Britney Spears‘ wedding guest list included Madonna, Drew Barrymore, Selena Gomez and Paris Hilton — but her family was noticeably absent from the ceremony. Now, the Grammy winner is clearing the air on why that was.
Britney spoke out after her brother, BryanSpears, and his girlfriend, Amber Lynn Conklin, issued a joint statement explaining why they were absent from the wedding. The two claimed in the since-deleted post that his daughter’s elementary school graduation was the same day.
“Bryan felt terrible having to choose but he had to be there for his daughter and sent his love to Britney,” the post read, per Page Six. “We are so sad to miss such an important moment but so so happy for Britney and Sam’s Marriage!”
Britney fired back on her Instagram, “You were never invited to my wedding.” The “Toxic” singer detailed the alleged abuse she endured from Bryan while under her 13-year conservatorship, adding, “I know you’re blood and yes blood runs deep but no family of mine would do what you guys did to me.”
Her post has also been deleted.
In other Britney news, TMZ reports the singer has fired her security team for failing to stop her ex-husband Jason Alexander from breaking into her home on the day of her wedding.
Alexander was arrested by police and now faces a multitude of charges. As for Britney, she has been awarded a three-year restraining order against her ex.
The “Perfume” singer has since hired a new security detail, which sources to the outlet say happened shortly after the terrifying incident.
Lowell Police Department via John Guilfoil Public Relations
(LOWELL, Mass.) — A massive search for a 3-year-old Massachusetts boy who vanished from his babysitter’s yard entered its second day on Wednesday and involved nearly 200 law enforcement officers, authorities said.
The toddler, identified only as Harry, was reported missing at about 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Lowell, Massachusetts. Police said a search for the boy was immediately launched.
Police asked neighboring residents to search their properties, outbuildings and vehicles for the boy.
“He’s active. He likes going outside. When he’s at home, he goes to the yard and plays. He’s a healthy kid but he can’t speak. He’s trying to learn how to speak, but he can’t talk,” Harry’s father told ABC affiliate station WCVB in Boston in a phone interview.
Volunteers eager to join the search were asked by police stay away from the area around the babysitter’s home where police are focusing their efforts.
“Right now we are concentrating efforts with law enforcement personnel and we are trying not to contaminate search areas,” the Lowell Police Department said in a statement posted on Twitter Wednesday morning.
Harry was last seen wearing a long-sleeve maroon shirt and gray pants with a white stripe, police said.
Upon getting the call of the missing child, officers went to the babysitter’s home in the Pawtucketville section of northwest Lowell and immediately began searching the neighborhood. When they found no sign of the boy, they expanded the search to the nearby Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest and the Merrimack River.
Lowell Police Chief Barry Golner said Wednesday morning that investigators have found no evidence suggesting foul play in the boy’s disappearance.
“We are still treating the incident as a missing person, a missing child. All our efforts have been focused on re-searching, retracing. We brought in other assets today — the state police, we have everything from mounted units to marine units,” Golner said.
The child’s parents dropped him off at his babysitter’s house about 7 a.m. Tuesday, police said. At least one neighbor saw the child playing in his babysitter’s backyard around 9:15 a.m., police said.
Carlisle Police Chief John Fisher, president of the North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, which is assisting in the search, urged local residents with surveillance cameras, particularly those with Ring doorbells, to check their footage for any sign of the child.
“A 3-year-old of average mobility, unfortunately or fortunately, can get pretty far,” Fisher said.
Lowell police notified the community of the missing boy on Tuesday by using a reverse 911 system to contact residents and asked them to call the police immediately if they believe they have seen the boy or have information about his whereabouts.
BTS‘ label claims the group is not going on a “hiatus,” as they previously claimed.
A day after the Grammy nominees declared they were going on a break, citing exhaustion and a loss of direction, South Korean entertainment company Hybe clarified BTS isn’t going anywhere.
“BTS are not taking a hiatus. Members will be focusing more on solo projects at this time,” Hybe said in a statement, per USA Today.
The clarification comes shortly after BIGHIT MUSIC, who represents BTS, told ABC News in a statement, “BTS now starts a new chapter with new solo projects as well as group projects. Members will take this time to achieve personal growth through various new activities, and we expect it to further strengthen the foundation for the group‘s long-run as a team.” The company added they “actively support” BTS.
As previously reported, the “Butter” singers spoke to fans at their ninth annual FESTA dinner, with Suga revealing, “We’re going into a hiatus now.”
They explained why the break was needed, with Jimin admitting, “[BTS is] going through a rough patch right now… We’re trying to find our identity and that’s an exhausting and long process.”
The septet noted of the unique pressures the pandemic and the K-pop “idol system” placed on them, which made them always “keep producing music and keep doing something.” Several members also expressed they felt stifled creatively, such as RM, who said he wanted to be more than the “rapping machine” of the group.
J-Hope noted the hiatus would be good for the group, saying it will allow them to “become stronger” and “start our second chapter.”
While it is unknown when BTS will return, BIGHIT announced J-Hope is working on a solo album and other members are working on “collaborations with other artists.”
Tuesday marked the fifth anniversary of the deadly Grenfell Tower Fire, in which 72 people in a 24-story London apartment building perished in 2017 and many others injured. Adele marked the somber occasion by reminding fans that those responsible for the deaths have not yet been held accountable.
Retweeting a post by Grenfell United, which is comprised of survivors and family members of the victims seeking justice, the Grammy winner again urged her followers to support their cause.
“I stand with the Grenfell families. Follow @GrenfellUnited and join their campaign for truth, justice and change,” she wrote.
The organization declared Tuesday, “For 5 years we’ve had to endure a justice system that protects the powerful. A system that prevents justice. Whilst this system exists, we face the same unachievable battle as the many before us.”
“They left us to search for answers, they mocked us publicly. Now, they stand in the way of justice,” the organization continued in a follow-up post. “We must pave a new way forward.”
Grenfell United says the building’s owners, who reportedly didn’t maintain the exterior to code, and the fire service, which didn’t evacuate the building’s residents quickly enough, should be held accountable for their failures. In addition, the group is demanding the inquiry made the day following the 2017 be released.
The Grenfell Tower fire is one of the deadliest structural fires in U.K. history.
Foo Fightershave announced the lineup of performers who’ll appear at the first of two planned upcoming tribute concerts for the band’s late drummer, Taylor Hawkins.
As previously reported, the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts will take place at London’s Wembley Stadium on September 3 and Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on September 27 and will feature Hawkins’ “bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life.”
The artists who’ll be joining the Foos on stage in London include Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Police drummer Stewart Copeland, Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, The Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde, Liam Gallagher, Wolfgang Van Halen, Josh Homme, Mark Ronson, bassist Chris Chaney of Jane’s Addiction and Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders and legendary drummer/producer Omar Hakim, who has worked with Foo Fighters, David Bowie, Dire Straits, Miles Davis, Journey, Kate Bush and dozens more.
Plus, comedian Dave Chappelle will make a special appearance, and Hawkins’ cover band, Chevy Metal, is also on the bill.
The guests for the September 27 show in Los Angeles will be announced at noon Wednesday. The charities that will benefit from both shows — chosen by the Hawkins family — will be announced shortly. For ticket information, join the Foo Fighters’ mailing list.
Plus, comedian Dave Chappelle will make a special appearance, and Hawkins’ cover band, Chevy Metal, is also on the bill.
The guests for the September 27 show in Los Angeles will be announced at noon Wednesday. The charities that will benefit from both shows — chosen by the Hawkins family — will be announced shortly. For ticket information, join the Foo Fighters’ mailing list.
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Attorney General Merrick Garland is in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday to meet with the families of the 10 victims killed in last month’s mass shooting.
Garland will meet privately with families and survivors, visit the site of the massacre and hold a press conference.
Payton Gendron, 18, is accused of storming a Tops grocery store on May 14 and gunning down 10 people, all of whom were Black, in an alleged hate crime.
Charges against Gendron include 10 counts of first-degree murder and 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime. The teen is the first person in state history to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate. Gendron’s lawyers entered a plea of not guilty to all of the charges on his behalf.
Days after the massacre, Garland promised that the Justice Department would be “relentlessly investigating this as a hate crime and as a matter of racially-motivated violence extremism.”
“Confronting hate and preventing hate crimes is a moral obligation of every American if we want to continue to live in a Democracy,” he said.
The Buffalo massacre could inspire more racially motivated attacks in the coming months, the Department of Homeland Security warned in a new report released this week.
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke have joined Garland for Wednesday’s trip.
Foo Fightershave announced the first performers who’ll appear at the upcoming Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts.
As previously reported, the two shows in London and Los Angeles will feature Hawkins’ “bandmates and his inspirations playing the songs that he fell in love with, and the ones he brought to life.”
The artists who’ll be joining the Foos onstage at London’s Wembley Stadium on September 3 include Rush‘s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Queen‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor, The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Liam Gallagher, Wolfgang Van Halen, Josh Homme, Mark Ronson, bassist Chris Chaney of Jane’s Addiction and Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, and legendary drummer/producer Omar Hakim, who’s worked with Foo Fighters, David Bowie, Dire Straits, Miles Davis, Journey, Kate Bush and dozens more.
Plus, Dave Chappelle will make a special appearance, and Hawkins’ cover band Chevy Metal is also on the bill.
The guests for the September 27 Los Angeles show at the Kia Forum will be announced at noon Wednesday. The charities that will benefit from both shows — chosen by the Hawkins family — will be announced shortly. For ticket information, join the Foo Fighters’ mailing list.
A conversation centering on Brad Pitt‘s cashmere brand, featured on Gwyneth Paltrow‘s Goop website, also reveals the two exes are still good friends.
With Father’s Day coming up on Sunday, the conversation turned to the special bond Brad shared with Gwyneth’s dad, the late director Bruce Paltrow.
“I’ll never forget when we were engaged and he came to me one day, his eyes full of tears, and he said, ‘You know, I never really realized what they mean when they say you’re gaining a son. Like, I’m gaining a son,” the 49-year-old actress recalls, before asking, “What impact did he have on you? Why did you love him, even though we didn’t get married, unfortunately?”
“Yes, it does,” Paltrow replies before joking, “I finally found the Brad I was supposed to marry. It just took me 20 years.”
“And it’s lovely to have you as a friend now,” says Pitt, adding, “And I do love you.”
“I love you so much,” Gwyneth replies.
Paltrow and Pitt began dating in 1994, after meeting on the set of the movie Seven, in which they played a married couple. The pair got engaged in 1996 but never tied the knot, calling it quits in 1997.
Netflix announced on Tuesday that it has renewed The Lincoln Lawyer, the drama from David E. Kelley, for a second season. The 10-episode second season will be based on the fourth book in Michael Connelly‘s The Lincoln Lawyer series. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Neve Campbell, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole and Angus Sampson will reprise their roles in the series that follows follows Garcia-Rulfo’s Mick Haller, a defense attorney who conducts his business out of the back seat of his chauffeur-driven Lincoln Town Car…
Stranger Things season four is now Netflix’s top English-language TV season of all time and the second-most popular series overall, behind the 2021 South Korean drama Squid Game, the streaming service announced on Tuesday. Netflix’s list of most popular titles is calculated based on viewership during a title’s first 28 days of availability. Stranger Things season four has been viewed for 781 million hours since its May 27 debut, breaking the record previously held by the second season of Bridgerton…
Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton has been cast alongside Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo in the upcoming thriller Role Play, according to Deadline. The movie follows a married couple, played by Cuoco and Oyelowo, whose life turns upside down when secrets surface about each other’s pasts. Thornton’s role has not been revealed, but sources tell Deadline he’ll play “a key figure” in the film — a mysterious stranger who encounters the couple.” Filming will kick off in Berlin next month…
Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron and Joey King have been tapped to star in an untitled Netflix romantic comedy directed by Bridges of Madison County writer Richard LaGravenese, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Details on the storyline are vague, but the streamer says it revolves around a “surprising romance” that kicks off “comic consequences for a young woman, her mother and her movie star boss as they face the complications of love, sex and identity.” Shooting is set to begin this summer…
(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:
Jun 15, 6:49 am
Biden promises to free blocked Ukrainian grain
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday the United States is working with European allies to remove blocked Ukrainian grain by rail.
Speaking at the 29th AFL-CIO Quadrennial Constitutional Convention, Biden said 20 million tons of grain are stuck in Ukraine and need to be exported to reduce global food prices.
As the grain cannot be exported via the Black Sea due to the constant threat of Russian attacks and explosions, the U.S. and its partners are planning to build granaries on the Ukrainian border, Biden said.
The railways present an alternative to Ukrainian coastal waters of the Azov and Black seas that are in need of demining. The area of their contamination with explosives can be up to 19,000 square kilometers, Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson Alyona Matveeva said on Tuesday.
The full demining of Ukraine can take from five to 10 years with the help of international experts, Matveeva added. To date, about 80% of explosive devices have been removed and neutralized in the Kyiv region, she said.
Jun 15, 6:31 am
Russia turns to outdated missiles
As Russia’s stock of modern high-precision missiles depletes, its invading forces are turning to obsolete Soviet models to strike targets in Ukraine, Yuriy Ignat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
“Recently, there has been a tendency for Russia to save high-precision, expensive missiles. And now the enemy is increasingly using Soviet types of missiles,” Ignat said.
Some of these missiles are extremely powerful, the spokesman added, and their destructive parts can weigh up to 900 kilograms.
“Their main drawback is that they do not always fly at their intended target and very often destroy civilian objects with human casualties,” Ignat said.
According to Ignat, Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile forces have shot down more than 500 enemy air targets since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. These include Russian cruise missiles, UAVs, planes and helicopters.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California, weighed in on the question of Russian missiles on Tuesday when he said that Europe is partly to blame for financing Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Addressing a climate conference in Vienna via a livestream, Schwarzenegger said the about 1,300 missiles Russia fired into Ukrainian cities during the first two months of the war cost 7.7 billion euros.
“Now that’s a lot. But during the same time, Europe sent to Russia 44 billion euros for fuel,” the former governor told attendees of the Austrian World Summit. “We have blood on our hands, because we are financing the war. We have to stop lying to ourselves.”
On the other end of the frontline, Ukraine is also grappling with a pressing lack of weapons. The Ukrainian forces received only 10% of the weapons “we said we needed,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar told local media on Tuesday.
“Now matter how much effort Ukraine makes, we will not be able to win the war without the help of the West,” Malyar added.
The deputy minister said Ukrainian fighters can afford to spend only about 6,000 shells a day, while the Russians use about 10 times more. The limited number of available weapons and ammunition is crippling Ukraine’s ability to launch a counteroffensive at the front, military expert Oleh Zhdanov said, according to local outlets.
Speaking at an online press conference for Danish media on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his plea for Western weapons that he said are vital for the liberation of occupied territories.
The speed of de-occupation “depends on the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and any delays in this matter threaten stagnation on the front,” Zelenskyy said.
Jun 14, 1:20 pm
Russian, Belarusian tennis players can compete at US Open under neutral flag
Russian and Belarusian tennis players, who are banned from Wimbledon, will be allowed to compete in this year’s U.S. Open, but only under a neutral flag, the U.S. Tennis Association said.
The USTA said it “previously condemned, and continues to condemn, the unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine by Russia.”
Russian player Daniil Medvedev, the current No. 1 player in the world, won last year’s U.S. Open.
Jun 14, 6:37 am
Ukraine pleads for heavy weapons ahead of NATO meeting
The only way to end the war in Ukraine, either on the battlefield or behind the negotiation table, is a parity of weapons, Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said on Monday.
“Being straightforward — to end the war we need heavy weapons parity,” Podoliak said on Twitter.
According to the presidential adviser, Ukraine’s military wish list includes 1,000 howitzers, 300 multiple launch rocket systems, 500 tanks, 2,000 armored vehicles and 1,000 drones.
“Negotiations are possible from a strong position, which requires parity of weapons,” Podoliak said. “There is simply no other way.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed Podoliak’s plea for weapons on Monday in a tweet that recounted Ukraine’s recent military triumphs achieved with limited resources.
“Ukraine has proven it can punch well above its weight and win important battles against all odds,” Kuleba said, pointing at victories in the battles of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv. “Imagine what Ukraine can do with sufficient tools,” the Foreign Minister added. Kuleba urged Ukraine’s partners “to set a clear goal of Ukrainian victory and speed up deliveries of heavy weapons.”
Podoliak said a meeting of NATO defense ministers will be held in Brussels on June 15.
“We are waiting for a decision” on the weapons, Podoliak said.
The group, known as the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, will convene a meeting for the third time in a bid “to ensure that we’re providing Ukraine what Ukraine needs right now,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said at a press briefing in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.
Austin, who will be in attendance in Brussels, said that Ukraine needs support “in order to defend against Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked assault.” The secretary of Defense noted that looking ahead, Ukraine will require help “to build and sustain robust defenses so that it will be able to defend itself in the coming months and years.”
In his Monday evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to tell people in the occupied territories “that the Ukrainian army will definitely come.”
“Tell them about Ukraine. Tell them the truth. Say that there will be liberation,” the president said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials played down threats of possible food shortages in the country due to the ongoing conflict. While Ukraine lost 25% of its sown area as a result of Russia’ full-scale invasion, the country’s food security was “in no way” threatened, Taras Vysotsky, the first deputy minister of Agrarian Policy, said at a press briefing for Ukrainian media on Monday.
“Despite the loss of 25% of sown areas, the structure of crops this year as a whole is more than sufficient to ensure consumption, which in turn also decreased due to mass displacement and external migration,” Vysotsky said.
The deputy minister added that Ukraine has “already imported about 70% of essential fertilizers, 60% of plant protection products and about a third of the required amount of fuel” before the war erupted in late February. According to Vysotsky, current sowing volumes are enough to ensure domestic consumption and even exports.
Jun 13, 9:26 am
Bodies of tortured men exhumed in Bucha
Another mass grave has been dug up in Bucha, uncovering the bodies of seven men who authorities believe were tortured and killed during the bloody occupation of the city in March.
Police told ABC News their hands were tied with ropes behind their backs and they were shot in the knees and head.
“They were killed in a cruel way,” police spokesperson Iryna Pryanyshnykova said. “These were civilian victims. The people here were killed by Russian soldiers and later they were just put into a grave to try to hide this war crime.”
It’s not clear why the men were killed, Pryanyshnykova said.
She said experts will analyze DNA to identify the victims.
-ABC News’ Britt Clennett
Jun 13, 6:24 am
Zelenskyy: Ukraine fighting for ‘every meter’ of Severodonetsk
Russian forces have pushed the Armed Forces of Ukraine out of the center of Severodonetsk, Ukrainian officials said.
“They are pressing in Severodonetsk, where very fierce fighting is going on — literally for every meter,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address on Sunday evening.
Russian forces now control about 70% of the city, as intense shelling makes mass evacuation and the transportation of goods impossible, Sergiy Haidai, another Ukrainian official, said.
Around 500 people, including 40 children, are sheltering in the city’s Azot chemical plant, Haidai said.
While the Ukrainians try to organize their evacuation, authorities of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic have given an ultimatum to Ukrainian troops in the city.
“They have two options: either follow the example of their colleagues and give up, or die. They have no other option,” said Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the People’s Militia Department of the DPR.
-ABC News’ Yulia Drozd and Tanya Stukalova
Jun 12, 5:33 pm
Zelenskyy sends virtual message to Sean Penn’s CORE benefit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the annual Hollywood fundraiser for actor Sean Penn’s nonprofit Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) Saturday night with a powerful video message urging people to continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.
“All of you have heard about the horrors that Ukraine is going through. Tens of thousands of explosions and shots, hundreds of thousands wounded and killed, millions who have lost their homes,” Zelenskyy said in his virtual speech. “All of this is not a logline for a horror film. All of this is our reality.”
Zelenskyy’s video message included footage showing missiles striking homes and apartment complexes in Ukraine, civilians dead in the streets of Ukrainian cities and children playing in parks amid the backdrop of bombed buildings.
Among those attending the CORE fundraiser, held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angles, were Penn and CORE co-founder Ann Lee, former President Bill Clinton, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, singer John Legend, and actors Patrick Stewart and Sharon Stone.
The group said the event raised more than $2.5 million for CORE’s disaster relief and preparedness work, including its urgent humanitarian response in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy noted that Penn traveled to Ukraine at the start of the Russian invasion and witnessed the atrocities firsthand. He thanked Penn and his group for the continued support for Ukraine.
“We have been resisting it for 107 days in a row,” Zelenskyy said of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. “We can stop it together. Support Ukraine, because Ukraine is fighting for the whole world, for democracy, for freedom, for life.”
Jun 12, 4:17 pm
Russia’s firepower superiority 10 times that of Ukraine’s in Luhansk: Military chief
Ukraine’s Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny said Sunday that he told his American counterpart, Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that Russian firepower superiority in the Luhansk region is far greater than that of Ukrainian forces.
Zaluzhny said that during a briefing he told Milley that Russian forces are concentrating their efforts in the north of the Luhansk region, where they are using artillery “en masse” and their firepower superiority is 10 times that of Ukraine’s.
“Despite everything, we keep holding our positions,” Zaluzhny said.
Zaluzhny also said Russia has deployed up to seven battalion tactical groups in Severdonetsk, a city in the Luhansk region. He said Russian shelling of residential areas in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine has resumed.
Russian forces destroyed a second bridge leading into Severodonetsk and are now targeting a third bridge in an effort to completely cut off the city, Luhansk region Gov. Sergiy Haidai said Sunday. Ukraine’s army still controls around one third of the city, he said.
Haidai said that Ukrainian forces are still holding onto the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, where around 500 civilians are taking shelter.
If Severodonetsk falls, Lysychansk will be the only city in the Luhansk region that remains under Ukraine’s control.
Zaluzhny said that as of Sunday, the front line of the war stretched 1,522 miles and that active combat was taking place on at least 686 miles of the front line.
Zaluzhny said that during his briefing with Milley, he reiterated Ukraine’s urgent request for more 155 mm caliber artillery systems.
Jun 12, 12:48 pm
Russian cruise missile attack confirmed in western Ukraine
Russia claims a cruise missile strike destroyed a large warehouse in western Ukraine storing weapons supplied to the Ukrainians by the United States and European allies.
While police in the Ternopil region of Ukraine, where at least one cruise missile hit, told ABC News that no weapons were destroyed, the region’s governor said part of a military facility was damaged.
Ternopil’s governor Volodymyr Trush posted a video showing widespread damage from what he said were four Russian missiles launched Saturday from the Black Sea. Trush said 22 people were wounded, including a 12-year-old child, in the missile strikes.
In addition to the military facility, Trush said four five-story residential apartment buildings were damaged. One of the missiles hit a gas pipeline, he said.
Russia’s defense ministry said Kalibr high presicion sea-based, long-range missiles struck near Chortkiv in the Ternopil province and destroyed a large warehouse full of anti-tank missile systems, portable anti-aircraft missile systems and artillery shells supplied by the United States and European countries.
