(HONG KONG) — After more than two months of harsh lockdown, China’s largest city, Shanghai, began to unlock at the stroke of midnight Wednesday.
As metal fencing came down around most communities and private vehicles returned to the roads, spontaneous gatherings popped up across the city, with selfies on the historic Bund promenade along the Huangpu riverfront and street-corner hangouts amongst reunited friends in the Former French Concession.
The Chinese authorities appeared to have tamed the omicron variant outbreak that stopped China’s financial and commercial capital in its tracks for more than 65 days. On Tuesday, the last day of full restrictions, Shanghai recorded 15 COVID-19 cases, down from some 25,000 daily cases in early April.
It appears China is the first country to have controlled the highly transmissible omicron variant with a strict lockdown, likely because it is the first country that tried. Though Shanghai avoided the large numbers of deaths other cities and countries have faced, it has come at huge economic and social costs.
The citywide lockdown originally began on March 28 as a two-part four-day lockdown that was supposed to act as a circuit-breaker of sorts, but was extended and chaotically implemented to the frustration of many residents.
Shanghai authorities avoided using the term “unlocking” when thanking the city’s 25 millions residents for their cooperation in a statement posted on their official WeChat channel Wednesday morning, more than two months after the lockdown began.
“We will return life and businesses to normality,” the Shanghai Communist Party committee said in the WeChat statement. “Shanghai will do its utmost to make up the lost ground caused by the virus outbreak.”
On Wednesday, public transportation fully resumed service, shopping centers and supermarkets reopened to limited capacity, and state-owned companies asked their employees to return to their offices. Authorities also announced that high school and some middle school students can return to their classrooms beginning June 6.
The Shanghai government had said in mid-May that they hoped to return the city back to normal by the end of June.
China’s no tolerance “zero-COVID” strategy, however, will remain in force and, increasingly, will likely stay in place for the long term. The focus now is on constant testing to avoid another citywide lockdown scenario like Shanghai’s.
Shanghai residents will need to have a valid PCR test taken within 72 hours to access most places, including public transportation, supermarkets and restaurants. China has set up a vast network of tens of thousands of testing booths within a 15-minute walk for most residents in Shanghai and across the country’s largest cities, like Beijing, Hangzhou and Shenzhen. The aim is to nip any silent transmission in the bud.
While the majority of Shanghai residents are now allowed to roam outside their neighborhoods, according to local government data, there are still 17 neighborhoods in the city still under full lockdown restrictions.
China’s lockdown measures have battered the country’s economic growth beyond Shanghai. According to Japanese investment bank Nomura, at least 130 million residents are still in full or partial lockdowns across 16 cities in China, hammering supply chains and consumer confidence.
According to China’s own government statistics, domestic retail sales fell 11.1% in April.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang warned last week that the economy will struggle to grow this quarter and may miss its projected target this year just as Bloomberg Economics released a report predicting that the U.S. economy will outpace that of China’s for the first time since 1976.
(ODESA, Ukraine) — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has meant vital food exports are stuck in Ukraine’s ports.
ABC News foreign correspondent Tom Soufi Burridge explains a looming crisis by answering four key questions.
1. How important is Ukraine’s food production for the world?
Ukraine is a vast agricultural production house.
The country produces 46% of the world’s sunflower oil exports, 37% of global millet (a small grain cereal) exports, 13% of all barley exports, 10% of total wheat exports, 8% of honey and 7% of walnut exports, according to the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club.
Before Russia invaded, most of Ukraine’s food production was exported through the country’s Black Sea ports.
Earlier this month, the United Nations World Food Programme said those exports would normally feed 400 million people around the world.
The Middle East and Africa are Ukraine’s main food export markets, said Professor Oleg Nivievskyi from Kyiv’s School of Economics.
By gaining rare access inside a grain terminal in Odesa’s port, ABC News was able to witness the vast infrastructure that would normally be used to ship the produce out.
Pre-war, the terminal would receive a hundred truck loads and a hundred train wagons of grain in a single day, said Oleksandr Guzenko, the plant’s chief engineer.
In a single hour, 400 tons of grain would normally flow through the plant and out to ships waiting in the dock, Guzenko added.
However, these are abnormal times.
2. What is the impact of Russia’s blockade of the Black Sea?
The grain terminal at the Port of Odesa is depressingly idle and silent.
Guzenko told ABC News he felt “helpless.”
The Russian threat at sea means there is no safe route for commercial vessels to exit and vast quantities of food exports are stuck in Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
It is becoming “a disaster” for Ukrainian farmers.
“If the ports don’t open soon, we are stuck with the crops,” said Kees Huizinga, who owns a 40,000-acre farm in Kyshchentsi in the Cherkasy region, south of Kyiv.
His business would gradually run out of money, he told ABC News, and planting for next year’s harvest is already at risk.
Huizinga predicted the world’s food supply could be “disrupted for the coming decade” if the situation isn’t solved soon.
However, the blockade is having a ripple effect far beyond Ukraine.
The U.N.’s World Food Programme said global food prices have risen sharply since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and vulnerable communities in parts of East Africa are at risk.
Even before Russia attacked Ukraine, the WFP was forecasting a year of “catastrophic hunger,” because global resources were not keeping pace with demand.
In the first month of the war, export prices for wheat and maize rose by 22% and 20%, respectively, “on top of steep rises in 2021,” according to the WFP.
WFP Executive Director David Beasley told ABC News the war is a “catastrophe on top of a catastrophe.”
“The world demands [that the ports open], because hundreds of millions of people globally depend on food that comes through these ports,” Beasley said.
3. What is causing the blockade?
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his generals have spoken openly about their desire to capture Ukraine’s largest port, Odesa, and possibly the entire Ukrainian coastline — which would throttle Ukraine’s economy.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, there was a possibility that the Russian navy might launch an assault on Ukraine’s southwestern coast from the sea.
By capturing Snake Island, a strategically important slice of dry land off Ukraine’s western coast, on day one of the war, the Kremlin signaled its intent.
In response to the Russian threat, Ukraine quickly placed mines in the Black Sea near Odesa and other major ports.
In a briefing with ABC News this week, a NATO official said coastal defenses were necessary “in order to deter or thwart a potential Russian amphibious landing.”
The Russian government recently said it was ready to provide a humanitarian corridor for ships carrying food, in return for the lifting of Western sanctions. It called on Ukraine to de-mine the Black Sea.
However, the U.K. Ministry of Defense accused Russia of “introducing an alternative narrative” to complicate people’s understanding of the original cause of the blockade.
Ukraine has only deployed maritime mines, the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense said, “because of the continued credible threat of Russian amphibious assaults from the Black Sea.”
4. Why do Western leaders accuse Putin of “weaponizing hunger” and is there a solution on the horizon?
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently accused Putin of “using food as a weapon.”
The Biden administration and its Western allies make this accusation because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked and the Kremlin has the ability to drop its threat on ports such as Odesa.
“If Kyiv solves the problem of de-mining ports, then the Russian navy will ensure unhindered passage of ships with grain to the Mediterranean Sea,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded on Tuesday to international criticism.
The White House has already ruled out meeting Russia’s demand to drop sanctions in return for an end to the blockade.
What military guarantees Russia could offer Ukraine, in order for Ukraine to demine the Black Sea, is not at all clear.
A senior NATO official offered a blunt assessment to ABC News in the context of Tuesday’s back and forth: Ukraine cannot trust anything Russia says.
That said, European countries, namely France and Germany, are negotiating the issue with Russia.
In the meantime, Ukraine and the European Union are trying to increase Ukrainian food exports by road and rail.
However, Nivievskyi, from Kyiv’s School of Economics, warned it is “not physically possible” to transport the huge amount of grain by rail and road.
By his calculation, rail and road routes have only about 10% of the export capacity of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
Rick Mave/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 31, 8:22 pm
US sending Ukraine ‘more advanced’ rocket systems, Biden says in op-ed
The U.S. will provide Ukraine with “more advanced rocket systems and munitions,” President Joe Biden confirmed in a New York Times op-ed published Tuesday.
The systems “will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine,” he wrote.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned last week that providing more advanced rockets would be a new “unacceptable escalation” because they could hypothetically be used to strike within Russian territory.
But Biden told reporters Monday that the U.S. will not “send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia,” and he and the administration are making efforts to emphasize that these new rocket systems will be used by the Ukrainians on the battlefield in their own country.
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
May 31, 8:21 pm
5.2 million kids need humanitarian help
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left 5.2 million kids in need of humanitarian help, according to UNICEF.
At least 262 children have been killed and another 415 have been hurt since Feb. 24, UNICEF said.
Nearly two-thirds have been displaced, UNICEF said.
May 31, 2:09 pm
Chemical plant hit by Russian air strike, local official says
Russian air strikes hit a tank with nitric acid at a chemical plant in Severodonetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine, according to Luhansk’s regional governor, Serhiy Haidai.
Haidai is urging residents to stay inside and to wear protective face masks.
Haidai also said Russian forces have made significant gains and are in control of “most” of Severodonetsk.
He said about 60% of homes are completely destroyed and the city’s critical infrastructure is nearly completely destroyed. Ongoing shelling is preventing civilians from evacuating.
May 31, 11:43 am
EU to finalize ban of nearly 90% of Russian oil imports
The European Union Council plans to finalize a ban on nearly 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen said Tuesday at a joint press conference with EU Council President Charles Michel, following Monday’s special meeting of the European Council.
Von der Leyen said they will soon return to the issue of the remaining 10% of pipeline oil.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 31, 8:23 am
Russia vows to ‘ensure unhindered passage’ of grain shipments if Ukraine de-mines waters
Russia’s top diplomat vowed Tuesday to “ensure unhindered passage” of grain shipments from Ukrainian ports to the Mediterranean Sea, if Ukraine removes the mines from its coastal waters.
“Ukrainian representatives should de-mine the coastal waters within Ukraine’s territorial sea, which have been mined,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference. “If the de-mining problem is resolved — and we’ve been bringing the attention of our worried Western counterparts to this problem for many weeks — then the Russian Navy will ensure unhindered passage of those vessels in high seas to the Mediterranean and further on to their destination points.”
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain, fuel and fertilizer has skyrocketed worldwide, worsening hunger crises. Russia and Ukraine produce a third of the world’s supply of wheat and barley, but Kyiv has been unable to ship exports due to Moscow’s offensive.
Lavrov, however, blamed the situation on Kyiv and the West.
“For longer than a month now, the Russian side has been taking measures to guarantee the unhindered export of Ukrainian grain by vessels that are currently stranded in Ukrainian ports,” Lavrov added. “Therefore, the initiatives concerning food security that have been voiced should be implemented bearing in mind that the Russian side has long guaranteed everything that depends on us. As for the Western countries that have artificially caused numerous problems by closing their ports to Russian vessels and cutting logistical and financial chains, they should certainly think hard whether it’s more important for them to advertise themselves taking advantage of food security problems, or take practical steps to resolve this problem. It’s for them to choose.”
May 31, 5:42 am
Up to 12,000 civilians may be trapped in fight for Severodonetsk
As Russian forces battle for control of a key eastern Ukrainian city, up to 12,000 civilians may be trapped in the crossfire, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
“I am horrified to see Severodonetsk, the thriving city where we had our operational headquarters, become the epicentre of yet another chapter of the brutal war in Ukraine,” NRC Secretary-General Jan Egeland said in a statement Tuesday. “We fear that up to 12,000 civilians remain caught in crossfire in the city, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity. The near-constant bombardment is forcing civilians to seek refuge in bomb shelters and basements, with only few precious opportunities for those trying to escape.”
Over the past week, the Oslo-based humanitarian organization has been working with local Ukrainian partners to provide thousands of monthly food and hygiene parcels to civilians remaining in Severodonetsk and the greater Luhansk Oblast, according to Egeland. The city is the last still held by Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast.
“But now the intensified fighting makes aid delivery impossible,” he added. “We cannot save lives under the hail of grenades.”
NRC has been operational in Ukraine since 2014, serving people affected by conflict in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of eastern Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.
“Almost one hundred days since the war in Ukraine escalated, we have seen bombs destroy critical infrastructure across the country and reduce entire cities like Severodonetsk to rubble,” Egeland said. “More than 14 million men, women and children are displaced within Ukraine or sheltering in other countries with no idea when they will be able to safely return to their homes.”
May 31, 4:50 am
Russians, Ukrainians fight street by street in key eastern city
Russian and Ukrainian forces are believed to be fighting street by street on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, a key city in Ukraine’s east, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Tuesday in an intelligence update.
“Russia’s capture of Lyman supports its operational main effort, which likely remains the encirclement of Sieverodonetsk and the closure of the pocket around Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast,” the ministry said. “Heavy shelling continues, while street fighting is likely taking place on the outskirts of Sieverodonetsk town.”
After several days of fighting, the Russian military claimed Saturday to have fully seized the strategic town of Lyman, which serves as a railway hub in the Donetsk Oblast, west of Severodonetsk.
“Russia’s political goal is likely to occupy the full territory of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts,” the ministry added. “To achieve this, Russia will need to secure further challenging operational objectives beyond Sieverodonetsk, including the key city of Kramatorsk and the M04 Dnipro-Donetsk main road.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 30, 10:56 am
French journalist killed in Ukraine
A French journalist working for cable channel BFM TV has been killed in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, according to Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration.
French President Emmanuel Macron identified the journalist as Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.
“On board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombs, he was fatally shot,” Macron tweeted. “I share the pain of the family, relatives and colleagues of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, to whom I send my condolences. To those who carry out the difficult mission of informing in theaters of operations, I would like to reiterate France’s unconditional support.”
May 29, 1:38 pm
31% of Kharkiv region occupied by Russian forces, Ukrainian officials say
A significant portion of Kharkiv, a town in northwest Ukraine near the Russian border, is occupied by Russian forces, Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit on Sunday.
Just 5% of the region has been liberated by Ukrainian forces, Synegubov said.
“We are not yet able to fully inspect some of the liberated settlements, conduct full-fledged de-mining and begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, as shelling continues,” Synegubov said, according to a statement from Zelenskyy’s office. “Where we can do it remotely – we do it.”
During the trip to Kharkiv, Zelenskyy inspected destroyed residential buildings in the Saltivka district. The northern and eastern districts of the city suffered the most destruction, with more than 30% of total housing damaged.
Zelenskyy noted that there will be an opportunity to modernize new constructions and that new housing will have to include bomb shelters.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 27, 1:32 pm
Zelenskyy calls for Russia to unblock Ukraine’s seaports amid ‘food crisis’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Russia to unblock Ukraine’s seaports to end a global “food crisis” while speaking at the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia think tank Friday, according to his office.
“Russia has blocked access to our ports in the Black Sea and occupied our part of the Sea of Azov. As a result of this military blockade, most traditional Ukrainian trade routes have been closed,” said Zelenskyy, noting that 22 million tons of grain are currently in storage facilities in Ukraine. “We cannot direct them to the world market, where they are needed right now, at this time.”
According to the president, this block has already affected the prices for grain and soon will affect the prices for other food products. He predicted that many countries will run out of last year’s harvest stockpiles in July.
“The sooner our ports are unblocked, the sooner the food crisis will stop, because we will be able to send our stocks and new crops to the world market,” Zelenskyy said.
May 27, 7:08 am
Bucha resident who lost husband, unborn son tries to rebuild her life
Anna Polonska had struggled to get pregnant. So when she did, it was a moment of sheer joy; a happy family life lay ahead.
But days after Russia invaded Ukraine, her unborn son and husband were killed in shelling as they tried to flee Ukraine, she told ABC News.
She was also gravely injured in the attack, and doctors did not think she would survive.
Adding to her loss, soldiers stole almost all of her possessions and destroyed her apartment, she recalled.
But in a remarkable interview, Anna said she is now focusing on picking up the pieces — showing incredible courage and determination to live and walk again.
At least 3,998 civilians have been killed and 4,693 others have been injured in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
At least 260 children were among the dead and 404 among the injured, according to the OHCHR.
“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes,” the agency said in a statement Thursday. “OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.”
Those areas include Mariupol in the Donetsk Oblast, Izium in the Kharkiv Oblast and Popasna in the Luhansk Oblast, where the OHCHR said “there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties.” Casualty numbers from those locations “are being further corroborated” and thus are not included in the latest statistics, according to the agency.
May 26, 6:06 am
Russia’s airborne forces suffer ‘heavy casualties’ after ‘tactical failures,’ UK says
The Russian military’s airborne forces, known as the VDV, “have been heavily involved in several notable tactical failures since the start of Russia’s invasion” of neighboring Ukraine, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
“This includes the attempted advance on Kyiv via Hostomel Airfield in March, the stalled progress on the Izium axis since April, and the recent failed and costly crossings of the Siverskyi Donets River,” the ministry said Thursday in an intelligence update.
“Russian doctrine anticipates assigning the VDV to some of the most demanding operations,” the ministry added. “The 45,000-strong VDV is mostly comprised of professional contract soldiers. Its members enjoy elite status and attract additional pay. The VDV has been employed on missions better suited to heavier armoured infantry and has sustained heavy casualties during the campaign.”
The VDV’s “mixed performance likely reflects a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia’s failure to secure air superiority,” according to the ministry.
“The misemployment of the VDV in Ukraine highlights how Putin’s significant investment in the armed forces over the last 15 years has resulted in an unbalanced overall force,” the ministry said. “The failure to anticipate Ukrainian resistance and the subsequent complacency of Russian commanders has led to significant losses across many of Russia’s more elite units.”
May 24, 4:47 pm
Drone footage shows devastation inside Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol
Drone footage released by Russian media shows the devastation inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces fended off Russian troops for weeks amid intense fighting before surrendering.
The drone footage released by the Russian news outlet MIC Izvestia showed the collapsed walls of the plant and twisted metal and debris strewn about the entire facility.
The Russian Defense ministry on Friday said the last Ukrainian fighters defending Azovstal had surrendered, giving Russia full control of the port city of Mariupol.
The seizure of Mariupol, gives Russia command of a land route linking the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized in 2014, with mainland Russia and parts of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatists.
Rick Mave/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 31, 5:42 am
Up to 12,000 civilians may be trapped in fight for Severodonetsk
As Russian forces battle for control of a key eastern Ukrainian city, up to 12,000 civilians may be trapped in the crossfire, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
“I am horrified to see Severodonetsk, the thriving city where we had our operational headquarters, become the epicentre of yet another chapter of the brutal war in Ukraine,” NRC Secretary-General Jan Egeland said in a statement Tuesday. “We fear that up to 12,000 civilians remain caught in crossfire in the city, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity. The near-constant bombardment is forcing civilians to seek refuge in bomb shelters and basements, with only few precious opportunities for those trying to escape.”
Over the past week, the Oslo-based humanitarian organization has been working with local Ukrainian partners to provide thousands of monthly food and hygiene parcels to civilians remaining in Severodonetsk and the greater Luhansk Oblast, according to Egeland. The city is the last still held by Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast.
“But now the intensified fighting makes aid delivery impossible,” he added. “We cannot save lives under the hail of grenades.”
NRC has been operational in Ukraine since 2014, serving people affected by conflict in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of eastern Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.
“Almost one hundred days since the war in Ukraine escalated, we have seen bombs destroy critical infrastructure across the country and reduce entire cities like Severodonetsk to rubble,” Egeland said. “More than 14 million men, women and children are displaced within Ukraine or sheltering in other countries with no idea when they will be able to safely return to their homes.”
May 31, 4:50 am
Russians, Ukrainians fight street by street in key eastern city
Russian and Ukrainian forces are believed to be fighting street by street on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, a key city in Ukraine’s east, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Tuesday in an intelligence update.
“Russia’s capture of Lyman supports its operational main effort, which likely remains the encirclement of Sieverodonetsk and the closure of the pocket around Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast,” the ministry said. “Heavy shelling continues, while street fighting is likely taking place on the outskirts of Sieverodonetsk town.”
After several days of fighting, the Russian military claimed Saturday to have fully seized the strategic town of Lyman, which serves as a railway hub in the Donetsk Oblast, west of Severodonetsk.
“Russia’s political goal is likely to occupy the full territory of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts,” the ministry added. “To achieve this, Russia will need to secure further challenging operational objectives beyond Sieverodonetsk, including the key city of Kramatorsk and the M04 Dnipro-Donetsk main road.”
Rick Mave/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 31, 5:42 am
Up to 12,000 civilians may be trapped in fight for Severodonetsk
As Russian forces battle for control of a key eastern Ukrainian city, up to 12,000 civilians may be trapped in the crossfire, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
“I am horrified to see Severodonetsk, the thriving city where we had our operational headquarters, become the epicentre of yet another chapter of the brutal war in Ukraine,” NRC Secretary-General Jan Egeland said in a statement Tuesday. “We fear that up to 12,000 civilians remain caught in crossfire in the city, without sufficient access to water, food, medicine or electricity. The near-constant bombardment is forcing civilians to seek refuge in bomb shelters and basements, with only few precious opportunities for those trying to escape.”
Over the past week, the Oslo-based humanitarian organization has been working with local Ukrainian partners to provide thousands of monthly food and hygiene parcels to civilians remaining in Severodonetsk and the greater Luhansk Oblast, according to Egeland. The city is the last still held by Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast.
“But now the intensified fighting makes aid delivery impossible,” he added. “We cannot save lives under the hail of grenades.”
NRC has been operational in Ukraine since 2014, serving people affected by conflict in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of eastern Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.
“Almost one hundred days since the war in Ukraine escalated, we have seen bombs destroy critical infrastructure across the country and reduce entire cities like Severodonetsk to rubble,” Egeland said. “More than 14 million men, women and children are displaced within Ukraine or sheltering in other countries with no idea when they will be able to safely return to their homes.”
May 31, 4:50 am
Russians, Ukrainians fight street by street in key eastern city
Russian and Ukrainian forces are believed to be fighting street by street on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, a key city in Ukraine’s east, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Tuesday in an intelligence update.
“Russia’s capture of Lyman supports its operational main effort, which likely remains the encirclement of Sieverodonetsk and the closure of the pocket around Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast,” the ministry said. “Heavy shelling continues, while street fighting is likely taking place on the outskirts of Sieverodonetsk town.”
After several days of fighting, the Russian military claimed Saturday to have fully seized the strategic town of Lyman, which serves as a railway hub in the Donetsk Oblast, west of Severodonetsk.
“Russia’s political goal is likely to occupy the full territory of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts,” the ministry added. “To achieve this, Russia will need to secure further challenging operational objectives beyond Sieverodonetsk, including the key city of Kramatorsk and the M04 Dnipro-Donetsk main road.”
(LONDON) — Queen Elizabeth will be celebrated this week with what is being described as a once-in-a-lifetime celebration to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
The royal family and the public will take part in festivities including ranging from the traditional Trooping the Colour birthday parade to a star-studded concert to celebrate the 96-year-old queen, the first British monarch to reach a Platinum Jubilee — 70 years on the throne.
Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne following the death of her father, King George VI, on Feb. 6, 1952.
As the celebrations get underway, here is a look back at seven of the queen’s most memorable moments from 70 years on the throne:
1. A history-making coronation
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation on June 2, 1953, was the first to be televised.
The nearly three-hour service in Westminster Abbey was watched on TV by 27 million people in the United Kingdom alone, according to the royal family.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s oldest child, Prince Charles, attended the coronation, becoming the first child to witness his mother’s coronation.
Following the service, the queen and Prince Philip joined a 16,000-person strong procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.
Among the thousands of journalists covering the queen’s coronation was Jacqueline Bouvier, who at the time worked for the Washington Times-Herald and would go on to become first lady of the United States alongside her husband, President John F. Kennedy, according to the royal family.
2. The first royal ‘walkabout’ to greet fans
While royal watchers are used to seeing royals including Prince William and Duchess Kate greet fans at each stop they make, a practice called the “walkabout,” that was not the case before Queen Elizabeth.
The queen upended royal tradition while on a tour of Australia and New Zealand with Prince Philip in 1970. Instead of waving to crowds from a protected distance, Queen Elizabeth walked out and greeted people in-person, the first royal “walkabout.”
3. Meeting 13 sitting U.S. presidents
Queen Elizabeth has met with every U.S. president during her 70 years on the throne, except for Lyndon B. Johnson.
She met with President Joe Biden last June at Windsor Castle, marking her 13th meeting with a sitting U.S. president.
Queen Elizabeth has hosted just three presidents for an official state visit — Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
4. Celebrating jubilees in a history-making reign as queen
In 1977, Queen Elizabeth celebrated her Silver Jubilee, 25 years on the throne, with a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, where she repeated her pledge to a life of service.
More than two decades later, in 2002 — the same year both her mother and sister passed away — Queen Elizabeth celebrated 50 years on the throne, her Golden Jubilee.
The queen was escorted through the streets of London in a four-ton golden coach, previously used only when she was crowned and at her Silver Jubilee. In a ceremony that dates back almost 800 years, she touched a sword handed to her by the Lord Mayor of London, symbolizing the supreme power of the monarch.
In June 2012, Queen Elizabeth celebrated 60 years on the throne, her Diamond Jubilee, with a parade down the Thames and a concert outside Buckingham Palace.
Three years later, in 2015, Queen Elizabeth made history, becoming Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, at 63 years.
5. ‘Parachuting’ into the London Olympics with James Bond
The same year as her Diamond Jubilee, in 2012, Queen Elizabeth memorably starred alongside actor Daniel Craig in a clip that aired during the opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
The queen portrayed herself in the clip, which featured Craig, as James Bond, picking her up at Buckingham Palace. Stunt actors then portrayed the two helicoptering across London and parachuting into the Olympics venue, while Queen Elizabeth herself arrived at her seat, accompanied by Prince Philip.
6. Serving as matriarch of a growing royal family
Queen Elizabeth has been an omnipresent force not just on the world stage, but also within her own family.
The queen, a mother of four, is the matriarch of an ever-growing family, which now includes eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
She has been present for weddings, as well as divorces that made headlines.
She has also guided her family through scandal and discord, most recently amid a lawsuit against her son Prince Andrew, as well as the exit of her grandson Prince Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan, from their senior royal roles.
7. Saying goodbye to her husband of 73 years
Queen Elizabeth faced a deeply personal and sad moment in her reign last April when she said goodbye to her husband , Prince Philip, following his death at age 99.
Due to restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, the queen sat alone during the April 17, 2021, funeral service for Philip, her husband of 73 years.
Known as one of the hardest-working members of the royal family, Philip, the duke of Edinburgh, was also a stalwart supporter of his wife.
“He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments, but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years,” Queen Elizabeth said in 1997, paying tribute to her husband on their golden wedding anniversary. “And I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 30, 10:56 am
French journalist killed in Ukraine
A French journalist working for cable channel BFM TV has been killed in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, according to Serhiy Haidai, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration.
French President Emmanuel Macron identified the journalist as Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff.
“On board a humanitarian bus, alongside civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombs, he was fatally shot,” Macron tweeted. “I share the pain of the family, relatives and colleagues of Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, to whom I send my condolences. To those who carry out the difficult mission of informing in theaters of operations, I would like to reiterate France’s unconditional support.”
May 29, 1:38 pm
31% of Kharkiv region occupied by Russian forces, Ukrainian officials say
A significant portion of Kharkiv, a town in northwest Ukraine near the Russian border, is occupied by Russian forces, Oleg Synegubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit on Sunday.
Just 5% of the region has been liberated by Ukrainian forces, Synegubov said.
“We are not yet able to fully inspect some of the liberated settlements, conduct full-fledged de-mining and begin rebuilding critical infrastructure, as shelling continues,” Synegubov said, according to a statement from Zelenskyy’s office. “Where we can do it remotely – we do it.”
During the trip to Kharkiv, Zelenskyy inspected destroyed residential buildings in the Saltivka district. The northern and eastern districts of the city suffered the most destruction, with more than 30% of total housing damaged.
Zelenskyy noted that there will be an opportunity to modernize new constructions and that new housing will have to include bomb shelters.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 27, 1:32 pm
Zelenskyy calls for Russia to unblock Ukraine’s seaports amid ‘food crisis’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Russia to unblock Ukraine’s seaports to end a global “food crisis” while speaking at the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia think tank Friday, according to his office.
“Russia has blocked access to our ports in the Black Sea and occupied our part of the Sea of Azov. As a result of this military blockade, most traditional Ukrainian trade routes have been closed,” said Zelenskyy, noting that 22 million tons of grain are currently in storage facilities in Ukraine. “We cannot direct them to the world market, where they are needed right now, at this time.”
According to the president, this block has already affected the prices for grain and soon will affect the prices for other food products. He predicted that many countries will run out of last year’s harvest stockpiles in July.
“The sooner our ports are unblocked, the sooner the food crisis will stop, because we will be able to send our stocks and new crops to the world market,” Zelenskyy said.
May 27, 7:08 am
Bucha resident who lost husband, unborn son tries to rebuild her life
Anna Polonska had struggled to get pregnant. So when she did, it was a moment of sheer joy; a happy family life lay ahead.
But days after Russia invaded Ukraine, her unborn son and husband were killed in shelling as they tried to flee Ukraine, she told ABC News.
She was also gravely injured in the attack, and doctors did not think she would survive.
Adding to her loss, soldiers stole almost all of her possessions and destroyed her apartment, she recalled.
But in a remarkable interview, Anna said she is now focusing on picking up the pieces — showing incredible courage and determination to live and walk again.
At least 3,998 civilians have been killed and 4,693 others have been injured in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, according to the latest figures from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
At least 260 children were among the dead and 404 among the injured, according to the OHCHR.
“Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes,” the agency said in a statement Thursday. “OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration.”
Those areas include Mariupol in the Donetsk Oblast, Izium in the Kharkiv Oblast and Popasna in the Luhansk Oblast, where the OHCHR said “there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties.” Casualty numbers from those locations “are being further corroborated” and thus are not included in the latest statistics, according to the agency.
May 26, 6:06 am
Russia’s airborne forces suffer ‘heavy casualties’ after ‘tactical failures,’ UK says
The Russian military’s airborne forces, known as the VDV, “have been heavily involved in several notable tactical failures since the start of Russia’s invasion” of neighboring Ukraine, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense.
“This includes the attempted advance on Kyiv via Hostomel Airfield in March, the stalled progress on the Izium axis since April, and the recent failed and costly crossings of the Siverskyi Donets River,” the ministry said Thursday in an intelligence update.
“Russian doctrine anticipates assigning the VDV to some of the most demanding operations,” the ministry added. “The 45,000-strong VDV is mostly comprised of professional contract soldiers. Its members enjoy elite status and attract additional pay. The VDV has been employed on missions better suited to heavier armoured infantry and has sustained heavy casualties during the campaign.”
The VDV’s “mixed performance likely reflects a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia’s failure to secure air superiority,” according to the ministry.
“The misemployment of the VDV in Ukraine highlights how Putin’s significant investment in the armed forces over the last 15 years has resulted in an unbalanced overall force,” the ministry said. “The failure to anticipate Ukrainian resistance and the subsequent complacency of Russian commanders has led to significant losses across many of Russia’s more elite units.”
May 24, 4:47 pm
Drone footage shows devastation inside Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol
Drone footage released by Russian media shows the devastation inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces fended off Russian troops for weeks amid intense fighting before surrendering.
The drone footage released by the Russian news outlet MIC Izvestia showed the collapsed walls of the plant and twisted metal and debris strewn about the entire facility.
The Russian Defense ministry on Friday said the last Ukrainian fighters defending Azovstal had surrendered, giving Russia full control of the port city of Mariupol.
The seizure of Mariupol, gives Russia command of a land route linking the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized in 2014, with mainland Russia and parts of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatists.
(LONDON) — The burqa mandate is back in Afghanistan, and, with it, a wave of disappointment and distress taking over the lives of millions of people in the country who do not believe in hijab.
Earlier this month, on May 7, the Vice and Virtue Ministry of the Taliban issued a decree saying all women in the country have to cover themselves head to toe. The decree says it is to protect the women’s “dignity” and called for those women who do not follow the hijab in government agencies to be dismissed.
“For all dignified Afghan women, wearing hijab is necessary and the best hijab is chadori (the head-to-toe burqa) which is part of our tradition and is respectful,” said Shir Mohammad, an official from the Vice and Virtue Ministry, in the statement.
The ministry updated the mandate on Sunday, May 22, requiring all TV presenters in Afghanistan to keep their faces covered while on-camera.
These announcements led to reactions among the international community and human rights groups. Many male TV presenters stood by their female colleagues by covering their faces with masks during their time on-camera.
The solidarity moved to social media, where the hashtag #FreeHerFace became popular.
Khpalwak Safi, broadcaster of Afghanistan’s leading Tolo TV, was among the figures who covered his face to show solidarity with female journalists. The move was welcomed by his colleagues.
On Wednesday, the official Twitter account of TOLO News called for the related officials and institutions to hear their message.
“It’s time for foreign governments to do much more to raise their concerns. Diplomats meeting with the Taliban should signal support for the #FreeHerFace campaign and speak out publicly against the Taliban’s intensifying violations of the rights of women and girls,” the Human Rights Watch wrote on May 23.
“This latest order is part of steady flow of Taliban actions that have blocked girls’ secondary education, pushed women out of most employment, curtailed women’s freedom of movement, obstructed women’s access to health care, and abolished the system designed to protect women and girls from violence,” the rights organization said.
Among those who showed solidarity was Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Malala Yousafzai’s father, the Peace Nobel laureate who has been advocating for girls’ education.
“Faces are windows to our souls and personalities. Our faces are our identities. It is our basic human right to show our identities. Also when girls are enrolled in schools they get an identity,” he tweeted with the hashtag #FreeHerFace.
“It is always a surprise to me to see this kind of restriction and focus on women when we have about a 95% poverty rate in the country,” Payvand Seyedali, an American health and human rights activist who has lived in Afghanistan for the past decade consulting with NGOs, told ABC News.
According to the mandate, if women reject covering head-to-toe, the first step would be to identify the house of the unveiled women. However, the mandate says, “their guardian should be advised and punished,” not the women themselves.
If the same woman is seen again without the Taliban’s standard dress code, their guardian will be summoned to the relevant department. The guardian then will be detained for three days and will finally be handed over to the courts to be sentenced to an appropriate punishment.
“The most important observation for me is how humiliating it is for women to not be able to be accountable for their own actions,” Seyedali said, addressing the consequences of prosecuting guardians rather than women themselves.
“On the other hand,” she added, “you also see that women are forced to make decisions that they don’t want to make for the benefit of their families. There is no girl and no woman in this country who wants to see her brother go to jail, who wants to see her father go to jail.”
The U.S. Amnesty International asked the international community to “hold the Taliban accountable.”
“Despite the Taliban’s continued assurances that they respect the rights of women and girls, millions of women and girls have been systematically discriminated against since the Taliban became the de-facto authorities,” the organization wrote in a tweet.
The burqa mandate comes after the restrictions on Afghanistan women’s freedom of movement as the Taliban had prohibited them from travelling out of their town without a male guardian. The other major restriction has been closing schools for girls after the sixth grade.
(NEW YORK) — An asteroid — the largest to get close to Earth this year — tumbled past the planet Friday.
According to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, the “potentially hazardous” asteroid is 1.1 miles long and at least 3,280 feet wide. It crossed into Earth’s orbit around 9 a.m. ET.
The asteroid, officially called 1989 JA, is roughly four times the size of the Empire State Building.
This asteroid would be catastrophic if it hit Earth, but it will be at a safe distance of 2.5 million miles away, according to the Virtual Telescope Project, the nonprofit organization that runs remotely controlled telescopes.
In a livestream showing the asteroid passing through the Earth’s orbit, the Virtual Telescope Project said that the asteroid would be visible mainly from the Southern hemisphere, using small instruments.
