Mystikal was denied bond following his recent arrest on charges of rape and battery, among others. The rapper was accused of attacking a woman at his home on Saturday, taking her car keys and holding her against her will.
The Advocate reports Mystikal’s defense attorney, Roy Maughan Jr., maintained his client’s innocence and asked for $250,000 bail. State District Judge Steven Tureau determined the rapper should remain in jail until trial, citing the evidence in the current case, the victim’s fears and Mystikal’s criminal history.
Mystikal, born Michael Lawrence Tyler, is a lifetime registered sex offender. He previously served six years in jail in connection to a 2003 incident for which he pleaded guilty to sexual battery and extortion. He later spent 18 months in jail while facing rape and kidnapping charges, which were dropped in December 2020 due to a lack of evidence.
Mystikal’s also been arrested numerous times in relation to marijuana possession, misdemeanor domestic violence and first-degree rape but walked away with no conviction.
According to testimony from Sheriff’s Detective Garrett Keith, the accuser, who was in a long-term relationship with Mystikal, went to his home to discuss financial matters when things went downhill. He allegedly accused her of stealing his money before abusing her, using prayers and rubbing alcohol to remove her “bad spirits” and raping her.
Prosecutors argued that Mystikal is likely to repeat a similar crime given his criminal record, but Maughan argued that his celebrity status would make it difficult to evade authorities. He also noted his client’s perfect attendance in court and that he hasn’t been convicted for any other crimes outside the 2003 case. Maughan objected to the judge’s decision, but an appeal is unlikely, The Advocate reports.
(MOSCOW) — WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia for over five months, was found guilty on drug charges in a Moscow-area court Thursday.
Hours earlier, the prosecutor in the case had asked that the basketball star serve 9 1/2 years in prison.
Griner, a 31-year-old Houston native who plays professional basketball for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained on Feb. 17 at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Khimki as she returned to Russia to play during the WNBA’s offseason after she was accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist, who appeared in court Thursday for the final hearing in her trial, is facing up to 10 years in prison although 9 1/2 years is the maximum sentence with time served. Griner has a right to appeal.
Griner shared an emotional statement in court ahead of the verdict on Thursday morning.
She apologized to her loved ones for the hurt that her detention has caused and said that her parents instilled hard work in her and this value is what brought her to Russia.
Griner’s trip to Russia to play in the offseason has underscored the issue of pay inequality in professional basketball
Many WNBA players have traveled around the world to play in the offseason because they don’t make enough money during the season — an issue that is not as prevalent for NBA players. The top WNBA salary is $228,000 per season, whereas star NBA players make over $20 million a year.
The Phoenix Mercury star held up a photo of her Russian teammates on Thursday and said that she made “an honest mistake” by packing the vape cartridges in her bag.
The prosecutor argued that Griner’s guilt has been proven and also asked that Griner pay a $16,500 fine, which is about 1 million Russian roubles.
Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in court last month, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage mistakenly and that she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law.
Her legal team told ABC News in a statement last month that her “guilty” plea was recommended by her Russian attorneys.
“Brittney sets an example of being brave. She decided to take full responsibility for her actions as she knows that she is a role model for many people,” the lawyers said in the statement. “Considering the nature of her case, the insignificant amount of the substance and BG’s personality and history of positive contributions to global and Russian sport, the defense hopes that the plea will be considered by the court as a mitigating factor and there will be no severe sentence.”
Griner testified last week that she did not mean to leave the cartridges in her bag, but that she was in a hurry and was stressed after recovering from COVID-19 that month. The WNBA star said she was aware that the U.S. had warned Americans about traveling to Russia, but she didn’t want to let her team down in the playoffs.
She also testified that she has permission to use medical cannabis and used a certificate to buy it in the U.S. Earlier this month, one of Griner’s attorneys presented a letter from an American doctor in court, giving her permission to use cannabis to reduce chronic pain.
The American basketball star said she was pulled aside after inspectors at the airport found the vape cartridges in her luggage and that when she was detained, she was not offered an explanation of her rights or access to an attorney. Griner said that while there was a translator present, she was not offered a complete translation and even tried to use her phone to translate.
Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained, and some officials have expressed concern that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing war.
The U.S. Department of State has classified both Whelan and Griner as “wrongfully detained.”
Last week, in a sharp reversal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he will hold a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “in the coming days” to discuss securing the freedom of Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since late 2018.
“[They] have been wrongly detained and must be allowed to come home,” Blinken told reporters in Washington, D.C, on July 27. “We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release. Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal, and I’ll use the conversation to follow up personally and I hope [to] move us toward a resolution.”
Two days later, Blinken told reporters that he had a “frank and direct conversation” with Lavrov about a U.S. proposal to exchange convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout in return for Griner and Whelan’s freedom.
“I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” Blinken said. “I’m not going to characterize his responses and I can’t give you an assessment of whether I think things are more or less likely, but it was important that [he] hear directly from me on that.”
During a press conference in Moscow on July 28, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova confirmed that “the issue of mutual exchange of Russian and American citizens, staying in places of detention on the territory of the two countries, was discussed at one time by the presidents of Russia and the United States,” but “a concrete result has not yet been achieved.”
ABC News’ Max Karmen, Shannon Crawford, Joseph Simonetti and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.
Courtesy of Trafalgar Releasing & Sony Music Entertainment
The recently announced film companion to veteran Norwegian pop-rock band a-ha‘s upcoming album, True North, will get its premiere in select theaters worldwide on September 15. Tickets for the screenings went on sale Thursday at ahaTrueNorth.com.
The True North film features the “Take On Me” group performing and recording the songs for the album with Norway’s Arctic Philharmonic orchestra at a studio in Bodø, Norway, located just south of the Arctic Circle.
The movie also captures the band members discussing the project around Bodø and features vignettes where actors portray life in the northern region of Norway.
In addition, the screenings will include a special behind-the-scenes featurette, exclusive to cinemas. You can check out a teaser trailer for the movie now on a-ha’s official YouTube channel.
The True North album will be released October 21 and can be preorderd now. The record’s lead single, “I’m In,” is available now via digital formats. A music video for the song that features footage from the companion film can be viewed on YouTube.
Sydney Sweeneymade headlines recently with her claim that despite appearing in some of TV’s hottest shows — including HBO Max’s Euphoria and The White Lotus — she can’t afford to take time off just yet.
Now, CamSoda, an adult live-streaming platform, wants to help the sexy 24-year-old actress — with an offer of $15,000,000 to perform 12 one-hour long live cam shows.
In a letter to Sweeney, CamSoda’s VP, Daryn Parker, writes, in part, that they saw her statement, and “now that you’re a rising sex symbol — and considering you said you’d never stop doing nude scenes — I think there is an opportunity for us to work together so that you can afford a six-month break and pay your bills.”
The letter then offers Sweeney “up to $15,000,000 to perform 12 one-hour long live cam shows on our website. That should hold you over during your break from Euphoria and other acting endeavors so you can afford your lavish L.A lifestyle.”
In an apparent final dig at Sweeney, the letter ends, “Please get back to me at your earliest convenience. I’d hate for you to be forced to sell your $3,000,000 home in L.A. to make ends meet.”
Sweeney will be seen in the upcoming Sony Pictures feature Madame Web, slated for a January 13, 2023 release.
Lady Gaga can breathe a sigh of relief — the man suspected of shooting her dog walker and kidnapping her French bulldogs has been rearrested after he was erroneously released from jail in April.
KABC confirms James Howard Jackson, 19, was arrested without incident. He is accused by authorities of shooting dog walker Ryan Fischer in the chest with a .40-caliber handgun when stealing two of Gaga’s French bulldogs.
Authorities tracked Jackson down to an address on Apricot Drive in Palmdale, California. After executing a search warrant at the location, the suspect was found and arrested.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in April Jackson was mistakenly released due to a “clerical error.” The suspect had attended a hearing on April 5 but was then “inadvertently” released from custody.
In July, the U.S. Marshals Service offered a $5,000 reward in exchange for information that could lead to Jackson’s whereabouts. He was considered “armed and dangerous” at the time.
Jackson, along with Jaylin White and Lafayette Whaley, kidnapped Lady Gaga’s two French bulldogs Gustav and Koji in February 2021. Fischer was shot during the struggle. The three men were charged with attempted murder, conspiring to commit robbery and second-degree robbery.
White was sentenced Wednesday to serve four years in state prison after accepting a plea deal where he pleaded no contest to the latter charge. The two other charges against him were dismissed.
Whaley’s hearing has been scheduled for September 20.
Lady Gaga’s missing dogs have since been found. White’s father, Harold White, as well as Jennifer McBride were charged as accessories to attempted murder after McBride claimed she “found” the dogs and tried to claim the $500,000 reward Gaga offered for Gustav and Koji’s safe return.
Young-Ho Lee / Sipa/ Pool/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(SEOUL, South Korea) — U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with her South Korean counterpart and other political leaders in Seoul on Thursday to reassure strong ties between their two countries, but she avoided making direct public comments on her recent controversial visit to Taiwan.
South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo greeted Pelosi and other members of her congressional delegation as they arrived at the unicameral national legislature in South Korea’s capital. After an hour-long meeting, both sides reaffirmed the ironclad bilateral alliance facing a range of issues, including increasing nuclear threats from North Korea.
“We also come to say to you that a friendship, a relationship that began from urgency and security, many years ago, has become the warmest of friendships,” Pelosi said during a joint press conference with Kim. “We want to advance security, economy and governance in the inter-parliamentary way.”
Pelosi emphasized the need to bolster inter-parliamentary cooperation between their two nations to deal with global security and economic challenges ahead. She agreed to review Kim’s proposal for Congress to work on a resolution marking next year’s 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, forged on the battlefield during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Both Pelosi and Kim shared concerns about North Korea’s unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests in recent months. Reiterating the need for the international community to prepare for possibly more provocations from Pyongyang, Kim said he and Pelosi agreed to support their governments’ efforts to achieve “practical denuclearization and peace” on the Korean Peninsula based on “strong and extended deterrence” as well as diplomacy.
Neither Kim nor Pelosi took questions from reporters.
During her visit Thursday, Pelosi traveled to a border area with the North that is jointly controlled by the American-led United Nations Command and North Korea. She is the highest-level American to visit the so-called Joint Security Area since 2019, when then-U.S. President Donald Trump traveled there for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Later Thursday, Pelosi and her delegation spoke by telephone with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a planned vacation this week but was accused by critics of snubbing the U.S. speaker in consideration of ties with China, South Korea’s largest trading partner.
When asked whether Yoon’s inability to meet with Pelosi in person was related to her trip to Taiwan, the South Korean president’s spokesperson, Choi Young-bum, told reporters: “Every decision was made in consideration of our national interests, and without doubt, the South Korean government respects the U.S. administration’s diplomatic decisions.”
“It is clear that our position to put the Korea-U.S. alliance at first does not change,” he added.
According to Yoon’s office, the Taiwan issue was not brought up by either side on the call.
Pelosi became the first U.S. speaker to visit Taiwan in a quarter century when she and her delegation made a surprise landing there on Tuesday night, defying repeated warnings not to from mainland China, which claims the self-governing island as its own territory.
Before departing Taipei for Seoul, Pelosi said at a press conference Wednesday that “America’s determination to preserve democracy, here in Taiwan and around the world, remains ironclad.” In response, Beijing began military exercises around Taiwan, including launching multiple ballistic missiles into the waters surrounding the island.
Pelosi and her delegation are scheduled to arrive in Japan on Thursday as the last stop in their Asia tour this week. They visited Singapore on Monday and Malaysia on Tuesday.
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Karson Yiu contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Coler Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center on Roosevelt Island in New York City is the foundation of where the Open Doors NYC project came to be. It was founded by Jennilie Brewester, a former volunteer at the hospital, who saw a need for more creativity among black and brown people in wheelchairs at the facility.
Vincent Pierce, the Director of Open Doors NYC, said what started as a writing workshop, turned into writing their own poetry, which would eventually turn into the Reality Poets, “being that most of us that was involved with injured due to gun violence. We told her that we wanted to go to schools and talk to kids about gun violence and the consequences of it. She’s got us doing that. Then we started doing these slam poetry workshops. And we started writing poetry and realized we was writing about our lives. One of the members came up with the name Reality Poets.”
Pierce, now 36, became paralyzed a decade ago, after being shot in the neck, saying he initially felt like his life was over after being confined to a wheelchair. But Pierce saw the bigger picture, “Thank god I had a four-year-old daughter at the time. That’s what really steered me straight and gave me a reason to know why I’m still alive… being blessed to be placed in a place where I had. People dealing with the same thing as me. People around my age, and people younger.”
Open Doors NYC hosts Freestyle Fridays, a virtual session where they invite artists as guest speakers, and all are encouraged to join and learn more about the project as well. Guns Down Mic Up! Is held bi-weekly, and is an open mic and discussion for those looking to share their stories about systemic and personal violence, including gun violence.
ZING! Is another one of the many programs under the Open Doors NYC umbrella. Pierce launched the program as a way to try and keep kids off the street and give them access they may have been initially denied, to showcase their talent and creative ability.
“Who knows? I could be saving lives by having here at that point in time, and actually paying them to come learn. I got a grant to start the program… It was just important to just keep kids off the street and give them something positive to do. Something I never had.
In March of 2022, New York State comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, released an audit showing that Health Department officials underreported nursing home deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic, by nearly half for almost a year. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in August 2021 over allegations of sexual harassment, and his administration also could not account for about 4,000 nursing home deaths during the 10-month period.
Pierce launched the #NursingHomelivesMatter campaign in July 2020, in response to how they felt the pandemic was handled when it came to residents in long-term care facilities. Pierce in a message on the site saying, “We were fighting for our lives—COVID patients were brought into our home, no safety precautions were followed, and bodies piled up in two refrigerated trucks parked outside. Then as the lockdown dragged on for more than a year, we were fighting to see our families or just to get beyond the iron gate and yellow tape that corralled us in like convicts or animals at the zoo.”
The movement contains a Bill of Rights which includes being treated as an individual, families never being locked out, safe staffing ratios, decent wages for staff, and more.
When asked what he hopes the future of Open Doors NYC holds, Pierce said “I want to see us grow. Especially that this pandemic is dying down for us to get more out there again… doing poetry shows and basically growing in the social justice field. Disability justice and being more known.”
The Strokes opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers is already a pretty stacked bill, and that’s before Eddie Vedder joined in on the fun.
The Pearl Jam frontman made a surprise appearance during Julian Casablancas and company’s support set in Seattle Wednesday, joining them for a rendition of their 2005 single “Juicebox.”
Fan-shot footage of the onstage collaboration was posted by YouTube user supercones. Come for the music, stay to watch Vedder’s hip-shaking dance moves.
The Strokes will be opening for Red Hot Chili Peppers for the remainder of their U.S. headlining tour, which will conclude September 18 in Arlington, Texas. The bill also includes acclaimed bassist — and recent Gorillaz collaborator — Thundercat, as well as King Princess for select shows.
The Chili Peppers are touring in support of their new album, Unlimited Love, which dropped in April. The “Can’t Stop” group will release their second record of the year, Return of the Dream Canteen, on October 14.
(NEW YORK) — Two of former President Donald Trump’s grown children have been deposed by the New York Attorney General’s Office as part of its civil investigation into the family real estate business, sources familiar with the testimony told ABC News.
Ivanka Trump sat for her deposition on Wednesday, while Donald Trump Jr. appeared last week, the sources said. Their depositions were postponed following the death of their mother, Ivana Trump, last month.
It was not immediately clear what questions they were asked or how they responded.
A spokeswoman for New York Attorney General Letitia James declined to comment.
Former President Trump, who has denied wrongdoing and called the investigation politically motivated, is expected to sit for a deposition with James’ investigators later this month after he and his children lost repeated attempts to avoid giving depositions in the case.
Trump argued unsuccessfully he should not have to sit for a deposition while the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office was conducting a parallel criminal investigation. While the district attorney’s case remains active, two senior prosecutors who had been leading it resigned earlier this year over the lack of an indictment.
The Manhattan district attorney’s investigation did produce criminal charges for the Trump Organization and its longtime CFO, Allen Weisselberg. Both have pleaded not guilty. Trump himself has called those charges “shameful” and “a disgrace.”
James has said her office has uncovered evidence of potentially fraudulent conduct in the way the Trump Organization valued its real estate holdings, allegedly overvaluing properties like 40 Wall Street and even the former president’s Trump Tower apartment.
Her deputies have said in court the office is nearing a decision on an enforcement action.
ABC News’ John Santucci contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Aug 04, 10:24 AM EDT
Ukrainian fighting tactics endanger civilians, Amnesty International says
Ukrainian forces attempting to repel the Russian invasion have put civilians in harm’s way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals, Amnesty International said Thursday.
The London-based international human rights group published a new report detailing such tactics, saying they turn civilian objects into military targets.
“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas,” Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in a statement. “Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international humanitarian law.”
Between April and July, Amnesty International researchers spent several weeks investigating Russian airstrikes in the Kharkiv, Donbas and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine. The organization inspected strike sites, interviewed survivors, witnesses and relatives of victims of attacks, as well as carried out remote-sensing and weapons analysis. Throughout the probe, researchers found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages in the regions, according to Amnesty International.
The organization said most residential areas where Ukrainian soldiers located themselves were miles away from front lines, with viable alternatives that would not endanger civilians, such as nearby military bases or densely wooded areas, and other structures further away. In the cases documented, Amnesty International said it is not aware of the Ukrainian troops asking or assisting civilians to evacuate nearby buildings in the residential areas, which the organization called “a failure to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians.”
Amnesty International, however, noted that not every Russian attack it documented followed this pattern. In certain other locations in which the organization concluded that Russia had committed war crimes, including in some areas of the city of Kharkiv, the organization did not find evidence of Ukrainian forces located in the civilian areas unlawfully targeted by the Russian military.
Aug 03, 11:21 AM EDT
Inspectors in Turkey clear 1st grain ship from Ukraine, but no sign of more
The first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain under a wartime deal has safely departed the Black Sea, the United Nations said Wednesday.
The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni set sail from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Monday, with more than 26,000 tons of Ukrainian corn on board. The vessel docked off the coast of Istanbul late Tuesday, where it was required to be inspected before being allowed to proceed to its final destination, Lebanon.
A joint civilian inspection comprising officials from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the U.N. inspected the Razoni on Wednesday morning, checking on the cargo and crew. After three hours, the team cleared the ship to set sail for Lebanon, according to the U.N. said.
“This marks the conclusion of an initial ‘proof of concept’ operation to execute the agreement,” the U.N. said in a statement Wednesday.
It’s the first commercial vessel carrying Ukrainian grain to safely depart the Black Sea since the start of Russia’s ongoing offensive, and the first to do so under the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative. Last month, Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the U.N. to allow Ukraine to resume its shipment of grain from the Black Sea to world markets and for Russia to export grain and fertilizers.
In a statement Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Razoni’s journey a “significant step” but noted that “this is only a first step.”
No other grain shipments have departed Ukraine in the last two days and officials on all sides have offered no explanation for that delay.
The U.N. said Wednesday that three Ukrainian ports “are due to resume the export of millions of tons of wheat, corn and other crops,” but didn’t provide further details.
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain, fertilizer and fuel has skyrocketed worldwide. Russia and Ukraine — often referred to collectively as Europe’s breadbasket — produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but a Russian blockade in the Black Sea combined with Ukrainian naval mines have made exporting siloed grain and other foodstuffs virtually impossible. As a result, millions of people around the world — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — are now on the brink of famine.
Aug 03, 9:58 AM EDT
Thousands flee ‘hell’ in Ukraine’s east
Two-thirds of residents have fled eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast since the start of Russia’s invasion in late February, according to the regional governor.
Speaking to Ukrainian media on Tuesday, Donetsk Oblast Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said some 350,000 residents remain in the war-torn region.
During his Tuesday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the hostilities in Ukraine’s east “hell.”
“It cannot be described with words,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian forces cannot yet “completely break the Russian army’s advantage in artillery and manpower, and this is very noticeable in the fighting,” he added.
Last month, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 200,000 civilians must be evacuated from the Donetsk Oblast before the weather gets colder, as there is no proper electricity or gas supply in the area for residents to heat their homes. Russian forces are also destroying heating equipment, according to Vereshchuk.
Zelenskyy has ordered the mandatory evacuation of Donetsk Oblast residents, urging them to leave as soon as possible. Those who comply will be compensated.
“The more people leave [the] Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he said.
Although many refuse to go, Zelenskyy stressed that “it still needs to be done.”
Mandatory evacuation from Donetsk Oblast began on Aug. 1. The first two trains evacuated 224 people to the central Ukrainian city of Kropyvnytskyi, according to local officials.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd, Fidel Pavlenko and Yuriy Zaliznyak
Aug 02, 4:25 PM EDT
Shipment carrying 27,000 tons of grain leaves Ukraine for Istanbul
A ship carrying 27,000 tons of corn has left the Ukrainian port of Odesa and is expected to arrive in Turkey on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Joint Coordination Centre, Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The ship, adorned with the flag of Sierra Leon, left Odesa on Monday morning and is ultimately destined for Lebanon, according to the JCC.
The route will follow a humanitarian corridor, the JCC said.
The JCC is responsible for carrying out inspections on inbound and outbound vessels in Istanbul to ensure there is no unauthorized crew or cargo, according to the statement.
The arrival of the shipment from Ukraine is a beacon of hope amid the ongoing invasion from Russia. Since the war began, shipments of grain out of Ukraine, considered one of the breadbaskets of the world, have all but stalled — leading experts to fear a possible food shortage that could plunge millions into malnutrition.
Preparations and planning for ships that can export grain and similar foodstuffs from the three ports in Ukraine are still continuing, according to the JCC, which described the feat as a “historical” humanitarian mission. The initial run to move significant volumes of commercial grain is expected to last 120 days.
“The JCC ‘s work is critical to implement the Black Sea Grain Initiative that helps address global food security,” the statement read. “The Initiative is focused on exporting grain, other foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from Ukraine.”
-ABC News’ Engin Bas
Aug 02, 9:19 AM EDT
Power plant used by Russia as ‘nuclear shield,’ Blinken says
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday condemned the conduct of Russian troops around the Zaporizhia power plant — the biggest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Europe — calling it “the height of irresponsibility.”
Speaking after nuclear nonproliferation talks at the United Nations in New York, Blinken said Russia was turning the power plant into a “nuclear shield.”
“Russia is now using the plant as a military base to fire at Ukrainians, knowing that they can’t and won’t shoot back because they might accidentally strike a nuclear reactor or highly radioactive waste in storage,” Blinken said.
The secretary added that Russia’s actions bring “the notion of having a human shield to an entirely different and horrific level.”
Russia was already accused of firing shells dangerously close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in March as Russian troops occupied the facility in the first weeks of the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday a nuclear war should “never be unleashed,” according to local media. Putin stressed that Russia continues to fulfill its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as well as its bilateral agreements with the U.S. on the reduction of nuclear weapons.
Aug 01, 2:36 PM EDT
US announces new round of aid to Ukraine
The United States is sending a 17th round of aid to Ukraine, consisting of more ammunition for HIMARS rocket systems and howitzers, White House spokesman John Kirby announced.
This aid comes from presidential drawdown authority, separate from any aid passed by Congress.
This package totals $550 million and brings the total of U.S. presidential drawdown aid given to Ukraine since February to $8.8 billion.
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Sarah Kolinovsky
Aug 01, 9:14 AM EDT
Russian troops on the move ahead of expected Ukrainian counteroffensive
The Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Monday Russian troops were massing in the direction of the town of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region, possibly in a bid to prepare for a large Ukrainian counterattack.
Talk of a major Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at taking back the southern city of Kherson, about 140 miles south of Kryvyi Rih, has been gathering pace for several weeks.
The Ukrainian military also issued the maximum missile-fire-threat alert on Sunday in reaction to Russian troops massing in the Black Sea.
At least 17 warships and boats of the Russian Black Sea fleet were maneuvering near the Crimean coast on Sunday, according to Ukrainian military officials.
Among them were six Kalibr cruise missile carriers with more than 40 high-precision missiles on board, as well as four large landing ships.
Russia has also been transferring a large number of troops to occupied Crimea, Vadym Skibitskyi, of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, said on Monday.
Russia plans to deploy these troops in the south of Ukraine to conduct future combat operations, Skibitskyi said.
The official added that Russia withdrew tactical groups of airborne troops from the eastern Donetsk region and transferred them to occupied Kherson about two weeks ago.
Russian forces have resumed localized ground attacks northwest and southwest of Izyum over the weekend and may be setting conditions for offensive operations further west into Kharkiv Oblast or toward Kharkiv City, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report.
-ABC News’ Edward Szekeres, Yulia Drozd and Max Uzol
Aug 01, 9:09 AM EDT
A ‘day of relief for the world’ as Ukrainian grain shipments resume
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba called Monday a “day of relief for the world” as his country resumed grain shipments for the first time since Russia’s offensive began.
“The day of relief for the world, especially for our friends in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, as the first Ukrainian grain leaves Odesa after months of Russian blockade,” Kuleba wrote in a post on Twitter. “Ukraine has always been a reliable partner and will remain one should Russia respect its part of the deal.”
Aug 01, 4:12 AM EDT
Ukrainian lawmaker hails departure of 1st grain ship a ‘historic moment’
Watching as the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain set off from Odesa’s port on Monday morning, Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko called it “Ukraine’s victory” over Russia.
Honcharenko, the son of a former Odesa mayor, said this “historic moment” was only possible because Ukraine had inflicted so much damage on the Russian Navy and had liberated nearby Snake Island, forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a deal.
“It shows again the the language of force is the only language Putin understands,” Honcharenko told ABC News.
Honcharenko said he believes 16 more ships in the port will now begin moving out in the coming days. But he cautioned that he thinks Putin will now try to do everything to limit the ships coming in and out to a minimum within the U.N.-brokered deal, utilizing airstrikes near Ukrainian ports as well as trying to invent bureaucratic obstacles.
The next big test of the deal will be when the first ships come to enter Odesa, which Honcharenko said is expected at the end of this week.
-ABC News’ Dragana Jovanovic, Oleksii Pshemyskiy and Patrick Reevell
Aug 01, 3:47 AM EDT
1st ship carrying Ukrainian grain leaves Odesa port
The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain departed Odesa on Monday morning under an internationally brokered deal attempting to ease a global hunger crisis.
The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni left the Ukrainian port city and is headed to Lebanon, a tiny Mideast nation that imports nearly all of its grain and lacks storage space after a 2020 explosion destroyed grain silos at its main port in Beirut. The vessel is expected to reach Istanbul on Tuesday, where it will be inspected before being allowed to proceed to Tripoli, according to a statement from the Turkish Ministry of National Defense.
Razoni, which is carrying 26,527 tons of corn, is the first commercial ship to set off from Ukraine’s port of Odesa since Feb. 26 and the first vessel to depart under the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to a statement from the spokesperson for the the United Nations secretary-general. Last month, Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the U.N. to allow Ukraine to resume its shipment of grain from the Black Sea to world markets and for Russia to export grain and fertilizers.
Since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, the cost of grain, fertilizer and fuel has skyrocketed worldwide. Russia and Ukraine — often referred to collectively as Europe’s breadbasket — produce a third of the global supply of wheat and barley, but a Russian blockade in the Black Sea combined with Ukrainian naval mines have made exporting siloed grain and other foodstuffs virtually impossible. As a result, millions of people around the world — particularly in Africa and the Middle East — are now on the brink of famine.
