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Pope Francis rested overnight in hospital, Vatican says in short update

ABC News

ROME and LONDON — Pope Francis rested overnight in the hospital, the Vatican said on Sunday.

“The night passed peacefully. The Pope rested,” the Holy See said in a short statement.

The 88-year-old pontiff underwent another round of clinical tests on Sunday morning, Vatican sources told ABC News. A medical update was expected to be released later in the day.

Francis continued on Sunday to receive oxygen therapy to aid his breathing, the sources said. Francis on Saturday morning suffered a “prolonged” asthmatic respiratory crisis, during which doctors supplied him with oxygen, the Vatican said.

The pontiff in a written prayer released on Sunday said he was “confidently continuing” his hospitalization, adding that “rest is also part of the therapy!”

“I sincerely thank the doctors and health workers of this hospital for the attention they are showing me and the dedication with which they carry out their service among the sick,” he said.

Asthmatic respiratory crisis indicates the pope struggled to maintain a sufficient oxygen level when breathing on his own, according to medical experts.

The Vatican on Saturday said the pope, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, remained in critical condition.

The pope has been hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14 following a bout with bronchitis.

He was diagnosed with pneumonia on Tuesday, according to the Vatican.

Apart from his medical team and security, the pope has not had visitors apart from his closest aides, sources said.

ABC News’ Ivan Pereira and Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

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Hamas releases all 6 hostages as planned in latest exchange

Newly-released Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov gestures as he arrives in a vehicle at Beilinson Hospital in the Rabin Medical Centre in Petah Tikva in central Israel on February 22, 2025. Three more Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas militants at a ceremony in central Gaza on February 22 after two others were released in the southern part of the Palestinian territory. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

(LONDON) —  Hamas released six living hostages on Saturday in separate locations of the Gaza Strip — including the city of Rafah in the south and the Nuseirat refugee camp in the center of the enclave.

Stages were set up in each location on Saturday morning, surrounded by Hamas fighters and crowds of onlookers.

Two hostages — Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 39 — were released following a signing ceremony in Rafah.

“According to the information communicated by the Red Cross, two hostages were transferred to them, and they are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip,” a joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency said. “The IDF is prepared to receive additional hostages who are due to be transferred to the Red Cross in the near future.”

Meanwhile, after a signing ceremony between Red Cross and Hamas officials, three hostages — Eliya Cohen, 27; Omer Shem Tov, 22; and Omer Wenkrat, 23 — were released in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

“According to the information communicated by the Red Cross, three hostages were transferred to them, and they are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip,” read a separate joint statement from the IDF and ISA. “The IDF is prepared to receive an additional hostage who is due to be transferred to the Red Cross in the near future.”

A sixth hostage, Hisham Al-Sayed, 36, was the last to be released, according to Israeli officials and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. He is being accompanied by Israeli forces to a meeting point in southern Israel to reunite with his family.

“Israeli citizens embrace the six returnees who returned to Israel today,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

In exchange for these hostages, Israel is expected to release hundreds of Palestinians from its prisons. Based on previous exchanges, this part usually begins after the hostages are back on Israeli territory.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Pope not fully recovered, condition not life-threatening, doctors say

Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

(LONDON) — Pope Francis has not yet fully recovered from illness, but he is not in danger of losing his life, doctors from Gemelli Hospital said during a press conference on Friday.

Pope Francis was hospitalized with a respiratory tract infection and now has pneumonia in both lungs. He has been hospitalized since last week.

“The pope is fine, but the reason we are here is it has been one week in the hospital,” doctors said in English, saying that Francis is 88 years old and mortal, but adding he has retained his humor in the situation.

The pope was admitted to a hospital last week for “necessary tests” and to continue his ongoing bronchitis treatment, the Vatican said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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3 buses explode in suspected terror attack near Tel Aviv: Israeli police

(TEL AVIV) — Israeli police are responding to a suspected terror attack on buses near Tel Aviv, the Israeli Police Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement Thursday evening.

The two buses where bombs exploded were empty and in separate parking lots about 500 meters apart from each other, the mayor of Bat Yam, where the incident occurred, said. Bat Yam is on Israel’s southern coast and is just south of Tel Aviv.

There are no injuries from the explosions, police said.

“Multiple reports have been received of explosions involving several buses at different locations in Bat Yam. Large police forces are at the scenes, searching for suspects. Police bomb disposal units are scanning for additional suspicious objects,” the Israeli Police Spokesperson’s Unit said.

Police urged the public to avoid the areas and remain alert for any suspicious items.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Ukraine working on new potential deal with US over mineral resources: Sources

TETIANA DZHAFAROVA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s team is working on an updated agreement between Ukraine and the United States for Ukraine to agree to give the U.S. revenue from some of Ukraine’s most valuable resources, a Ukrainian official told ABC News.

A U.S. official with knowledge of the negotiations said a new version of the deal between the two countries has been put on the table.

The document currently on the table is a work in progress after the Trump administration initially proposed Ukraine provide the U.S. government with 50% of the revenue from some of its key resources, including minerals, oil, gas and ports a week ago, according to a draft document reviewed by ABC News and a Ukrainian official familiar with the matter.

The proposal hanging between the two countries comes at a critical time in the U.S. and Ukraine’s relationship under the Trump administration and an even more critical time in the almost three-year war since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy’s team was presented with the initial document with almost no warning when U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Kyiv on Feb. 12, prompting widespread criticism that the Trump administration was seeking to strong-arm the country into an exploitative deal, a Ukrainian official said. The purported original draft document, reviewed by ABC News, contained no mention of future security guarantees for Ukraine, suggesting the country should give up access to its resources as payback for the American aid already rendered.

That document was obtained by ABC News from a Ukrainian source.

After Zelenskyy refused to sign the initial deal, Trump escalated criticisms, calling him a “dictator” and questioning his legitimacy as Ukraine’s leader, echoing talking points of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy has held his ground, both thanking the U.S. for continued support and saying that he believes Trump is living in a “disinformation space.”

“I told them to show the security guarantees, and then we talk about the percentage. They said 50% and I replied NO. I can’t sell the country off. I’m just a manager. Tomorrow, the country will have another manager, so I can’t sell it. Besides, around 20% of resources are in Russia-occupied territory,” Zelenskyy said during a press conference Wednesday.

During the meeting between Trump’s Special Envoy to Ukraine, Russian Gen. Keith Kellogg and Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday, the two discussed the proposal again, a Ukrainian official said. After the meeting with Kellogg, Zelenskyy’s team is now working on an updated agreement, a Ukrainian official told ABC News.

A proposed agreemen

A couple of hours before Zelenskyy met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv on Feb. 12, a proposed agreement from the U.S. asking Ukraine to agree to give the U.S. 50% of the revenue from some of its most valuable natural resources was sent over. Zelenskyy and his team had almost no time to review the document, but they were asked to sign it during the meeting that day, a Ukrainian official told ABC News.

The official said Zelenskyy refused.

Zelenskyy was due to meet two days later with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Munich, Germany. But after Zelenskyy sent a revised proposal ahead of the meeting, Vance and Rubio threatened to cancel it, a Ukrainian official said. Zelenskyy’s team asked them to read it first, the official said, and the meeting eventually went ahead. A U.S. official familiar with the discussions denied these details.

An alleged draft document, reviewed by ABC News, of the initial proposal from the U.S. government dated Feb. 7 requests the U.S. government receive “50% of the financial value received” by the government of Ukraine from “resources of Ukraine, including: mineral resources, oil and gas resources, ports” and “other infrastructure (as agreed),” the draft document states. A U.S. official familiar with the matter said these details align with the US’s initial proposal to Ukraine.

The alleged draft document, at the top, states the U.S. “has provided significant financial and material support to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022.”

“We won’t confirm or deny terms of ongoing discussions. These discussions work best between the interested parties, not through the media,” a White House official said when asked about the authenticity of the document.

Trump has since slammed Zelensky for not signing the deal, on Wednesday accusing the Ukrainian President of treating Treasury Secretary Bessent rudely during his visit, claiming without evidence that Zelensky had kept Bessent waiting because he was “sleeping.”

Trump officials on Thursday also defended the deal and said the President was “frustrated” that Zelenskyy was refusing to agree to what they called a “historic opportunity.”

“Look, President Trump is obviously very frustrated right now with President Zelenskyy. The fact that he hasn’t come to the table, that he hasn’t been willing to take this opportunity that we have offered. I think he eventually will get to that point, and I hope so very quickly.” Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said Thursday at a White House briefing.

“There can be, in my view, nothing better, for Ukraine’s future and for their security than to have the United States invested in their prosperity long term,” Waltz said.

It was unclear what changes the Ukrainian side had proposed during their discussions with Kellogg on Thursday.

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Netanyahu vows ‘revenge’ after Israel says Hamas sent back wrong body for Shiri Bibas

(Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

(LONDON) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “revenge” on Friday after the Israeli military said one of the four bodies recently released by Hamas did not include a hostage.

Hamas, the militant group that governs the war-torn Gaza Strip, said it had handed over the remains of four deceased Israeli hostages on Thursday: 32-year-old Shiri Bibas; her two children — Ariel Bibas, 4, and Kfir Bibas, 8 1/2 months; and 84-year-old Oded Lifschitz.

After conducting a forensic analysis, Israeli officials positively identified three of the returned bodies as Lifschitz and the Bibas children but said the fourth was not that of their mother nor any other hostage, according to the Israel Defense Forces, which accused Hamas of committing a “very serious violation” of the current ceasefire agreement.

“The cruelty of the Hamas monsters knows no bounds,” Netanyahu said in a statement Friday. “Not only did they kidnap the father, Yarden Bibas, the young mother, Shiri, and their two small babies. In an unspeakably cynical manner, they did not return Shiri to her little children, the little angels, and they put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin.”

“We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages — both living and dead — and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement,” he added.

Hamas said in a statement Friday that it “will examine these claims very seriously” and “will announce the results clearly.” The group also called for the return of the body that Israel said is that of a Palestinian woman.

“We point out the possibility of an error or overlap in the bodies, which may be the result of the occupation targeting and bombing the place where the family was with other Palestinians,” Hamas added.

The IDF, citing “the assessment of the professional authorities,” said Ariel and Kfir Bibas “were brutally murdered in captivity in November 2023 by terrorists.” Their father, 35-year-old Yarden Bibas, was also kidnapped during the Hamas-led terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but he survived and was freed earlier this month.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, director-general of Gaza’s Hamas-run Government Media Office, said in a statement Friday that the remains of Shiri Bibas were mixed with other human remains beneath the rubble of the place where she was being held in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes “deliberately” destroyed the area, “killing her and her children.”

“Netanyahu himself is the one who issued the orders for the direct and merciless bombing, and he is the one who bears full responsibility for killing her and her children in a horrific and brutal manner,” Al-Thawabta added, noting that the Israeli military has killed more than 30,000 Palestinian women and children in Gaza since the current war began.

A spokesperson for Nir Oz, the kibbutz in southern Israel where the Bibas family were abducted from their home, issued a statement Friday apparently in response to Netanyahu vowing “take revenge.”

“We woke up to a difficult morning,” the kibbutz spokesperson said. “At the same time, we adhere to our values and the clear demands of the Bibas family at this time: Release, not revenge.”

Hamas is expected to free another six living hostages on Saturday followed by four more bodies next week as part of the agreed terms for the first phase of the ceasefire, which began Jan. 19 and is supposed to last 42 days.

Negotiations to set the terms for the second phase have not started, but Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that mediators are pushing to have talks begin as soon as possible to allow enough time for discussion before it begins. Hamas has accused Israel of avoiding talks and says it’s ready to negotiate.

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IDF says 1 of 4 bodies returned to Israel from Hamas does not belong to a hostage

(Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

(LONDON) — One of the four bodies handed over from Gaza to Israel on Thursday does not include a hostage, the Israel Defense Forces said, calling it a “very serious violation” by Hamas.

Thursday marked the latest return of deceased hostages as part of the group’s ceasefire deal with Israel. Israel and Hamas had confirmed the names of the four bodies returned to Israel Thursday as Oded Lifshitz, a journalist and peace activist, and Shiri Bibas and her two children — Ariel and Kfir Bibas.

After Israeli officials conducted forensic analysis to confirm the identities of the bodies, the IDF said the bodies of Lifshitz and Shiri Bibas’ two children were identified. But the fourth body was not Shiri Bibas — nor was it a match for another hostage, the IDF said.

“It is an anonymous body without identification,” the IDF said in a statement. “This is a very serious violation by the Hamas terrorist organization, which is required by the agreement to return four dead abductees. We demand that Hamas return Shiri home along with all of our abductees.”

“We share the deep sorrow of the Bibas family at this difficult time,” the statement added.

Hamas has not responded to the IDF’s findings.

Red Cross officials took custody of four black coffins during a ceremony in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis earlier Thursday. A Red Cross official and a Hamas commander appeared on a stage to sign documents as part of the handover. The coffins were also brought onto the stage.

A banner on the stage declared in both Arabic and English: “The Return of War = The Return of Your Prisoners in Coffins.”

An Israeli security official confirmed to ABC News that an IDF-held ceremony took place in the IDF-controlled Gaza buffer zone before the coffins were brought across the border into Israel. The bodies were taken to Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv’s Abu Kabir neighborhood.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement confirming Israel’s receipt of the bodies earlier Thursday. “The families of the abductees have been informed and our hearts go out to them at this difficult time,” the statement said.

“The public is asked to respect the families’ privacy and refrain from spreading rumors and information that is not official and well-founded,” it added.

During the handover, Hamas released a statement that read in part, “To the families of Bibas and Lifshitz: We would have preferred your sons to return to you alive, but your army and government leaders chose to kill them instead of bringing them back.”

“They killed with them: 17,881 Palestinian children, in their criminal bombardment of the Gaza Strip, and we know that you know who is truly responsible for their departure,” the statement added. “You were the victim of a leadership that does not care about its children.”

Kfir Bibas was 8 1/2 months old when he was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 — the youngest of the 251 hostages taken on the day the group carried out its terror attack on Israel — the worst in the country’s history. In the ensuing war, more than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.

Ariel Bibas was 4 at the time of his death, the IDF said. Both children were determined to have been killed in captivity in November 2023, the IDF said Thursday.

Their father, Yarden Bibas, was also kidnapped and freed earlier this month, the IDF said.

Oded Lifshitz’s wife, Yocheved, was among the first few hostages released during the first ceasefire agreement in November 2023. Sixty-nine hostages remain in Gaza after Thursday’s release.

“At this difficult time, our hearts go out to the grieving families,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

The Hostage Families Forum called for the second stage of the three-stage ceasefire to proceed, saying there is “no time to waste.” In the second phase of the ceasefire agreement — which should last 42 days — Israel is to completely withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip. Hamas and Israel also agreed to a permanent cessation of all military operations and hostilities before all remaining Israeli hostages, civilians and soldiers are released by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

“We received the heart-shattering news that Shiri Bibas, her children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz are no longer with us. This news cuts like a knife through our hearts, the families’ hearts and the hearts of people all over the world,” the families of the hostages said in a statement Wednesday.

“We grieve not only for them, but for the other precious lives lost, including four more deceased hostages who will be returned next week,” families of hostages said.

Six other hostages are expected to be released on Saturday and four more bodies will be returned to Israel next week. The hostages who will be released on Saturday have been identified as Eliya Cohen, 27; Tal Shoham, 40; Omer Shem Tov, 22; Omer Wenkrat, 23; Hisham Al-Sayed, 36; and Avera Mengistu, 39, according to Israeli officials and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Negotiations to set the terms for the second phase of the ceasefire have not started, but mediators are pushing to have talks begin as soon as possible to allow enough time for discussion before the second phase is expected to begin (the first phase is expected to last 42 days), Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Hamas has accused Israel of avoiding negotiations and says it’s ready to negotiate.

Last week, Hamas threatened to not release hostages over the weekend, saying Israel was not holding up its end of the ceasefire by delaying the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.

Hamas later said the exchange would take place as planned and released three hostages this past Saturday.

ABC News’ Jordana Miller contributed to this report.

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Israeli police responding to reports of explosions on buses near Tel Aviv

(TEL AVIV) — Israeli police are responding to a suspected terror attack on buses near Tel Aviv, the Israeli Police Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement Thursday evening.

The two buses where bombs exploded were empty and in separate parking lots about 500 meters apart from each other, the mayor of Bat Yam, where the incident occurred, said. Bat Yam is on Israel’s southern coast and is just south of Tel Aviv.

There are no injuries from the explosions, police said.

“Multiple reports have been received of explosions involving several buses at different locations in Bat Yam. Large police forces are at the scenes, searching for suspects. Police bomb disposal units are scanning for additional suspicious objects,” the Israeli Police Spokesperson’s Unit said.

Police urged the public to avoid the areas and remain alert for any suspicious items.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Former Spanish soccer chief Luis Rubiales found guilty of sexual assault for kissing player at World Cup

Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images

(MADRID) — Former Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has been found guilty of sexual assault of stemming from his nonconsensual kiss of footballer Jenni Hermoso at the 2023 World Cup Final.

Spain beat England 1-0, taking home the 2023 World Cup title. Rubiales kissed Hermoso without her consent during the team’s trophy ceremony, which was captured on video and in photos.

Rubiales was suspended from his position in August 2023 after the incident. Nearly the entire coaching staff has resigned amid the controversy.

Rubiales had claimed that the kiss was consensual, but Hermoso publicly denied that claim.

After refusing to resign amid pressure from the Spanish government, players, soccer clubs and officials, he later resigned from his position. In October 2023, Rubiales was banned by FIFA from all soccer activities for three years.

The incident triggered protests and fed into the wider discussion about sexism and consent.

Rubiales could face more than a year in prison.

Last year, a judge said there was enough evidence for Rubiales and three other former executives with the Royal Spanish Football Federation to go to trial.

Prosecutors asked for a two-and-a-half-year sentence for Rubiales, arguing he held Hermoso’s head without her consent and that the nonconsensual kiss had personal and professional consequences for the soccer player, prosecutors told ABC News. He could also face a fine of at least 50,000 euros ($54,000), prosecutors said.

Prosecutors asked for Rubiales to be prohibited from communicating with or coming within a 200-meter radius of Hermoso.

The prosecutor’s office said it also requested one-and-a-half years in prison for the three former executives who the judge said may have put pressure on Hermoso to say it was a consensual kiss.

-ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano contributed to this report

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Ukraine should ‘tone it down,’ sign Trump mineral deal, Waltz says

A view of the destruction after Russian forces launched a guided aerial bomb (KAB) attack, in Kherson, Ukraine on February 19, 2025. As a result of attack fifteen apartments were destroyed. At least 6 people wounded, including two 14-year-old children. (Photo by State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

(LONDON) — National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Thursday that officials in Kyiv “need to tone it down” after a fierce back and forth between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy related to a potential deal to end Russia’s three-year-old invasion of its neighbor.

U.S.-Russia talks began this week in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian participation, Kyiv’s exclusion prompting condemnation in Ukraine and across Europe as well as a vow from Zelenskyy that his country would not sign any deal agreed over its head. Zelenskyy also pushed back on a proposed deal that would give the U.S. access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of minerals.

Responding to the discord, Waltz told Fox News that the Ukrainians “need to tone it down and take a hard look and sign that deal,” referring to the proposed minerals agreement.

“There’s obviously a lot of frustration here,” Waltz said after Wednesday’s war of words.

Seeking to explain the strong remarks from Trump and Vice President JD Vance, Waltz said, “We presented the Ukrainians really an incredible and historic opportunity to have the United States of America co-invest with Ukraine, invest in its economy, invest in its natural resources and really become a partner in Ukraine’s future in a way that’s sustainable, but also would be — I think — the best security guarantee they could ever hope for, much more than another pallet of ammunition.”

Trump on Wednesday attacked European allies and the Ukrainian leadership for having failed to end Russia’s war. The president went on to call Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections,” claiming — without providing evidence — that his Ukrainian counterpart’s public approval rating was as low as 4%.

Trump also wrote on Truth Social that Zelenskyy “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.”

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, suggested Trump is in a “disinformation space,” attributing at least some of the U.S. leader’s criticism to Russian disinformation campaigns.

Vance then warned that Zelenskyy’s approach to dealing with the Trump White House was “atrocious.”

In Moscow, meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday that Ukrainian officials had made “unacceptable and impermissible” remarks about foreign leaders “in recent months.”

“Rhetoric used by Zelenskyy and numerous other representatives of the Kyiv regime in general leaves much to be desired,” Putin’s spokesperson said.

The diplomatic spat was set against the backdrop of continued Russian strikes across Ukraine. On Thursday, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 14 missiles and 161 drones into the country in a massive overnight bombardment.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 80 of the drones launched in the latest Russian barrage, with another 78 lost in flight without causing any damage. The 14 missiles targeted energy infrastructure, the air force said, adding it would not reveal how many were intercepted.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook that Russia conducted a “massive” missile and drone attack on “gas infrastructure.”

The aim of the “criminal attacks” was to “stop the production of gas, which is necessary to provide citizens’ household needs and centralized heating,” he said.

“While Russia continues to blatantly lie about not attacking civilian critical infrastructure, we are witnessing multiple missiles targeting Ukrainian gas mining facilities at once,” Galushchenko wrote.

“Such actions of the enemy prove only once again that Russia is trying to hurt ordinary Ukrainians, plunged into the cold in the middle of winter,” he added. “This is outright terrorism.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its strike targeted “gas and energy infrastructure facilities that ensure the operation of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine.”

“The strike’s objective has been achieved,” the ministry said. “All facilities have been hit.”

Russia’s long-range strikes into Ukraine have not eased despite the opening of talks aimed at ending Moscow’s three-year-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s latest salvo came with Trump’s Ukraine-Russia envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian leaders. Items of discussion are expected to include the proposed deal with the U.S. for access to the country’s mineral resources and the larger possible peace deal with Moscow.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy marked the anniversary of the culmination of Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan Revolution — in which pro-Western protesters overthrew Moscow-aligned President Viktor Yanukovych.

“It was in these days of 2014 that Russia chose war — it began the first steps towards the occupation of Crimea,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “While people were being killed in Kyiv, and people were defending their freedom, Putin decided to strike another blow.”

“Since then, the world has been living in a new reality, when Russia is trying to deceive everyone,” the president wrote. “And it is very important not to give in, to be together. It is very important to support those who defend freedom.”

Ukraine is continuing its own long-range campaign against Russian military and industrial infrastructure, especially targets linked to the country’s lucrative fossil fuel industry. Ukrainian security services have referred to the campaign as “drone sanctions.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that its forces shot down 13 Ukrainian drones over the previous 24 hours.

ABC News’ Nataliia Popova, Oleksiy Pshemyskiy, Fidel Pavlenko, Kelsey Walsh and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
 

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