(NEW YORK) — A grandmother has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing her 7-year-old granddaughter multiple times with a kitchen knife.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning when police were called to a home in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City regarding a 7-year-old girl who had allegedly been stabbed multiple times with a kitchen knife by her own grandmother, according to ABC News’ New York City station WABC-TV.
Police found the young girl lying on the bed of her apartment and was immediately taken to Lincoln Hospital where she was listed in critical condition, according to WABC.
“[The police officer] came out running from where he was at with the little girl. The property that they have is a couple of houses away. So we just seen that he came out running,” witness Ana Martinez told WABC in an interview following the incident. “The cop car was right in front of my property. So he just put her right in the cop car. He didn’t wait for the ambulance.”
The girl’s grandmother, 65-year-old Mariza Yauger, was immediately taken into police custody as a person of interest and was later arrested and charged with attempted murder, attempted manslaughter, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child, according to WABC.
“I’m a grandmother myself,” neighbor China Aponte told WABC. “I just don’t even have words for it. My heart is broken. It is sad. Very sad.”
The girl’s uncle told WABC that she has since undergone surgery and is recovering in the hospital. There is currently no known motive for the attack.
(NEW YORK) — Three climbers have been killed in an avalanche after the lead climber accidentally triggered it while attempting to reach the peak of an 8,705-foot mountain over the weekend.
The incident occurred on Sunday when a group of six climbers — all from the East Coast — were attempting to climb Colchuck Peak which sits at the south end of Colchuck Lake, approximately 8 miles south of Leavenworth, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest.
“The lead climber triggered an avalanche while attempting to climb the Northeast Couloir of Colchuck Peak,” officials from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office in a statement following the tragedy.
Four of the climbers were swept approximately 500 feet down the mountain during the avalanche that ended up killing three of them. The fourth climber, a 56-year-old man from New York, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was able to hike back to base camp with the two remaining survivors, a 50-year-old man from New York and a 36-year-old man from New Jersey.
When they finally arrived at camp, they sent a seventh member who did not venture out climbing for the day — a 53-year-old Maryland man — to go get help.
The three climbers that died as a result of trauma sustained in the fall were a 60-year-old female from New York, a 66-year-old male from New Jersey and a 53-year-old male from Connecticut, authorities confirmed. None of the identities of those involved in the incident have been released.
“Sheriff Mike Morrison reports on February 20th, 2023, deputies were contacted at the CCSO Leavenworth substation about an avalanche that occurred near Colchuck Lake the previous day,” read the statement from Chelan County Sheriff’s Office in the aftermath of the avalanche. “A total of 22 rescuers responded to the trailhead to assist with this effort. They were from Chelan County Mounty Rescue, Chelan County Volunteer Search and Rescue and ORV unit, Seattle Mountain Rescue, Tacoma Mountain Rescue, and Yakima Mountain Rescue.”
Once officials reached the base camp at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Monday, they determined that, due to the avalanche conditions, it was too dangerous to continue their recovery mission of the three deceased climbers and made the decision to return with the surviving climbers back to the trailhead, authorities said.
As of Wednesday, rescuers have still not been able to return to the scene due to the continuing hazardous conditions and officials from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office say they are continuing to work with the Northwest Avalanche Center to assist in a recover plan for the bodies of the three climbers.
In total, nine people have died this winter in avalanches across the United States, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center — four in Colorado in three separate instances, one in Montana, one in Nevada and now three in Washington following this event.
Last winter, 17 deaths from avalanches were reported in the United States with no single incident killing more than two people, making this the largest avalanche death toll since an avalanche at Wilson Glade in Mill Creek Canyon, Utah, killed four people on Feb. 6, 2021, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
(UVALDE, Texas) — Even though he was fired for cause, Pete Arredondo, the Texas school district police chief terminated for his actions on the day of a schoolhouse massacre last year, won an appeal to remove a blemish from his discharge file, according to a state think tank that studied his case file.
The decision does not enable Arredondo to get his job in Uvalde back, but it clears his record in the event he seeks employment at another agency.
“The whole point of this … discharge system is to be a red flag for hiring agencies,” said Luis Soberon, a policy adviser for think tank Texas 2036 who released the report Tuesday. “If that is the primary function of this system, it doesn’t work very well.”
A gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary school last May. The law enforcement response, which Arredondo presided over, has been criticized by experts and other law enforcement officials. Arredondo was fired after a unanimous vote by the Uvalde School Board.
When any law enforcement officer is fired in Texas, the firing agency submits a termination report to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement classifying the firing as dishonorable, general or honorable. The officer can then appeal to upgrade the classification through the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
Agency records show Arredondo appealed his status in September, a month after he was fired. The case file shows a default judgment and decision was reached at the end of January, indicating Arredondo had won his bid to upgrade his termination classification.
Neither Arredondo nor his lawyer responded to requests for comment on his appeal.
Soberon said, “The only time you see a default decision and order is when it is in favor of the petitioner, the former officer.”
The case result was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
The actual case documents are confidential, according to Shane Linkous, general counsel at State Office of Administrative Hearings. So Soberon doesn’t know what termination classification Arredondo had received prior to his appeal, nor the arguments he made in favor of his appeal.
But, winning his appeal means that he doesn’t have a dishonorable discharge — the lowest of the three tiers — on his policing record.
A default judgment also means that the agency who filed the report — in this case, the Uvalde school district — did not “show up” to fight the appeal, said Soberon. The entire agency was disbanded in October, so the responsibility to reply to Arredondo’s appeal would have fallen on Interim Police Chief Josh Gutierrez when he was hired in November. Last week, the district began the process of reconstituting the police force, hiring two new school police officers under Gutierrez.
The Uvalde School District did not respond to repeated requests for additional information about the termination report or why Arredondo won his appeal by default.
Arredondo has repeatedly defended his actions on the day of the shooting. He called his firing a “public lynching” and said his actions during the tragedy saved lives.
Now that Carly Pearce is drawing the 29: Written in Stone chapter of her career to a close, she’s tipping her proverbial hat to the women who inspired her.
“Sonically, it was Patty Loveless, The Judds, Lee Ann Womack,” the Kentucky native reveals. “Lyrically, I think it was Adele, Loretta. I think I pulled from Tammy Wynette in the way that she sang in some of her songs and just the tear in her voice.”
“Alison Krauss & Union Station, sonically. Sonya Isaacs, musically, vocally, the way that she does all that stuff that I try really hard to do,” Carly laughs.
Of course, Sonya performed with Carly and Ricky Skaggs during November’s CMA Awards, as they sang “Dear Miss Loretta,” her tribute to the Coal Miner’s Daughter.
Currently, Carly’s “What He Didn’t Do” is just one spot away from country’s top five. Her concert album, 29: Written in Stone (Live from Music City), is set to arrive March 24.
In addition to reimagining 40 of their songs for their upcoming album Songs of Surrender, U2 have also reimagined the visuals to go with them.
On Tuesday, U2 posted a trailer on on its socials, captioned, “40 songs re-recorded by us, re-imagined by you. 40 artists and creators from across the globe were commissioned by the band to create a video piece for each track on Songs of Surrender.”
The trailer is soundtracked to the Songs of Surrender version of “Stories for Boys,” which originally appeared on U2’s 1979 debut release, the U2 3 EP and was then rerecorded for their 1980 debut album Boy.
You can track the release of all the visuals on a dedicated YouTube playlist, which so far contains the videos for “Pride (In the Name of Love” and “With or Without You.” Both those videos involve dance — although, according to the trailer, others are animated, others feature stunning landscapes, and some include special effects.
Songs of Surrender arrives March 17. Meanwhile, U2’s Las Vegas residency — focused on the songs from Achtung Baby — starts this fall.
In just a few days, one of the most hyped and anticipated movies of the year, for some, hits theaters – Cocaine Bear!
The film was something star O’Shea Jackson Jr. was excited about — in fact he tells ABC Audio it was his fervor after seeing a tweet about the movie that got him the job.
“It said Elizabeth Banks gets the rights to Cocaine Bear. And I clicked it and I read it and I retweeted something like, you know, take my money or just praising up how crazy that movie sounded,” he recalls. “She got wind of it and made the call. And then they asked me if I wanted to be in it. And I said, ‘Absolutely.'”
“I [had] always been taught to never do a movie you wouldn’t go see. And I was going to go see this movie whether I was in it or not,” Jackson Jr. adds.
For Alden Ehrenreich, who co-stars in the dark action comedy, it only took reading the script for him to join the project.
“I thought it was so fun and so bizarre,” he shares. “And it’s so great for like a studio movie that’s this big to be an original idea and so kind of unique and out there.”
Being enthusiastic about the project is only half the battle though. Even though Jackson Jr. actively campaigned to be in Cocaine Bear, he admits it wasn’t an easy shoot.
“I don’t really like the woods…I’m a gamer. I’m a city guy. I don’t like fake blood, and wasps and bees love fake blood. So it was a lot of avoiding them,” he explains. “Any type of wind that would blow, now you got leaves in your stubs and, like, it’s just not a good time.”
(WASHINGTON) — House GOP leaders appear to have given a Fox News host exclusive access to more than 40,000 hours of previously unreleased surveillance camera footage from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
After Axios reported on Monday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had authorized the release, Fox host Tucker Carlson said on his program Monday night that he had gained “unfettered” access to the video, saying that some of his “smartest producers” have been reviewing the footage at an undisclosed location for about a week.
It was unclear on Tuesday where Carlson’s team was reviewing the footage, or exactly who they got it from, and McCarthy’s office did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment.
Fox News refused to comment beyond referring to what Carlson said on his program.
On Monday, Carlson claimed that some of the footage appears to contradict “the story that we’ve been told for more than two years,” but he was short on details or specifics. Instead, Carlson teased that his team’s findings would air on his program next week.
Carlson has repeatedly spread conspiracy theories about the circumstances surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and has suggested it was part of a “false flag” operation to target Trump supporters.
The apparent offer to Carlson’s team also comes as a recent filing from the voting company Dominion in their lawsuit against Fox News revealed damning internal communications showing top Fox personalities, including Carlson, expressing concerns over the accuracy of false allegations of voter fraud even as they pushed to their audiences the false narrative of the 2020 election being stolen.
The U.S. Capitol Police maintain access to and control over such surveillance videos, but ABC News has learned that the department did not directly provide the videos to Fox.
“When Congressional Leadership or Congressional Oversight Committees ask for things like this, we must give it to them,” U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a statement to ABC News.
The Justice Department has already made public hundreds of hours of surveillance and body camera footage as part of their more than 900 prosecutions of rioters charged in the attack on the Capitol.
But at times, the DOJ has joined with the Capitol Police in expressing concern over the release of some footage that could disclose sensitive areas in the Capitol, the location of closed circuit cameras, and other sensitive security movements.
Separately, a coalition of media outlets, including ABC News, has also fought in court for the release of exhibits from those prosecutions, in many cases over the objections of defendants.
The possible release by House GOP leaders comes as Democratic leaders in the House say they are looking into the matter and brand the footage’s release as having “potential national security implications.”
“The apparent transfer of video footage represents an egregious security breach that endangers the hardworking women and men of the United States Capitol Police,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a letter to his caucus on Tuesday.
The Jan. 6 House select committee had access to the footage but was careful in its decision-making about what particular clips they made public, sources on the committee said, given security concerns and the potential for sensitive operational information of the U.S. Capitol the videos could reveal.
The former chairman of the committee, Bennie Thompson, emphasized the potential security risks of irresponsibly releasing the videos and demanded an explanation from House Republicans as to why they would grant a Fox News host access to the trove of material.
“If Speaker McCarthy has indeed granted Tucker Carlson … and his producers access to this sensitive footage, he owes the American people an explanation,” read a statement from former Jan. 6 committee chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in part.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md, who also sat on the Jan. 6 committee, called Carlson a “pro-Putin” journalist and branded the release of the footage “an ethical collapse” in a tweet Monday.
“What security precautions were taken to keep this from becoming a roadmap for 2024 insurrection?” Raskin tweeted.
McCarthy appears to be less worried than some congressional lawmakers about security. He has been vocal about opening the Capitol building to public visitors following the COVID-19 pandemic and Jan. 6 riot.
And within minutes of Republicans taking the House majority in January, he directed magnetometers removed from entrances to the House floor, overturning former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s directive for lawmakers to go through such a security screening.
McCarthy also told reporters that he did not want fencing placed around the Capitol when President Joe Biden delivered his State of Union address earlier this month, saying he did not see a need for it.
The speaker has repeatedly called for congressional oversight into the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation, even asking the body to preserve its records weeks before it disbanded at the end of the 117th Congress.
The bipartisan committee released and previewed numerous clips from security cameras on the day of the riots during its public hearings last year.
Still, McCarthy has signaled that Republicans in the current 118th Congress would release additional footage during hearings of their own.
(WASHINGTON) — Former Proud Boys official Jeremy Bertino — who last year pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy related to Jan. 6 — took the witness stand in Washington on Tuesday in the seditious conspiracy trial of the far-right group’s principal leadership.
Bertino said interest and membership requests for the Proud Boys surged after then-President Donald Trump addressed the group by name during a 2020 presidential debate.
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump said at the time. “But I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about [leftist movement] antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem.”
Bertino, whom the government has said joined the Proud Boys in 2018 and served as vice president of his local chapter, testified on Tuesday that he was “stunned and excited” to hear Trump mention the group.
His baseless belief that the 2020 election was stolen continued to grow in the months and weeks leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, a view that he shared with other members of the Proud Boys, he said. (He previously testified before the House Jan. 6 committee.)
Proud Boys’ former leader Enrique Tarrio and four associates are on trial facing charges of seditious conspiracy against the U.S. over their involvement with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
They have all pleaded not guilty, and their attorneys have argued some of their conduct was constitutionally protected speech.
“Mr. Tarrio is looking forward to the start of the trial,” his defense attorney, Nayib Hassan, previously said in a statement to ABC News. “We look forward to making our presentation of the evidence and acquitting Mr. Tarrio of the government’s allegations.”
On the stand, Bertino described the mindset of him and other Proud Boys.
“Everything seemed like a conspiracy at that point,” he said.
The group also held strong views against anyone they deemed to be part of “the left” or “antifa,” a reference to far-left protestors who take drastic and sometimes violent measures to, they say, oppose fascism.
“I believed they were the foot soldiers of the left,” Bertino testified.
He went on to note that the Proud Boys believed they were the “foot soldiers of the right.”
Under questioning by a government prosecutor, Bertino’s testimony painted a picture for the jury which connected the Proud Boys’ hatred of “antifa” with their involvement in Jan. 6. Bertino said he believed at the time that “antifa” was funded by Democrats.
The Proud Boys call themselves “Western chauvinists,” believing that they are responsible for “creating the modern world.”
Defense attorneys on Tuesday objected to several questions the government posed to Bertino, especially when he was asked to describe the collective views of the group.
But Bertino testified to having a close and friendly relationship with Proud Boys leadership before ultimately deciding to leave the group.
Prior to his departure, Bertino led recruitment for the Proud Boys in North Carolina and was close to the highest levels of the group’s leadership. He was not in Washington on Jan. 6 and was recovering from a stabbing that occurred at a previous demonstration the Proud Boys had attended.
(NEW YORK) — Reese’s fans know and love the sweet and salty flavors of a chocolate peanut butter cup, and now the candy is being added to another delicious confection: Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
The North Carolina-based doughnut chain on Monday announced a new lineup of flavors with Reese’s, including inspired ingredients like potato chips, pretzels and salted caramel icing.
The Reese’s Salty Sweet Dozen will include the three new specialty flavors, plus three Original Glazed, and will be available now for a limited time in-shop and for delivery.
The first of the three new Reese’s flavors is the Salty Sweet Crunch Doughnut, a shell doughnut filled with Reese’s peanut butter Kreme filling, dipped in Reese’s peanut butter icing, drizzled in Hershey’s milk chocolate icing and topped with sea salt praline pretzels.
Next up is the Reese’s Salty Sweet Crisp Doughnut, an Original Glazed dipped in Hershey’s milk chocolate icing, topped with potato sticks, a drizzle of milk chocolate icing and Reese’s peanut butter sauce, plus a dollop of Reese’s peanut butter Kreme filling.
Finally, the Reese’s Outrageous Doughnut starts with a Hershey’s chocolate iced original glazed, topped with mini Reese’s pieces and drizzled with both peanut butter sauce and salted caramel icing.
“Salty, Sweet, Reese’s and Krispy Kreme can now all be experienced in one incredible doughnut collection,” Dave Skena, global chief brand officer for Krispy Kreme, said in a statement about the new lineup.
The new lineup will be available for purchase from Feb. 20 through March 8. Customers can find a list of participating stores in their area at the official Krispy Kreme website.
(NEW YORK) — Almost a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.
Putin’s forces pulled out of key positions in November, retreating from Kherson as Ukrainian troops led a counteroffensive targeting the southern port city. Russian drones have continued bombarding civilian targets throughout Ukraine, knocking out critical power infrastructure as winter sets in.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 22, 2:30 AM EST
US believes Russia held failed ICBM test as Biden visited Ukraine
The United States believes that Russia carried out a test launch of an intercontinental missile on Monday that appeared to have failed, a U.S. official said.
Russia notified the U.S. ahead of the SARMAT ICBM launch, per agreements said the official.
The failed test launch would have taken place on the day President Joe Biden arrived in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on an unannounced trip, as he made his way to Poland to meet with NATO allies and to give a speech marking a year of war.
Ukrainian officials on Sunday publicly claimed Russia was preparing to stage large scale nuclear exercises including a launch to coincide with Biden’s trip.
Feb 21, 6:46 AM EST
Putin suspends US-Russia nuclear treaty
Russia has suspended the New START nuclear arms treaty with the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
But he emphasized that Russia was not leaving the treaty yet, only suspending its participation in it for the time-being.
He blamed the suspension on the West, saying relations had degraded and that it was impossible currently to allow American inspections of Russian strategic nuclear sites.
Putin’s decision was announced on Tuesday as he gave an annual state-of-the-union speech in Moscow, days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the invasion into Ukraine.
He also accused the United States of considering restarting nuclear bomb tests and threatened that Russia would hold them too if that happened.
That will be interpreted as a veiled threat in relation to the war in Ukraine — experts have feared Russia might conduct a nuclear bomb test to intimidate Kyiv and its Western allies. Putin ordered Russia’s military to prepare the possibility to hold a test.
“Some actors in Washington are thinking about testing nuclear weapons,” he said. “The defense ministry and RosAtom must prepare also to conduct nuclear tests in case of necessity. But Russia will not conduct it first.”
Feb 21, 4:41 AM EST
Putin opens Moscow speech on ‘historic events’
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday opened his state of the union speech in Moscow with familiar touchstones, including ridding the world of Nazism and liberating Ukraine’s Donbas region.
He said of his Ukrainian invasion that the “historic events will determine the future of our country … each of us is bound by a huge responsibility.”
And he said he sought an “open dialogue” with the West, but also blamed Western countries and Ukraine’s leaders for holding the country’s people “hostage.”
“The United States and NATO have been rapidly deploying their bases and biolabs at the borders of our country,” he said.
He said Russia tried to settle the conflict in the Donbas region by peaceful means, adding that the West’s commitment to peace turned out to be “fraud” and a “cruel lie.”
Putin said they were open to dialogue with the West and were open to an equal system of security, but “in response we were getting dishonest answers” and specific actions to expand NATO and deploy new anti-missile systems in Europe. He said that “the whole planet is dotted” with U.S. bases.
Feb 20, 12:01 PM EST
US announces new $460 million worth of weapons for Ukraine
The Pentagon announced a new presidential drawdown of security aid for Ukraine valued at up to $460 million on Monday.
This package will include four Bradley Infantry Fire Support Team vehicles, HIMARS ammunition, artillery and mortar rounds, air surveillance radars and more.
President Joe Biden hinted at the new supplies in a press conference from Kyiv on Monday, also saying he would be announcing new sanctions “against elites and companies that are trying to evade sanctions and backfill Russia’s war machine” later this week.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
Feb 20, 5:39 AM EST
Biden in Kyiv says Putin was ‘dead wrong’
U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “dead wrong” when he started the war in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
“When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” Biden said in a statement. “He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong.”
The White House released the statement from Biden as he made an unannounced visit to the war-torn country, arriving in Kyiv on Monday morning.
“As the world prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, I am in Kyiv today to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” Biden said.
“Today, in Kyiv, I am meeting with President Zelenskyy and his team for an extended discussion on our support for Ukraine. I will announce another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments,” he continued. “And I will share that later this week, we will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine. Over the last year, the United States has built a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific to help defend Ukraine with unprecedented military, economic, and humanitarian support — and that support will endure.”
Biden added: “I also look forward to traveling on to Poland to meet President Duda and the leaders of our Eastern Flank Allies, as well as deliver remarks on how the United States will continue to rally the world to support the people of Ukraine and the core values of human rights and dignity in the UN Charter that unite us worldwide.”
Feb 20, 5:21 AM EST
Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to war-torn Ukraine on Monday, arriving in Kyiv as Washington signals its ongoing support ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Biden’s visit came ahead of a planned meeting with NATO allies in Poland. He is expected to give a speech at the Royal Castle Arcades in Warsaw on Tuesday evening to offer an appraisal of international support during the first year of the war and to address “how we will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement earlier this month.
Biden also plans to meet in Poland with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, a group of eastern NATO allies formed in 2015 in response to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a dramatic visit to the United States in December, his first known international trip since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. Zelenskyy met with Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C., before addressing members of U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill.
Feb 19, 1:03 PM EST
Russia planning nuclear exercises to disrupt Biden’s Europe visit, Ukrainian military says
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has accused Russia of planning to stage “large-scale nuclear exercises” to coincide with President Joe Biden’s visit to Europe next week.
The GUR said Russia is preparing for test launches of nuclear capable missiles from land and sea, the agency said in a statement Sunday on its official Telegram channel.
The GUR said a nuclear armed submarine has been placed on the “highest level” of combat readiness and that strategic bombers have been moved to a base in Tambov, Russia.
The agency claimed the exercises are intended disrupt President Joe Biden’s European trip.
“Such actions of the military and political leadership of the Russian Federation, in particular, are an attempt to hinder Joe Biden’s visit to Europe, which is scheduled for February 20-22, through direct nuclear blackmail and to weaken international support for Ukraine,” the GUR statement said.
– ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Feb 18, 11:41 AM EST
Harris meets with British, Finnish, Swedish PMs
Vice President Kamala Harris met with the British, Finnish and Swedish prime ministers before departing Munich on Saturday.
Amid concerns in Europe that Republican lawmakers could dampen U.S. aid to Ukraine, the Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin, thanked Harris for saying U.S. support for Ukraine would persevere domestic political differences.
Both Marin and Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, spoke with hope about joining NATO. But in recent days, there have been signals from NATO, the Finnish and the Swedish that perhaps they will not join at the same time as they had hoped due to continued Turkish objections over Swedish membership.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Feb 17, 3:41 PM EST
White House previews Biden trip to Poland
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby provided a preview Friday of President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to Poland, saying the president’s main message will be continued support from the United States in the face of Russian aggression.
“On Tuesday evening, local time, President Biden will deliver remarks in Warsaw on how the United States has rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and democracy. President Biden will make it clear that the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine, as you’ve heard him say many times, for as long as it takes,” Kirby said of Biden’s major planned address.
“As we approach the one-year mark since this invasion, we can proudly say that our support for Ukraine remains unwavering and our alliances and our international coalition in support of Ukraine remain stronger than ever,” he added.
Biden is scheduled to arrive in Poland on Tuesday morning and meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda. On Wednesday, he’ll meet with leaders from the so-called Bucharest Nine –Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — which are nine NATO countries in Eastern Europe.
Kirby was asked about Biden meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, or traveling anywhere besides Warsaw, like the border town of Rzeszow, but he shot down both ideas.
“There is no meeting with President Zelenskyy scheduled for the trip right now,” he said. “Right now, the trip is going to be in Warsaw.”
Feb 17, 2:11 PM EST
Harris meets allies amid pressure over Ukraine aid
Vice President Kamala Harris met with the leaders of France and Germany Friday as part of a U.S. diplomatic push in Munich to show strong, continued support for Ukraine.
Questions lingering over the leaders in Munich include how long the West can maintain its support for Ukraine –- amid declining public and political support at home –- and how Ukraine will withstand the expected Russian offensive.
A White House official said that at the meetings, the vice president planned to “recognize the courage and resilience shown by the people of Ukraine; reaffirm the support of American people for Ukraine; commend the international community on the historic actions taken since February 2022; celebrate Transatlantic unity and clarity of purpose; reaffirm our security commitments to our European allies; and condemn Russia’s continued illegal and brutal actions while calling for accountability and justice.”
She also planned to discuss “relations with China and actions to address the climate crisis,” the official said.
Feb 17, 1:20 PM EST
Belarus ready to make Russian attack planes, president says at meeting with Putin
Belarus is ready to make Russian attack planes, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
“Belarus has been making up to a thousand components for MC-21 and Superjet 100 planes. There used to be repair plants, but now they also make component parts,” Lukashenko said.
“We are even ready to make it in Belarus with a little support from Russia,” Lukashenko said.
Feb 16, 5:28 PM EST
Ukrainian vice prime minister tells remaining civilians in Bakhmut to evacuate
Vice Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk called on the roughly 6,000 civilians still in Bakhmut to evacuate “immediately.”
Officials said they don’t want the people still in the city to put themselves and their children at risk and don’t want them to interfere with the Ukrainian army. Five civilians were killed and nine others were injured on Thursday, according to the vice prime minister.
“Frankly speaking, I am very surprised that 6,000 civilians are still working there,” Vereshchuk said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Feb 16, 3:25 PM EST
Belarus will fight alongside Russia if it is attacked, president warns
Belarus would only join the war in Ukraine, fighting alongside Russia, if it is attacked, President Alexander Lukashenko told state-run Belta news agency.
“We don’t want a war. And in no case are we going to send our troops into the territory of Ukraine. Unless you commit aggression against the territory of Belarus from there. Here is my answer. It was given a long time ago,” Lukashenko said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Lukashenko’s threat in an interview with the BBC.
“I hope [Belarus] won’t join [the war],” he said. “If it does, we will fight and we will survive.”
Allowing Russia to use Belarus as a staging post for an attack again would be a “huge mistake,” he added.
Russian forces launched part of their full-scale invasion from Belarus 12 months ago. They drove south toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, but were fought back and made to retreat within weeks, after suffering heavy casualties.
Lukashenko is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Tanya Stukalova
Feb 16, 3:11 PM EST
Zelenskyy rules out territorial deal with Putin in BBC interview
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out giving up any of his country’s territory in a potential peace deal with Russia.
In a BBC interview to mark a year since Russia’s full-scale invasion, he warned conceding land would mean Russia could “keep coming back,” while Western weapons would bring peace closer.
However, he does believe Ukrainian forces can keep resisting Russia’s advance until they are able to launch a counteroffensive — although he repeated his calls for more military aid from the West.
“Of course, modern weapons speed up peace. Weapons are the only language Russia understands,” Zelensky told the BBC.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Feb 16, 12:13 AM EST
Russian strikes hit infrastructure in Lviv, Ukrainians shoot down eight Russian missiles: Officials
An infrastructure object was hit in Lviv in the early morning hours of Thursday, the head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, said on Telegram.
There were no casualties, and the fire from the impact has since been put out, Kozytskyi said.
Six Kalibr missiles were also shot down over the Mykolaiv region, and two Kalibr missiles were shot down over the Kherson region overnight, Odesa Military Administration spokesman Serhii Bratchuk posted on Telegram.
All eight of the missiles were fired from a Russian ship in the Black Sea, Bratchuk said in the post.
Feb 15, 2:48 PM EST
6 ‘reconnaissance’ balloons shot down over Kyiv
Authorities in Kyiv are investigating who owns six balloons that were in Ukraine’s airspace and what the balloons were doing over Kyiv. The balloons were shot down by Ukrainian air defense.
After a preliminary assessment, authorities think the balloons had intelligence gathering equipment.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Feb 14, 11:43 AM EST
If Bakhmut falls, won’t have ‘strategic impact’ on Ukraine war: White House
White House spokesman John Kirby said during a briefing Tuesday that the U.S. could not “predict one way or the other” whether Bakhmut will fall to the Russians and if it does fall, “on what timeline.”
“We’re watching this every day, and it is certainly true that the Russians are continuing to make incremental progress there,” Kirby said. “Again, I can’t predict one way or the other whether it falls or it doesn’t fall or on what timeline. They have made incremental progress again in just the last 24, 48 hours.”
He added that the U.S. did not think Russia obtaining control of Bakhmut would have any “strategic impact” on either the overall war or even fighting in that part of the country.
The U.S. thinks Russia — and specifically the Wagner Group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, which is doing much of the fighting for Bakhmut — wants to take over and benefit financially from gypsum and salt mines located in the area, Kirby said.
“Even if Bakhmut were to fall, it would not have a strategic impact on the overall war,” Kirby said. “I would go so far as to say it won’t even have, necessarily, a strategic impact on the fighting in that part of the country. We think one of the reasons why Prigozhin is so interested in Bakhmut is because there’s a gypsum mine there, and up in Soledar, there’s a salt mine. And it’s entirely possible that Mr. Prigozhin sees some economic benefit to him and his company to take Bakhmut and to take and hold Soledar.”
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Feb 11, 9:43 AM EST
US surveillance data ‘crucial’: Ukrainian commander
Ukrainian Lt. Gen. Serhiy Nayev told ABC News in an interview that the U.S. provides “surveillance data,” allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to more accurately pinpoint Russian targets within Ukraine’s borders.
“This help is crucial for us,” he said.
Nayev said he was in “constant contact” with American generals stationed in other parts of Europe. An exchange of data between the Ukrainians and Americans helped the Ukrainian military to pinpoint targets using US-supplied HIMARS rocket systems.
“This work goes perfectly in real time,” he said.
-ABC News’ Tom Soufi Burridge, Dragana Jovanovic and Ale Pavone
Feb 10, 3:09 PM EST
Biden to visit Poland on eve of first anniversary of invasion of Ukraine
President Joe Biden will visit Poland on Feb. 20, on the eve of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda as well as the leaders of the Bucharest Nine, a group of our eastern flank NATO allies, and he’ll deliver remarks to mark the one-year anniversary, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.
“President Biden will deliver remarks ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, addressing how the United States has rallied the world, to support the people of Ukraine, as they defend their freedom and democracy, and how we will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Jean-Pierre said.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Feb 10, 12:25 PM EST
Russian missile comes within 22 miles of Romanian border with Ukraine
Romania, a member of NATO, said Friday a Russian missile had come within 22 miles of its border but that it did not cross into the country’s territory, countering a claim made by the Ukrainian military.
“The Romanian Air Forces’ air surveillance system detected on Friday, February 10th, an aerial target launched by a Russian Federation’s ship, navigating in the Black Sea, nearby the Crimean Peninsula. The target is most likely a cruise missile, which flew over the air space of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and reentered the Ukrainian air space without ever infringing Romania’s air space,” Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tîlvăr said in a statement Friday.
Ukrainian officials had said earlier Friday that two Russian missiles crossed into the airspace of Moldova and Romania before entering Ukraine and being directed at targets in the country.
“Several Russian missiles passed through the airspace of Moldova and Romania. These missiles are a challenge to NATO and collective security. This is terror that can and must be stopped,” Zelenskyy said Friday.
