4 dead after DOD-contracted aircraft crashes in Philippines
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(WASHINGTON) — A DOD-contracted aircraft flying an “intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance” mission crashed in the Philippine Province of Maguindanao del Sur, killing all four on board, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said Thursday.
The victims included one U.S. military service member and three defense contractors, according to federal officials.
“The incident occurred during a routine mission in support of U.S.-Philippine security cooperation activities,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement, noting that the aircraft was requested by Filipino allies.
The names of the crew are being withheld for at least 24 hours pending next-of-kin notification.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, according to federal officials.
Emergency responders are dispatched to the scene after a Russian attack that killed at least 13 people in Glukhiv, Sumy Oblast. The number of victims increased to 13, including 3 children. Search and rescue efforts continue for those trapped under the rubble of the partially destroyed dormitory building. (Photo by Ukraine State Emergency Service / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON and KYIV) — Russia on Thursday launched an intercontinental ballistic missile toward a southeastern Ukraine, officials in Kyiv said, but two U.S. officials told ABC news it was instead an intermediate-range ballistic missile, or IRBM.
Ukraine’s military was “95% sure” the strike was with an ICBM, a Ukrainian official told ABC News, but added that they were still examining the missile parts on the ground and had not yet reached a final conclusion.
“Today it was a new Russian missile. All the parameters: speed, altitude — match those of an intercontinental ballistic missile,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said in a statement on social media. “All expert evaluations are underway.”
Moscow did not immediately confirmed the launch, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declining to comment, saying questions about it should be instead directed to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Ukrainian Air Force announced on Thursday morning that it had tracked the launch of the ICBM, along with six additional missiles, all of which were targeting the Dnipro region. The ICBM appeared to have been launched from the Astrahan region, in Russia’s southwest, Ukrainian military officials said.
All of the missiles were launched in about two hours, beginning at about 5 a.m., Ukraine said.
All were targeted at businesses and critical infrastructure, but only the missile that Ukraine identified as an ICBM struck the city, Ukraine said. The six other missiles were shot down. There were no reports of casualties or significant damage, officials said.
The U.S. officials said the assessment of the launch, the type of missile and warhead and the damage in Dnipro was continuing. The distance from what Ukraine said was the launch point to the strike location in Dnipro is about 600 miles, a distance shorter than what an ICBM would be expected to travel.
Two experts told ABC News the projectile, seen in video circulating online, looks likely to be “a ballistic missile with MIRV-ed capabilities.”
The launch of an ICBM, if confirmed as such, would arrive amid concerns that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could further escalate. Ukraine’s military this week first launched U.S.-made ATACMS missiles toward targets within Russia, days after U.S. President Joe Biden allowed for such use of the long-range weapons.
Kyiv launched on Tuesday six of the ATACMS at targets within Russian territory, according the Russian Defense Ministry.
Zelenskyy said he would not confirm if Ukraine had used ATACMS to conduct a strike on an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of Russia, but said Ukraine has ATACMS and “will use all of these,” against Russia.
Within hours of Russia announcing it had struck down five of the ATACMS on Tuesday, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had updated the country’s nuclear doctrine, a move that lowered the bar for Russia to response with nuclear weapons. Russian ICBMs are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, although it appeared the missile fired on Thursday was not equipped with one.
Following that warning, Ukraine on Wednesday fired long-range British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia for the first time, a Ukrainian military unit involved in the operation told ABC News. At least 10 of those missiles hit an estate in the village of Marino, the unit said.
They were targeting a command post where North Korean army generals and officers were present, the unit said. More than 10,000 North Korean troops are said to be operating alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region.
Ukraine’s 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion, which helped provide fire control for the strikes, told ABC News that there was intelligence showing high-ranking North Koreans were present.
Zelenskyy cast the Russian strike on Thursday as a result of Russia and its leader being “terrified.”
“Obviously, Putin is terrified when normal life simply exists next to him. When people simply have dignity. When a country simply wants to be and has the right to be independent,” Zelenskyy said. “Putin is doing whatever it takes to prevent his neighbor from breaking free of his grasp.”
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Lauren Minore, Yulia Drozd and Natasha Popova contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — A senior Russian general was killed in a bomb blast in a residential neighborhood in Moscow, Russian media reported early Tuesday, in what Ukrainian sources told ABC News was an intelligence operation.
Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov was killed by an explosive device that appears to have been hidden in a parked scooter and set off by remote control, Russian state-affiliated media TASS reported. The explosion also killed an aide accompanying him.
Kirillov was the head of Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological protection troops. Sources told ABC News that the Security Service of Ukraine was behind the killing.
“Kirillov was a war criminal and an entirely legitimate target, as he issued orders to use prohibited chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops,” an SBU source said. “Such an inglorious end awaits all those who kill Ukrainians. Retribution for war crimes is inevitable” the source said.
On Monday, the SBU charged Kirillov in absentia with war crimes for alleged orders approving chemical weapon use against Ukrainian troops.
Kirillov, the SBU said on Telegram, “is responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons” on the Ukrainian front lines.
“By order of Kirillov, more than 4,800 cases of the enemy’s use of chemical munitions have been recorded since the beginning of the full-scale war,” the SBU said.
Among the delivery methods, the SBU said, were grenades equipped with toxic substances like CS and CN irritants.
(LONDON) — Israel’s cabinet has approved the U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah after prolonged negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had submitted the proposal to the cabinet for approval Tuesday evening local time. The deal was approved 10-1, with only far-right minister Ben Gvir voting against the plan.
Israel announced the deal, followed shortly after by an announcement at the White House by President Joe Biden. The deal will go into effect at 4 a.m. local time, Biden said.
“Israel appreciates the US contribution to the process, and reserves its right to act against any threat to its security,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said, translated from Hebrew.
Netanyahu said earlier, when submitting the deal for approval, that the deal still relies on the actions of Hezbollah.
“The duration of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will enforce the agreement and respond forcefully to any violation. We will continue together until victory.”
The prime minister hailed “great achievements” on all fronts of the war, including killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and destroying their weapons across the country.
“With full understanding with the United States, we maintain complete military freedom of action,” Netanyahu said in the address, translated from Hebrew. “If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself — we will attack. If it tries to renew terrorist infrastructure near the border — we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck with missiles — we will attack.”
Netanyahu attended a meeting with security officials on Sunday night regarding a ceasefire with Israel’s Hezbollah adversaries in Lebanon, an Israeli official told ABC News.
This was part of ongoing talks, including Netanyahu’s meeting last week in Israel with U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein. Hochstein also traveled to Beirut to discuss a potential way forward.
Netanyahu then held a security cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss the deal and hold a cabinet vote, Israeli officials said.
In October, Israel invaded southern Lebanon in an escalation of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.
Tensions heightened last weekend as the countries’ leaders worked to negotiate a ceasefire deal. On Sunday, Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel in one of the group’s heaviest retaliations in months.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
