Valeria Zarudna/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — The details of talks between the U.S. and Russia that took place in Saudi Arabia on Monday will not be made public, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
“After all, this is about technical talks,” Peskov said, as quoted by Russia’s state-run Tass news agency. The discussions, he added, went “into details so, certainly, the content of these talks will not be made public for sure. This is something that should not be expected.”
“Currently, the reports made [by the delegations] to their capitals are being analyzed, and only later it will be possible to speak of any understanding,” Peskov added.
Monday’s closed-door talks in Riyadh lasted for 12 hours, a source told Tass. A source told the RIA Novosti state media agency that a joint statement on the negotiations was to be issued on Tuesday.
Grigory Karasin, the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, who took part in the talks in Riyadh, told Tass that “the dialogue was detailed and complex but quite useful for us and for the Americans.” Karasin added, “We discussed numerous issues.”
The talks were expected to include discussions on a potential ceasefire in the Black Sea, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday. That proposal, Peskov said, came from President Donald Trump and was agreed to by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A proposed pause in long-range attacks on energy and other critical infrastructure targets was also expected to be part of discussions. Though Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy both agreed to the proposal in principle last week, cross-border strikes have continued.
U.S. and Ukrainian representatives held talks after the American meeting with the Russian team concluded, a source familiar with the discussions told ABC News.
On Monday, responding to another round of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, Zelenskyy wrote on social media that “the war was brought from Russia and it is to Russia that the war must be pushed back. They must be the ones forced into peace. They are the ones who must be pressured to ensure security.”
On Monday night into Tuesday morning, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched one missile and 139 drones into the country, of which 78 drones were shot down and 34 lost in flight without causing damage.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down five Ukrainian drones over occupied Crimea.
ABC News’ Anna Sergeeva, Oleksiy Pshemyskiy, Will Gretsky, Ellie Kaufman and Guy Davies contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Dozens were injured, including children, in a Russian strike on Ukraine, officials said Monday, as American and Russian negotiators meet again in Saudi Arabia in the White House’s continued push for a ceasefire and eventual peace deal to end Moscow’s three-year-old war on Ukraine.
A proposed pause on strikes targeting energy infrastructure is expected to be among the topics of discussion, with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy having already indicated their support — at least in principle — for the plan.
Russia’s state-run TASS news agency reported that the American and Russian teams began the behind-closed-doors talks in Riyadh on Monday morning. After more than eight hours, they were still ongoing, Russian state media reported.
President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff — who has been central to talks with both Moscow and Kyiv — expressed hope for progress on Sunday, telling Fox News that the president’s “philosophy of peace through strength brings people to the table to clear up misconceptions and to get peace deals done.”
“I’m not sure how anyone would expect an end to a conflict when you’re not communicating,” Witkoff said.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said this weekend that “there are difficult negotiations ahead.” spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state television, “We are only at the beginning of this path.”
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said proposals to ensure the safety of Black Sea shipping would be among the topics discussed in Saudi Arabia, suggesting the idea came from Trump and was agreed to by Putin.
The U.S.-Russia meeting on Monday comes on the heels of a meeting between the American and Ukrainian teams in Riyadh on Sunday. Zelenskyy said Sunday evening he had been briefed on the “quite useful” discussion by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who took part.
“But no matter what we’re discussing with our partners right now, Putin must be pushed to issue a real order to stop the strikes — because the one who brought this war must be the one to take it back,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Moscow’s continued missile and drone attacks across the country. Ukraine has also continued its own long-range drone strikes into Russia.
Witkoff remarks spark concern
Other remarks made by Witkoff over the weekend again piqued concerns in Ukraine and elsewhere that the Trump administration is aligning itself with false or misleading Russian narratives about its decades-long campaigns of meddling and aggression in Ukraine.
Discussing the Ukrainian regions partially occupied and claimed annexed by Russia since 2022 — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — plus Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, Witkoff told conservative media personality Tucker Carlson, “They are Russian-speaking, and there have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule.”
Witkoff did not acknowledge that the supposed referenda held in those territories — whether in 2014 in the case of Crimea or 2022 in the other regions — were widely dismissed by Western powers, human rights organizations and international bodies as fraudulent and illegitimate.
In September 2022, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. “does not, and will never, recognize any of the Kremlin’s claims to sovereignty over parts of Ukraine that it’s seized by force and now purports to incorporate into Russia.”
Witkoff also touted the apparent warm relationship between Trump and Putin, telling Carlson that the Russian leader claimed to have prayed for “his friend” Trump after the assassination attempt against the president in July 2024. Putin also gave Witkoff a portrait of Trump as a gift, he said.
“This is the kind of connection that we’ve been able to reestablish through a simple word called communication, which many people would say I shouldn’t have had because Putin is a bad guy,” Witkoff said. “I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy.”
Witkoff’s latest remarks have deepened concerns in Ukraine as to the Trump administration’s approach to the nascent peace process.
“What he has said is absolutely unacceptable,” Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee, told ABC News. “Listening to his interview I thought to myself: ‘Who is he? The American president’s envoy or Putin’s envoy?'”
Witkoff, Merezhko added, may have fallen for “Russian propaganda” or may be trying to win Putin’s support for Trump’s ceasefire proposal.
Regardless, Merezhko urged Trump to disavow what he called Witkoff’s “dangerous statements.”
Strikes continue
Meanwhile, deadly cross-border drone attacks continued through the weekend. On Sunday night into Monday morning, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 99 drones into the country, of which 93 were either shot down or lost in flight without causing damage. Russian air defense shot down 28 drones fired into Russian territory by Ukraine, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Dozens of people, including 13 children, were injured in a Russian missile strike on Sumy, the city’s health department said Monday. A school building was partially destroyed in the strike, according to the Emergency Service of Ukraine.
“Moscow speaks of peace while carrying out brutal strikes on densely populated residential areas in major Ukrainian cities,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X.
“A few hours ago, another horrific Russian bombing of Sumy’s city center injured dozens [of] civilians, including many children,” Sybiha said. “Instead of making hollow statements about peace, Russia must stop bombing our cities and end its war on civilians.”
ABC News’ Yuriy Zaliznyak, Victoria Beaule, Anna Sergeeva and Guy Davies contributed to this report.
Interior view of destroyed Nasser Hospital following the Israeli attack in Khan Yunis, Gaza/Abdallah F.s. Alattar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — A senior Hamas official was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday, the terror group and the Israel Defense Forces said, as Israel expanded its renewed campaign into the Palestinian territory.
Ismail Barhoum, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, was killed in the strike on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Hamas confirmed, describing the attack as a “cowardly” assassination. Hamas said Barhoum was receiving medical treatment in the hospital when he was killed.
The IDF and Israeli Security Agency said in a joint statement that the attack targeted a “key terrorist in the Hamas terrorist organization” who was “operating inside” the hospital, which is the largest in southern Gaza.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said the Israeli strike targeted the hospital’s surgical wing and occurred when “many patients and wounded” were inside the hospital. Videos from the scene showed a fire inside the building following the strike.
The ministry said that “many others” — including medical personnel — were wounded in the strike, “with varying degrees of injuries.” The attack, it added, “also caused panic and forced the complete evacuation of the department after a large portion of it was destroyed.”
Nasser Hospital has been shelled several times by Israeli forces since war broke out in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, following Hamas’ surprise attack into southern Israel.
IDF forces raided the hospital in February 2024, when the IDF said it had intelligence that hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack had been held there. Israel has repeatedly alleged that Hamas was using the facility as a “command-and-control center.” Hamas has denied using Nasser and other Gaza hospitals for military purposes.
Israel resumed its air and ground campaign in Gaza last week, ending the ceasefire agreed with Hamas in January.
At least 673 people have since been killed and 1,233 injured by Israeli strikes since the ceasefire ended, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The total death toll in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, is now at 50,021, according to the ministry.
ABC News’ Diaa Ostaz, Will Gretsky and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.
(ROME) — Pope Francis will be discharged from the hospital on Sunday and return to his residence at the Vatican, his doctors announced at a press conference Saturday. The pope was in the hospital for 37 days.
The pope, 88, has been in stable condition for the past two weeks, according to the Vatican.
The pope will appear at 12 p.m. local time, 7 a.m. ET, from the window of the hospital on Sunday, to greet and bless the people before leaving the hospital, the Vatican said.
“Pope Francis intends to appear from the Policlinico Agostino Gemelli in Rome for a greeting and a blessing at the end of tomorrow’s Angelus [noontime prayer]. Papal text will be distributed in written form as in recent weeks,” the Vatican said.
The pope will be recovering for two months at his Vatican residence, according to a spokesperson for the Vatican.
Pope Francis will have to continue his physiotherapy from his residence.
“The pope is getting better so that in brief time he can resume his normal activities. He has always continued to work but we recommend that he takes the adequate time to rest and convalescence. So he cant meet large groups of people,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
It will take some time for the pope’s voice to return to normal as he continues to recover, Bruni said.
“When you have a bilateral pneumonia … and your lungs have been damaged, … muscles affected … one of the first thing that happens is you lose your voice and like for all patients, young and old … it will take some time for his voice to return to normal. We have already seen important improvements,” Bruni said.
The pope will need oxygen at his residence and the Vatican has 24-hour health support
On Friday, the Vatican said the pope’s condition remained stable as he continued to have small improvements in terms of breathing and motor skills.
“At night he no longer uses mechanical ventilation with a mask but high-flow oxygenation with nasal cannulas and during the day he uses less high-flow oxygenation,” the Vatican said Friday.
“The Pope’s days are spent doing physiotherapy, prayer and a little work,” the Vatican said Saturday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — London’s Heathrow Airport announced Saturday morning that it is “open and fully operational” and flights have resumed after a fire at an electrical substation knocked out power to Europe’s busiest hub.
“Flights have resumed at Heathrow, and we are open and fully operational,” Heathrow Airport said on X. “Teams across the airport continue to do everything they can to support passengers impacted by yesterday’s outage at an off-airport power substation.”
The UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband announced Saturday that he is ordering an investigation into the substation fire and how it could lead to the complete closure of Heathrow airport.
The investigation will be led by National Energy System Operator “to understand any wider lessons to be learned on energy resilience for critical national infrastructure,” the secretary said in a statement.
“The loss of power to the Heathrow area has caused major disruption to thousands of people and many businesses. We are determined to properly understand what happened and what lessons need to be learned,” the secretary said.
Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said he welcomed the news of the investigation.
“We will support every effort to understand the causes and impacts of yesterday’s off-airport incident and we are committed to working closely with all stakeholders to ensure a thorough investigation to help strengthen the airport’s future resilience,” Woldbye said in a statement.
A Heathrow spokesperson said that hundreds of additional colleagues are on hand in their terminals on Saturday and that the airport has added flights to the schedule to facilitate an extra 10,000 passengers traveling through the airport.
“Power supplies have been restored to all customers connected to our North Hyde substation, including Heathrow, allowing operations to resume at the airport. We are now implementing measures to help further improve the resilience levels of our network,” read a statement from the U.K.’s National Grid.
“We are deeply sorry for the disruption caused and are continuing to work closely with the government, Heathrow and the police to understand the cause of the incident,” the statement continued.
An analysis said as many as 290,000 passengers were expected to be impacted by the closure Friday, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. There were 669 flights scheduled to depart to Heathrow on Friday, with 145,836 seats, according to Cirium. The fire could affect another 270,000 passengers on Saturday also, Cirium said.
The cause of the fire is still not known and currently under investigation but authorities have confirmed that they are not treating the blaze as suspicious.
“After initial assessment, we are not treating this incident as suspicious, although enquiries do remain ongoing,” a statement from London’s Metropolitan Police said. Because of the location of the substation “and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure,” the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command was leading the investigation, authorities said.
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Mike Trew contributed to the report.
(DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza) — Former ABC News journalist Husam al-Titi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Monday evening local time, the night the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended, according to al-Titi’s family.
Al-Titi was a sound engineer for ABC News for 20 years until 2014, when he left the company and became a teacher. He lived in Gaza City with his wife, daughter and three sons, but he was in Deir al Balah in a displacement camp when he was killed.
Al-Titi’s wife, daughter and three of his sons were taken to the hospital after the airstrike. Three of his sons remain hospitalized and one was seriously injured, al-Titi’s family told ABC News.
(LONDON) — London’s Heathrow Airport is now “safely able to restart flights” after a fire at a nearby electrical substation closed one of the world’s busiest airports on Friday.
However, even as the airport says it can restart flights, officials advised people not to travel “unless your airline has advised you to do so.” The airport said it hopes to “run a full operation” on Saturday.
“Our teams have worked tirelessly since the incident to ensure a speedy recovery. We’re now safely able to restart flights, prioritising repatriation and relocation of aircraft,” Heathrow said in a statement.
Heathrow Airport said the fire at the substation, which supplies power to the airport, caused a “significant power outage” and the airport was expected to be closed until 11:59 p.m. local time on Friday night.
“We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” a spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said.
In total, 70 firefighters and 10 fire trucks responded to the blaze in west London when the London Fire Brigade brigade was first called at 11:23 p.m. local time. The fire was contained more than seven hours later at 6:28 a.m. on Friday morning, but was still burning at about 10% on Friday evening.
“This was a very visible and significant incident, and our firefighters worked tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible,” London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said. “Thanks to their efforts and coordinated multi-agency response, we successfully contained the fire and prevented further spread. “We will maintain a presence at the scene throughout the day, assisting the National Grid as they assess the site.”
Firefighters safely evacuated 29 people from neighboring properties and, as a precaution, a 200-meter cordon was established with around 150 people evacuated.
“Due to the significant smoke, we strongly advise local residents to keep their windows and doors closed, as some smoke will remain for a number of hours today. Scientific advisors will also be on-site this morning to conduct further assessments and monitor the air quality,” Goulbourne continued. “Our Control Officers handled more than 200 emergency calls, providing guidance and reassurance to the public. As the morning progresses, disruption is expected to continue, and we urge people to avoid the area whenever possible.”
Counter-terror police were on the scene at the Hayes substation, London’s Met Police confirmed to ABC News, but they cautioned it’s only because they could get the investigation done faster.
“We are working with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire which remains under investigation. While there is currently no indication of foul play we retain an open mind at this time,” Met Police said in a statement. “Given the location of the sub-station and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading enquiries.”
As many as 290,000 passengers could be impacted by the closure Friday, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. There were 665 flights scheduled to depart from Heathrow on Friday, with 145,094 seats. There were 669 flights scheduled to depart to Heathrow on Friday, with 145,836 seats, according to Cirium. The fire could affect another 270,000 passengers on Saturday, too, Cirium said.
“Accordingly, the impact of this incident can cascade over several days, as aircraft, crew, passengers are out of place, with limited spare aircraft and seats available to recover passengers,” Cirium said in a statement.
British Airways, which has a hub at Heathrow Airport, said it is advising travelers not to go to the airport and that they are working to notify passengers of their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, inbound flights to Heathrow are being redirected to other U.K. airports, officials said.
“Due to a power outage in the London Heathrow area, London Heathrow Airport is currently closed,” British Airways said. “As a result, customers due to travel from Heathrow on Friday are advised not to travel to the airport until further notice. This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers and we’re working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond.”
The fire has caused a power outage affecting a large numbers of homes and businesses and led to some evacuations, the fire brigade said. Firefighters led 29 people to safety from neighboring properties and, as a precaution, established a cordon around the area and evacuated about 150 people.
“This is a highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible,” Pat Goulbourne, assistant commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, said in a statement shortly before 2 a.m. local time.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, the fire brigade said.
ABC News’ Clara McMichael and Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — A fire at an electrical substation near London’s Heathrow Airport has closed one of the world’s busiest airports.
Heathrow Airport said the fire at the substation, which supplies power to the airport, has caused a “significant power outage” and the airport is expected to be closed until 11:59 p.m. local time on Friday night.
In total, 70 firefighters and 10 fire trucks responded to the blaze in west London when the London Fire Brigade brigade was first called at 11:23 p.m. local time. The fire was out more than seven hours later at 06:28 a.m. Friday morning.
“This was a very visible and significant incident, and our firefighters worked tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible,” Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said. “Thanks to their efforts and coordinated multi-agency response, we successfully contained the fire and prevented further spread. “We will maintain a presence at the scene throughout the day, assisting the National Grid as they assess the site.”
Firefighters safely evacuated 29 people from neighboring properties and, as a precaution, a 200-meter cordon was established with around 150 people evacuated.
“Due to the significant smoke, we strongly advise local residents to keep their windows and doors closed, as some smoke will remain for a number of hours today. Scientific advisors will also be on-site this morning to conduct further assessments and monitor the air quality,” Goulbourne continued. “Our Control Officers handled more than 200 emergency calls, providing guidance and reassurance to the public. As the morning progresses, disruption is expected to continue, and we urge people to avoid the area whenever possible.”
British Airways, which has a hub at Heathrow Airport, said it is advising travelers not to go to the airport and that they are working to notify passengers of their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, inbound flights to Heathrow are being redirected to other U.K. airports, officials said.
“Due to a power outage in the London Heathrow area, London Heathrow Airport is currently closed,” British Airways said. “As a result, customers due to travel from Heathrow on Friday are advised not to travel to the airport until further notice. This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers and we’re working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond.”
The fire has caused a power outage affecting a large numbers of homes and businesses and led to some evacuations, the fire brigade said. Firefighters led 29 people to safety from neighboring properties and, as a precaution, established a cordon around the area and evacuated about 150 people.
“This is a highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible,” Pat Goulbourne, assistant commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, said in a statement shortly before 2 a.m. local time.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, the fire brigade said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(TORONTO) — The right main landing gear collapsed on impact when a Delta flight landed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport last month, with the wing hitting the runway and fuel spray causing a massive fire, according to a preliminary report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
There was no final cause of the crash in the report released Thursday, but the investigation found that the right main landing gear broke and collapsed on impact as the plane landed at a high descent rate.
The first officer, who was in her fifth straight day of flying, was at the controls of the plane, according to the report. She had 1,422 hours of flying total, which is below the Federal Aviation Administration minimum to be a commercial pilot.
She was able to fly commercially with a special exception from the FAA because she had a specific aviation degree and received a waiver, the report said.
All 80 people on board survived while 21 passengers were injured — two seriously, the report said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(PITTSBURGH) — Joshua Riibe, the 22-year-old Minnesota college student who was with University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki the night she went missing on a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic, will receive his passport back on Thursday, a source in the prosecutor’s office told ABC News.
Riibe — who is considered a witness and not a suspect in Konanki’s disappearance — had his passport and cellphone taken away as he was being interviewed over the last several days.
Earlier Wednesday, Riibe’s legal team confirmed to ABC News they were trying to get a new U.S. passport for Riibe from the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic so he could leave the country.
“The U.S. Embassy is in communication with Mr. Riibe, his family, and his lawyer and is providing all appropriate consular assistance,” the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic told ABC News.
A Dominican judge ruled during a habeus corpus hearing Tuesday that Riibe is free to move without police surveillance around the Dominican Republic, because he is only a witness of an accident, not a suspect. But the judge did not give Riibe his passport back, because he said it was not in his jurisdiction to hand over the passport. The judge did not specify whose jurisdiction it is to give the passport back.
“I can’t go anywhere. And I really want to be able to go home, talk to my family, give them hugs, tell them I miss them,” Riibe said in court on Tuesday. “I understand I’m here to help, but it’s been 10 days and I can’t leave.”
If the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic issues Riibe a new passport, he will be able to use it to leave the country.
Riibe said in court on Tuesday that he is “ready to go home and go back to my life.”
Authorities have said they believe Konancki died by drowning in Punta Cana early on March 6, officials told ABC News.
Riibe, who met Konanki that night, told prosecutors the two went swimming and kissed in the ocean. The two were then hit by a wave and pulled into the ocean by the tide, according to a transcript provided to ABC News from two Dominican Republic sources.
Riibe said he held Konanki and tried to get them out of the water. He said he tried to “make sure she could breathe the entire time,” which prevented Riibe from getting in enough air and he “took in a lot of water.”
Once they touched the sand, Riibe told prosecutors Konanki got up to get her belongings, but “she was not out of the water since it was up to her knee” and was “walking at an angle in the water.”
“The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was OK,” he told prosecutors. “I didn’t hear her response because I began to vomit with all the water I had swallowed. After vomiting, I looked around and I didn’t see anything. I thought she had taken her things and left.”
Riibe said he then passed out on a beach chair, woke up several hours later and returned to his hotel room.
Konanki’s family sent a formal request on Monday to Dominican police requesting they declare their daughter dead, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.
On Tuesday evening, Dominican Republic’s Civil Defense said they are significantly scaling back the search-and-rescue efforts.
The judge will decide if Riibe will be charged with anything in a full ruling on March 28.
