At least 39 killed after high-speed train collision in Spain, transport minister says
Emergency services work at the site of a train collision on January 19, 2026 after yesterday’s train collision in Adamuz, Spain. Authorities say at least 39 were killed and more than 150 were injured when a train collided with a derailed train on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 18. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
(ADAMUZ, Spain) — At least 39 people were killed and about 152 others were injured after two high-speed trains collided in southern Spain on Sunday, according to officials.
A train traveling from Málaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz, crossing over to the adjacent track where it hit another train coming from Madrid to Huelva, according to the Spanish Interior Minister.
The number of confirmed dead rose to 39 from the previously reported 21 and was “not final,” Oscar Puente, the Spanish transport minister, said in a statement early on Monday.
“I want to express all my gratitude for the huge effort of the rescue teams during the night, under very difficult circumstances, and my condolences to the victims and their families in these terribly painful moments,” he said in Spanish on social media.
Spain’s prime minister is expected to visit the crash site this morning.
Officials had earlier said that of those injured, 75 were hospitalized, with 15 in very serious condition and five in life-threatening condition.
Rescue crews are on the scene, and all trains between Madrid and the Andalusia region are suspended, according to officials.
The cause of the train derailment has not yet been released.
Iryo, the company operating the train that initially derailed, released a statement, saying the company “deeply regrets what has happened and has activated all emergency protocols, working closely with the competent authorities to manage the situation.”
The company said there were 300 passengers on the train at the time.
Puente, the transport minister, spoke to reporters late Sunday night and the high-speed Iryo train was “relatively new.”
Puente said the derailment of the Iryo train bound for Madrid and its subsequent collision with the second train happened on a straight stretch of track, which had undergone extensive renovation work that was only finished in May.
The Spanish minister called the accident “extremely strange.”
“It’s very difficult at this moment to explain,” Puente added, and said he hoped the investigation would help clear up what has happened.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Schloss Bellevue on December 15, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. (Kay Nietfeld – Pool/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — LONDON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address on Wednesday that Russia is preparing “the coming year as a year of war,” despite ongoing U.S.-brokered peace talks to end Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin sent “signals” of Moscow’s aggressive intent in remarks made on Wednesday, saying the bellicose comments were intended “not only for us.”
“It is important that partners see this,” Zelenskyy added. “And it is important that they not only see it, but also respond, in particular partners in the United States of America, who often say that Russia supposedly wants to end the war. But entirely different rhetoric and different signals are coming from Russia.”
Zelenskyy said an upcoming summit in Brussels to discuss the use of some $250 billion worth of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine was “important,” and that the outcome of the talks “must be such that Russia feels that its desire to continue the war next year makes no sense, because Ukraine will have support. This depends one hundred percent on Europe, it is Europe that must make this choice.”
Zelenskyy arrived in Brussels on Thursday morning.
European leader stressed the significance of Thursday’s meeting.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that either the European Union would agree on “money [for Ukraine] today or blood tomorrow.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post to X, “We have one ultimate goal: peace for Ukraine through strength.”
Zelenskyy later said Ukraine would use any funds “mostly for weapons.” He added, “We can’t afford that Ukraine remains without the answer as for the funding for the next year, it’s a big threat.”
“It’s not just about the frontline but about Ukraine’s overall ability to fight,” Zelenskyy said. “If Ukraine doesn’t receive the money in spring the scale of drone production will decrease several-fold.”
Zelenskyy also said that more talks are expected between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators in the coming week.
Zelenskyy’s comments were prompted by remarks made by Putin at the Russian Defense Ministry’s annual meeting on Wednesday, where the Russian leader claimed that his forces had “gained and firmly holds the strategic initiative across the entire front line.”
Putina added that Russian troops were “confidently advancing and ‘grinding down’ the enemy, its groups and reserves, including the so-called elite units and formations trained in Western military centers and equipped with modern foreign technology and weapons.”
Putin said the objectives of what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation” will be achieved either through diplomacy or through military force.
“We preferred to do this and eliminate the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy,” Putin said. “If the opposing side and their foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive talks, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means.”
The Russian president again sought to frame Ukraine’s European partners as being responsible for the elongation of the war, which Moscow launched in February 2022. The Kremlin has continued to wage its war despite multiple rounds of diplomacy aimed at securing a ceasefire.
“We welcome the progress that has been made in the dialogue with the new U.S. administration,” Putin said. “Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the current leadership of most European countries.”
Putin even referred to European leaders as “little pigs” in his Wednesday comments, and was also critical of the pro-Ukraine policies of former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Meanwhile, both Kyiv and Moscow continued their long-range strikes overnight into Thursday.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 82 drones into the country in its latest barrage, of which 63 were shot down or suppressed. Nineteen strike drones impacted across 12 locations, the air force said.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said six people were injured by a drone strike in the ️Cherkasy region, as were three people in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces downed at least 77 Ukrainian drones from Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
ABC News’ Oleksiy Pshemyskiy, Othon Leyva, Tom Soufi Burridge, Guy Davies and Yulia Drozd contributed to this report.
People bear Greenlandic flags as they gather in front of the U.S. consulate protest against U.S. President Donald Trump and his announced intent to acquire Greenland on January 17, 2026 in Nuuk, Greenland.(Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — European leaders hit back at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would impose sanctions on nations that deployed small numbers of military forces to Greenland last week, as the president continues his push to acquire the Arctic territory.
Trump said Saturday that a 10% tariff would be imposed on all goods sent to the U.S. from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland.
Trump said the new tariffs will come into force on Feb. 1, and will increase to 25% on June 1. The president said the measures would remain in place until the U.S. is able to purchase Greenland.
Greenland is a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Trump first raised the prospect of acquiring the minerals-rich island in his first term. Danish and Greenlandic politicians have repeatedly rebuffed such proposals.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday said the bloc’s members will meet Trump’s pressure as a united front.
“We have consistently underlined our shared transatlantic interest in peace and security in the Arctic, including through NATO,” she wrote in a post to X. “The pre-coordinated Danish exercise, conducted with allies, responds to the need to strengthen Arctic security and poses no threat to anyone.”
“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated and committed to upholding its sovereignty,” von der Leyen said.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, suggested in a post to X that the escalating tensions between the U.S. and its European allies is a boon for Moscow and Beijing.
“China and Russia must be having a field day,” she wrote. “They are the ones who benefit from divisions among allies. If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO.”
“Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity,” Kallas wrote, suggesting the furor was distracting from allied efforts to support Ukraine against Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion.
The eight countries — all NATO members — threatened with the tariffs issued a joint statement on Sunday saying they “stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland.”
The statement says tariffs “undermine transatlantic relations and carry the risk of a dangerous downward spiral.” The signatories added that they are “committed to strengthening security in the Arctic region as a shared transatlantic interest,” and in this context, the planned military exercise in Greenland, “poses a threat to no one.”
EU pushback against Trump came alongside criticism from national leaders.
“France is committed to the sovereignty and independence of nations,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement Saturday, adding that “no intimidation nor threat will influence us, neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland, nor anywhere else in the world when we are confronted with such situations.”
“Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context. Europeans will respond to them in a united and coordinated manner if they were to be confirmed. We will know how to uphold European sovereignty,” Macron said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong.”
“Our position on Greenland is very clear — it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and its future is a matter for the Greenlanders and the Danes,” he said.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said discussions are ongoing between the affected nations to build a coordinated response.
“We will not let ourselves be blackmailed. Only Denmark and Greenland decide on issues concerning Denmark and Greenland,” he said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday that Trump’s decision to impose new tariffs was “a mistake and I do not agree with it.”
“The intention of some European countries to send troops, to take part in greater security, should have been understood not as an initiative directed against the United States but rather against other actors,” Meloni said.
Meloni said she spoke with Trump “a few hours ago” and “told him what I think.”
“A core meeting of the European Union has been organized but I believe that at this stage it is very important to talk to one another and that it is very important to avoid an escalation,” she added.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that U.S. sovereignty over the world’s largest island is necessary to ensure American security and blunt Chinese and Russian influence in the Arctic region.
“This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet. These Countries, who are playing this very dangerous game, have put a level of risk in play that is not tenable or sustainable,” Trump posted on social media on Saturday, referring to deployment of small contingents of troops by European allies.
“Only the United States of America, under PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!” he said in the post.
As a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is covered by NATO’s collective defense clause. Greenland hosts the U.S. Pituffik Space Base and around 150 American troops, the U.S. having significantly downgraded its footprint from its high point during the Cold War.
A 1951 defense agreement grants the U.S. military access to Greenland. Danish politicians have repeatedly expressed willingness to work with Washington to expand the American and NATO presence there.
Danish officials have also sought to head off concerns about the supposed vulnerability of the Arctic. Last year, Copenhagen announced a $6.5 billion Arctic defense package in response to U.S. criticism that it had failed to adequately protect Greenland.
But such steps do not appear to have deterred Trump, who has said he would consider taking Greenland by force if other means to acquire the land fail.
A meeting in Washington, D.C., last week between U.S., Danish and Greenlandic representatives seemingly failed to de-escalate the standoff.
“It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rasmussen said that outcome was “totally unacceptable.”
Rasmussen said Saturday that the president’s threat came as a surprise, citing his “constructive meeting” with Vance and Rubio last week.
Rasmussen said in a statement that the purpose of last week’s military deployments to Greenland “is to enhance security in the Arctic.”
The continued U.S. focus on Greenland prompted protests there this weekend, with crowds of people turning out for a “Stop Trump” march through the capital Nuuk. Greenlandic politicians have collectively and repeatedly said they do not wish to join the U.S.
Trump’s efforts have also prompted congressional resistance. On Friday, a bipartisan group of House members and senators traveled to Greenland and said they had “constructive” conversations with members of Denmark’s parliament.
U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who were part of the delegation, released a statement Saturday warning that the tariff threat will hurt the U.S.’s relationships with its European counterparts.
“There is no need, or desire, for a costly acquisition or hostile military takeover of Greenland when our Danish and Greenlandic allies are eager to work with us on Arctic security, critical minerals and other priorities under the framework of long-standing treaties,” the lawmakers said in the statement.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Saturday that Democrats will introduce legislation to block tariffs against countries who oppose a takeover of Greenland.
The upper floors of a multi-storey building burn after debris from a Russian drone falls on February 3, 2026 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — American, Ukrainian and Russian representatives gathered again in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday for the next round of trilateral talks regarding a possible end to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, the fourth anniversary of which will come later this month.
The talks in Abu Dhabi are expected to run until Thursday. The negotiations are the second instalment of the trilateral format, the first also having been held in Abu Dhabi last month.
Both Moscow and Kyiv described the first round of trilateral talks as constructive, but key areas of disagreement remain.
Among them are the fate of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, which Russia has partially occupied and from which Moscow is demanding a full Ukrainian military withdrawal — a proposal rejected by Kyiv.
Control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine — occupied by Moscow’s forces since March 2022 — is also an important point of discussion.
Another unresolved issue is the nature of post-war Western security guarantees for Ukraine, without which Kyiv says Moscow will be able to launch a new round of aggression in the future. The binding involvement of American forces in those security guarantees is a key Ukrainian demand.
Russia has consistently said it will not accept the deployment of any NATO troops in Ukraine post-war. But following talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace envoy Steve Witkoff over the weekend, Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev said, “Some security guarantees in some form may be acceptable.”
Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council and the leader of Kyiv’s delegation, said in a post to Telegram on Wednesday that the latest round of talks were underway.
“The negotiation process started in a trilateral format — Ukraine, USA and Russia,” Umerov wrote. “Next, work will continue in separate groups by areas, after which a repeated joint synchronization of positions is planned.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile, told journalists on Wednesday that Moscow “is continuing its special military operation. The door to a peaceful settlement is open, and Russia remains open,” he said, as quoted by Russia’s state-run Tass news agency.
The delegations gathered on Wednesday as Ukraine reeled from a major Russian drone and missile bombardment on Monday night, which Ukrainian officials said caused serious damage to the country’s energy grid.
This winter has seen intense and sustained Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, prompting regular blackouts for millions of Ukrainians amid below-freezing temperatures.
On Thursday, Trump said he had secured a week-long Russian commitment to halt attacks on Ukrainian energy targets. Moscow confirmed the agreement, but said the pause only extended until Sunday. Kyiv said it would also pause attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested on Tuesday that Monday night’s strikes violated the supposed week-long pause. The Ukrainian president also said, “The work of our negotiating team will be adjusted accordingly.”
Trump, though, told reporters later on Tuesday that the agreement only stretched from “Sunday to Sunday,” adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “kept his word on that.”
“You know, one week is, we’ll take anything because it’s really, really cold over there. But it was on Sunday and he went from Sunday to Sunday,” Trump said.
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday, “Last night, Russia broke its promise, that means either Russia now believes a week has fewer than four days instead of seven, or it is genuinely betting only on war and simply waited for the coldest days of this winter.”
Zelenskyy also said in a post to Telegram that Kyiv is waiting for “the reaction of the United States of America to the Russian strikes.”
Zelenskyy suggested that the attacks undermined any hope of successful talks. “This also speaks volumes about any other promises Russia has made or might still make. If their word doesn’t hold even now, what can be expected next?” he said in a post to Telegram.
“They lied before this war as well, and Russia launched the full-scale war, trying to deceive everyone about their intentions and about Ukraine. Even now, in these details, in these agreements with the United States, Russia resorts to deception again,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Both Russia and Ukraine continued their long-range attacks overnight into Wednesday.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 105 drones into the country overnight, of which 88 were shot down or suppressed. Seventeen drones impacted across 14 locations, the air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down 24 Ukrainian drones overnight.
