Ukrainian drones hit St. Petersburg as key Putin economic forum opens

LONDON — After talks in Geneva on Tuesday between the U.S. and Iran over the latter’s nuclear energy program and trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iranian officials expressed optimism for a deal while US-Russia-Ukraine discussions are expected to resume on Wednesday.

Following the talks with Iran, a U.S. official said that “progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss.” 

The U.S. official said that the Iranians said they will “come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.”

But U.S. Vice President JD Vance in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday said the Iranians aren’t acknowledging some “red lines” that U.S. President Donald Trump has set.

“In some ways it went well, they agreed to meet afterwards, but in other ways it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.” Vance said. “So, we’re going to keep on working it. But of course, the president reserves the ability to say when he thinks that diplomacy has reached its natural end. We hope we don’t get to that point, but if we do, that will be the president’s call.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said a “window of opportunity,” has opened with this second round of negotiations. Araqchi made the comments while giving a speech to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament after Tuesday’s talks. 

“We are hopeful that negotiation will lead to a sustainable and negotiated solution which can serve the interests of relevant parties and the broader region. At the same time, as demonstrated during the aggression of 13 June 2025, Iran remains fully prepared to defend itself against any threat or act of aggression,” Araqchi said in English. 

Araqchi also noted the “conduct” of the U.S. “has seriously undermined the credibility of the negotiating process,” referring to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA during the first Trump administration. 

“The unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], in clear violation of an internationally endorsed agreement, dealt a profound blow to trust and stability of multilateral obligations,” Araqchi added.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law — also led American negotiators in Geneva in high-stakes talks on Tuesday regarding Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which lasted about six hours, Russian state media TASS reported.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov said the talks focused on “practical issues,” and “the mechanics of possible solutions,” in a post on Telegram Tuesday evening. 

Both Russia and Ukraine confirmed talks will continue Wednesday.

The talks on Ukraine are in a trilateral format, which include American, Ukrainian and Russian representatives. They are the third installment of the trilateral format following two rounds of negotiations in the United Arab Emirates.

Those previous trilateral talks were described as constructive by participants but appeared to have failed to achieve a breakthrough on key contentious points, such as the fate of Ukraine’s partially occupied eastern Donbas region, the future of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and proposed Western security guarantees for Kyiv.

Asked what he expected ahead of the talks with Russia and Ukraine, Trump on Monday put the onus on Ukraine to “come to the table fast,” appearing to suggest that the U.S. and Russia “are in a position” to make a deal. 

“Well they’re big talks. It’s going to be very easy,” Trump said. “Ukraine better come to the table fast. That’s all I’m telling you. We are in a position; we want them to come.”

Before the trilateral talks began Tuesday, Russia again heavily attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight with at least 396 drones and 29 missiles of various types, the Ukrainian Air Force said Tuesday morning. 

“It was a combined strike, deliberately calculated to cause as much damage as possible to our energy sector,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X.

In a statement after talks ended on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said negotiators must raise the continuing Russian strikes, especially with the Americans, who proposed that Ukraine and Russia refrain from attacks.

“Ukraine is ready. We do not need war. And we always act symmetrically — we are defending our state and our independence. Likewise, we are ready to move quickly toward a just agreement to end the war,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy said he was waiting on the Ukrainian delegation to report back to him.

Twelve regions of Ukraine were targeted in the Russian strikes and at least nine people, including children, were injured, the Ukrainian president said.

Among the targets was the southern port city of Odesa and the wider region, where “tens of thousands of people are without heat and water supply after the drone strike,” according to Zelenskyy.

Poland’s Armed Forces Operational Command said NATO aircraft were scrambled and air defenses put on alert as a response to the Russian strikes. “No violations of the Republic of Poland’s airspace by objects that could pose a threat were recorded,” the command said on X.

Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces shot down at least 151 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Trump “indirectly” involved in Iran talks

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday that he would be “indirectly” involved in Tuesday’s talks with Iran.

“They’ll be very important,” Trump told reporters of the talks. “We’ll see what can happen. Specifically, Iran is a very tough negotiator.”

Trump has said the U.S. wants Iran to end all nuclear enrichment as part of any deal, while American officials have also indicated that the U.S. wants constraints on Tehran’s ballistic missile program and its support of regional proxies.

All three demands have long been U.S. goals, but such proposals have been repeatedly rebuffed by Iranian leaders.

The talks have been preceded by a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East, with officials in Tehran warning that Iranian forces will retaliate against U.S. and Israeli targets if Iran is attacked.

The latest round of talks also come in the aftermath of a major anti-regime uprising in Iran, in which protests — initially sparked by the deteriorating economic conditions inside the country — spread nationwide. Trump offered his support to the demonstrators, telling them to “keep protesting,” saying, “help is on its way.”

Security forces violently suppressed the demonstrations, killing at least 7,000 people according to data published by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty, Lalee Ibssa, Joseph Simonetti, Fidel Pavlenko, Natalia Popova and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Russian drone and missiles strikes killed at least seven people and left around 20 people missing, possibly trapped under rubble, amid 24 hours of intense attacks on the Ukrainian capital and other areas around the country, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram on Thursday that Russia launched 675 drones and 56 missiles into the country overnight, of which 652 drones and 41 missiles were intercepted or suppressed.

Fifteen missiles and 23 drones impacted across 24 locations, the air force said, while falling debris was reported in 18 locations. The Russian attack was still ongoing as of Thursday morning, the air force warned.

The overnight barrage followed an intense day of strikes on Wednesday, during which time the air force reported 892 Russian drones launched into the country, of which 821 failed to reach their targets.

In total, Ukraine’s air force reported at least 1,623 Russian munitions launched into the country through Wednesday and Thursday. Ukrainian officials said that at least 16 people had been killed and more than 100 injured across two days of Russian attacks.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Thursday that responders were digging through the rubble of a partially-collapsed nine-story apartment building in Kyiv’s southeastern Darnytsia district, searching for missing people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to social media that at least 20 buildings were damaged in Kyiv, including a school. “There will be a just response to all these attacks. And we need to put pressure on Moscow so that they feel the consequences of their terror there,” he wrote.

“It’s important that there be worldwide sanctions against Russia. Russia’s responsibility for the war and our sanctions pressure should work at full capacity. And it’s also very important that the world not remain silent about this terror and stand with Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged foreign leaders — including President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping — to condemn the latest strikes.

“This barbaric attack during such an important summit shows that the Russian regime poses a global threat to international security. Instead of peace and development, Moscow pursues aggression and terror,” he wrote in a post to X, referring to Trump’s ongoing visit to Beijing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sybiha wrote, “wants this war to continue in order to prolong his control and rule over Russia. There should be no illusions or wishful thinking: only pressure on Moscow can force him to stop.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported the interception of 36 Ukrainian drones overnight into Thursday. The ministry claimed to have downed 431 Ukrainian drones during the course of Wednesday.

Both Russia and Ukraine have expanded their long-range attacks exponentially over the past year, with the ongoing frontline combat grinding into a near-stalemate with little apparent hope for either side to achieve significant breakthroughs.

April saw Russia launch the most attacks of any month of the war to date, according to Ukrainian air force data. Kyiv reported facing 6,663 Russian drones and 141 missiles during the course of the month.

Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks reached a high point in March, according to data published by the Russian Defense Ministry. In that month, Moscow said its forces downed at least 7,347 Ukrainian drones.

ABC News cannot independently verify the data released by either Russia or Ukraine. It is possible that both sides may seek to exaggerate the effectiveness of their air defenses, or to amplify the attacks against them as proof that their enemies are not interested in pursuing a peace deal, experts have suggested.

Neither side provides detailed data on the scale of their own attacks or their targets, though often release statements describing the targets as military, energy or industrial sites. Both sides accuse the other of intentionally attacking civilian targets.

Ukraine’s air force publishes what it says is a daily tally of Russian drone and missile strikes, including information as to how many munitions were intercepted and how many penetrated air defenses.

Moscow, meanwhile, publishes only the number of Ukrainian drones and other projectiles it claims to have intercepted.

ABC News’ Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Doctors and public health workers at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) told ABC News that the deadly virus is still spreading at an alarming rate.

“The outbreak is completely out of control,” said Dr. Richard Kojan in an interview from the city of Bunia in Ituri province, which is the hardest hit.

Kojan, who has been involved in fighting previous Ebola outbreaks in central and western Africa and is president of the Alliance for International Medical Action, said deep mistrust within some local communities is hampering efforts to contain the virus.

Another clinician, Dr. Richard Lokudi, who is the director of the main hospital in Mongbwalu, the hardest hit area, told ABC News that the disease was spreading “at an exponential speed.”

Dr. Lokudi said seven symptomatic patients suspected of having Ebola had recently “escaped” from Mongbwalu Hospital.

This was creating “chains and chains of contamination,” Dr. Lokudi said, adding that this was making the virus “difficult to fight.”

According to the World Health Organization, more than 1,000 suspected cases of a rare strain of Ebola, known as Bundibugyo, have been identified in the eastern DRC and more than 230 suspected deaths from the virus have been recorded.

There is currently no vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain. Seven confirmed cases have also been identified in neighboring Uganda, the WHO said.

Last week, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Jeremy Konyndyk, who worked as a senior official at USAID under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and is now president of Refugees International, said that the outbreak had already reached an “explosive” level of transmission.

Konyndyk, who is based in Maryland, described the situation in central Africa as “about as urgent as any Ebola response has ever been” and said the 1,000 suspected cases were “almost certainly the tip of the iceberg” and “perhaps even an undercount by a factor of two or three.”

Health officials believe the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola had been circulating, undetected, in the Ituri province for up to three months before it was officially identified. The unusual strain was harder to identify via testing.

However, levels of mistrust within local communities toward measures to contain the virus, as well as skepticism that the virus even exists, are now hampering efforts to stem the outbreak, health officials say.

Kojan said there is currently a lack of laboratory testing capacity in the region, which is needed for accurate diagnosis and effective contact tracing.

The lack of lab capacity means symptomatic patients suspected of having the virus can wait for days for test results, increasing the risk of them leaving isolation prematurely, Kojan said.

“People don’t trust that, you know, Ebola is a reality,” he said.

The Congolese clinician said he was on “the front line” without access to a laboratory, meaning he was struggling to build trust with patients.

New cases every day

Both Both Dr. Lokudi and Dr. Kojan said their healthcare facilities were receiving new suspected cases of Ebola every day.

Amidst the high levels of mistrust, there has also been growing anger towards strict healthcare procedures, which are necessary to safely bury the dead and stop the virus from spreading.

The two Congolese doctors confirmed reports that on two occasions, isolation tents and healthcare facilities had been set on fire by angry crowds in recent days.

In an exchange of messages with ABC News on Tuesday, Lokudi said the police and military were now protecting his hospital, but he said angry groups of youths had still been gathering nearby.

He said that in some cases, amid “resistance” from local populations, officials were unable to safely access remote areas of Ituri province to investigate suspected deaths from the virus.

Lokudi described the situation as “really concerning,” saying that if teams do not go to such areas, then family members face a high risk of catching the virus if they themselves bury their loved ones.

Ebola is transmitted via bodily fluids, so treating sick patients and handling the deceased should only be done by healthcare teams in protective suits. Ideally, a victim’s home should also be sprayed down with disinfectant.

In the remote rural communities affected, these vital protective measures can run contrary to local burial practices and reports suggest this, mixed with a level of misunderstanding, has been the source of many people’s anger.

Kojan described a lack of masks and protective clothing as another “really big problem,” and both doctors said more adequately trained healthcare professionals were needed on the ground to raise awareness and implement barriers to stop the spread of the virus.

Cuts to U.S. programs created difficulties

Konyndyk said significant cuts to U.S, humanitarian aid in the DRC had made things harder.

“We’re kind of fighting this one with several hands tied behind our back,” Konyndyk told ABC News.

“When we have fought Ebola in the past on this scale, it has been a combination of the Ministry of Health, WHO, USAID, CDC,” he said. 

“USAID is fully gone, CDC is badly weakened. WHO has been badly weakened, the U.S., of course, withdrew from WHO and cut off all funding,” Konyndyk added.

The former USAID official said in an interview that they were “almost certain” that if USAID were still in place, this outbreak would have been caught earlier.

Konyndyk said he believed earlier reports of “an unknown viral hemorrhagic fever outbreak” in the region “would have been brought to the attention of the U.S. mission” in the DRC.

“I’ve talked with some of the members who worked on that team, who were forced out of the government, who would say things like, look, I would be on the phone every week with health leaders in this part of the country,” Konyndyk told ABC News.

“I think the U.S. visibility on that diminished badly and that contributed certainly to the US being slow to wake up to this, but also to the world being slow to wake up to it,” the humanitarian leader said.

A White House official in response said the claim that cuts to U.S. aid have affected the response to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC was “ridiculous.”

“You could just as easily say people died because England didn’t give enough money or Canada didn’t give more or China didn’t. Why not blame the other countries who don’t do any foreign aid?” the official added.

The Trump administration has argued that its “America First Foreign Assistance programs” are intertwined with broader foreign policy goals and the national interest.

“The United States has saved more lives, and continues to save more lives, than any other country in the world, and we’re going to continue to do it,” the White House official said in a statement. “We’re not going to continue to pour billions of dollars out the door of American taxpayer funds for programs that don’t work and in some cases were flat-out corrupt.”

Back in the affected area of the DRC, both doctors interviewed by ABC said they had messages for the US and the world.

International support is needed urgently “on all levels,” according to Lokudi.

Kojan said he is appealing to the world to realize that this is about people’s “humanity.”

“People are really scared. It’s our humanity … so my message is, you know, we need attention.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.