Ukraine offers Russian soldiers a hotline to surrender

Ukraine offers Russian soldiers a hotline to surrender
Ukraine offers Russian soldiers a hotline to surrender
ABC News

(KYIV, Ukraine) — More than a million Russians have called, texted or visited the website of a Ukrainian hotline that allows them to surrender, with many seeking a way to avoid going to war, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, according to the hotline.

The hotline, which is run by the “I Want to Live” project, has received about 200 to 300 daily calls since September, said Vitaliy Matvienko, the project’s spokesperson. Instead of calling, some Russians choose to send encrypted messages via Telegram. Altogether, more than 4,000 people have submitted requests to surrender, he said.

“We saw that there are many Russians who do not want to fight,” Matvienko said. “Their numbers skyrocketed after Putin announced mobilization in Russia, while Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated vast territories in the Kharkiv region in a fulminant counteroffensive.”

Matvienko’s has a face that’s well-known to many Russians, because he acted in a few Russian TV series before the war. That’s why he was offered the role of spokesman of the “I Want to Live” project. Ukrainian officials said Russians who are considering crossing the frontline might want to see someone familiar they can trust on the other side.

The hotline is now functioning in a secure secret facility which many officials and military staffers aren’t allowed to enter. The operators use only computers, headphones and special software to accept and record the calls.

“Many of those who call are scared, they want to know whether this project is real and how it is possible for a Russian soldier to escape from the army. There were some prank calls, but most are real” said Oksana, one of the employees receiving calls on the hotline, whose name has been changed for security reasons.

ABC News reviewed a recording of one of Oksana’s calls, which came from a woman in occupied Crimea.

The woman sounds like she’s almost in tears as she says her son received a summons to the army at a police checkpoint. The woman asks what she could do. The operator’s advice was to call the hotline once her son was in Ukraine controlled territory. Then they could assess whether he might be able to surrender.

Ukrainian authorities have not fully disclosed the details of the surrender procedure, as well as the number of Russians who have actually surrendered, but some offered ABC News a glimpse of how it works.

People first call the numbers mentioned on the project’s website or text a chatbot. The operators record people’s personal info, then pass it to the relevant state bodies and special military units. Later, the operator gives instructions to a potential defector — where he or she should come and what to do upon arrival.

At the agreed-upon time, the soldier has to come to the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ positions and establish visual contact with a drone, which will show the safe passage route.

The Russians who follow the surrender rules are legally considered prisoners of war, Ukrainian authorities said. That status guarantees they are treated according to the Geneva conventions and they can receive necessary medical treatment and food. They can also call their relatives.

“Now it’s just a routine job for me, but the first hundred of calls were tough for me, because as a patriot of Ukraine I hate those who reached out,” Oksana said.

Among those callers were Ukrainian citizens who betrayed their country and fought on the Russian side, she said.

The hotline has also fielded calls from people with “passports” from the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics, ordinary Russians who were recently called up to fight and senior commanders who do not see their future in Russia, Matvienko said.

High-level military personnel are treated as a priority, as they may possess valuable intelligence.

Sergiy Kuzan, head of the Ukrainian center for security and cooperation, said each case is evaluated differently, taking into account the individual’s age, origin and military experience. The project also evaluates people based on the region where they’re surrendering, on their education level and how the person was captured, if they were.

“There were cases when a person was really so ‘zombified’ by Russian television that they really believed in the junta, in Nazism in Kyiv,” Kuzan said. “That is, there are clinical cases I would say. For such people we turn on our television, let them read our newspapers, and then people need a little time to realize what is actually going on.”

Leaders of the project said they expect to continue expanding, with plans for a separate program in Ukraine and abroad for members of Russia’s officer corps who are seeking to surrender.

Ukrainian officials said they’re busy putting together a new program for high-level defectors, some of whom will be given new identifies and backgrounds. That programs will be implemented on a case-by-case basis, officials said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Prince Harry says he wants his father and brother back in new interview

Prince Harry says he wants his father and brother back in new interview
Prince Harry says he wants his father and brother back in new interview
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

(LONDON) — Prince Harry says he wants “a family, not an institution” and wants to get his father and brother back in a new interview ahead of the release of his memoir titled Spare.

In a promo clip for Harry’s interview with Britian’s ITV News network, the duke of Sussex, 38, said “it never needed to be this way,” “I want a family, not an institution,” and “I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back.” Only Harry’s answers, and no questions, are heard.

The memoir’s title, Spare, appears to be a nod to Harry’s birth order. Harry is fifth in line to the throne, behind his brother, Prince William, and William’s three children.

In the same edited ITV clip, Harry also said, “they feel as though it’s better to keep us somehow as the villains,” and “they’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile.”

The highly anticipated memoir will be released on Jan. 10, just weeks after Prince Harry and Meghan’s closely followed docuseries aired and broke records as Netflix’s biggest documentary debut ever, according to the streaming service.

The six-part series, titled Harry & Meghan, made headlines about Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down from their senior royal roles in 2020, with Harry alleging “institutional gaslighting” and Meghan saying she was “being fed to the wolves.”

“To see this institutional gaslighting that happens, it is extraordinary,” Harry said in the docuseries. “And that’s why everything that’s happened to us was always going to happen to us, because if you speak truth to power, that’s how they respond.”

Following their exit, Harry and Meghan settled in California, where they now live with their two young children and run a foundation and a production company, which helped produce the Netflix series.

What we know about Harry’s memoir so far

When Harry’s book was first announced, the duke of Sussex said it would be a “firsthand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful.”

The publisher said the book contains “raw, unflinching honesty” and described it as a “landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.”

Harry last appeared publicly with his brother and family members in England in September, when he and Meghan attended funeral services for Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The Sussexes’ time in England during the mourning period for the queen marked the first time they both publicly appeared with members of the royal family in more than two years.

It is not known whether the tone or contents of Harry’s memoir changed after the death of the queen, with whom Harry had appeared to maintain a close relationship with despite tensions with his father, King Charles, and brother.

When the book was announced, Harry said he would be writing his memoir as “the man I have become.”

“I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become,” he said in a statement at the time. “I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story — the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned — I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia says 63 killed in Ukrainian missile strike

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia says 63 killed in Ukrainian missile strike
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia says 63 killed in Ukrainian missile strike
SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — More than 10 months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.

Putin’s forces in November pulled out of key positions, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Jan 02, 10:32 AM EST
Russia says 63 killed in missile strike by Ukraine

Russia’s Defense Ministry has said 63 people were killed by a Ukrainian missile strike in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region.

According to the ministry, Ukraine launched launched six HIMARS missiles, provided by the U.S., at a building in the town of Makiivka, four of which hit the target.

“Families and friends of these servicemen will be fully assisted and supported,” the ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine claimed hundreds of Russians were killed in the attack.

Neither side’s claims could be independently verified.

Dec 31, 8:14 AM EST
1 dead, 7 injured after Russia launches missile strike against Kyiv

At least one person has been killed and seven people have been injured after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Kyiv on New Year’s Eve.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported destruction across several districts with a luxury hotel, a bridge and police stations among the locations impacted.

It’s currently unclear how many locations have been destroyed as a result of direct hits and how many were from falling debris from intercepted rockets.

New Year’s Eve is one of Ukraine’s biggest holidays.

Dec 30, 10:28 AM EST
Putin expects China’s Xi to make state visit in spring

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he’s expecting Chinese President Xi Jinping to make a state visit to Russia in the spring of 2023.

Putin said he’s looking to deepen military cooperation between the two nations.

Putin said the visit would “demonstrate to the world the closeness of Russian-Chinese relations.”

Dec 29, 5:08 PM EST
Zelenskyy praises Air Force for ‘repelling’ Russian missile barrage

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is praising his country’s air defense, saying it “successfully repelled” a barrage of Russian missiles fired at Kyiv and other targets early Thursday.

Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian Air Force shot down 54 missiles and 11 attack drones.

“Our warriors all over Ukraine distinguished themselves and I thank all our Air Commands: Center, South, East and West,” Zelenskyy said.

He specifically cited the efforts of the 96th Kyiv, 160th Odesa and the 208th Kherson anti-aircraft missile brigades, saying their “results are the best today.”

Zelenskyy said several Russian missiles evaded Ukraine’s air defense and hit several infrastructure targets.

“Our power engineers and repair crews are doing everything to make Ukrainians feel the consequences of the terrorists’ strike as little as possible,” Zelenskyy said.

As of Thursday evening, he said there were power outages in most regions of Ukraine, including the capital city Kyiv as well as the Lviv, Odesa, Kherson, Vinnytsia and Zakarpattia regions.

“But this is nothing compared to what could have happened, if it was not for our heroic anti-aircraft troops and air defense,” Zelenskyy said.

Dec 29, 11:40 AM EST
Ukrainian missile shot down in Belarus: Defense ministry

Belarus’ defense ministry said its air defenses had downed a Ukrainian S-300 missile in a field on Thursday morning during one of Russia’s largest missile attacks against Ukraine since the start of the war.

The military commissar of the Brest region, Oleg Konovalov, played down the incident in a video message posted on social media by the state-run BelTA news agency, saying local residents had “absolutely nothing to worry about.”

“Unfortunately, these things happen,” Konovalov said.

He compared the incident to one in November when an S-300 believed to have strayed after being fired by Ukrainian air defenses landed in NATO member country Poland, and initial fears of an escalation in the war were rapidly defused.

Konovalov said the Ukrainian missile was shot down by the air defense forces around 10 a.m. local time Thursday. Fragments of the downed missile were found near the village of Gorbakha in the Brest region.

-ABC News’ William Gretsky

Dec 29, 10:32 AM EST
Russia continues ‘escalating’ missile campaign, US Embassy says

Moscow has been “cruelly” targeting Ukrainian civilians by launching attacks against utilities during the winter, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said on Thursday.

The rebuke came as Russia fired missiles at cities throughout the country on Thursday. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said 69 missiles were launched, fewer than the 100 missiles that officials had estimated earlier in the morning. Officials said 54 missiles were intercepted.

Two civilians were killed as a result of shelling in the Kharkiv area, according to the region’s governor.

“The Kremlin continues its escalating campaign of missile attacks, cruelly wielding cold & dark against” Ukrainians, U.S. Embassy officials said on Twitter. “Families are again hunkering down as critical infrastructure & other targets across the country are attacked.”

Air raid sirens started wailing before 6 a.m. local time across Ukraine, sending residents scrambling into underground shelters in several cities. Missiles landed in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv and Zhtomyr.

Ukraine’s defense systems intercepted some missiles, including 16 that were shot down near Kyiv, the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Two homes in Kyiv were damaged by falling debris and three people were injured, he said.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said Russia had been “saving one of the most massive missile attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion for the last days of the year.”

“They dream that Ukrainians will celebrate the New Year in darkness and cold,” officials said. “But they cannot defeat the Ukrainian people.”

-ABC News’ Britt Clennett and Joe Simonetti

Dec 29, 2:29 AM EST
More than 100 Russian missiles fired at Ukraine

Russian forces early on Thursday launched a missile strike on Ukraine.

More than 100 rockets were fired in several waves, Oleksiy Arestovych, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Twitter. Some rockets were reportedly fired from carriers in the sea, while others were reportedly fired by at least a dozen fighter aircraft.

Another presidential advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that more than 120 missiles had been launched “by the ‘evil Russian world’ to destroy critical infrastructure & kill civilians en masse.”

At least one loud explosion was heard in Kyiv, where air raid sirens were ringing for several hours on Thursday morning.

Dec 28, 1:58 PM EST
Kremlin rejects Ukraine’s Feburary ‘peace summit’

Russia has rejected a proposal from Ukraine to hold a “peace summit” in February, according to a Kremlin official.

“There is no ‘peace plan’ for Ukraine for now, that’s for starters,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wenderday. “Besides, there can be no ‘peace plan’ for Ukraine, which disregards today’s realities on Russian territory, the entry of new regions, four of them, into Russia.”

Peskov was apparently referring to recent Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia, including one this week at the Engels Air Force Base in southern Russia that killed three Russian soldiers.

-ABC News’ William Gretsky

Dec 27, 1:13 PM EST
Putin bans sending Russian oil to countries imposing a price cap

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Tuesday that not only rejects a price cap on the country’s oil but bans sending crude and other petroleum products to any country that has endorsed the price cap.

The Group of Seven countries, including the United States, agreed on Dec. 3 to impose a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Australia and the European Union also agreed to impose the price cap.

The decree Putin signed goes into effect on Feb. 1 and is valid until July 1, 2023.

The decree bans the supply of oil and oil products from Russia to those countries that place a price ceiling on contracts. The decree also forbids the supply of oil to other foreign buyers whose contracts use a price cap mechanism.

The decree includes a clause allowing Putin to overrule the ban in special cases to be determined by the Russian leader.

The price cap on Russian oil implemented by G-7 nations disallows the world’s second-largest oil exporter from selling crude at a price above $60 per barrel.

Since the outset of its war with Ukraine, Russia has sold its oil at discounted prices. As of Tuesday, Russian Urals crude was trading at $57 per barrel — an amount slightly less than the cap. But the price cap aims to ensure that Russian oil sales remain well below global oil prices, which stand at about $80 per barrel.

-ABC News’ William Gretsky

Dec 26, 7:40 AM EST
Ukraine strikes bomber base in Russia, killing three

A Ukrainian drone attack on the Engels Air Force Base in southern Russia killed three, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said.

A spokesman for Ukrainian Air Force confirmed the attack, saying, “If the Russians thought the war would not touch them they were wrong.”

Russian air defence reportedly shot down a Ukrainian drone flying at low altitude, but falling debris caused the casualties in the overnight attack.

The Engels base lies just over 300 miles northeast of Ukraine’s border with Russia. The facility has been repeatedly used by Russia to carry out missile strikes on targets in Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces had attacked another Russian air base on Dec. 5, killing three and damaging two strategic bombers.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95

Pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95
Pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95
Marco Secchi/Getty Images

(ROME) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has died at his home in the Vatican at 95, Vatican officials announced.

“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. Further information will be provided as soon as possible,” said the Director of the Holy See press office Matteo Bruni’s statement.

The Vatican press office has said that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican from Monday through Wednesday for the faithful to pay their respects.

His funeral is scheduled for Thursday at 9:30 a.m. local time in St. Peter’s Square on the parvis of St. Peter’s Basilica and will be presided over by Pope Francis, the Vatican press office said. Following the funeral mass, his coffin will be taken to the Vatican Grottoes, located below St. Peter’s Basilica, for burial.

After his surprise resignation in February 2013 at the age of 85, Benedict was only known to have left the tiny sovereign state briefly and was rarely seen in public.

Election and papacy

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was named the 265th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on April 19, 2005, at the age of 78, and chose the name of Benedict XVI. He was the first German pope in several centuries, the second consecutive non-Italian pope and the oldest pope elected since Clement XII in 1730, according to church records.

He was elected in four ballots, which is considered relatively quick for the Church.

During his nearly eight years as pope, the Catholic Church was the subject of several major scandals. A growing number of sexual abuse cases involving the clergy was perhaps the most damaging and revealed a repeat-pattern of how the church had dealt with these cases in the past; leaving the abusers and their superiors, who covered up for them, to go unpunished by law enforcement.

Some Vatican watchers considered the revelations to be the greatest crisis the church has faced since the Reformation. First as cardinal in his doctrinal post in the Vatican and later as Pope, Benedict acted to develop a unified church response to stop this increasingly public clerical sex abuse crisis.

Benedict reiterated the Church’s traditional conservative positions on important doctrinal issues like abortion, contraception, homosexuality, euthanasia and the priesthood.

He angered some Muslims with his 2006 speech in Regensburg, Germany, which was interpreted by some as anti-Islam. Afterwards, he worked to build more bridges between the two faiths.

Many Catholics loved and respected him until his death. His successor, Pope Francis, frequently spoke fondly of him and during his trip to Malta in April 2022 described him as a “prophet” for predicting that the Catholic church of the future would become “smaller” but more “spiritual, poorer and less political.”

Benedict’s snow-white hair, soft-spoken manner and love for cats and classical music — especially piano — helped endear him to many.

Although his papacy was relatively brief, Pope Benedict XVI made 24 foreign trips visiting every habitable continent. His first visit was in August 2005 to Cologne, in his native Germany, for the Church’s 20th World Youth Day. He made a trip to the U.S. in 2008, during which he delivered a speech to the U.N. General Assembly.

A prolific writer throughout his life, he penned speeches, encyclicals, exhortations and a three-book biography, “Jesus of Nazareth,” while pope.

He beatified 322 people and canonized 45, including two Americans: Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint, and Marianne Cope, who spent the last 30 years of her life ministering to the sick on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.

Bavarian boyhood and WWII

Joseph Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn, part of Germany’s southern region, on April 16, 1927. His father was a policeman and his mother was a former cook. He had a brother and sister.

He followed his older brother, Georg, into the seminary in 1939 at the age of 12, per his autobiography. When he was 14, Ratzinger was enrolled in Hitler’s Nazi youth movement; at the time, membership was compulsory. In 1943 he was drafted into a Nazi anti-aircraft unit, but his unit never saw combat.

At the end of WWII, in April 1945, he deserted and returned home. He was sent to a U.S. prisoner of war camp in May 1945, as a former soldier, but was released after a few months.

Following the war, which ended when he was 18, the two brothers returned to the seminary. Joseph and Georg were ordained priests and celebrated their first mass on June 29, 1951.

Before becoming pope

After being ordained, Ratzinger pursued a successful university career teaching a dogmatic and fundamental theology at a number of German universities. In 1977, Ratzinger was appointed archbishop of Munich and Freising. Three months later, he was elevated to cardinal by Pope Paul VI.

Three years after his election, Pope John Paul II called Cardinal Ratzinger to Rome to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, in charge of all the Church’s doctrinal matters.

As John Paul II’s health declined, Ratzinger took on a more important role at the Vatican and in 2002, he became dean of the College of Cardinals. As dean, he had an important role in the period between the death of John Paul II and the election of the new pope, which included summoning the conclave to elect the new pope.

His long service to Pope John Paul II in the Vatican meant he was known and respected by most of the cardinals who elected him. His stature grew after he presided over John Paul’s funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square.

Electing Benedict, the cardinals hoped he would clean up the church — which was still in the throes of the clerical sex abuse scandals — because of his deep knowledge of its workings after twenty-four years at his job at the Vatican, alongside his predecessor.

Retirement

Pope Benedict’s surprise retirement announcement was delivered in Latin to a roomful of cardinals in the Vatican on Feb. 11, 2013. With his retirement, many Vatican watchers suddenly saw him in a modern and revolutionary light, no longer a “conservative,” which is how he had been mostly labeled throughout his pontificate.

He was succeeded by Pope Francis, from Argentina, who was elected on March 13, 2013.

Only six other popes are believed to have resigned in 2,000 years of church history; the more recent was Gregory XII in 1415. Some speculated that scandals had led Benedict to resign, but he said in a 2016 interview it was his “duty” because his health was declining and he couldn’t keep up with the travel demanded in the job.

Although frail in his later years, Benedict continued to write, read, pray and take walks in the Vatican gardens, according to Vatican officials. He also had occasional visits from Pope Francis, cardinals, his brother and friends.

In 2020, at the age of 93, when already frail, Benedict returned to Bavaria, Germany for four days to visit Georg, who was seriously ill, and with whom he had been very close throughout his life. It was the first time since his resignation, more than seven years earlier, that Benedict was known to have left his residence at the Vatican — and Italy.

In 2022, the infirm, retired pope asked forgiveness in a written statement for any “grievous faults” in his past handling of sex abuse cases in the church but denied any personal or specific wrongdoing. He was responding to a German independent report on clerical sex abuse, issued in January of the same year, which had criticized how Benedict had dealt with four cases while he was archbishop of Munich, Germany from 1977 to 1982.

Victim groups and some experts said the report’s findings had tarnished the former pope’s legacy as one of the most renowned Catholic theologians, while other conservative supporters, critical of the present pope’s style, defended his actions.

Giovanna Chirri, the Vatican reporter, who scored a worldwide scoop as she immediately understood the Latin of Benedict’s surprise announcement, told ABC News “he was not very understood as pope and was a victim of rather radicalized prejudices which made him disliked by many.”

However, she added, “people’s perception of him changed with his resignation and his symbolic and dramatic temporary departure by helicopter from the Vatican on Feb. 28, 2013, the day of his resignation.”

The scene was broadcast live to millions around the world.

ABC News’ Bianca Seidman and Alexandra Svokos contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia launches missile attack on New Year’s Eve

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia says 63 killed in Ukrainian missile strike
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia says 63 killed in Ukrainian missile strike
SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — More than 10 months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.

Putin’s forces in November pulled out of key positions, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Dec 31, 8:14 AM EST
1 dead, 7 injured after Russia launches missile strike against Kyiv

At least one person has been killed and seven people have been injured after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Kyiv on New Year’s Eve.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported destruction across several districts with a luxury hotel, a bridge and police stations among the locations impacted.

It’s currently unclear how many locations have been destroyed as a result of direct hits and how many were from falling debris from intercepted rockets.

New Year’s Eve is one of Ukraine’s biggest holidays.

Dec 30, 10:28 AM EST
Putin expects China’s Xi to make state visit in spring

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he’s expecting Chinese President Xi Jinping to make a state visit to Russia in the spring of 2023.

Putin said he’s looking to deepen military cooperation between the two nations.

Putin said the visit would “demonstrate to the world the closeness of Russian-Chinese relations.”

Dec 29, 5:08 PM EST
Zelenskyy praises Air Force for ‘repelling’ Russian missile barrage

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is praising his country’s air defense, saying it “successfully repelled” a barrage of Russian missiles fired at Kyiv and other targets early Thursday.

Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian Air Force shot down 54 missiles and 11 attack drones.

“Our warriors all over Ukraine distinguished themselves and I thank all our Air Commands: Center, South, East and West,” Zelenskyy said.

He specifically cited the efforts of the 96th Kyiv, 160th Odesa and the 208th Kherson anti-aircraft missile brigades, saying their “results are the best today.”

Zelenskyy said several Russian missiles evaded Ukraine’s air defense and hit several infrastructure targets.

“Our power engineers and repair crews are doing everything to make Ukrainians feel the consequences of the terrorists’ strike as little as possible,” Zelenskyy said.

As of Thursday evening, he said there were power outages in most regions of Ukraine, including the capital city Kyiv as well as the Lviv, Odesa, Kherson, Vinnytsia and Zakarpattia regions.

“But this is nothing compared to what could have happened, if it was not for our heroic anti-aircraft troops and air defense,” Zelenskyy said.

Dec 29, 11:40 AM EST
Ukrainian missile shot down in Belarus: Defense ministry

Belarus’ defense ministry said its air defenses had downed a Ukrainian S-300 missile in a field on Thursday morning during one of Russia’s largest missile attacks against Ukraine since the start of the war.

The military commissar of the Brest region, Oleg Konovalov, played down the incident in a video message posted on social media by the state-run BelTA news agency, saying local residents had “absolutely nothing to worry about.”

“Unfortunately, these things happen,” Konovalov said.

He compared the incident to one in November when an S-300 believed to have strayed after being fired by Ukrainian air defenses landed in NATO member country Poland, and initial fears of an escalation in the war were rapidly defused.

Konovalov said the Ukrainian missile was shot down by the air defense forces around 10 a.m. local time Thursday. Fragments of the downed missile were found near the village of Gorbakha in the Brest region.

-ABC News’ William Gretsky

Dec 29, 10:32 AM EST
Russia continues ‘escalating’ missile campaign, US Embassy says

Moscow has been “cruelly” targeting Ukrainian civilians by launching attacks against utilities during the winter, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said on Thursday.

The rebuke came as Russia fired missiles at cities throughout the country on Thursday. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said 69 missiles were launched, fewer than the 100 missiles that officials had estimated earlier in the morning. Officials said 54 missiles were intercepted.

Two civilians were killed as a result of shelling in the Kharkiv area, according to the region’s governor.

“The Kremlin continues its escalating campaign of missile attacks, cruelly wielding cold & dark against” Ukrainians, U.S. Embassy officials said on Twitter. “Families are again hunkering down as critical infrastructure & other targets across the country are attacked.”

Air raid sirens started wailing before 6 a.m. local time across Ukraine, sending residents scrambling into underground shelters in several cities. Missiles landed in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv and Zhtomyr.

Ukraine’s defense systems intercepted some missiles, including 16 that were shot down near Kyiv, the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Two homes in Kyiv were damaged by falling debris and three people were injured, he said.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said Russia had been “saving one of the most massive missile attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion for the last days of the year.”

“They dream that Ukrainians will celebrate the New Year in darkness and cold,” officials said. “But they cannot defeat the Ukrainian people.”

-ABC News’ Britt Clennett and Joe Simonetti

Dec 29, 2:29 AM EST
More than 100 Russian missiles fired at Ukraine

Russian forces early on Thursday launched a missile strike on Ukraine.

More than 100 rockets were fired in several waves, Oleksiy Arestovych, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Twitter. Some rockets were reportedly fired from carriers in the sea, while others were reportedly fired by at least a dozen fighter aircraft.

Another presidential advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that more than 120 missiles had been launched “by the ‘evil Russian world’ to destroy critical infrastructure & kill civilians en masse.”

At least one loud explosion was heard in Kyiv, where air raid sirens were ringing for several hours on Thursday morning.

Dec 28, 1:58 PM EST
Kremlin rejects Ukraine’s Feburary ‘peace summit’

Russia has rejected a proposal from Ukraine to hold a “peace summit” in February, according to a Kremlin official.

“There is no ‘peace plan’ for Ukraine for now, that’s for starters,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wenderday. “Besides, there can be no ‘peace plan’ for Ukraine, which disregards today’s realities on Russian territory, the entry of new regions, four of them, into Russia.”

Peskov was apparently referring to recent Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia, including one this week at the Engels Air Force Base in southern Russia that killed three Russian soldiers.

-ABC News’ William Gretsky

Dec 27, 1:13 PM EST
Putin bans sending Russian oil to countries imposing a price cap

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Tuesday that not only rejects a price cap on the country’s oil but bans sending crude and other petroleum products to any country that has endorsed the price cap.

The Group of Seven countries, including the United States, agreed on Dec. 3 to impose a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Australia and the European Union also agreed to impose the price cap.

The decree Putin signed goes into effect on Feb. 1 and is valid until July 1, 2023.

The decree bans the supply of oil and oil products from Russia to those countries that place a price ceiling on contracts. The decree also forbids the supply of oil to other foreign buyers whose contracts use a price cap mechanism.

The decree includes a clause allowing Putin to overrule the ban in special cases to be determined by the Russian leader.

The price cap on Russian oil implemented by G-7 nations disallows the world’s second-largest oil exporter from selling crude at a price above $60 per barrel.

Since the outset of its war with Ukraine, Russia has sold its oil at discounted prices. As of Tuesday, Russian Urals crude was trading at $57 per barrel — an amount slightly less than the cap. But the price cap aims to ensure that Russian oil sales remain well below global oil prices, which stand at about $80 per barrel.

-ABC News’ William Gretsky

Dec 26, 7:40 AM EST
Ukraine strikes bomber base in Russia, killing three

A Ukrainian drone attack on the Engels Air Force Base in southern Russia killed three, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said.

A spokesman for Ukrainian Air Force confirmed the attack, saying, “If the Russians thought the war would not touch them they were wrong.”

Russian air defence reportedly shot down a Ukrainian drone flying at low altitude, but falling debris caused the casualties in the overnight attack.

The Engels base lies just over 300 miles northeast of Ukraine’s border with Russia. The facility has been repeatedly used by Russia to carry out missile strikes on targets in Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces had attacked another Russian air base on Dec. 5, killing three and damaging two strategic bombers.

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Andrew Tate to be detained in Romania for 30 days on human trafficking, rape charges

Andrew Tate to be detained in Romania for 30 days on human trafficking, rape charges
Andrew Tate to be detained in Romania for 30 days on human trafficking, rape charges
omersukrugoksu/Getty Images/STOCK

(BUCHAREST, Romania) — Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate will be detained in Romania for 30 days on charges of human trafficking and rape, officials said.

Tate, his brother Tristan Tate and two Romanian women were put in 30-day, pre-trial detention in Bucharest on Friday, according to Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, or DIICOT.

The suspects have already appealed the court’s decision, which will be heard on Jan. 5, 2023, she said.

The extended detainment follows raids on the four suspects’ Romanian properties on Thursday. They were initially detained for 24 hours on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group, though prosecutors asked a Bucharest court to extend their detention amid the ongoing investigation, Bolla said.

DIICOT said it has identified six women — one American, two Moldovan and three Romanian citizens — who were allegedly sexually exploited by the organized criminal group.

Andrew Tate’s lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, told reporters Friday that the court would make a final decision after considering the appeal. From the defense’s perspective there were “no grounds” for the order, which he said was the most drastic preventative measure possible.

Prosecutors said the Tate brothers, who are British citizens, have been under criminal investigation since April.

A former professional kickboxer, Andrew Tate first came into the public eye when he was ejected from the U.K. reality show Big Brother in 2016.

The 36-year-old gained notoriety for misogynistic comments and hate speech and was banned from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok in August following backlash over his comments about women.

He was banned from Twitter in 2017 after reportedly saying that victims of sexual assault must “bear some responsibility” in response to the rise of the #MeToo movement, though was recently allowed back on the platform.

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Pope Emeritus Benedict’s ‘condition remains serious,’ Vatican says

Pope Emeritus Benedict’s ‘condition remains serious,’ Vatican says
Pope Emeritus Benedict’s ‘condition remains serious,’ Vatican says
Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

(ROME) — A day after news emerged that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s health had worsened within a few hours, a Vatican official updated Thursday that he “is absolutely lucid and alert.”

“Although his condition remains serious, the situation at the moment is stable,” Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni told reporters.

The Vatican also renewed a call to pray for the former pope from the current pope.

On Wednesday, Bruni said “the situation at the moment remains under control and is constantly followed by doctors,” adding that he could “confirm that in the last few hours there has been an worsening of his condition due to advancing age.”

The comments came after Pope Francis asked for prayers in his morning audience for Benedict, who is 95.

“I ask to all of you a special prayer for the Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the church,” the pope said.

Francis visited his predecessor, who resigned in 2013, in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery later in the day, Bruni said Wednesday.

“We join him in praying for the Pope Emeritus,” Bruni said.

The Vatican last released video footage of Benedict in August, when the newest cardinals visited with him as part of a tradition that’s been ongoing since Francis became pope.

Benedict’s condition reportedly had worsened in the days before Christmas, according to Italian news agency ANSA, which cited “qualified sources.” ANSA reported Benedict had begun to suffer from “respiratory problems” in the days before the holiday.

Benedict spent Christmas at his residence in the Vatican at the former Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, where a Christmas mass was celebrated for him in the little chapel in his home, ANSA reported.

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Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukraine targeted by dozens of Russian missiles

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia says 63 killed in Ukrainian missile strike
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia says 63 killed in Ukrainian missile strike
SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — More than nine months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.

Putin’s forces in November pulled out of key positions, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Dec 29, 6:04 AM EST
Russia continues ‘escalating’ missile campaign, US Embassy says

Moscow has been “cruelly wielding cold & dark against” Ukrainian civilians by targeting cities in winter, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said on Thursday.

The rebuke came as Russia fired missiles at cities throughout the country on Thursday. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said 69 missiles were launched, fewer than the 100 missiles that officials had estimated earlier in the morning. Officials said 54 missiles were intercepted.

“The Kremlin continues its escalating campaign of missile attacks, cruelly wielding cold & dark against” Ukrainians, U.S. Embassy officials said on Twitter. “Families are again hunkering down as critical infrastructure & other targets across the country are attacked.”

Air raid sirens started wailing before 6 a.m. local time across Ukraine, sending residents scrambling into underground shelters in several cities. Missiles landed in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv and Zhtomyr.

Ukraine’s defense systems intercepted some missiles, including 16 that were shot down near Kyiv, the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Two homes in Kyiv were damaged by falling debris and three people were injured, he said.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said Russia had been “saving one of the most massive missile attacks since the beginning of the full-scale invasion for the last days of the year.”

“They dream that Ukrainians will celebrate the New Year in darkness and cold,” officials said.

Dec 29, 2:29 AM EST
More than 100 Russian missiles fired at Ukraine

Russian forces early on Thursday launched a missile strike on Ukraine.

More than 100 rockets were fired in several waves, Oleksiy Arestovych, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Twitter. Some rockets were reportedly fired from carriers in the sea, while others were reportedly fired by at least a dozen fighter aircraft.

Another presidential advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter that more than 120 missiles had been launched “by the ‘evil Russian world’ to destroy critical infrastructure & kill civilians en masse.”

At least one loud explosion was heard in Kyiv, where air raid sirens were ringing for several hours on Thursday morning.

Dec 28, 1:58 PM EST
Kremlin rejects Ukraine’s Feburary ‘peace summit’

Russia has rejected a proposal from Ukraine to hold a “peace summit” in February, according to a Kremlin official.

“There is no ‘peace plan’ for Ukraine for now, that’s for starters,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wenderday. “Besides, there can be no ‘peace plan’ for Ukraine, which disregards today’s realities on Russian territory, the entry of new regions, four of them, into Russia.”

Peskov was apparently referring to recent Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia, including one this week at the Engels Air Force Base in southern Russia that killed three Russian soldiers.

-ABC News’ William Gretsky

Dec 27, 1:13 PM EST
Putin bans sending Russian oil to countries imposing a price cap

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Tuesday that not only rejects a price cap on the country’s oil but bans sending crude and other petroleum products to any country that has endorsed the price cap.

The Group of Seven countries, including the United States, agreed on Dec. 3 to impose a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil in response to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Australia and the European Union also agreed to impose the price cap.

The decree Putin signed goes into effect on Feb. 1 and is valid until July 1, 2023.

The decree bans the supply of oil and oil products from Russia to those countries that place a price ceiling on contracts. The decree also forbids the supply of oil to other foreign buyers whose contracts use a price cap mechanism.

The decree includes a clause allowing Putin to overrule the ban in special cases to be determined by the Russian leader.

The price cap on Russian oil implemented by G-7 nations disallows the world’s second-largest oil exporter from selling crude at a price above $60 per barrel.

Since the outset of its war with Ukraine, Russia has sold its oil at discounted prices. As of Tuesday, Russian Urals crude was trading at $57 per barrel — an amount slightly less than the cap. But the price cap aims to ensure that Russian oil sales remain well below global oil prices, which stand at about $80 per barrel.

-ABC News’ William Gretsky

Dec 26, 7:40 AM EST
Ukraine strikes bomber base in Russia, killing three

A Ukrainian drone attack on the Engels Air Force Base in southern Russia killed three, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said.

A spokesman for Ukrainian Air Force confirmed the attack, saying, “If the Russians thought the war would not touch them they were wrong.”

Russian air defence reportedly shot down a Ukrainian drone flying at low altitude, but falling debris caused the casualties in the overnight attack.

The Engels base lies just over 300 miles northeast of Ukraine’s border with Russia. The facility has been repeatedly used by Russia to carry out missile strikes on targets in Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces had attacked another Russian air base on Dec. 5, killing three and damaging two strategic bombers.

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People flying from China will need negative COVID test to enter US

People flying from China will need negative COVID test to enter US
People flying from China will need negative COVID test to enter US
Matt Anderson Photography/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Starting Jan. 5, people flying from China will need a negative COVID-19 test within two days of their departure in order to enter the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

The newly announced restrictions come amid what the CDC called a “surge” in cases of COVID-19 in China as well as a “lack of adequate and transparent” data being reported by the Chinese government.

Given this, the CDC highlighted concerns about being unable to monitor newly emerging variants of the virus.

“CDC will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our approach as necessary,” the agency said.

The new restrictions, which take effect after midnight on Jan. 5, apply to every airline passenger 2 years or older regardless of vaccination status, according to the CDC.

Passengers will need a negative test, such as a PCR or antigen test, no more than two days before they leave China, Hong Kong or Macau.

People who recently recovered from COVID-19 may also show that documentation instead of a negative test result, the CDC said.

These restrictions apply to direct flights from China to the U.S. as well as those that stop in Incheon International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport en route to the U.S.

Those hubs were singled out because, together with direct flights, they cover the “overwhelming majority” of people flying out of China to the U.S., the CDC said.

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Pope Emeritus Benedict’s health worsens, Vatican says

Pope Emeritus Benedict’s ‘condition remains serious,’ Vatican says
Pope Emeritus Benedict’s ‘condition remains serious,’ Vatican says
Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

(ROME) — The health of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has worsened in the last few hours, a Vatican official said on Wednesday.

“The situation at the moment remains under control and is constantly followed by doctors,” Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni told reporters, adding that he could “confirm that in the last few hours there has been an worsening of his condition due to advancing age.”

The comments came after Pope Francis asked for prayers in his morning audience for Benedict, who is 95.

“I ask to all of you a special prayer for the Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the church,” the pope said.

Francis visited his predecessor, who resigned in 2013, in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery later in the day, Bruni said.

“We join him in praying for the Pope Emeritus,” Bruni said.

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