(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:
Aug 15, 5:53 AM EDT
Griner to appeal Russian conviction, lawyer says
Brittney Griner’s defense team filed an appeal for the verdict by Khimky City Court, according to Maria Blagovolina, a partner at Rybalkin Gortsunyan Dyakin and Partners law firm.
The WNBA star was found guilty on drug charges in a Moscow-area court this month.
-ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova
Aug 14, 4:44 PM EDT
1st UN-chartered ship loaded with Ukrainian wheat set to depart for Africa
The first UN-chartered ship loaded with Ukrainian wheat is set to head for Africa from the near the port city Odesa, Ukrainian officials said Sunday.
The MV Brave Commander is loaded with 23,000 tons of wheat that will be shipped to Ethiopia as part of a mission to relieve a global food crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has halted grain exports for months, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Alexander Kubrakov announced at a news conference.
Kubrakov said the UN-chartered ship is scheduled to leave the Pivdenny port near Odesa on Monday.
“When three months ago, during the meeting of the President of Ukraine (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Kyiv the first negotiations on unlocking Ukrainian maritime ports began, we have already seen how critical it is becoming a food situation in the world.” Kubrakov wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “This especially applies to the least socially protected countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, for whom Ukraine has always been a key importer of agro-production.”
He said Ethiopia is in desperate need of Ukrainian grain.
“This country has been suffering from record drought and armed confrontation for the second year in a row,” Kubrakov said. “Ukrainian grain for them without exaggeration — the matter of life and death.”
He said he hopes the MV Brave Commander will be the first many more grain shipments under the U.N. World Food Program.
Aug 12, 2:28 PM EDT
‘They treat us like captives’: Exiled Zaporizhzhia manager on conditions at plant
An exiled manager at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant told ABC News that the Ukrainian staff is treated “like captives.”
Oleg, who asked to be referred by a pseudonym, said he felt threatened by the Russian soldiers.
“They didn’t say, ‘I’m going to shoot you now,’ but they always carry guns and assault rifles with them,” said Oleg, who managed one of 80 units at the plant but was able to leave last month. “And when an assault rifle or a gun has a cocked trigger, I consider it as a threat.”
Amid reported shelling in the vicinity of the plant, Oleg said he was primarily concerned about its spent fuel containers, “which are in a precarious position, and they are not shielded well.”
Aug 11, 4:43 PM EDT
UN secretary-general calls for all military activities around nuclear power plant to ‘cease immediately’
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “calling for all military activities” around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant in southern Ukraine “to cease immediately,” and for armies not “to target its facilities or surroundings.”
Ukraine’s nuclear regulator Energoatom said Russian forces shelled the plant for a third time on Thursday, hitting close to the first power unit. Earlier on Thursday, Energoatom said five rockets struck the area around the commandant’s office, close to where the radioactive material is stored.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed interim governor of Zaporizhzhya Oblast, issued a statement claiming Ukrainian forces struck the plant, hitting close to an area with radioactive material.
Guterres said he’s appealed to all parties to “exercise common sense” and take any actions that could endanger the physical integrity, safety or security of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
“Instead of de-escalation, over the past several days there have been reports of further deeply worrying incidents that could, if they continue, lead to disaster,” he said, adding that he’s “gravely concerned.”
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, pleaded with the U.N. Security Council Thursday to allow for an IAEA mission to visit the plant as soon as possible. He said the situation at the plant is deteriorating rapidly and is “becoming very alarming.”
(NEW YORK) — Eight people, including at least five Americans, were wounded when a gunman opened fire on a bus in Jerusalem early Sunday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
Among those injured in the attack was a pregnant woman, who was forced to deliver her baby in an emergency room, officials said.
“Last night, a terrorist shot at a bus in Jerusalem wounding eight people, including a pregnant 30-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man who are in critical care,” the ministry said on Twitter. “We pray for their full recovery. This attack on Israel’s capital, a city sacred to all three religions, must be condemned.”
At least five U.S. citizens were injured in the attack, a U.S. Embassy spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
The attack occurred early Sunday near the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, authorities said. The shooting happened as the bus was waiting for passengers in a parking lot near the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism where Jews from around the world make pilgrimages to pray.
The bus driver, Daniel Kanyevski, told local news media outlets that he was parked near the Tomb of King David waiting for worshippers to return from praying at the Western Wall when the gunfire erupted.
“We opened the ramp for someone on a wheelchair, and then the shooting started,” Kanyevski told news reporters. “Everyone got down on the floor, screaming. I tried to escape, but the bus couldn’t drive with the ramp open.”
Israeli police launched a search for the suspected shooter, who later surrendered to authorities, officials said.
A New York Police Department overseas liaison identified the suspected gunman as Amir Sidawi, a 22-year-old Palestinian who lives in East Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid issued a statement condemning the attack.
“Jerusalem is our capital city and a tourist center for all religions,” Lapid said in his statement, adding that Israeli security forces would “restore calm.”
The U.S. State Department also issued a statement Sunday denouncing the attack.
“The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack outside the Old City of Jerusalem that wounded at least eight victims, including at least five U.S. citizens. We wish all the victims a speedy recovery. We remain in close contact with our Israeli partners and stand firmly with them in the face of this attack,” the U.S. State Department said, adding that it “has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas.”
While a motive for the attack was not immediately clear, it came during a tense week between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Last weekend, Israeli aircraft launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip targeting the militant group Islamic Jihad and setting off three days of fierce cross-border fighting. Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets during the flare-up to avenge the airstrikes, which killed two of its commanders and other militants.
Israel said the attack was meant to thwart threats from the group to respond to the arrest of one of its officials in the occupied West Bank.
Two of the victims from Sunday morning’s attack are listed in serious condition at Shaarei Tsedek Hospital in Jerusalem, a hospital spokesperson told ABC News.
The hospital spokesperson said an American citizen in his 50s or 60s suffered gunshot wounds to his neck and upper back and was among those in serious condition. Two other Americans were treated at the hospital for mild to moderate injuries and released, the spokesperson said.
The pregnant woman wounded in the attack was undergoing surgery and is expected to survive, but is facing a long recovery process, the hospital spokesperson said. Her baby was delivered alive and doctors were doing their best to save the newborn, the spokesperson said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul posted a statement on Twitter, saying some of the Americans injured in the attack were from New York state.
“I’m horrified by the terror attack in Jerusalem, and by the news that a family of New Yorkers has been impacted,” Hochul tweeted, adding that her staff has been in contact with the U.S. State Department and offered to assist those injured.
“We condemn terror and stand with the Israeli people as they seek peace,” Hochul said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., spoke about the shooting during an unrelated news conference Sunday. He said three of the people injured are from the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, including a man he identified as Shia Hersh Glick. Schumer said friends of Glick told him he was trying to protect his family when he was shot.
“He was very brave,” Schumer said. “He bent down over his family to protect them. He was shot in the neck and they had him on a respirator, but it looks like his condition is improving. His son was shot in the arm as he protected his son.”
Schumer added, “We’re all hoping and praying for the families that were shot in Israel. It hits so close to home because at least three of those eight on the bus were American, and Brooklynites.”
ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Christine Theodorou and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
(CULLERA, Spain) — At least one person was killed and more than 20 others were injured when strong gusts of wind caused parts of a stage to fall at a music festival in Spain, officials said.
Three of the injured were in serious condition on Saturday, an official with the Valencia government said.
An “unexpected and violent gale” moved through the grounds of the Medusa Festival in Cullera, Spain, at about 4 a.m. local time on Saturday, the organizers said in a statement.
As the weather worsened, the organizers ordered the area around the stage to be evacuated, they said, adding, “Unfortunately, the devastating meteorological phenomenon caused some structures to cause unexpected events.”
Strong winds caused chaos and damage to multiple structures at the Medusa Music Festival in Spain. “Violent” wind gusts devastated parts of the area, forcing the event’s management team to vacate the area. https://t.co/pyGGpQuWm0pic.twitter.com/KzItPkSjHf
Videos taken at the scene showed pieces of a stage breaking off in strong gusts of wind.
Local media reported that a 28-year-old man had been killed.
“The Medusa Festival management would like to express our deep and sincere condolences to the family and friends affected by the fatal consequences that occurred last night,” the organizers said in a statement.
The electronic music festival began on Friday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — The three Russian soldiers arrived at Victoria’s house claiming they needed to seize her cell phone. But they weren’t looking for phones.
Victoria, a 42-year-old Ukrainian woman, told ABC News she and another woman, a neighbor, were raped by two of the Russian soldiers occupying her village near Kyiv in March.
ABC News spoke to the two women who agreed to talk about what they say happened to them, on condition that their location and last names not be revealed.
Another soldier, a commanding officer who was not involved in the assault, threatened Victoria, she says.
“He looked at me and said, ‘You see, our boys have had a drink and want to have fun,'” Victoria recounts. “I understood that something terrible would happen.”
Two of the soldiers took the women to a house converted into headquarters for the Russian occupiers and raped them, they say.
That neighbor, 44-year-old Natalya, recounted the events to ABC News.
“He says, ‘do you want everything to be fine with your son? So get upstairs and do as I tell you,'” Natalya recalled, describing her encounter with one of the Russian soldiers she says raped her. “He was like an animal…And that rifle was hanging around and swinging.”
Natalya says she later learned the soldiers killed her husband after she was taken away. Its unclear how many soldiers or which ones were involved in the killing. The family buried her husband the next day.
The two Russian soldiers the women say raped them have not yet been identified but face international arrest warrants, according to Kateryna Duchenko, the Ukrainian prosecutor in charge of sexual violence cases committed by Russian soldiers. Both cases are being investigated with slim chances of the suspects being taken under custody or doing any prison time, she said.
Stories of rape and other atrocities at the hands of Russian troops are not unheard of in small towns and suburbs of Kyiv. Residents of Bucha and Borodyanka have reported human rights violations including rape, murder and torture by Russian forces during the invasion.
Russian authorities have not responded to ABC News’ requests for comment on the cases.
“The last case [we identified] was in occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia region, where allegedly 10 Russian soldiers raped a woman,” Duchenko said.
Communication with residents inside Russian-occupied territories is extremely difficult, making the investigation and prosecution of these cases nearly impossible, Duchenko said.
“We know she is alive and that she had medical treatment and those details are all we’ve got,” Duchenko said on the limited information in the case in Zaporizhzhia.
The United Nations reported in June it had collected 124 reports of alleged acts of conflict-related sexual violence but qualified that number as “the tip of the iceberg” and added that it did “not reflect the scale of sexual violence in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
Victoria and Natalya say they are now undergoing counseling with a psychologist about their trauma.
“I wanted to take off my skin and throw it away,” Victoria says. “The person I was before the war is no longer there. I became more aggressive. I began to fight more for my own.”
Natalya says she is still coming to terms with the assault.
“Many people have asked me, why aren’t you crying, why haven’t you gone crazy?” she said.
In June, Ukrainian authorities said they opened the first trial on sexual violence committed by a Russian soldier, according to the Kyiv Post. The suspect will be tried in absentia.
Duchenko’s office says it is working on prosecuting two other cases of sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers in addition to the case opened in June. The suspects will also be tried in absentia, since they are not in Ukrainian custody.
(NEW YORK) — The Justice Department unsealed charges Wednesday against an Iranian national and member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard who prosecutors say tried to arrange the murder of John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser.
The criminal complaint was filed against 45-year-old Shahram Poursafi. Prosecutors allege that Poursafi tried to arrange the murder of Bolton in “likely” retaliation for the murder of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed on Jan. 3, 2020, during the Trump administration.
Poursafi remains at large abroad.
In a statement after the charges were unsealed, Bolton called Iranian rulers “liars, terrorists and enemies of the United States.”
“Their radical, anti-American objectives are unchanged; their commitments are worthless; and their global threat is growing,” Bolton said, in part.
Nasser Kanani, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, called the charges “baseless” and said the United States continues to claim “endless” and false accusations against Iran.
“In a new story-telling, the American judicial authorities have raised accusations without providing valid documents and necessary documents,” said Kanani, in a statement translated from Persian.
ABC News’ “Start Here” spoke to Marine Col. Stephen Ganyard, a former State Department official and now ABC News contributor, on the alleged plot to kill one of the United States’ most high-profile officials.
START HERE: John Bolton was a United Nations ambassador for George W. Bush [and] he was the national security adviser under Donald Trump…but he’s not in office now. Why would someone want to kill John Bolton?
GANYARD: Revenge Brad. It was payback. Remember that John Bolton was probably the hawk [and] probably pushed President Trump to take out Soleimani when the U.S. had the chance.
When they assassinated Soleimani back in 2020, understanding who Soleimani was within the Iranian society, understanding he was nearly a demigod.
There was nobody more powerful in Iran other than the supreme leader. So here is a hugely powerful man that was seen as a hero in the eyes of the Iranian people who needed a hero.
Who had brought together a serious military strategy in the Middle East, that pulled together Iran and Syria and Hezbollah and all of the efforts the Iranians had in the Middle East.
He unified the Iranian people. He unified the Iranian military in a way that no other commander had done and no other non-secular commander had ever done.
START HERE:What was the plan [to kill Bolton]? Do we know about who [the suspect] is and what he was doing?
GANYARD: We have a name, [but] we don’t know much more than that.
Clearly some kind of plot like this would have to be approved at the highest levels in Tehran, but we don’t know what this person’s position is. We don’t know whether they were part of the intelligence services, whether they’re part of the Quds Force.
We just know that the Department of Justice developed enough evidence, whether that was voice transcripts, whether it was text, whether it was emails, but they developed enough to get an indictment of this guy who isn’t even in the United States.
So very, very fuzzy, but he is likely within the hierarchy of the Iranian intelligence services and the Iranian government.
START HERE:Suppose these allegations are true. What would’ve happened if this was successful? What was Iran planning on happening in the fallout of a major attack?
GANYARD: It would’ve put the Biden administration in a very tough place.
Remember, the time that this would’ve gone down, the Biden administration was negotiating, trying to revive the nuclear deal that the Obama administration had put in place, that the Trump administration had discarded.
So if something like this would happen, that whole effort by the Biden administration, which he had talked about as candidate Biden, would’ve gone by the wayside. There was no way that he could agree to something with the Iranians.
Even worse, there may have been a requirement for retaliation, for the United States to do something militarily, to pay back the Iranians for assassinating a senior United States government official.
START HERE:So we could have found ourselves at war, is what you’re saying, if this was successful?
GANYARD:We could have, depending on how egregious it was and how the Biden administration reacted, there could have been some sort of a military retaliation.
And in that part of the world, it’s really hard to know whether you are lighting a fire or you’re putting one out.
START HERE:Well, from the U.S. perspective, the DOJ did not have to release this information [but] they chose to… What is about to happen for the U.S. and Iran going forward?
GANYARD: So this seems like it’s a warning. Here’s why: We know that the Iranians offered this U.S. person $300,000 to kill Bolton. But they said, “Once you do that, we got a million dollars for somebody else that we’re already surveilling.”
GANYARD: So this is something where the Department of Justice and the FBI said, “We know that we are not gonna get this guy that we’re gonna indict, but we have to fire a warning shot across their bow. We have to make it clear. We know what’s going on here and you better not do it again, or even try to do it again because there will be consequences.”
(CAIRO, Egypt) — The latest murder of a young woman in Egypt who had allegedly rejected the advances of a fellow student has sparked outrage and renewed calls for Egyptian lawmakers to take action.
Islam Mohamed, a 22-year-old student at Al-Shorouk Academy in the Greater Cairo area, was detained early Wednesday on suspicion of killing his 20-year-old classmate, Salma Bahgat. He is accused of “repeatedly stabbing her with a knife” on Tuesday as she was leaving a building in Zagazig, northeast of Cairo, according to a statement from Egyptian prosecutors.
Prosecutors, citing accounts from witnesses and relatives, said Bahgat had had twice declined marriage proposals from Mohamed, who in turn made death threats against her. Bahgat’s parents told authorities that Mohamed’s proposals were rejected because of his “misbehavior and drug abuse,” according to prosecutors.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, Al-Shorouk Academy mourned the death of Bahgat, who was studying media, saying: “She was an example of a diligent and distinguished student, on the moral and scientific levels, throughout her four years at the academy.”
Bahgat’s killing marked the second such campus femicide to occur in Egypt within the past two months, prompting outcry on social media.
“Another woman killed for saying ‘No,'” one Twitter user wrote.
“I cant believe in this amount of time another incident like Nayera happened again,” another user said.
In June, 21-year-old Nayera Ashraf was stabbed to death in front of her university in Mansoura, north of Cairo, by a fellow student whose marriage proposal she had turned down. The gruesome incident, which was videotaped by bystanders, sent shockwaves across the North African nation.
Ashraf’s killer, 21-year-old Mohamed Adel, gained sympathy during his trial from some commentators on social media who called the murder a “crime of passion,” because they said he was left heartbroken.
“Misogyny is deep-rooted in Egyptian culture. A kid is raised watching his father beat his mother, for instance,” Said Sadek, a professor of political sociology at the American University in Cairo, told ABC News on Thursday.
“The media that frown upon any actress who wears revealing dresses and religious scholars who demand that women cover up from head to toe are also to blame for fueling such sentiments,” he added. “We turn the victim into a criminal and the harassers into heroes.”
Adel was ultimately convicted and sentenced to death last month. The court also took the unusual step of calling for changes to Egyptian law to allow executions to be broadcast live as a deterrent to others. Capital punishment in Egypt is rarely broadcast or carried out in public.
In Egypt, murder is punishable by death. More people were sentenced to death there last year than in any other country. In terms of the number of executions carried out, Egypt had the third highest, according to human rights group Amnesty International.
Nevertheless, critics argue that Egyptian law must be strengthened against gender-based violence, threats or blackmailing, which have been on the rise in recent years.
Sadek cited one example of a man who spent just a few weeks in prison after sexually harassing and beating up a woman in a Cairo shopping mall in 2015. Two years later, he attacked her with a knife, leaving a deep cut in her face, Sadek said.
According to a 2015 survey conducted by the United Nations Population Fund and the Egyptian government, about 7.8 million women in Egypt suffer from all forms of violence every year, “whether perpetrated by a spouse/fiancé or individuals in her close circles or from strangers in public places.”
Sexual violence is also rampant, with over 99.3% of Egyptian girls and women experiencing some form of sexual harassment in their lifetime, according to a U.N. report released in 2013.
Last year, the Parliament of Egypt approved tougher penalties for sexual harassment, making the crime punishable by a minimum of five years in prison. But women rights groups insist more should be done, calling on Egyptian Parliament to fast-track a draft unified law for combating violence against women. The proposed legislation has been in the works for several months.
In the wake of Bahgat’s killing, almost two dozen groups, including the Giza-based Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance, issued a statement Wednesday calling on Egyptian authorities “to take all the measures to protect women and girls, who have the right to live safely in their homeland.”
“Violence has become a culture nurtured by a societal complicity that justifies it, condemns the victim and sympathizes with the perpetrator,” they said. “We encourage women and girls to urgently report any threats they receive to authorities.”
(GUENZBURG, Germany) — Dozens of people were injured on a ride at an amusement park in Germany on Thursday, police said.
The incident occurred at a Legoland park in Günzburg in Bavaria.
At least 31 people were injured in the accident, including one severely, a local police spokesperson confirmed to ABC News. It is unclear how many people have been hospitalized.
Several helicopters responded to the scene.
All passengers have been removed from the ride, which will remain closed, police said.
Investigators will be on the scene Friday, police said.
ABC News did not immediately receive a response from the amusement park when seeking comment.
Last week, a person died in a roller coaster accident at another German amusement park, Klotti Park, after falling off the ride, officials said. Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
(BORDEAUX, France) — A wildfire is raging at an “unprecedented” rate in the famed wine region south of Bordeaux, France, firefighters said Wednesday.
The prefecture of Gironde in southwest France ordered an estimated 10,000 residents to evacuate.
“Prepare your papers, the animals you can take with you, some belongings,” the Gironde municipality of Belin-Beliet posted on their Facebook before evacuations.
No casualties have been reported as of Wednesday afternoon. Sixteen homes have been destroyed, according to the prefecture of Gironde.
The wildfire began around 1 p.m. on Tuesday in Saint-Magne and Hostens before growing rapidly due to “unfavorable weather conditions,” the prefecture said.
Nearly 14,826 acres were engulfed by the flames around Hostens and Belin-Béliet on Tuesday night.
Over 1,000 firefighters, nine planes and two helicopters have been mobilized to address the fire, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a statement Wednesday.
The community of Landiras, the epicenter of the current wildfire, lost over 34,000 acres of forest in July.
According to officials, firefighters are facing at least three other fires in the south of France on Wednesday.
French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne tweeted that she will be visiting the region on Thursday.
“The mobilization of the Government and State services, alongside local elected officials, volunteers and residents, is absolute,” Borne tweeted.
In southern France, temperatures are forecast to reach up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit through the end of the week, according to Meteo France, the country’s metorological service.
Currently, 63% of the European Union and U.K. are under either drought warnings or alerts on Wednesday, according to the EU’s European Drought Observatory.
Over 140,000 acres of French land has burned so far this year, nearly six times more than the average for the country from 2006 to 2021, according to the European Forest Fire System.
(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:
Aug 10, 10:06 AM EDT
Russian strike kills at least 13 civilians in southeastern Ukraine
Russian shelling killed at least 13 civilians in eastern Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region early Wednesday morning, local authorities said.
At least 11 others were injured, with five people remaining in critical condition, according to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko, who said Russian forces fired 80 rockets at residential areas in the region.
“They deliberately and sneakily struck when people were sleeping in their homes,” Reznichenko said in a statement Wednesday.
Russian shells hit civilian objects in the region’s southern Nikopol district from the area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian troops some 30 miles away, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.
More than 20 high-rise buildings, two schools, a city council building and several other administrative buildings in the city of Marhanets were damaged in the attack, Yermak said.
The city of Nikopol and the surrounding areas have been subject to regular shelling for several weeks. Russian forces fired 120 MLRS missiles at Nikopol early Tuesday, damaging several residential and commercial buildings.
Russian missiles also struck the southern city of Mykolaiv on Wednesday, injuring three people, including a child.
Meanwhile, explosions and casualties were also reported in the eastern Sumy region on Wednesday morning.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak and Max Uzol
Aug 10, 7:28 AM EDT
Woman killed in Russian strike on outskirts of Zaporizhzhia, mayor says
Russian forces shelled the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia overnight, killing at least one civilian, the city’s acting mayor, Anatoly Kurtev, said Wednesday.
The strike on the Kushugum community left three homes destroyed and almost 30 others damaged. The civilian who died was a woman, according to Kurtev.
That same night, Ukrainian troops defending the Zaporizhzhia region shot down two Russian missiles, Kurtev said, citing “preliminary information.”
“Take care of yourself and your loved ones,” the acting mayor said in a statement on Telegram. “Don’t ignore the air alarm!”
Aug 09, 5:17 PM EDT
Ukraine behind attack in Crimea, source says; 1 dead
A source familiar with the operation confirmed to ABC News that Ukraine was behind a Tuesday explosion in Russia-annexed Crimea. One person died from the blasts in Novofedorivka in Crimea, Russia’s semi-official Interfax reported, citing Crimean official Sergei Aksyonov.
This is the first major attack in Crimea since the war began in February.
–ABC News’ Britt Clennett and Dada Jovanovic
Aug 08, 2:20 PM EDT
US says 80,000 Russians may have died or been injured in Ukraine conflict
The U.S. estimates that 70,000 to 80,000 Russians have been killed or wounded since the start of the war in Ukraine, Colin Kahl, the undersecretary for defense for policy at the Department of Defense, told reporters Monday.
“There’s a lot of fog in war, but, you know, I think it’s safe to suggest that the Russians have probably taken 70 or 80,000 casualties in less than six months,” Kahl said. “I think that’s kind of in the ballpark.”
Kahl would not talk about specific Ukrainian casualties but noted that “Ukrainian morale and will to fight is unquestioned and much higher, I think, than the average morale and will to fight on the Russian side.” He added, “I think that gives the Ukrainians a significant advantage.”
Russia has gone through “a significant percentage of their precision guided munitions and their standoff munitions,” Khal said. Because they’re “running low,” they’re not using them as much and keeping what they have in reserve for other contingencies, he said. And because of sanctions against Russia, it will be tougher for the military to rebuild their stocks, he said.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez
Aug 08, 1:30 PM EDT
Pentagon announces new $1 billion military aid package
The Pentagon has announced a new $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine.
The package includes more missiles for the HIMARS advanced rocket systems; 1,000 more Javelin anti-tank weapons; 55,000 rounds of artillery for 155mm howitzers; and armored vehicles.
“This package provides a significant amount of additional ammunition, weapons, and equipment that Ukrainians are using so effectively to defend themselves and will bring total U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to approximately $9.8 billion since the beginning of this Administration,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The Treasury Department also announced Monday another $4.5 billion in direct economic assistance to help support Ukraine’s government, including paying salaries and keeping hospitals and schools open.
Aug 08, 9:49 AM EDT
More ships leave Ukraine, raising hopes for peace
Two dry cargo ships loaded with export grain were scheduled to leave the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk and Pivdenne on Monday after a busy weekend that saw four additional cargo vessels sail through Ukrainian waters.
The vessel Sakura, carrying 11,000 tonnes of soy, was the first to leave the Ukrainian port of Pivdenne on Monday as part of an initiative to export grain from Ukraine, local media reported.
The ship set course for Italy in the company of another dry cargo carrier — Arizona — which left Chornomorsk, another Ukrainian Black Sea port, with 50,000 tonnes of corn on Monday. The Arizona vessel is bound for Turkey.
Another four-ship convoy left Ukraine on Sunday morning, carrying 170,000 tons of agricultural produce, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry said over the weekend.
Pope Francis welcomed the safe departure of the ships on Sunday while speaking at the noon-day Angelus prayer. “This event can be seen as a sign of hope,” the Pope said, adding that the export deal charts the path forward toward peace. “I sincerely hope that, following this path, we can put an end to the fighting and arrive at a just and lasting peace.”
So far, around 250,000 tonnes of corn, as well as 11,000 tonnes of soybeans, 6,000 tonnes of sunflower oil and 45,000 tonnes of sunflower meal have been exported from Ukraine on 10 ships since the first departure on Aug. 1, when the deal to establish safe corridors for ships to pass through was struck, according to a Reuters data tally.
Ukraine is planning to send up to five cargo ships a day from three Black Sea Ports in the following weeks, the local Sea Ports Authority said on Monday. Local authorities are also working to ensure that Ukrainian ports can receive at least three to five ships per day within two weeks, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Saturday.
The resumption of grain exports is being overseen by a Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul, comprised of Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. personnel.
Meanwhile, the very first ship with Ukrainian grain that left the port of Odesa on Aug. 1 has been delayed in Tripoli, Lebanon, according to Ihor Ostash, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Lebanon.
“We are waiting for the conclusion of the negotiation process. Following this vessel, 20 others are already ready to leave Odesa,” the ambassador said on Sunday.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yuriy Zaliznyak, Fidel Pavlenko and Max Uzol
Aug 07, 1:35 PM EDT
Jessica Chastain meets with Zelenskyy
Actress Jessica Chastain was photographed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday in Kyiv following a meeting in which the Oscar winner expressed support for the country under siege by Russia.
“For us, such visits of famous people are extremely valuable,” Zelenskyy wrote on his verified Telegram account. “Thanks to this, the world will hear, know and understand the truth about what is happening in our country even more.”
In the post, Zelenskyy thanked Chastain for her support and published several photos of Chastain sitting at a table with Zelenskyy and two of his advisers.
Chastain has been vocal on social media regarding the plight Ukrainians are experiencing. In March, she tweeted photos published by Vogue Ukraine that highlighted the women being forced to give birth in bomb shelters are the start of the invasion.
-ABC News Christine Theodorou
Aug 05, 4:05 PM EDT
Russia shelled nuclear plant, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces shelled the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Friday.
Zelenskyy said forces twice struck the plant, which is in Russian-controlled territory in the southeast, and called the action “an act of terror,” in a statement released on Telegram.
“Russia should be responsible for the very fact of creating a threat to the nuclear power plant,” he said in the statement.
The facility is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
The Russian military, however, claimed it was a Ukrainian artillery strike that led to the reduction of activities of one power unit, and power falling at another.
They claimed 20 shells were fired at the city of Enerhodar and the power plant.
“Fortunately, the Ukrainian shells did not hit the oil and fuel facility and the oxygen plant nearby, thus avoiding a larger fire and a possible radiation accident,” Russia’s defense ministry said, according to Reuters.
Earlier this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency officials said the situation at Zaporizhzhia was “out of control” as routine safety checks had not been observed. IAEA officials have appealed for access to the Russian-controlled plant.
Aug 05, 6:33 AM EDT
3 more ships carrying Ukrainian grain leave Odesa-area ports
Another three commercial ships carrying Ukrainian grain have departed from Odesa-area ports under a wartime deal, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said Friday.
The vessels are bound for Turkey, the United Kingdom and Ireland, with a combined total of 58,000 tons of Ukrainian corn onboard. All three ships will undergo inspection in Istanbul, as is required under the grain exports deal, according to the ministry.
The United Nations confirmed Thursday that three more grain ships — two from the port of Chornomorsk and one from Odesa — were cleared to depart through the designated “maritime humanitarian corridor.”
On Monday, the first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain set sail from Odesa’s port under the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative, bound for the Lebanese port of Tripoli. Last month, Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the U.N. to allow Ukraine to resume its shipment of grain from the Black Sea to world markets and for Russia to export grain and fertilizers.
Aug 04, 10:24 AM EDT
Ukrainian fighting tactics endanger civilians, Amnesty International says
Ukrainian forces attempting to repel the Russian invasion have put civilians in harm’s way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals, Amnesty International said Thursday.
The London-based international human rights group published a new report detailing such tactics, saying they turn civilian objects into military targets.
“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas,” Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in a statement. “Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international humanitarian law.”
Between April and July, Amnesty International researchers spent several weeks investigating Russian airstrikes in the Kharkiv, Donbas and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine. The organization inspected strike sites, interviewed survivors, witnesses and relatives of victims of attacks, as well as carried out remote-sensing and weapons analysis. Throughout the probe, researchers found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages in the regions, according to Amnesty International.
The organization said most residential areas where Ukrainian soldiers located themselves were miles away from front lines, with viable alternatives that would not endanger civilians, such as nearby military bases or densely wooded areas, and other structures further away. In the cases documented, Amnesty International said it is not aware of the Ukrainian troops asking or assisting civilians to evacuate nearby buildings in the residential areas, which the organization called “a failure to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians.”
Amnesty International, however, noted that not every Russian attack it documented followed this pattern. In certain other locations in which the organization concluded that Russia had committed war crimes, including in some areas of the city of Kharkiv, the organization did not find evidence of Ukrainian forces located in the civilian areas unlawfully targeted by the Russian military.
Aug 03, 11:21 AM EDT
Inspectors in Turkey clear 1st grain ship from Ukraine, but no sign of more
The first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain under a wartime deal has safely departed the Black Sea, the United Nations said Wednesday.
The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni set sail from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Monday, with more than 26,000 tons of Ukrainian corn on board. The vessel docked off the coast of Istanbul late Tuesday, where it was required to be inspected before being allowed to proceed to its final destination, Lebanon.
A joint civilian inspection comprising officials from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the U.N. inspected the Razoni on Wednesday morning, checking on the cargo and crew. After three hours, the team cleared the ship to set sail for Lebanon, according to the U.N. said.
“This marks the conclusion of an initial ‘proof of concept’ operation to execute the agreement,” the U.N. said in a statement Wednesday.
It’s the first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain to safely depart the Black Sea since the start of Russia’s ongoing offensive, and the first to do so under the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative. Last month, Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the U.N. to allow Ukraine to resume its shipment of grain from the Black Sea to world markets and for Russia to export grain and fertilizers.
In a statement Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Razoni’s journey a “significant step” but noted that “this is only a first step.”
No other grain shipments have departed Ukraine in the last two days and officials on all sides have offered no explanation for that delay.
The U.N. said Wednesday that three Ukrainian ports “are due to resume the export of millions of tons of wheat, corn and other crops,” but didn’t provide further details.
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain, fertilizer and fuel has skyrocketed worldwide. Russia and Ukraine — often referred to collectively as Europe’s breadbasket — produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but a Russian blockade in the Black Sea combined with Ukrainian naval mines have made exporting siloed grain and other foodstuffs virtually impossible. As a result, millions of people around the world — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — are now on the brink of famine.
Aug 03, 9:58 AM EDT
Thousands flee ‘hell’ in Ukraine’s east
Two-thirds of residents have fled eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast since the start of Russia’s invasion in late February, according to the regional governor.
Speaking to Ukrainian media on Tuesday, Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said some 350,000 residents remain in the war-torn region.
During his Tuesday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the hostilities in Ukraine’s east “hell.”
“It cannot be described with words,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian forces cannot yet “completely break the Russian army’s advantage in artillery and manpower, and this is very noticeable in the fighting,” he added.
Last month, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 200,000 civilians must be evacuated from the Donetsk Oblast before the weather gets colder, as there is no proper electricity or gas supply in the area for residents to heat their homes. Russian forces are also destroying heating equipment, according to Vereshchuk.
Zelenskyy has ordered the mandatory evacuation of Donetsk Oblast residents, urging them to leave as soon as possible. Those who comply will be compensated.
“The more people leave [the] Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he said.
Although many refuse to go, Zelenskyy stressed that “it still needs to be done.”
Mandatory evacuation from Donetsk Oblast began on Aug. 1. The first two trains evacuated 224 people to the central Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytskyi, according to local officials.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Fidel Pavlenko and Yuriy Zaliznyak
Photography by Keith Getter (all rights reserved)/Getty Images
(SEOUL, South Korea) — Heavy rain with thunder and lightning has battered South Korea’s central areas for two straight days, causing damage, injuries and deaths.
Ten people have died and seven more have been reported missing in the heavy rain in the last two days, according to South Korea’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. A family of three living in a semi-basement apartment died when their home flooded, in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, officials said.
The heaviest-ever rainfall since South Korea began tracking precipitation data has flooded subway stations and submerged roads and homes.
Korea Meteorological Administration said the rainfall was a result of a strong collision between dry cold air coming from the North and hot humid air from the South.
Thousands of vehicles were submerged in Seoul on Monday night, forcing drivers to abandon their cars on the flooded road to get home. Muddy water brimmed over the river onto the streets and into the vehicles. Public sewers overflowed, not being able to hold the amount of rain that poured fast and hard.
“It rained 140 millimeters (5.5 inches) Monday night in the Dongjak district, Seoul, in just one hour. Seoul city’s annual precipitation is 1,400 millimeters (55 inches), which means that in just one hour, one-tenth of Seoul city’s yearly rainfall poured in just one part of the city in a very short period,” Lee Young-joo, professor of fire prevention science at the University of Seoul, told ABC News.
Hundreds of people living in mountainous areas in Seoul were evacuated to prevent damage from landslides Monday night. Civil service workers relocated residents living in lower-level homes and near mountains to temporary shelters. The heavy rain that poured after 6 p.m. Monday was especially harsh on people commuting from work to their homes.
“When I got off work, water was up to my knees and children were struggling to wade through the flooded water,” Seoul citizen Dong-Ug Yoon told ABC News about his difficult commute home. “The subway station was full of dirt. The shopkeeper of the underground convenience store was visibly emotional, trying to hold off the water gushing from the station stairs into her store.”
Gangnam district, well known for its posh streets and office buildings, was hit aggressively by the rain due to its topographical traits. The Gangnam subway station area is known to be 30 feet lower than the neighboring subway stations, making it more vulnerable to heavy rain and flood.
“Cars and buses were submerged in the flood so I had to park my car on a relatively safe side of the road and walk home. It took almost two hours trying to find roads that weren’t underwater yet,” Yewon Lee, an organist living in Seoul, told ABC News. “When I returned early this morning, I found other vehicles that floated down and collapsed into my car.”
The Seoul Metropolitan Government repaired the drainage facility in Gangnam after the area flooded from heavy rain in 2010.
Lee, the professor, said at the amount of rain that poured since Monday was way over the scale a reasonable drainage system could handle.
President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered officials during an emergency meeting Tuesday to “respond all-out with a sense of alertness.” He ordered officials to put in place preemptive entry restrictions in areas prone to landslides and flooding and for swiftly communicating the measures to the public.
