This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 6, 2025, shows a firefighter working on a fire following the Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Handout/State Emergency Service of Ukraine
(LONDON) — A Russian missile strike killed at least one person in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the early hours of Sunday, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, as Moscow continued an intense period of long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine’s air force reported 23 missiles and 109 strike drones launched into the country overnight, of which 13 missiles and 40 drones were shot down, with another 53 drones lost in flight without causing damage.
Damage was reported in the Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy and Mykolaiv regions, the air force said.
In the capital, Klitschko said one person was killed and three people were injured, while fires broke out in “non-residential buildings.” One office building was also partly destroyed, he said.
Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office, wrote on Telegram, “Russia is increasing the intensity of attacks and clearly does not want to cease fire, does not want peace. It wants to kill Ukrainians, our children.”
“The language of force is the only one that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin understands,” Yermak added. “All our partners must switch to this language.”
Zelenskyy said the strike proved that the “pressure on Russia is still not enough.”
“Such attacks are Putin’s response to all international diplomatic efforts,” Zelenskyy said in a statement posted to Telegram. “There can be no easing of pressure. It is worth directing all forces to ensure security and bring peace closer.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down 11 Ukrainian drones overnight over three Russian regions.
Both sides are continuing long-range attacks as U.S.-brokered ceasefire negotiations continue. Last month, both Kyiv and Moscow said they agreed to freeze strikes on energy infrastructure and end attacks in the Black Sea.
Both sides have since accused the other of repeatedly violating the agreement to pause attacks on energy infrastructure.
Ukraine has also accused Russia of intentionally targeting civilians in major strikes over the past week. On Friday, a Russian ballistic missile and drone attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih — Zelenskyy’s home town — killed 19 people, including nine children.
“Yes, the war must end,” Zelenskyy wrote in a Saturday morning statement. “But in order to end it, we must not be afraid to call a spade a spade. We must not be afraid to put pressure on the only one who continues this war and ignores all the world’s proposals to end it.”
“We must put pressure on Russia, which chooses to kill children instead of a ceasefire. We must introduce additional sanctions against those who cannot exist without ballistic strikes on neighboring people. We must do everything possible to save lives.”
City utility workers clean up after a Russian drone attack on April 4, 2025 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The Russian army carried out around six strikes in the Novobavarskyi district. Nearly 30 residential high-rise buildings and dozens of cars were damaged. More than 30 people were injured, and 5 were killed. (Photo by Hnat Holyk/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
(LONSON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for “sufficient pressure on Russia” after a day of missile and drone strikes that killed at least 23 people and as Kirill Dmitriev — the CEO of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund and an envoy of President Vladimir Putin — met with officials in the U.S.
Eighteen people were killed — among them nine children — in a Russian ballistic missile attack on the central city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, Oleksandr Vilkul — the head of the local defense council — said in a post on Telegram. Another 56 people were injured in the strike, Vilkul said.
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wrote in a post to X, “Horrified that tonight a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih. More than 50 people injured and 16 killed, including 6 children. This is why the war must end.”
Zelenskyy said in a Saturday morning post to Telegram that the American reaction was inadequate.
“Unfortunately, the reaction of the American Embassy is unpleasantly surprising: such a strong country, such strong people — and such a weak reaction,” he said. “They are even afraid to say the word ‘Russian’ when talking about the missile that killed children.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strike targeted a meeting of Ukrainian commanders and “Western instructors” at a restaurant in the city. Ukrainian officials disputed the Russian justification.
Zelenskyy said in a statement on Friday evening that the strike in Kryvyi Rih — his home town — hit “an area near residential buildings: hitting a playground and regular streets,” describing those responsible for the attack as “inhuman.”
The president also reported a strike drone attack in the northeastern city of Kharkiv which killed five people and wounded 34 others. Another attack in the southern city of Kherson “hit an energy facility — the Kherson thermal power plant,” Zelenskyy wrote.
“Yes, the war must end,” Zelenskyy wrote in his Saturday morning statement. “But in order to end it, we must not be afraid to call a spade a spade. We must not be afraid to put pressure on the only one who continues this war and ignores all the world’s proposals to end it.”
“We must put pressure on Russia, which chooses to kill children instead of a ceasefire. We must introduce additional sanctions against those who cannot exist without ballistic strikes on neighboring people. We must do everything possible to save lives.”
Russia and Ukraine both launched more strikes overnight into Sunday morning. Ukraine’s air force reported 92 drones entering the country overnight, of which 51 were shot down and 31 lost in flight without causing damage. The air force reported damage in the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Artyom Zdunov — the head of the Mordovia region, to the southeast of Moscow — said in a Telegram post that a drone targeted an industrial site there. “Operational and emergency services are working on the territory,” he wrote. “According to preliminary information, there are no casualties.”
Andriy Kovalenko — the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council — wrote on Telegram that a strike by “unknown drones” targeted a military industrial complex in Saransk, the capital of Mordovia. Kovalenko said goods produced there are used “in control, communication and data transmission systems, in particular — in the deployment of secure communication channels for the Russian army and in the control of drones.”
Both Ukraine and Russia have accused the other of continuing strikes on energy facilities despite the U.S.-brokered partial ceasefire that all parties said they agreed to last month. The agreement was intended to freeze all attacks on energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea, Kyiv, Moscow and Washington said.
Zelenskyy on Friday again accused Russia of violating the terms of the deal.
“These strikes cannot be accidental,” the president said. “The Russians know exactly that these are energy facilities and that such facilities should be protected from any attacks under what Russia itself promised to the American side.”
“Every Russian promise ends with missiles or drones, bombs or artillery,” he continued.
“Diplomacy means nothing to them. And that’s why pressure is needed — sufficient pressure on Russia so they feel the consequences of every lie of theirs, every strike, every single day they take lives and prolong the war.”
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also accused Ukraine of violating the partial ceasefire. Moscow passed information about the alleged violations to the U.S., the foreign minister said. On Saturday, Russia’s Defense Ministry alleged 14 Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure over the previous 24 hours.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration is waiting to see whether Moscow is serious about reaching an agreement to end its 3-year-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Noting Dmitriev’s meetings in Washington this week, Rubio said, “He’ll take some messages back” to Moscow. “And the message is, the United States needs to know whether you’re serious or not about peace. Ultimately, Putin will have to make that decision.”
“If there’s a delay tactic, the President’s not interested in that,” Rubio said. “If this is dragging things out, President Trump’s not going to fall into the trap of endless negotiations about negotiations,” he added.
Washington’s messages to the Kremlin via Dmitriev were not “threatening,” Rubio said, but were instead “more of an explanation of…our timeline,” which Rubio said was a matter of “weeks.”
“It’s pretty short. At the same time as we now have seen, members of Congress have begun to file bills to increase sanctions. So there is going to be growing pressure from Capitol Hill to impose sanctions,” Rubio continued. “All these factors have been explained in the nicest way possible. Hopefully he’ll take that message back to Moscow.”
As to potential violations of the partial ceasefire, Rubio suggested some incidents were to be expected. “I think there’s things they’re not striking that they were before,” he said.
But “if all of a sudden we wake up tomorrow and the Russians are launching a massive offensive, then I think that’s a pretty clear sign they’re not interested in peace,” Rubio added. “That hasn’t happened yet.”
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman, Christopher Boccia, Tanya Stukalova and Oleksiy Pshemyskiy contributed to this report.
(SEOUL) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose short-lived declaration of martial law late last year plunged the country into political chaos, in a decision that removes the suspended leader from office.
The verdict was read in court shortly after 11 a.m. Friday local time (10 p.m. Thursday ET). Police across the country had been placed on the highest security alert level ahead of the verdict, with a security perimeter established around the court in Seoul, according to the Yonhap news agency.
With the court’s decision, Yoon is formally removed from office and South Korea will hold a snap presidential election within 60 days, according to the news agency.
Yoon was removed from office by the opposition-controlled National Assembly after declaring martial law in a televised speech on Dec. 3, claiming the opposition party sympathized with North Korea and was paralyzing the government.
The move sparked fierce protests, and several hours after the declaration, the National Assembly voted to demand that the president lift the martial law order.
Separate from his removal from office, Yoon was indicted by South Korean prosecutors on insurrection charges over the brief imposition of martial law.
An arrest warrant against him led to a standoff between his security team and police earlier this year.
In a dramatic scene, thousands of police descended on his home and were met with crowds of the impeached president’s backers, including some who lay down in front of police vehicles in an attempt to block authorities from reaching the residence.
Yoon was eventually arrested several days later and held in custody until March 8.
(HUNGARY) — Hungary announced it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, the world’s first and only permanent tribunal for war crimes and genocide, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Budapest for a four-day visit.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant last November for Netanyahu and former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
At the time, the ICC said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant committed war crimes in Gaza, and added that Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction is not required. Israel is not a member of the ICC.
As a member of the ICC, Hungary would be obligated to arrest Netanyahu when he visited.
Netanyahu was accused of being responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts from at least Oct. 8, 2023, until at least May 20, 2024, according to the ICC.
Netanyahu has rejected the ICC’s arrest warrant and said the actions and charges are “absurd and false.” Gallant also rejected the warrant and said it was an “attempt to deny the State of Israel the right to defend herself.”
Hungary will initiate its withdrawal from the ICC on Thursday, Gergely Gulyás, the Hungarian prime minister’s chief of staff, said in a post on Facebook.
“I am convinced that this otherwise important international judicial forum has been degraded into a political tool, with which we cannot and do not want to engage,” Orbán said Thursday at a press conference after welcoming Netanyahu, according to The Associated Press.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban first extended an invitation to Netanyahu in November after the ICC issued its arrest warrant, according to The Associated Press. The divisive Orban has been the leader of Hungary since 2010, and previously served in the same role from 1998 to 2002. The conservative nationalist leader has close ties to Russia and has been celebrated by Donald Trump.
Hungary joined the ICC in November 2001 during Orban’s first term as prime minister.
The 125 states that recognize the ICC — including France, Germany and the United Kingdom — are obliged to arrest anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant who enters their territory.
The Presidency of the of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, which leads the ICC and is currently composed of the president, Finland’s Päivi Kaukoranta, and vice presidents, Poland’s Margareta Kassangana and Sierra Leon’s Michael Kanu, said it “expresses concern” at Hungary’s decision to remove itself from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC.
“When a State Party withdraws from the Rome Statute, it clouds our shared quest for justice and weakens our resolve to fight impunity,” the presidency said in a statement. “The ICC is at the centre of the global commitment to accountability, and in order to maintain its strength, it is imperative that the international community support it without reservation. Justice requires our unity.”
The White House also rejected the court’s decision to issue warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Since taking office, Trump has issued sanctions against the ICC claiming the court has “engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.”
The ICC granted membership to the state of Palestine in 2015, giving the court territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. A pretrial chamber affirmed the ratification in 2021.
The ratification laid the groundwork for the arrest warrant issued by the court against Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024.
At the same time, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, though the mastermind of Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel was believed to have been killed in an Israeli airstrike several months before the warrant was issued. Hamas confirmed in January that Deif had been killed last August.
(LONDON) — The death toll from last week’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar rose to 3,085 people as of Thursday morning, according to an update released by the country’s military government.
Another 4,715 people have been injured and 341 others remain missing, the junta said.
The epicenter of Friday’s magnitude earthquake was near the northern city of Mandalay — Myanmar’s second-largest city. But severe damage has been reported across the country, with thousands of buildings razed, roads destroyed and bridges collapsed.
The earthquake also rocked Thailand, where at least 22 people have been confirmed killed and 35 others injured in the capital Bangkok, according to the city’s Metropolitan Administration.
Most of the casualties there were related to the collapse of a high-rise building that was under construction when the powerful quake struck the region.
Search and rescue teams have been working around the clock to find the 72 people who were reported as missing from the incident, Bangkok officials said, with hopes that some may still be alive beneath the heavy, thick layers of debris seven days later.
City officials expressed concern that it could rain Thursday, which might hinder ongoing search and rescue efforts.
“We hope that a miracle will happen,” the administration said in a situation update posted to Facebook.
“For those trapped beneath the debris, if they are still alive, the heat may not be a big issue because there are vents and it is not as hot as above,” it said. “The main problem is dehydration.”
(LONDON) — Israel’s renewed military operation in the Gaza Strip “is expanding to crush and cleanse the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and seize large areas that will be annexed to the security zones of the state of Israel,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Wednesday.
The minister said that a “large-scale evacuation of the Gazan population from the fighting areas” is accompanying the expanded military campaign in the strip.
“I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to eliminate Hamas and return all the kidnapped,” Katz added. “This is the only way to end the war.”
Israel renewed its assault on neighboring Gaza in March after a pause of nearly two months, during which time 33 Israeli hostages were released by Hamas in exchange for some 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, according to The Associated Press.
Israel is demanding the immediate release of all remaining hostages — consisting of 59 people, 24 of whom are still believed to be alive — who were abducted to Gaza during the Hamas-led surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he ordered renewed strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to free half of the remaining hostages as a precondition for extending the ceasefire, the first phase of which expired on March 1. The bombardment resumed with “full force,” the prime minister said on March 18, adding that further negotiations “will continue only under fire.”
Israel’s renewed operations in Gaza sparked condemnation from regional powers including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said the resumption was “fully coordinated with Washington.”
Israeli leaders have consistently expressed their intention to fully destroy Hamas and remove the Palestinian militant group from power in Gaza. Israel intends to retain security control over the territory as part of any post-war settlement, Netanyahu, Katz and other top officials have said.
Katz last month also announced the creation of a new directorate within the Israeli Ministry of Defense to facilitate the “voluntary emigration” out of strip. The directorate’s work aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that Palestinians be resettled outside of Gaza, Katz said in February.
Palestinian, United Nations and human rights organizations have suggested that the U.S.-Israeli resettlement policy is akin to “ethnic cleansing.” Israel has denied such allegations.
Gaza has been devastated by the war that was sparked by the Oct. 7 terror attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed in Israel, according to the Israeli government.
Israel’s subsequent operations in Gaza have killed more than 50,300 people and injured more than 114,000, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health. More than 1,000 people have been killed since the resumption of Israeli strikes on March 18, the ministry said.
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor contributed to this report
“The Soldier was found after a search by hundreds of rescue workers from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Polish Armed Forces, Estonian Armed Forces, and many other elements of the Lithuanian government and civilian agencies,” the Army said in a statement.
The four soldiers are all based in Fort Stewart, Georgia. Their identities have not been released.
“This past week has been devastating,” Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd Infantry Division commanding general, said in a statement. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.”
The soldiers went missing on March 25 while operating an M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle, the Army said, and the next day, their 63-ton vehicle was found submerged in about 15 feet of water and mud in a training area.
“Most likely, the M88 drove into the swamp,” and the vehicle “may have just gone diagonally to the bottom,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene told ABC News via phone last week.
The soldiers’ vehicle was removed from a swamp early Monday morning after six days of work to retrieve it, the Army said.
The search effort — which included law enforcement and military personnel from several countries — was complicated by the muddy conditions and unstable ground, officials said.
“It has been truly amazing and very humbling to watch the incredible recovery team from different commands, countries and continents come together and give everything to recover our Soldiers,” Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general, V Corps, said in a statement Tuesday. “Thank you, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers. We are forever grateful.”
This undated photo posted by the New York Yankees on the social media site X shows 14-year-old Miller Gardner, the son of former Yankees players Brett Gardner, who died, Mar. 21, 2025, from a sudden illness while on a family vacation. (@Yankees/X)
(MANUEL ANTONIO, COSTA RICA) — High levels of carbon monoxide were detected in 14-year-old Miller Gardner’s hotel room, Costa Rican police revealed more than one week after the son of former New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner mysteriously died on a family vacation.
The carbon monoxide was discovered while conducting tests last week in Miller Gardner’s room at the exclusive Arenas Del Mar resort in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rican police said Monday.
Miller Gardner’s cause of death is not known and investigators are still waiting for final toxicology results.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss,” a spokesperson for the Arenas Del Mar resort said in a statement. “We trust that the forensic process will objectively, clearly, and conclusively clarify the causes of this unfortunate incident.”
“Out of respect for the ongoing judicial process and the family’s privacy, we will refrain from commenting on any unconfirmed hypotheses or possible causes,” the spokesperson continued.
Miller Gardner died in his sleep on the morning of March 21, according to the family.
The night before, the Gardners went out to dinner at a restaurant close to the resort, and they felt sick when they returned to the hotel, according to a Costa Rican source close to the investigation.
A hotel spokesperson said the staff “dispatched a medical team immediately, including a licensed doctor, which arrived to handle the emergency situation.”
“Miller was a beloved son and brother and we cannot yet comprehend our life without his infectious smile,” the Gardners said. “We are so thankful to all who have reached out to offer support and encouragement during this difficult time and we are confident our faith, family, and friends will help us navigate this unimaginable loss.”
(MANDALAY CITY, MYANMAR) — At least 2,719 people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of Friday’s massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, a government official told local media on Tuesday.
Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said during a televised broadcast that another 4,521 people were injured, according to The Associated Press and Reuters.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
Hnat Holyk/Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Russia launched no long-range strike drones into Ukraine on Monday night and into Tuesday morning, Ukraine’s air force said, marking the first night since December 2024 in which zero such craft targeted the country.
Ukraine’s air force reported two missiles launched into the southern Zaporizhzhia region, both of which were shot down. The air force sent out no drone warnings during the night.
The air force also said that Russia attacked frontline communities in Zaporizhzhia with five guided bombs on Monday evening, killing one person and injuring five others.
The absence of attack drones represented a notable departure from recent weeks, which have seen Russia launch massed drone attacks — often of more than 100 drones in the course of a night — against Ukrainian cities.
“There were no strike UAVs,” Andriy Kovalenko — the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council — wrote on Telegram. “We are monitoring the situation, but this doesn’t mean anything yet.”
Both Kyiv and Moscow have continued to launch massed cross-border drone strikes in recent months, despite U.S. efforts to facilitate a ceasefire and eventual peace deal to end Russia’s 3-year-old invasion of its neighbor.
Last week, all three parties — the U.S., Ukraine and Russia — said they agreed to pause any attacks in the Black Sea and freeze strikes on energy infrastructure. Both Kyiv and Moscow have since accused the other of violating the pause on energy attacks.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its forces downed three Ukrainian drones overnight over the territory of its western Bryansk region. The ministry also alleged that Ukrainian drones targeted energy facilities twice over the previous 24 hours.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha also accused Russia of attacking energy infrastructure, telling journalists Monday that a strike on a facility in the southern Kherson region left 45,000 residents without power.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly cited Russia’s near-nightly bombardments as evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no real interest in the ceasefire and peace being proposed by President Donald Trump and his administration.
In a Sunday evening video address, Zelenskyy reported “more strikes and shelling” in seven Ukrainian regions. “The geography and brutality of Russian strikes, not just occasionally, but literally every day and night, show that Putin couldn’t care less about diplomacy,” he said.
“For several weeks now, there has been a U.S. proposal for an unconditional ceasefire,” Zelenskyy added. “And almost every day, in response to this proposal, there are Russian drones, bombs, artillery shelling and ballistic strikes.”
In recent days, Trump hinted at frustration with Moscow, telling reporters he was “very angry” at Putin after the Russian leader again criticized Zelenskyy and called for his removal in favor of a transitional government.
Trump added he would consider applying new sanctions on Russia’s lucrative oil exports and on any nations purchasing its oil. China and India are among the most significant customers for Russian oil products.
The president later told reporters on Air Force One that his administration was making significant progress toward ending the war. Asked about his relationship with Putin, Trump responded, “I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word.”
Asked if there was a deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire, Trump suggested there was a “psychological deadline.”
He added, “If I think they’re tapping us along, I will not be happy about it.”
