World

(WASHINGTON) — The United States Secret Service said it has seized a Russian cryptocurrency exchange website, according to court documents unsealed on Friday.

The Justice Department also charged the two administrators of that website with a multimillion-dollar money laundering scheme, court documents said.

Between 2019 and 2025, Aleksej Besciokov, 46, a Lithuanian national and Russian resident, and Aleksandr Mira Serda, 40, a Russian national, allegedly controlled and operated Garantex, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Moscow.

The two allegedly “operated Garantex to launder the proceeds of criminal activity, including ransomware, computer hacking, narcotics transactions, and sanctions violations, and profited from the laundering. Garantex offered its services to the public first through the website Garantex.io and then through Garantex.org. Garantex also misled law enforcement, including the Russian police, about the identities of its customers,” the documents said.

The Justice Department said that since April 2019, Garantex has processed $96 billion in crypto transactions and noted that those proceeds were allegedly used to fund illicit activities.

“The seizure of website domains associated with Garantex’s operations and the freezing of over $26 million in cryptocurrency strikes a serious financial blow to cybercriminals worldwide,” said Michael Centrella, assistant director of the Secret Service’s Office of Field Operations. “Alongside our U.S. and international law enforcement partners, this coordinated action will prevent additional funds from falling into the hands of criminals.”

Court documents said Besciokov allegedly knew there were two different accounts linked to North Korean cyber threat actors but still let them use the cryptocurrency exchange.

The company was also under sanctions from the U.S. since at least 2022.

“By in and around early 2023, BESCIOKOV and his co-conspirators had also redesigned Garantex’s operations to evade and violate U.S. sanctions and induce U.S. businesses to unwittingly transact with Garantex in violation of the sanctions,” the indictment said. “For example, Garantex moved its operational cryptocurrency wallets to different virtual currency addresses on a daily basis in order to make it difficult for U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges to identify and block transactions with Garantex accounts.”

Besciokov and Serda also allegedly took steps to conceal themselves from Russian law enforcement, according to the court records.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(PARIS) — Eurostar trains to London, including all trains heading to northern France, stopped abruptly on Friday morning after an unexploded bomb dating back to World War II was discovered near the tracks, officials said.

The unexploded ordinance was discovered approximately 1.5 miles north of Gare du Nord in Saint Denis, an area just north of Paris where the Stade de France – the national stadium of France – is located and where dozens of Olympic events were held, including the closing ceremonies, last year.

“Traffic is interrupted between Paris Gare du Nord and La Plaine Stade France in both directions and disrupted on the rest of the line. Traffic will not resume until mid-afternoon, after formal authorization from the authorities,” France’s national train operator SNCF said in a statement on Friday morning. “If possible, we invite you to postpone your trip.”

The reason listed was due to “intervention by law enforcement” following the discovery of an unexploded bomb from the second World War near the tracks at Paris Nord, SNCF said.

Gare Du Nord in Paris is the busiest railway station in Europe by passenger numbers and served over 211 million people alone in 2022.

Dozens of passengers could be seen waiting in the station with their luggage as they watched trains being canceled across the passenger information boards.

It is unclear how large the ordinance is or how long it will take authorities to clear the area before regular services resumes.

The investigation is currently ongoing.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Morgan Winsor and Tom Soufi-Burridge contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KYIV, Ukraine) — Russia has carried out a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight, targeting energy and gas infrastructure in various regions, Ukrainian officials said Friday morning.

A total of 261 missiles and drones were launched by Russia, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, which said it used Mirage-2000 fighter jets for the first time alongside F-16s to repel the attack.

The latest attack is one of the largest air attacks of the war to date as Russia, in recent months, has dramatically increased the number of drones it can launch every night against Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there can be “no pause” in pressure on Russia earlier this week just the day after the U.S. confirmed it had stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv.

President Donald Trump’s decision to pause all U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing has raised concerns that Ukraine’s air defenses will become less effective in the days, weeks and months to come.

The pause followed last week’s explosive Oval Office meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump. White House officials have suggested the freeze may be lifted if Ukraine takes concrete steps towards a peace deal with Russia to end Moscow’s 3-year-old invasion.

It now appears likely that Russia will try to increase these attacks at a critical time as the end of U.S. intelligence sharing and supplies of anti-aircraft missiles could weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend against them.

Russian missiles and drone attacks are a nightly occurrence in Ukraine. The country has become largely reliant on Western anti-air weapons to defeat incoming projectiles.

U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine had allowed Kyiv to give warnings to targeted areas ahead of Russian drone and missile strikes, tracking Russian aircraft taking off, drones being launched and missiles being fired.

A Ukrainian intelligence official told ABC News on Wednesday that the intelligence sharing pause included a halt in sharing U.S. satellite imagery through the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Trump has repeatedly — and falsely — blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia while seeking to undermine Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as president. The White House is pushing Kyiv to accept a deal to end the fighting and to sign an agreement giving the U.S. access to Ukrainian mineral resources.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ROME) — Pope Francis “had a tranquil night and woke shortly after 8 a.m.” on Friday morning, the Vatican said, coming a day after he made his first public comments since being hospitalized on Feb. 14.

The 88-year-old pope “remained stable compared to previous days” and did not have “episodes of respiratory insufficiency” on Thursday, his 21st day in the hospital, the Vatican in its evening update.

While Friday marks his 22nd consecutive day in hospital, the pontiff offered up hope on Thursday in the form of his first public comments since being hospitalized.

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square, I accompany you from here. May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you,” the pope said in a recorded statement made in Spanish. The statement was played at the start of the rosary in St. Peter’s Square.”

The pope “continued with respiratory and motor physiotherapy with benefit,” the Vatican press office, the Holy See, said Thursday in its evening update. “Hemodynamic parameters and blood tests remained stable. He did not present fever.”

“The doctors are still maintaining the prognosis as reserved,” the Vatican said.

The Vatican said that, “in view of the stability of the clinical picture,” it won’t provide another medical update on the pope until Saturday.

Francis, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(JERUSALEM) — Two Palestinian men found themselves handcuffed and in shackles, detained by Israeli police in a Jerusalem courtroom. To an outside observer, they may have appeared to be criminals; however, the reality of their situation was far more troubling. Their so-called “crime”? Simply selling books.

Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmad were arrested after Israeli police raided their family-owned Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem and confiscated books.

“Jerusalem District police officers have arrested two residents of East Jerusalem suspected of selling books containing incitement and support for terrorism at bookstores in Jerusalem,” Israeli police said in a statement.

The statement continued: “During a focused operation by detectives from the David subdistrict, searches were conducted at two bookstores suspected of selling books with inciting content. The suspects who allegedly sold the books were taken into custody by police detectives. As part of the investigation, detectives discovered numerous books containing inciteful material with nationalist Palestinian themes, including a children’s coloring book titled ‘From the River to the Sea.'”

Ahmad and Mahmoud are both in their 30s. While they are no longer under house arrest, they are still banned from entering the bookstores they know and love, despite not being charged with any crimes.

“It was heartbreaking for me,” Ahmad said. “And I mean, I really mean it, every time he chucks the books out, I was like, ‘for God’s sake, like, why are you doing this?'”

Security footage from the store shows the moment when plainclothes officers raided the men’s well-known bookstore in predominantly Muslim East Jerusalem. The officers sifted through the shelves, took photos, and stuffed some books into plastic bags.

Ahmad and Mahmoud were placed under house arrest for five days, following approximately 48 hours in police custody.

“Google Translate became handy,” Ahmad said. “Each of them opened their phone and started taking photos of the books and trying to Google translate it. Does it have the Palestinian flag? Does it have a drawing, does it have the image of the [West Bank] wall? Then the search became about the contents. But the decision was made according to the cover and the design of the book rather than what’s inside it.”

The children’s coloring book titled “From the River to the Sea,” cited in the police statement, serves as a rallying cry for some activists advocating for the liberation of Palestinians from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, an area that includes modern-day Israel. Many consider it offensive code for wiping Israel off the map, as Hamas has vowed to do.

The owners claim that the book was not on display; it was in the back where they review all submitted books before putting them up for sale.

“Nothing has changed about the books,” Ahmad said. “Nothing has changed about the bookshop. But what has changed is the place that we live in. That’s what have changed. We live in a place that in the last few years have become more radical.”

Ahmed and Mahmoud are only one floor apart, but for a period were not allowed to interact due to the terms of their arrests. Their bookshops, which have been operating for more than 40 years, have become vital hubs for the community.

People gather at their local bookshop, including residents, foreigners, journalists and diplomats, to learn more about this region and beyond.

While there are many books about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the shop also offers a diverse selection of literature from around the world, including classics, encyclopedias, cookbooks and books on architecture.

“The bookshop represents success, lights, (and) beauty,” Mahmoud said. “Some sort of happiness in the midst of bleakness. And once you step into the bookshop, it’s very colorful, it’s very bright, there’s lots of light, there’s lots of knowledge, there’s lots of good conversations. So for the community, the way they describe it often is that this is almost a refuge. This is a place to escape to.”

Family member Murad Muna is now running the store after it was briefly closed. He says the Israeli police took a lot of merchandise, about 100 books.

“They try to shut down the Palestinian voices,” Murad Muna said. Regarding some of the confiscated books, he said, “You can find them at the library of the Hebrew University. You can find them at the bookshops on the other side of the city. So they just target the Palestinian culture and try to shut it down.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(ROME) — Pope Francis “remained stationary” on Wednesday, “without showing any episodes of respiratory failure,” but rested peacefully overnight into Thursday, the Vatican said.

The pope, 88, received “high-flow oxygen therapy during the day, and noninvasive mechanical ventilation will be resumed during the night,” the Vatican’s press office said in its evening update.

“The Holy Father increased his respiratory physiotherapy and active motor therapy,” the Vatican’s press office, the Holy See, said.
Pope Francis spent his 20th day in hospital on Wednesday in an armchair, participated in the “ritual blessing of the Holy Ashes that were imposed on him by the celebrant” and received the Eucharist, the Vatican said.

“During the morning he also called Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family in Gaza. In the afternoon he alternated rest with work,” the Vatican said.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday to meet with European leaders as his nation seeks to weather continued attacks from Russia and growing political pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration in the U.S.

The Ukrainian president’s latest visit to Brussels comes at a difficult moment for his nation, the White House having announced an open-ended pause on all military aid and intelligence sharing in a bid to force Kyiv into negotiating a peace deal with Russia to end Moscow’s three-year-old invasion.

The freeze came after a tumultuous meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump in the Oval Office last week, which descended into a shouting match and ended with the Ukrainian president’s team being asked to leave.

Zelenskyy this week released a statement calling the meeting “regrettable,” saying he is ready to engage in the U.S.-facilitated peace process and sign a controversial minerals sharing deal with the U.S.

Zelenskyy was welcomed to the European Council building in the Belgian capital on Thursday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

“Europe faces a clear and present danger,” von der Leyen said in a post to X as Zelenskyy arrived. “We must be able to defend ourselves and put Ukraine in a position of strength.”

Zelenskyy will speak at a special meeting of the European Council and is expected to hold meetings with European leaders on defense matters.

European leaders have rallied to Zelenskyy’s defense in the face of U.S. pressure, while simultaneously warning that peace in Ukraine is not possible without American backing. The U.K. and France have said they will work with Kyiv to present a peace deal to Trump.

European allies have been rattled by the opening months of Trump’s second term, which have been characterized by efforts to undermine Zelenskyy’s legitimacy, alignment with Russian narratives about the war and criticism of Europe’s ability to ensure security on the continent.

Trump and his officials have been reluctant to offer any security guarantees to Kyiv as part of a peace deal with Russia — an element Zelenskyy and his European partners say is vital to the success of any accord.

European nations announced fresh tranches of assistance for Ukraine ahead of Zelenskyy’s arrival in Brussels.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced that his nation would provide $3.8 billion in funding in 2026, $700 million of which is earmarked for drone development.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said his nation would ensure a “significant increase” in aid for Ukraine, while Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced another $215 million in aid from Warsaw.

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, meanwhile, said on France Inter that his nation was sharing intelligence resources with Ukraine following the U.S. freeze.

ABC News’ Guy Davies and Oleksiy Pshemyskiy contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there can be “no pause” in pressure on Russia after another night of missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, the latest barrage coming the day after the U.S. confirmed it had stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv.

President Donald Trump’s decision to pause all U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing has raised concerns that Ukraine’s air defenses will become less effective in the days, weeks and months to come.

The pause followed last week’s explosive Oval Office meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump. White House officials have suggested the freeze may be lifted if Ukraine takes concrete steps towards a peace deal with Russia to end Moscow’s 3-year-old invasion.

Ukraine’s air force reported 112 drones and two missiles launched into the country overnight, with 68 drones shot down and 43 lost in flight.

The air force reported damage in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

In Dnipropetrovsk, a ballistic missile hit a hotel in the city of Kryvyi Rih — Zelenskyy’s hometown.

“A ballistic missile struck an ordinary hotel,” the president wrote on social media. Four people were killed with more than 30 others injured, he added. The attack came shortly after a group of foreign humanitarian volunteers checked into the hotel, Zelenskyy said. None were hurt.

Sources told ABC News that two U.S. citizens were among the volunteers who survived the strike, working for the Charity fund Freedom Trust and Ukraine Relief organization.

“There must be no pause in the pressure on Russia to stop this war and terror against life,” Zelenskyy wrote.

Russian missiles and drone attacks are a nightly occurrence in Ukraine. The country has become largely reliant on Western anti-air weapons to defeat incoming projectiles.

U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine had allowed Kyiv to give warnings to targeted areas ahead of Russian drone and missile strikes, tracking Russian aircraft taking off, drones being launched and missiles being fired.

A Ukrainian intelligence official told ABC News on Wednesday that the intelligence sharing pause included a halt in sharing U.S. satellite imagery through the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Brussels, Belgium, to meet with European leaders on Thursday, as he seeks further Western military and political support. The president has consistently requested more air defenses, an issue now more pressing amid the U.S. aid freeze.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Wednesday that Trump had asked for a “pause” and is committed to peace. The pause, Ratcliffe suggested, prompted Zelenskyy’s statement that he was ready to revive talks over a potential peace deal.

“And so I think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away,” he added.

Trump has repeatedly — and falsely — blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia while seeking to undermine Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as president. The White House is pushing Kyiv to accept a deal to end the fighting and to sign an agreement giving the U.S. access to Ukrainian mineral resources.

In a Tuesday statement, Zelenskyy said the disastrous White House meeting was “regrettable.”

“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer,” the president said. “Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”

ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko, Nataliia Popova, Ellie Kaufman and Guy Davies contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON and ROME) — Pope Francis “remained stationary” on Wednesday, “without showing any episodes of respiratory failure,” according to the Vatican.

The pope received “high-flow oxygen therapy during the day, and noninvasive mechanical ventilation will be resumed during the night,” the Vatican said in its evening update.

Pope Francis spent the day in an armchair, participated in the “ritual blessing of the Holy Ashes that were imposed on him by the celebrant” and received the Eucharist, the Vatican said.

“During the morning he also called Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family in Gaza. In the afternoon he alternated rest with work,” the Vatican said.

The pope “rested well during the night” and woke shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, his 20th day in hospital, as his condition remains stable and his prognosis remains reserved, according to the Vatican.

The pontiff had needed medical intervention amid two episodes of “acute respiratory failure” on Monday, Vatican sources told ABC News.

The pope did not have any episodes of respiratory failure or bronchospasm on Tuesday, according to the Vatican.

Pope Francis has remained “alert, cooperating with therapy and oriented,” the Vatican’s press office, the Holy See, said. He underwent “high-flow oxygen therapy and respiratory physiotherapy” on Tuesday, the Vatican said.

He resumed noninvasive mechanical ventilation overnight into Wednesday morning “as planned,” according to the Vatican.

The pope, 88, was taken off noninvasive mechanical ventilation and resumed receiving supplemental oxygen through a nasal tube, Vatican sources said Tuesday. He was no longer wearing a mechanical ventilation mask, a device that pumped oxygen into his lungs, the sources said.

Wednesday marks Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, which is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting and giving. It concludes with Holy Week, which leads to Easter Sunday, the most important day in the Christian calendar.

The Vatican said last week that Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, major penitentiary and delegate of the pope, will replace Pope Francis at Wednesday’s liturgical celebration for Ash Wednesday in Rome.

The Cardinal will read the Homily prepared by the Pope and the text will be released later today, the Vatican said.

Francis, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia. The pontiff had a bronchospasm attack on Friday, church officials said.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — The prime minister of Greenland warned President Donald Trump off his controversial ambition to acquire the territory, writing on social media Wednesday, “Greenland is ours.”

Trump again expressed his desire to take control of the Arctic island — which is a semiautonomous territory within Denmark — in his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. America, he said, would acquire the strategic territory “one way or the other.”

Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede dismissed Trump’s remarks in a post to Facebook.

“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” he wrote. “We are not Americans, we are not Danes because we are Greenlanders. This is what the Americans and their leaders need to understand, we cannot be bought and we cannot be ignored.”

“The future of the country will be determined by us in our country, of course,” Egede added. “Greenland is ours. We do not want to be Americans, nor Danes, we are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leaders must understand that.”

“We are not for sale and cannot be taken,” Egede said. “The future is decided by us in Greenland.”

Trump has expressed ambition to acquire Greenland since his first term. The mineral-rich island sits in the Arctic Circle along two potential shipping routes through the Arctic — the Northwest Passage and the Transpolar Sea Route — which are expected to become more navigable as climate change and warmer waters causes the retreat of Arctic sea ice.

During his address to Congress on Tuesday, Greenland was central to Trump’s foreign policy remarks.

“We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America,” Trump said. “We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.”

The president said his administration was “working with everybody involved to try to get it.”

“We need it really for international world security,” he said. “And I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”

Denmark has also dismissed any suggestion of transferring Greenland’s sovereignty to the U.S.

In February, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, “Greenland is today a part of the kingdom of Denmark. It is part of our territory, and it’s not for sale.”

Frederiksen and officials in Greenland have suggested negotiations on an expanded U.S. military footprint on the island in response to Trump’s bid to acquire the territory outright.

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.