A federal jury has found former Minneapolis police officers Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng guilty of violating George Floyd’s civil rights during his deadly arrest. All three men now face the possibility of life in prison, but federal sentencing guidelines suggest they may get much less, The Associated Press reports.
Former Minneapolis police officers Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng were accused of violating Floyd’s civil rights during his arrest and death by denying him medical care. Kueng and Thao are also charged with failing to intervene to stop fellow officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd’s neck.
Former Minneapolis police officers Tou Thao, Derek Chauvin, J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane are seen in arrest photos.
Hampton County Detention Center
Floyd’s legal team, including Ben Crump and co-counsel Antonio Romanucci and Jeff Storms, released a statement shortly after the three men were convicted.
“Today closes another important chapter in our journey for justice for George Floyd and his family,” it said. “Nothing will bring George Floyd back to his loved ones, but with these verdicts, we hope that the ignorance and indifference toward human life shown by these officers will be erased from our nation’s police departments, so no other family has to experience a loss like this.”
Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, and Floyd’s nephew, Brandon Williams, also spoke after the verdict was announced.
“Today is a good day for us,” said an emotional Philonese. He thanked his attorneys, who he said were like friends. “They did a hell of a job.”
Brandon Williams said the family is still hurting and he still has a lot of sleepless nights. Both he and his father called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing act.
When the verdicts were read on Thursday, there was just one woman behind the defense table. Lane was the only one to react to the verdict — shaking his head, dropping something on the table and making an audible noise.
Three of the jurors appeared to wipe away tears during and after the reading.
In closing arguments, the prosecution maintained that all three officers violated Floyd’s rights and their duties by not immediately offering him first aid when he began to struggle to breathe.
The defense highlighted the officers’ testimonies that they believed Floyd was still breathing, and placed some of the blame on a lack of police training. They cited training and precedent that led the officers to defer to Chauvin, who was their superior.
Chauvin was convicted of murder in state court in April, and pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge in December. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson emphasized to jurors in this trial that Chauvin’s convictions should not influence their decision.
A makeshift memorial for George Floyd in his former neighborhood in Houston on June 10, 2020.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty
On May 25, 2020, the four officers responded to a call where 46-year-old Floyd had been accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill. After Floyd was handcuffed, Chauvin pinned him to the ground with his knee on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes.
Surrounding them were bystanders who were captured on video yelling at the officers that Floyd was unable to breathe.
This trial focused on the actions of Lane, Thao and Kueng. During the fatal stop, Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back while Lane held his legs down.
All three men testified that they suggested alternative methods to restrain Floyd. Lane, the rookie White officer who first called the ambulance, said a decision was made to not use a hobble device, which allows the person to breathe easier while restrained, because it would require them to call a supervisor after he was detained.
He also said he suggested they roll Floyd on his side after he stopped resisting, but Chauvin said no. Towards the end of his testimony, Lane agreed the situation “could have been handled differently.”
During his testimony, Thao, who is Hmong American, said he was in charge of crowd control and never checked Floyd’s pulse. He also highlighted the three officers’ lack of experience and rank compared to Chauvin.
When asked why he didn’t tell Chauvin to get off of Floyd’s neck, Thao responded, “I think I would trust a 19-year veteran to figure it out,” CBS Minnesota reported.
Kueng, the rookie Black officer who knelt on Floyd’s leg, testified that probationary officers were taught to always defer to a superior to the point of unquestioning obedience. He added that he was concerned about their ability to keep Floyd contained, but followed Chauvin’s lead.
“He was my senior officer and I trusted his advice,” Kueng said.
Lane, Kueng and Thao will also face a state trial, scheduled for June, on charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Charles J. Kovats thanked the jury on Thursday afternoon.
Kovats said many police across the country fulfill their duty every day, but the three former officers in this trial failed to do so with Floyd. “All sworn officers have a duty to intervene and provide medical aid to those in their custody,” he said. “It’s good policing. In their custody is in their care.”
FBI special agent in charge Michael Paul called the verdict “very important” for the country, adding that it would likely inform the ongoing debate over law enforcement.
LeeAnn Bell, the assistant to the U.S. Attorney, thanked the jury and Floyd’s family for their patience and diligence, calling it a long and challenging trial “for many reasons.”
In a statement released from the Department of Justice, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Floyd should still be alive.
“Today’s verdict recognizes that two police officers violated the Constitution by failing to intervene to stop another officer from killing George Floyd, and three officers violated the Constitution by failing to provide aid to Mr. Floyd in time to prevent his death,” he wrote.
This is CNBC’s live blog tracking developments on the war in Ukraine. See below for the latest updates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that the success of Ukraine’s soldiers is not limited to the recapture of Lyman, a key logistics hub for the occupying Russian forces, in the northeast of the country. He said in his nightly address that more settlements around Kherson have been liberated.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had withdrawn its forces from Lyman on Saturday to prevent them from being encircled.
Ukraine is continuing its counteroffensive in the northeast of the country as it tries to reclaim more occupied land from Russia, which last Friday announced it was annexing four regions in Ukraine, a move branded as illegitimate and farcical by the international community.
The Russian defeat in Lyman in northeast Ukraine and other parts of the Kharkiv region, combined with the Kremlin’s failure to conduct a partial military mobilization effectively and fairly “are fundamentally changing the Russian information space,” according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War.
“The Russian information space has significantly deviated from the narratives preferred by the Kremlin and the Russian Ministry of Defense that things are generally under control,” analysts at the defense and foreign affairs think tank said Sunday.
More than 253 vessels carrying agricultural products have left Ukrainian ports
The organization overseeing the export of agricultural products from Ukraine said that so far 253 vessels have left the besieged country since ports reopened in July.
The Joint Coordination Center, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said the ships transported a total of 5.7 million metric tons of grain and other food products.
In July, three of Ukraine’s ports were reopened to exports under the U.N.-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative.
— Amanda Macias
Elon Musk is publicly rebuked by Zelenskyy over his Twitter poll
American tech billionaire Elon Musk drew public ire from Ukraine’s top officials after the Tesla CEO posted a Twitter poll asking the public to agree or disagree with what he claimed is the most likely outcome of Russia’s invasion.
“F– off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, wrote in response to Musk’s tweet.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy responded with a Twitter poll of his own. “Which Elon Musk do you like more,” Zelenskyy asked. “The one who supports Ukraine” or “The one who supports Russia.”
What Musk calls a “highly likely” outcome presumes that Russia accomplishes several of its major goals, including permanently annexing Crimea, using referendums to determine the fates of 4 other attempted annexations, and prohibiting Ukraine from joining NATO.
For Ukrainians, these outcomes would never, ever be acceptable.
— Christina Wilkie
Photos show destroyed Russian armored vehicles left behind in Izium, Kharkiv
Over the weekend Ukrainian forces seized the strategic city of Lyman and continued a stunning counteroffensive in the northeast of the country.
The following photos show destroyed Russian armored vehicles and tanks left behind as Ukrainian forces battle for Izium, Kharkiv and continue to push east through Russian lines.
— Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Tehran denies that Iranian-made drones are being used by Russians in Ukraine
Iran denied reports that Iranian-made drones were being used by Russian forces on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Nasser Kanaani, an Iranian spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told NBC News that press reports about the use of drones in Ukraine are fake.
“The Islamic Republic considers this news baseless,” Kanaani said, adding that Iran has declared a stance of neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Last week, the Pentagon said it observed Russian forces using Iranian drones in Ukraine.
“We do assess that the Russians are using the Iranian drones in Ukraine,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a Sept. 27 press briefing.
“We’ve also seen reports of Ukrainians shooting down some of these drones,” he added, without providing more detail.
— Amanda Macias
A Russian court will hear WNBA star Brittney Griner’s appeal this month
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted in August on accusations that she was smuggling vape cartridges with cannabis oil into Russia.
The 31-year-old, who plays professional basketball in Russia during the WNBA offseason, admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage but testified that she accidentally packed them because she was in a rush.
The Biden administration has referred to her as “wrongfully detained” and has attempted to broker deals with the Kremlin for her release.
— Amanda Macias
Ukraine’s first lady christens newest Ukrainian warship in Turkey
Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov shared a video on Twitter of the newest warship to join Ukraine’s fleet.
“With a ship like this, our Black and Azov seas will be safe,” Reznikov wrote on Twitter. He added that the future base port for the warship will be in Sevastopol. The ship was launched in Turkey and is expected to join Ukraine’s fleet by 2024.
The anti-submarine corvette, named “Hetman Ivan Mazepa,” was christened by Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska.
— Amanda Macias
More than 4.2 million Ukrainians have applied for temporary resident status in other countries
More than 4.2 million Ukrainians have applied for temporary resident status in other countries since Russia’s invasion in late February, the U.N. Refugee Agency estimates.
The majority of refugees from Ukraine have relocated to Poland.
According to data collected by the agency, more than 7.5 million people have become refugees and moved to neighbor European countries.
“The escalation of conflict in Ukraine has caused civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure, forcing people to flee their homes seeking safety, protection and assistance,” the U.N. Refugee Agency wrote.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that Russian forces released an employee from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said Ihor Murashov, the director general of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, was released and returned to his family.
Last week, Murashov was allegedly detained by Russian troops upon leaving the power plant facility in the town of Energodar.
— Amanda Macias
Five vessels carrying 116,123 metric tons of corn and wheat leave Ukraine
The organization overseeing the export of grain from Ukraine said it approved five vessels to leave the besieged country on Sunday.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said the vessels are carrying 116,123 metric tons of corn and wheat.
Three ships are destined for Spain and are carrying 32,700 metric tons of corn and 50,500 metric tons of wheat. Another ship will depart from Ukraine’s port of Chornomorsk for Tunisia and is carrying 10,000 metric tons of wheat. The fifth vessel is carrying 22,923 metric tons of wheat and will sail to Italy from Ukraine’s port of Odesa.
A look inside Russia’s partial mobilization in Rostov, Russia
Russian citizens drafted during the partial mobilization begin their military trainings in Rostov, Russia after a military call-up for the Ukraine war.
— Arkady Budnitsky | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
UN says more than 6,000 killed in Ukraine since start of war
The United Nations has confirmed 6,114 civilian deaths and 9,132 injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded its ex-Soviet neighbor on Feb. 24.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the death toll in Ukraine is likely higher, because the armed conflict can delay fatality reports.
The international organization said most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as missiles and airstrikes.
— Amanda Macias
Russia’s Parliament approves annexations, but boundaries remain unclear
Russia’s Duma, or lower house of Parliament, unanimously approved the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson although the borders of what Russia now claims is its territory remain unclear.
A statement from the Duma on Telegram said “the entry of the Donetsk, Luhansk people’s republics [self-proclaimed separatist regions], Zaporozhzhia and Kherson regions into the Russian Federation is the only way to save millions of people’s lives from the criminal Kyiv regime,” the Duma said, repeating baseless accusations against the government in Kyiv.
Russia’s annexation of four regions of Ukraine has been almost internationally condemned with Ukraine and its allies calling the move, after sham referendums in those occupied regions, illegitimate and illegal.
It’s also unclear where the boundaries are of Russia’s new so-called “territory” with none of the regions fully occupied by Russian forces.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters today that the DPR and LPR (so-called “people’s republics in eastern Ukraine) will accede to the Russian Federation as they are but that Russia will consult with the residents of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia over where the borders of those regions are set.
Asked whether the parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that are now under control of the Ukrainian army are Russian or Ukrainian territory, Peskov said “I have nothing more to add to what I said right now.”
Ukraine has vowed to retake all of its lost territory, with around 18% of the country currently occupied by Russian forces.
— Holly Ellyatt
Russia concedes Ukraine is making gains in parts of the Kherson region
Russia’s Defense Ministry acknowledged that Ukrainian forces were making ground in a renewed counteroffensive in the southern Kherson region.
“Superior enemy tank units succeeded in wedging into the depth of our defence towards Zolotaya Balka and Aleksandrovka,” the ministry said in an update, referring to villages along the Dnipro river around Kherson.
The ministry claimed that Russian forces had repelled attacks in nearby Mykolaiv, in the Kherson region, and Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown.
Russia’s admission that Ukraine is making slow but steady advances comes after a humiliating retreat in the northeast with Russian forces withdrawing from one of their logistics hubs, Lyman, at the weekend in order to avoid encirclement.
On Monday, there have been various reports citing gains in the southern Kherson region, however, with officials remarking that several Russian-occupied settlements have been retaken.
“In the last days, we have seen the first photo of Osokorivka … we have seen our troops near the entrance to Mykhailivka, we have seen our troops in Khreschenivka, next to the monument. This means that Zolota Balka also is under the control of our armed forces, and it means that our armed forces are moving powerfully along the banks of the Dnipro nearer to Beryslav,” Serhiy Khlan, a Kherson regional council member, told Reuters, naming villages in the Kherson area.
“Officially, there is no such information yet, but the (Russian) social media pages which are panicking … absolutely confirm these photos,” he said, according to the news agency.
— Holly Ellyatt
Recaptured town of Lyman has to be thoroughly demined after Russian retreat
Ukrainian forces are having to demine the area in and around Lyman, a logistics hub for occupying Russian forces that was recaptured by Ukraine’s troops at the weekend.
“The city itself has been cleared from [Russian] invaders. Of course, some of them are still running somewhere on the outskirts, and they are now being actively hunted down. But, stabilization measures continue there. First of all, there is a very dangerous situation with mines,” eastern command spokesman Serhii Cherevatyi said Monday, according to comments reported by Ukrinform news agency.
“The occupiers left lots of anti-personnel mines, the so-called trip wires, ‘butterfly mines’ that are not visible behind the leaves,” he added.
He said foreign journalists had asked to enter the de-occupied town but it was still too dangerous with “deminers are doing everything to make it safe,” Cherevatyi said.
— Holly Ellyatt
Ukrainian forces gaining a foothold in southern Kherson region
Ukraine’s forces are gaining a foothold within liberated areas of the southern Kherson region, according to a spokeswoman for the southern military command.
Southern command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk told reporters Monday that Ukraine’s forces in the south are “conducting battles and gaining a foothold within the areas which have already been liberated and those that are still keeping the defense.”
“Also, we continue working with local residents along the contact line, along the front line, in those settlements that are under enemy fire. About 45 settlements have been shelled over the past day,” Humeniuk told reporters, according to comments reported by news agency Ukrinform, with efforts underway to evacuate civilians.
Humeniuk also said that Russian troops are inspecting households in occupied areas of the region for men aged between 18 and 35 in order to call them up and replenish their military units.
CNBC was unable to verify Humeniuk’s comments.
— Holly Ellyatt
Russian-installed official admits Ukraine has made ‘breakthroughs’ in Kherson region
Ukrainian forces appear to be making progress in a counteroffensive in the southern Kherson region, one of four regions that Moscow “annexed” last week, with one Russian-installed official conceding that Kyiv’s forces were making gains around Kherson.
“It’s tense, let’s put it that way,” Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed head of Ukraine’s Kherson region, said on state television, Reuters reported. He said Ukraine’s forces had made some breakthroughs in the region and taken control of some settlements.
Ukraine has continued to make advances in both the northeast of the country, in the Kharkiv region, and around Kherson in the south, seemingly undaunted by President Putin’s announcement last week that Moscow was “annexing” four regions in Ukraine: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and the separatist and pro-Russian Donetsk and Luhansk self-proclaimed “republics” in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine and its allies condemned the move, calling it illegitimate and illegal.
— Holly Ellyatt
Pro-Russian groups are raising funds in crypto to prop up paramilitary operations
Pro-Russian groups are raising funds in cryptocurrency to prop up paramilitary operations and evade U.S. sanctions as the war with Ukraine wages on, a research report published Monday revealed.
As of Sept. 22, these fundraising groups had raised $400,000 in cryptocurrency since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24, according to TRM Labs, a digital asset compliance and risk management company.
The research revealed that groups, using encrypted messaging app Telegram, are offering ways for people to send funds which are used to supply Russian-affiliated militia groups and support combat training at locations close to the border with Ukraine.
One group TRM Labs identified raising funds is Task Force Rusich which the U.S. Treasury describes as a “neo-Nazi paramilitary group that has participated in combat alongside Russia’s military in Ukraine.” The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFCA) has sanctioned Task Force Rusich.
On a Telegram channel, TRM Labs discovered this group was looking to raise money for items such as thermal imaging equipment and radios.
The only way to end the war is on the battlefield, lawmaker says
Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia unless it agrees to withdraw all its troops from Ukrainian territory — but with that increasingly unlikely, the resolution to the conflict currently lies on the battlefield, one Ukrainian lawmaker told CNBC.
“Ukraine is ready for negotiations at any moment, but negotiations about what? About the retreat of Russian troops from our territory? Sure,” Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian MP, told CNBC Monday.
“But Putin is not going to do this. He claimed that the territories he invaded are Russian … so clearly he has chosen the way of escalation and that’s why the only answer is on the battlefield and Ukraine is doing this.”
Goncharenko noted that Putin’s partial military mobilization, in which 300,000 men are expected to be called up to fight in Ukraine, would only prolong the war instead of enabling Moscow to win it.
Likening Russia’s army and the state to a dinosaur, he said: “[It has] a massive body, tiny head and very tiny brains inside this head.”
“When Russia will realize [it can’t win] we’re ready to negotiate but it looks like Putin will never do it,” he said.
— Holly Ellyatt
Russian mobilization marked by dysfunction and disorganization, UK says
The “partial military mobilization” announced by President Putin two weeks ago is showing itself to be dysfunctional and disorganized, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defense.
President Putin announced the call-up on Sept. 21, leading to thousands of eligible fighting men trying to flee the country. Other reports have suggested the men going to fight in Ukraine are poorly trained and ill-equipped for war. There have been multiple reports of men being mistakenly conscripted.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said that even Putin had acknowledged problems with the draft, telling his National Security Council on Sept. 29 that “a lot of questions are being raised during this mobilization campaign, and we must promptly correct our mistakes and not repeat them.”
“Putin’s unusually rapid acknowledgement of problems highlights the dysfunction of the mobilisation over its first week. Local officials are likely unclear on the exact scope and legal rationale of the campaign,” the ministry said on Twitter.
“They have almost certainly drafted some personnel who are outside the definitions claimed by Putin and the Ministry of Defence. As drafted reservists continue to assemble at tented transit camps, Russian officials are likely struggling to provide training and in finding officers to lead new units,” the ministry added.
— Holly Ellyatt
Criticism of Ukraine invasion grows in Russia, even from pro-Kremlin figures
The Russian defeat in Lyman in northeast Ukraine and other parts of the Kharkiv region, combined with the Kremlin’s failure to conduct a partial military mobilization effectively and fairly, “are fundamentally changing the Russian information space,” according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War.
“The Russian information space has significantly deviated from the narratives preferred by the Kremlin and the Russian Ministry of Defense that things are generally under control,” analysts at the defense and foreign affairs think tank said Sunday, noting that Ukraine’s recapturing of Lyman in northeast Kharkiv this weekend is leading to mounting criticism of President Putin’s regime, top officials and the so-called “special military operation” (as Russia calls it) in Ukraine.
“Kremlin-sponsored media and Russian milbloggers – a prominent Telegram community composed of Russian war correspondents, former proxy officials, and nationalists – are grieving the loss of Lyman while simultaneously criticizing the bureaucratic failures of the partial mobilization,” the analysts noted in their latest assessment of the war.
“Kremlin sources and milbloggers are attributing the defeat around Lyman and Kharkiv Oblast to Russian military failures to properly supply and reinforce Russian forces in northern Donbas and complaining about the lack of transparency regarding the progress of war,” they added.
The ISW noted that it’s becoming more common for even the most pro-Kremlin TV shows in Russia to host guests that are critical of how the conflict is progressing and some have even criticized Putin’s decision to annex four Ukrainian regions last Friday “before securing their administrative borders or even the frontline, expressing doubts about Russia’s ability ever to occupy the entirety of these territories.”
“Kremlin propagandists no longer conceal their disappointment in the conduct of the partial mobilization, frequently discussing the illegal mobilization of some men and noting issues such as alcoholism among newly mobilized forces,” the ISW said.
“Some speaking on live television have expressed the concern that mobilization will not generate the force necessary to regain the initiative on the battlefield, given the poor quality of Russian reserves.”
— Holly Ellyatt
Successes of Ukrainian soldiers not limited to Lyman, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that the success of Ukraine’s soldiers is not limited to the recapture of Lyman in the northeast of the country, with more towns around Kherson being liberated.
“This week, the largest part of the reports is the list of settlements liberated from the enemy within the scope of our ongoing defensive operation. The story of the liberation of Lyman in the Donetsk region has now become the most popular in the media. But the successes of our soldiers are not limited to Lyman,” he said in his nightly address. Ukrainian forces are also liberating the small Arkhanhelske and Myrolyubivka settlements in the Kherson region, he said.
Ukraine is continuing its counteroffensive in the northeast of the country as it tries to reclaim more occupied land from Russia, which last Friday announced it was annexing four regions in Ukraine, a move branded as illegitimate and farcical by the international community.
Over the weekend, Ukraine announced that its forces had fully taken back control of the town of Lyman, which had been used as a key logistics hub by Russian forces, marking another significant win for Kyiv. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that it had withdrawn its forces from the town to prevent them from being encircled.
March 4 (Reuters) – The United States and its allies heavily criticized Russia on Friday at the United Nations over its shelling and seizure overnight in Ukraine of Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, and some demanded that Moscow not let such an attack happen again.
Many of the Security Council’s 15 envoys expressed “grave concern” and shock, warning against the possibility of a repeat of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster – a nuclear accident in Ukraine when it was part of then Soviet Union considered to be the worst in history.
They said the attack was against international humanitarian law and urged Moscow to refrain from any military operations targeting the nuclear facilities and allow Ukrainian personnel to be allowed onto the plant to carry out their work.
“The world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe last night,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency meeting of the Security Council, convened following the seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine by Russian troops.
“Russia’s attack last night put Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at grave risk. It was incredibly reckless and dangerous. And it threatened the safety of civilians across Russia, Ukraine and Europe,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
As shells hit the area early on Friday, a blaze broke out in a training building – triggering a spasm of alarm around the world before the fire was extinguished and officials said the facility was safe. read more
Ukraine ambassador to the U.N. Sergiy Kyslytsya called for all Russian forces to be withdrawn from the plant and a no-fly zone over the country to protect the civilian population from air attacks.
A general view of the United Nations Security Council meeting after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. February 28, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Officials remained worried about the precarious circumstances, with Ukrainian staff operating under Russian control in battlefield conditions beyond the reach of administrators.
“France strongly condemns this attack on the integrity of a nuclear structure, which we need to guarantee,” Nicolas de Riviere said in his speech. “The results of the aggression of Russia against Ukraine are possibly devastating for human health and the environment,” he added.
United Kingdom ambassador to the United Nations Barbara Woodward said: “It must not happen again. Even in the midst of an illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russia must keep fighting away from and protect the safety and security of nuclear sites.”
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Raphael Grossi described the situation as “normal operations, but in fact there is nothing normal about this.”
Thousands of people are believed to have been killed or wounded and more than 1 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian began its invasion on Feb. 24. Western nations retaliated with sanctions that have plunged Russia into economic isolation.
Russia’s envoy to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia dismissed Western uproar over the nuclear power plant and called Friday’s Security Council meeting another attempt by Ukrainian authorities to create “artificial hysteria”.
“At present, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and adjacent territory are being guarded by Russian troops,” he said.
Separately, France and Mexico are working on a resolution to the U.N. Security Council next week that will address the humanitarian impact of Russia’s invasion, diplomats said.
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday morning that he intends to oppose a bill that would create a commission to examine the events of Jan. 6 — a reversal from one day ago when he told reporters he was undecided on the plan.
The House approved the commission 252-175, with 35 Republicans voting with Democrats. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in floor remarks earlier Wednesday, reaffirmed his commitment to bringing the commission to a vote on the Senate floor, which would need 60 votes to pass through the divided chamber.
McConnell called the proposal for the commission, which gained some bipartisan support after negotiations from rank-and-file Republicans, “slanted and unbalanced” during his floor remarks.
“House Democrats have handled this proposal in partisan bad faith going right back to the beginning. From initially offering a laughable starting point to continuing to insist on various features under the hood that are designed to centralize control over the commission’s process and its conclusions in Democratic hands,” McConnell said, a day after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy rejected the proposed commission.
Repeating arguments made by some Senate Republicans, McConnell also said it’s unclear whether a commission is needed with multiple Senate and police investigations already ongoing.
“It’s not at all clear what new facts or additional investigation yet another commission could actually lay on top of existing efforts by law enforcement and Congress,” McConnell said. “The facts have come out and they’ll continue to come out.”
McConnell’s comments came after former President Donald Trump released a statement Tuesday night warning that “Republicans in the House and Senate should not approve the Democrat trap of the January 6 Commission.”
“Republicans must get much tougher and much smarter, and stop being used by the Radical Left,” the statement concludes. “Hopefully, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy are listening!”
It’s unclear where the votes now stand with Senate Republicans, many of whom have not been paying attention to the issue until Tuesday when it was the topic at their weekly, closed-door lunch.
While the House passed the bill Wednesday evening, the Senate won’t take up the legislation until after the weeklong Memorial Day recess that’s scheduled to start next Thursday. Schumer has not yet publicly laid out a timeline for a Senate vote on the commission. When the vote hits the floor will depend on a number of factors including whether amendments will be allowed and if there are enough Republicans to potentially support it and break through filibusters.
There are a handful of Republicans who might vote to support a commission, including some of the seven who voted to convict Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” For example, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., has said he is “inclined to support” a commission. And while Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Maine’s Susan Collins said they want to see some changes to the legislation, like ensuring a final report is published this year and not during next year’s midterms, the duo supports the idea.
In January, in the wake of the attack on the Capitol, McConnell placed blame squarely on President Donald Trump for the assault, saying he had “provoked” the violent mob of the president’s supporters.
“The mob was fed lies,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like.”
Schumer, in his floor remarks Wednesday, slammed House Republicans for their objection to the commission, calling it “beyond crazy” and accusing Republicans of “caving to Donald Trump.”
“What the Republicans are doing — the House Republicans — is beyond crazy, to be so far under the thumb of Donald J Trump, letting the most dishonest president in American history dictate the prerogatives of the Republican party will be its demise, mark my words,” Schumer said.
On Wednesday, Capitol Police said in a statement that the department does “not take positions on legislation,” after a Democratic House office distributed what they said was an anonymous letter from Capitol Police officers criticizing comments made by GOP leaders about the Jan. 6 commission proposal.
Rep. Jamie Raskin’s office said the letter was given to them by officers who feared retribution, on behalf of 40 to 50 members of the Capitol Police force — a claim ABC News could not immediately verify. Julie Tagen, Raskin’s chief of staff, distributed the letter to an email list of Republican and Democratic chiefs of staff Wednesday afternoon.
ABC News’ Libby Cathey and Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
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