the sequence of further actions,” Zelenskyy said.
“We agree that security guarantees are key to achieving lasting peace, and our teams will continue to work on all aspects. We agreed that our teams will meet next week to finalize all discussed issues,” he added.
Trump, Zelenskyy said, agreed to host Ukrainian and European leaders in Washington, D.C., in January for further talks. “Ukraine is ready for peace,” Zelenskyy said.
Trump said if things go “really well,” a peace settlement could be reached in “a few weeks.” It’s also possible that a breakthrough never comes.
“But you know, in a few weeks we will know one way or the other,” Trump said, adding, “It’s been a very difficult negotiation.”
On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Putin and Trump will speak over the phone again “in the very near future.” Peskov said the Kremlin did not yet know the outcome of the Sunday talks in Florida, but said Moscow agrees with Trump’s statement that peace is “significantly closer.”
As to a possible call between Putin and Zelenskyy, Peskov said, “There is no talk of such a conversation at this time.”
Responding to questions from journalists while traveling back from Florida on Monday, Zelenskyy gave more details on the ongoing peace talks.
Asked by ABC News whether Ukraine has a plan B, Zelenskyy said, “Ukraine has always had plan A, which is peace.”
“We never wanted war. And in Russia plan A was the war. Therefore, in my opinion, Russia should already think about plan B, about ending the war,” he continued.
Zelenskyy also said he was open to a phone call with Putin, as well as “any options” that can help end the war.
Talks are ongoing as to U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. The current term of the proposed guarantee is 15 years with the possibility of extension, he added. Kyiv is pushing to extend that term to 30 to 40 years, Zelenskyy said.
Kyiv and Moscow continued their exchange of nightly long-range strikes overnight into Monday, though their scale was somewhat muted compared with major attacks in recent days.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 25 drones into the country overnight, of which 21 were shot down or suppressed. Four drones impacted at two locations, the air force said.
Sunday night’s attack was the smallest since the one launched on the night of June 27 to 28, according to air force data analyzed by ABC News.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said it downed at least 112 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Flight restrictions were introduced at airports in Krasnodar, Kaluga and Pskov during the overnight attacks, said Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya.
ABC News’ Natalya Kushnir, Nataliia Popova, Yulia Drozd and Somayeh Malekian contributed to this report.
A private residential building in the Darnytskyi district lies partially destroyed by a Russian drone strike on December 27, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Andrii Khodkov/Apostrophe/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
(KYIV and LONDON) — Russia has carried out one of the biggest attacks on Kyiv in months, using an estimated 500 drones and 40 missiles, including powerful Kinzhal missiles, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The strikes began early Saturday morning and appeared to target power stations and residential area buildings in Kyiv as officials said at least 22 people have been injured, including two children, with 12 being taken to hospital.
In the wider Kyiv oblast, at least one woman has been killed and several apartment buildings were hit as fires broke out and rescue workers looked for people believed to be trapped under the rubble amid the destruction.
More than 2,600 apartment buildings and many schools have lost heating and an estimated 320,000 homes in the region had no electricity.
There were hits on Kyiv’s TPP-5 power plant and on the Bila Tserkva plant, according to officials, in another sign that Russia is attempting to break Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the winter months.
The Ukrainian president said the attack was Russia’s “answer” to peace efforts, calling on Western countries to send more air defense systems.
Zelenskyy told journalists in a WhatsApp chat on Saturday –while already on the plane to the United States for his planned meeting with President Donald Trump — that Ukraine can only move toward peace if there are strong, legal security guarantees from the U.S. and Europe. He said Ukraine has agreed to “many different compromises,” but stressed they only make sense if the country is fully protected the day after a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy said everything depends on keeping allies together. “If the whole world – Europe and America – is on our side, together we will stop Putin,” he said.
Earlier this week, at least seven people were killed and 39 injured in Ukraine after Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of long-range drone strikes Wednesday night into Thursday morning, according to Ukrainian officials.
“Unfortunately, even on Christmas Eve and during Christmas night, the Russian army did not stop its brutal strikes against Ukraine, targeting our energy system and our people. There are brownouts in many of our cities and villages,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
“Russian troops are once again striking the cities of our east, and in Chernihiv, aid was being provided at the very moment of our conversation with the Patriarch to people wounded by a Russian drone that struck an ordinary residential building,” Zelenskyy added.
Tourist boats on the River Thames in London, UK, on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. UK businesses ended 2025 feeling more upbeat about the economy’s prospects after they were spared much of the tax pain at last month’s budget. (Carlos Jasso/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The River Thames winds 215 miles through England, carving out the curves and bends that define much of the geography, including London’s. For centuries, the river has been called “monster soup” and the “dirty old river.”
For thirty years, Lubos Grajciarik, known online as Urban Angler Lou, has stood on its banks with a fishing rod in hand.
“Originally, I came from Slovakia… and I have fished most of my life,” he told ABC News.
He has witnessed firsthand the river’s slow transformation, from Canary Wharf’s rise to the quieter stretches upstream at Richmond and at the weir Teddington Lock.
“Yes, there is improvement,” he said. “Water is still polluted. But it is significantly lower than in previous years.”
Further improvement, and the hope for an even cleaner future, now rests on a monumental infrastructure project beneath London: the £4.5 billion, or about $6 billion, Tideway Tunnel, also known as the “super sewer.” The 25-km tunnel — the largest upgrade to London’s sewers in 150 years — is, according to its designers, intended to intercept overflows and capture waste before it reaches the river.
Four of the tunnel’s 21 gates, which are valves that are designed to stop the waste before it enters the Thames, are operational, with more to open in the coming months.
“The newly completed Tideway Tunnel will reduce the volume of discharges entering the tidal Thames in a typical year by 95%,” said a spokesperson for Thames Water, the company responsible for London’s wastewater.
Optimism from those along the riverbank appears to be supported by science. For more than half a century, the City of London Corporation has collaborated with anglers and ecologists in a citizen science project to track fish populations.
Scientists estimate that more than 100 species now inhabit the Thames, a river once declared biologically dead. In 2024, volunteers caught 122 fish across five species — bass, flounder, eel, pouting and dab.
Grajciarik said his catches reflect that resurgence. “There is a mixture of both species,” he said. “Freshwater pike and perch coexist with occasional mullets, sea bus, sea route.” The Thames, where saltwater meets fresh, has become a rare brackish habitat — alive again, yet still fragile.
But beneath the river’s revival, a darker current still runs.
“In many ways, the Thames is a much healthier ecosystem than it was. Though there are other pressures, like pharmaceuticals, chemicals, [micro]plastics, in the sewage now, against heavy metals several decades ago,” said Dr. Alexander Lipp, an Earth and environmental scientist who created Sewage Map, a platform that tracks sewage overflows in real time.
“Only 6% of the rivers and streams in the Thames basin are classed as in ‘good ecological health’ by the Environment Agency,” a spokesperson for Thames21, an environmental charity working to revive rivers in the Thames Basin, told ABC News. “The primary culprit is physical modifications (straightening, deepening or even paving over rivers), followed by sewage pollution.”
Thames Water saw serious pollution incidents more than double in 2024 — to 33 from 14 a year earlier — according to the Environment Agency’s latest report, which was released before the new “super sewer” began opening. Out of nine water companies assessed, Thames Water alone earned a one-star rating, the lowest possible.
Officials at the Environment Agency — a government agency responsible to protect and improve the environment in the U.K. — attributed the decline in the rating to a mix of factors: unusually wet and stormy weather, years of underinvestment, poor infrastructure maintenance and more rigorous monitoring.
Thames Water said that “all discharges of untreated sewage are unacceptable” in a 2023 statement.
Addressing the low ratings, a company spokesperson said in an emailed response to ABC News, that “in 2024-25, Thames Water also made a record capital investment of £2.225 billion. We know we need to further improve for our customers, community, and the environment, which is why we have embarked on the largest ever investment programme, delivering the biggest upgrade to our network in 150 years.”
Yet those promises are shadowed by debt — nearly £17 billion, or about $22.3 billion, as of March 2025 — amid the growing pressure of climate change. The company said this month that its debt had grown to nearly £20 billion and that it was negotiating with its creditors.
“Any sewage discharged into the Thames negatively affects the river, increasing nutrient loading, bacteria, and plastic pollution,” the Thames21 spokesperson said.
“Climate change is something that’s going to make this worse,” Lipp said. He explained that London’s combined sewage system, where stormwater and wastewater share the same pipes, is easily overwhelmed by heavy rain. With more intense downpours expected, spills will likely become even more frequent.
Still, Lipp noted, “I would say that Thames is better than other companies when it comes to data transparency.”
The company says long-term recovery will take patience. “Transforming Thames is a major programme of work that will take time; it will take at least a decade to achieve the scale of change required,” a spokesperson said.
“I can see the people taking more responsibility for our waters,” said Grajciarik, the fisherman. He often reports oil from nearby boats or sewage spills to the U.K.’s Environment Agency’s hotline number.
But whether the massive investments and new infrastructure will be enough remains uncertain.
Who needs Santa on Christmas when you have a performance from Snoop Dogg?
Snoop entertained fans Thursday with his Holiday Halftime Party, part of Netflix‘s NFL Christmas Day telecast. The performance took place at halftime of the matchup between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings and began with an introduction from Snoop’s longtime friend Martha Stewart, who put her own spin on the classic “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
“I sprung from my bed and said, ‘What is cracking?’ Hailing from the one and only LBC, give it up for Snoop D -O- Double G,” Martha said as she flipped the pages to a book with illustrations of Snoop.
Snoop then emerged dressed in a red suit and coat, performing songs including “The One and Only,” “My Favorite Things” and “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang.” He was backed by an orchestra, a marching band and dancers.
Huntr/x, the trio behind Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters movie, joined Snoop for a pop rendition of “The 12 Days of Christmas” and then Lainey Wilson followed with “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” arriving in a white sleigh. Andrea Bocelli later took the stage with his son Matteo Bocelli to duet on “White Christmas.”
A view of destroyed residential building as search and rescue and firefighting efforts continue after Russian forces carried out airstrikes on the city of Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine on December 24, 2025. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — At least seven people were killed and 39 injured in Ukraine after Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of long-range drone strikes Wednesday night into Thursday morning, according to Ukrainian officials.
Russia launched 131 drones into Ukraine overnight, the air force in Kyiv said, of which 106 were shot down or suppressed. Twenty-two drones impacted across 15 locations, the air force said.
As of Thursday morning, local Ukrainian officials and the air force warned that Russian drones were still in the air.
“Unfortunately, even on Christmas Eve and during Christmas night, the Russian army did not stop its brutal strikes against Ukraine, targeting our energy system and our people. There are brownouts in many of our cities and villages,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
“Today, during the daytime, Russian troops are once again striking the cities of our east, and in Chernihiv, aid was being provided at the very moment of our conversation with the Patriarch to people wounded by a Russian drone that struck an ordinary residential building,” Zelenskyy added.
Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said in a Telegram post that Russia targeted the southern region’s “port and industrial infrastructure,” damaging industrial facilities and killing at least one person. Two other people were injured, Kiper said.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SES) said on Telegram on Thursday that at least one person was also killed and 14 people injured by a series of Russian attacks in the northeastern Kharkiv region over the previous 24 hours.
The SES said that a Russian drone hit a high-rise residential building in Chernihiv, while several energy infrastructure targets in the city were also attacked.
Chernihiv Gov. Viacheslav Chaus said two people were killed by Russian drone attacks in the city. Two more people were injured, Chaus said.
Ukrenergo — Ukraine’s state-owned electricity operator — said on Telegram that Russian attacks had caused power outages in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions. All regions of Ukraine will see power consumption restriction measures enforced throughout Thursday, it added.
Zelenskyy vowed to continue countering Russian aggression “in every way possible,” in a post on X.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram, “Even during the Christmas holidays, Russia continues to launch targeted attacks on Ukrainian logistics, ports and critical infrastructure.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down at least 141 drones overnight, nine of which were destroyed over the Moscow region.
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in posts to Telegram that emergency services were working at the sites of fallen debris.
In the western Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, Gov. Aleksandr Bogomaz said one person was hospitalized after being injured by shrapnel from a drone attack, with an apartment building also destroyed.
In Krasnodar Krai in southern Russia, local officials said the port of Temryuk came under attack, with two tanks holding petroleum products catching fire.
Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, said temporary flight restrictions were introduced at airports in Krasnodar and Yaroslavl during the latest attacks.
Wednesday night’s strikes followed multiple waves of Ukrainian attack drones launched into Russia on Tuesday night and throughout Wednesday, according to the Defense Ministry.
Through Wednesday, the ministry said its forces shot down at least 387 Ukrainian drones — the largest number reported by the ministry in a 24 hour period of the war to date — including more than a dozen over the Moscow region.
