(LONDON) -- Andy Burnham officially became British prime minister on Monday -- the country's seventh leader in 10 years -- having already been elected as the leader of the country's Labour Party last week.

Burnham, who until recently was serving as the mayor of Greater Manchester, succeeded outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Speaking outside the prime minister's official residence -- 10 Downing Street -- on Monday morning, Starmer said, "Today I am here to offer my resignation and close the book on my time as prime minister. My work is done."

"I thank the British people for the opportunity to serve. I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved. Thank you very much," Starmer added.

Of his successor, the outgoing prime minister said, "I now pass the baton to Andy Burnham, I wish him every success. He has my full support."

After his address, Starmer traveled the short distance to Buckingham Palace to formally inform King Charles III of his resignation. Burnham then also traveled to palace where the king asked him to form a government.

The new prime minister then traveled to Downing Street to give his first address, telling the assembled press that Britain must show "that we can regain our stability."

Burnham said his appointment will serve as "a circuit-breaker" for the country, pledging to deliver a new political and economic model and a 10-year plan.

Among the new prime's commitments were to address cost of living concerns, help young people into work, end homelessness, re-industrialize the country, put "life's essentials back under public control" and push for more local powers.

Through the rest of Monday, Burnham is expected to begin appointing cabinet ministers from Number 10.

Starmer announced that he would step down in June, following months of domestic political turmoil. Despite leading Labour to a historic majority in parliament in the 2024 general election, Starmer faced persistent external and internal criticism over his perceived failure to deliver rapid change after 14 years of Conservative Party rule in Britain.

Many in Starmer's party had written to the prime minister asking him to step down following local elections in May, which saw the party lose more than 1,000 seats on local councils, results that were widely interpreted as a repudiation by British voters of Labour's performance under the prime minister's leadership.

Starmer long said he intended to see out his full five-year. Announcing his resignation in June, Starmer said, "The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace."

Burnham was the only candidate in the subsequent leadership election, ultimately winning nominations from 379 of the 403 Labour members of parliament -- of the 650 MPs in total -- in the House of Commons.

In accepting the leadership of Labour last week, Burnham said his mission was "to bring back hope" and address decades of economic inequality plus falling living standards.

"We must recognize that this generation of politicians -- myself included -- have failed to challenge a political culture and an economic model that simply doesn't work well enough for ordinary people," he said.

Burnham will become the seventh leader to take the reins of the country in 10 years, a reflection of the political and economic turbulence that has beset the country since the Brexit vote in 2016.

The incoming prime minister said he would also make British politics "less toxic, adding, "I will work to build a new politics. The country is crying out for it."

Burnham, 56, was born in the Lancashire region of northern England. Burnham started out as a journalist, writing for trade magazines, before transitioning to work as a Labour parliamentary researcher while in his early 20s.

Burnham rose through the party ranks before being elected as the MP for his hometown of Leigh, in Greater Manchester, in 2001. He held that seat for 16 years, during which time he was appointed to several cabinet positions under Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

During Labour's years in opposition, Burnham bid to become Labour leader twice, but was defeated by -- and then served in shadow cabinets of -- Labour leaders Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn.

In 2017, Burnham left parliament to become the mayor of Greater Manchester. In his victory speech, Burnham heralded what he called "the dawn of a new era, not just for this city region but for politics in our country. It has been too London-centric for too long. The old political and party structures haven't delivered for all people and for all places."

Burnham is associated with the center left of the Labour Party, and has described himself as a socialist. Burnham's time as Manchester mayor saw him emerge as a major proponent of shifting investment and political power out of London, and earned him the nickname "the King of the North."

ABC News' Kevin Shalvey contributed to this report.

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(LONDON) -- Once one of the most powerful men in Russia, Mikhail Kasyanov now lives in exile in Latvia, his name on a list of "extremists and terrorists" that the Kremlin alleges are trying to overthrow the state.

Kasyanov first served as Russia's finance minister before being elevated to prime minister under President Vladimir Putin from May 2000 to February 2004 -- the early years of Putin's time in office when the future strongman was embedding his control and beginning to formulate his vision of a revitalized Russia.

Putin's decades-long project culminated in the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a gambit now in its fifth year. Kasyanov told ABC News last week that the campaign has achieved none of Putin's goals and could yet prove an existential challenge to the Kremlin regime.

In recent months, Kasyanov told ABC News on the sidelines of the Chatham House think tank conference in London, "the overall sentiment, overall attitude, to Putin started to change."

Among the factors applying more pressure to the Kremlin are expanding Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on Russia's oil production, refining and export facilities -- plus on the capital Moscow and the so-called "second capital" St. Petersburg -- apparent public concern about spreading fuel shortages, troubling macro-economic indicators and new restrictions on internet usage, Kasyanov said.

Putin, Kasyanov said, built his image around providing both stability and security. "There is nothing on this -- no stability and no security," he said, adding, "The situation now has started to change in the minds of people -- not only the ruling group, but also just the middle class, who in fact, could in any country be a driving force for any changes."

That middle class is a key constituency for the Kremlin. Concentrated in Russia's largest cities, analysts have watched keenly for any hint of dissent from this social strata.

Putin's continued refusal to order a general mobilization despite Russia's enormous battlefield losses and reported manpower strains have been interpreted by some analysts as a tacit acknowledgement that the Kremlin does not want to risk urban, middle class ire. "Putin is very much concerned about this," Kasyanov suggested.

In cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, Kasyanov said, it had until recently been possible to continue as if "nothing is happening."

"But, in the spring and now, of course, Ukraine changed their attitude. They have an advantage in long-range missiles and they have an advantage in drones," Kasyanov said.

"Gradually, they moved the war from being an 'accident' somewhere, an emergency case somewhere in the corner of Russia, to Russia -- even to Moscow. And that is quite a significant change."

'He needs pressure'

Kayanov said Western powers should seek to exploit the growing pressure on Putin and force him back to the negotiating table with genuine concessions, not the same maximalist demands the Kremlin has long made of Ukraine.

"It could happen by the end of the year if consistent pressure continues," Kasyanov said. Russia's growing budget deficit -- which as of last month reached 2.5% of GDP, according to preliminary Finance Ministry data -- could prove a particular pain point, he added.

So too might international sanctions on -- and long-range Ukrainian drone attacks on -- Russia's vital oil industry, Kasyanov added. "By the end of the year, he will face a big problem," Kasyanov said of Putin.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov this week acknowledged some economic strains, telling reporters that Russia's rate of growth is currently "insufficient." But Peskov said the problems facing the country were not critical, but rather a reflection of the "rather dire state" of the global economy.

On the diplomatic front, Kasyanov said Moscow has largely failed to convert apparent diplomatic openings with Washington -- for example its success at Putin's summit with President Donald Trump in Anchorage in August 2025.

"What Putin wanted was to divide the transatlantic unity, dreaming of what they call the 'Anchorage spirit,'" Kasyanov said, referring to the U.S.-Russian understanding that Moscow said was reached at the Alaska summit, which was widely interpreted as a diplomatic coup for the Kremlin.

Broadly, Kasyanov suggested that Washington had a "wrong understanding of the whole problem." He added, "All those years, it was a useless undertaking trying to give a carrot to Putin. Because they don't understand what the Putin regime is about."

The negotiations, Kasyanov suggested, were interpreted by the Kremlin "as a demonstration of weakness." Nonetheless, both Moscow and Kyiv have acknowledged that the current conflict can only end with a diplomatic settlement.

Trump has repeatedly said he is the only Western leader capable of pressuring Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to agree a deal to end the fighting. This week, Trump told Fox News he believes that Putin is "ready to make a deal," possibly "soon."

"I tell him the same thing all the time. I don't want to go into great detail, but I say: 'Vladimir, it's time for you to stop. It's time for this war to end,'" Trump said. "It takes two to tango. But I think he's ready to make a deal," Trump added.

Earlier this month, Trump told ABC News of a potential deal, "We're getting much closer than people realize, and President Putin wants it to end."

But for all the Russian maneuvers and White House criticism directed toward Kyiv, Western funds and weapons have continued to flow into Ukrainian hands.

Last week, during a warm face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump said Ukraine would be allowed to produce key Patriot surface-to-air system interceptors.

"That is, I think, creating a shock in Moscow," Kasyanov said of the resolute Western backing of Ukraine.

Life after Putin

Putin dismissed Kasyanov and his cabinet in early 2004, weeks before that year's presidential election. In the years that followed, Kasyanov became a prominent opposition figure, faced fraud charges -- which he denied -- and was blocked from standing as a candidate in Russia's 2008 presidential election.

After Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine In 2022, Kasyanov left Russia. He now leads the People's Freedom Party from Riga -- "temporarily," according to his business card.

Kasyanov, 68, said he has no concrete political ambitions in a post-Putin Russia. Rather, he suggested that the best case scenario would be a "long process" of political normalization and eventual democratization.

A years-long "gray period," he said, could see Putin's successors allow "imitation" or "quasi" elections and the return of a true political opposition, which Kasyanov hopes will eventually give way to a genuine vote that draws real legitimacy from the population.

"If Putin stays in power, it means there will be another period in which Russia will represent a threat and there will continue to be some kind of negotiations and preparations for some kind of revanche, as we saw in previous years," Kasyanov said.

For the time being, Kasyanov said he expects Putin to simultaneously seek to "destroy unity" within Europe and within the transatlantic system and seek negotiations.

On the domestic front, Putin will continue to keep a tight grip on the narrative, Kasyanov said, lionizing Russian achievements in the war like the retention of Crimea, further territorial gains in southern and eastern Ukraine and a supposed defeat of NATO.

In the long term, Kasyanov said he still hopes for Putin to leave the scene, one way or another. But he doubts Putin will be overthrown from the inside.

"I don't think there will be a coup, because there are no such people. All those people inside who were capable, with strength, disappeared," Kasyanov said. There are, he added, people in Russia who are "ready for changes, but they are not ready to fight, because they immediately will be in jail."

"When the situation starts to change, some of us could come back to participate in quasi-elections, which will happen not in two years after Putin, maybe in three years, maybe in four years. And at that time, real change could start," he said.

"I hope my country will be a normal European state," Kasyanov said. "We'll see."

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(NEW YORK) -- Americans will no longer be able to fly directly home from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) under a new process outlined by U.S. officials amid the ongoing Ebola outbreak

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Homeland Security are working together on a "Do Not Board" process for Americans in the DRC, the CDC said in a social media post Wednesday.

"The Do Not Board list prevents a person from obtaining a boarding pass for any flight into, out of, or within the United States,” the CDC website reads.

Previously, only non-citizens had been barred from traveling back to the U.S. from the Ebola outbreak regions, and American travelers were being screened at select airports for any signs of the virus.

Now, under the new measure, Americans departing from the DRC will only be able to return to the U.S. 21 days after leaving that country.

The moves comes as the DRC has seen over 2,000 cases and 750 deaths from Ebola, making it the third largest outbreak on record.

Earlier this week, the CDC announced a second American infected with Ebola in the DR had been transferred to Germany for care. The CDC said the unnamed patient works for a humanitarian aid organization.

The first American infected with Ebola was a doctor who contracted the disease while treating patients in the DRC. Dr. Peter Stafford was evacuated to Germany at the time to receive specialty care.

Stafford was discharged from the hospital in June, and the family has since returned to the United States.

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(LONDON) -- At least 200 Ukrainian drones were launched toward Moscow overnight into Thursday morning, the city's Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said, as Kyiv continued its nightly long-range strike campaign deep into Russia.

From Wednesday evening until 9 a.m. local time on Thursday, "More than 200 drones were flying towards the Moscow region. Most of them were neutralized by air defense systems at a distance," Sobyanin wrote in a post to Telegram. Ten drones "were destroyed as they approached Moscow," the mayor said.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces downed at least 375 Ukrainian drones overnight. The ministry said in a post to Telegram that drones were intercepted over 18 Russian regions -- including Moscow -- as well as Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

Ukraine has been significantly expanding its drone campaign -- referred to in Kyiv as "long-range sanctions" -- in recent months, targeting major Russian cities, Russian oil infrastructure, military and logistics targets.

Ukraine has been significantly expanding its drone campaign -- referred to in Kyiv as "long-range sanctions" -- in recent months, targeting major Russian cities, Russian oil infrastructure, military and logistics targets.

The Russian Defense Ministry publishes only the number of Ukrainian drones and other projectiles it claims to have intercepted. Sobyanin releases real time statements when Ukrainian drones are reported shot down while heading toward the capital.

ABC News cannot independently verify the figures from either the ministry or the mayor. But the increasing scale and rate of such reports could be seen as indicative of Ukraine's growing ability and willingness to target sites within Russia.

So far this year, Sobyanin has reported the downing of 1,420 Ukrainian drones on approach to Moscow, according to his Telegram posts, collated and analyzed by ABC News. Across all of 2025, Sobyanin only reported the downing of 734 Ukrainian drones near the city.

More than four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made clear Kyiv's intentions to return the war back to Russian soil. Key targets have included Moscow and the so-called "second capital" St. Petersburg.

"Our responses to Russia's prolonging of the war and strikes on our cities and communities are completely fair," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram in May. "The Moscow region has Russia's densest concentration of air defenses. But we are getting through," he added.

Ukraine's Wednesday night attacks also reportedly targeted the Engels-2 airbase in Saratov -- a key hub for Russian long-range aviation, including strategic bombers. Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said in a post to Telegram, "Engels is on fire."

Russia's federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, meanwhile, announced that temporary flight restrictions were introduced at Saratov airport during the overnight attacks. Restrictions were also put in place at airports in Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Samara, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl, Cherepovets and Gelendzhik.

Flights operating from all four of Moscow's international airports were also put under temporary flight restrictions overnight, Rosaviatsiya said.

Russia continued its own long-range strike campaign against Ukraine. Ukraine's air force said in a post to Telegram that Russia launched 18 missiles and 146 drones into the country overnight into Thursday morning, of which 12 missiles and 129 drones were intercepted, suppressed or failed to reach their targets.

Six missiles and 16 drones impacted across 15 locations, the air force said.

Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram that at least two people were killed by a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, with five other people injured. Other targeted regions included Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv and Donetsk, Zelenskyy said.

"Moscow is relying on terror through ballistic missiles and continues its attacks," Zelenskyy wrote.

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(LONDON) -- As Britain prepares for yet another prime ministerial change, a former holder of the office -- Theresa May, who led the country from 2016 to 2019 -- urged the country's next leader to focus on shared U.S.-U.K. interests, rather than falling prey to potential personal or political clashes with President Donald Trump.

The U.K. Parliament is expected to anoint the Labour Party's Andy Burnham as prime minister later this month. Burnham will become the seventh leader to take the reins of the country in 10 years, a reflection of the political and economic turbulence that has beset the country since the Brexit vote in 2016.

Burnham will replace current Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who last month said he would vacate his post following a collapse in support among Labour members of parliament, exacerbated by disastrous local election results in May. Starmer delivered Labour a historic majority in parliament in the 2024 general election, but saw his authority and approval rapidly deteriorate.

Like his predecessors, Burnham will need to juggle domestic discord while navigating a raft of foreign policy demands -- among them the cultivation of the so-called "special relationship" between the U.K. and the U.S., which during President Donald Trump's two terms in the White House has been subject to strategic, ideological and economic headwinds.

Trump has already described Burnham -- who until recently was serving as the mayor of Greater Manchester -- as "extremely liberal." During Starmer's time in office, the president has been scathing toward the prime minister's policies in areas including energy, immigration, crime and foreign policy.
May, whose time in office overlapped with Trump's first term, told ABC News last week that institutional transatlantic relationships and shared interests can help Starmer's successors ease possible interpersonal tensions.

"Keir Starmer, actually, on the foreign policy field, by and large, played a good hand," May told ABC News on the sidelines of the Chatham House think tank's conference in London. The outgoing prime minister has been broadly praised for his deft handling of the transatlantic relationship, which included hosting a state visit for Trump to the U.K. in 2025.

Of the special relationship, May said, "We talk about it perhaps slightly more than the U.S. does. But that relationship is built on a whole set of different levels of relationships. So, it's not just about the prime minister and the president. It's also about our security relationships, our defense relationships ... It's not just about the two people at the top."

The same is true of the U.K.'s own political issues, May said, as the nation prepares for the coronation of its next prime minister. "It's not about individuals. Politics today generally across the globe has become more about individuals and personalities and I think that's problematic," she said.

"What matters to people is not the personality at the top. What matters to the people is what they're doing, what their policies are," May said.

The recent joint U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has again prompted Trump to strike out at America's European allies, who refused to join the campaign in support of Washington though expressed willingness to aid security and minesweeping missions in the Strait of Hormuz once the conflict is over.

The U.K. was among the American allies who refusal to assist the U.S. against Iran "greatly disappointed me," Trump said in March. Starmer's response in particular, the president said, was "very disappointing."

Asked whether the Iran war would prove to be a long-lasting blot on U.K.-U.S. relations, May said she was hesitant to comment as the conflict "is not finished."

Still, she -- like many other current and former European leaders -- noted that European nations have previously shown their "commitment to the United States," not least in rallying to the U.S. side after the 9/11 attacks; the only time in NATO history that an ally invoked the Article 5 collective defense clause.

When asked about Trump's repeated suggestions that the U.S. should be less involved in European security, May replied, "There have been other times when there's been more of that sense of isolationism," specifically noting the later American entry into the Second World War in support of the U.K. and its allies.

"But I think, again, the interests that we have together are what combines us," May said.

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(NEW YORK) -- A NASA astronaut blasted off from a launch site in Kazakhstan Tuesday along with two Russian cosmonauts as part of a mission to the International Space Station.

Anil Menon launched aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome site around 10:47 a.m. ET along with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina.

This marks Menon's first space flight, and the second flight for the Russian cosmonauts, according to NASA.

The space craft docked with the station at 1:52 p.m. ET.

Once aboard the station, they will join up with the members of Expedition 74 crew, three NASA astronauts, one European Space Agency astronauts and three cosmonauts, who have been on the station conducting scientific experiments.

Menon, Dubrov and Kikina's mission will last about eight months and they are scheduled to return to Earth in April 2027.

Menon, an emergency medicine doctor, will "conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations aimed at advancing human space exploration and benefiting life on Earth," according to NASA.

That includes research into production of semiconductor crystals in space, and testing augmented reality and artificial intelligence tools for medical support in space, NASA said.

"He will be a test subject helping researchers understand how blood flow is affected in space to protect future astronauts. He also will test bioprinting vascular constructs in microgravity to improve understanding of the aging process to advance therapeutic developments," the agency added.

During an April news conference, Menon said the mission is a critical stepping stone as NASA sets its sights on building a moon base and, eventually, sending people to Mars.

"I've always thought about these long-duration missions like Mars, it might take three years to get there, or the lunar base where you're actually working on the moon, which would be an opportunity for a lot of people in the future," Menon said.

In June, Menon spoke with ABC News' medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton about the upcoming mission, explaining that his work caring for patients is often more challenging to him than preparing for his trip to space because, as a physician, he is always trying to minimize risk for his patients.

"I think I have a little bit more of a sense of adventure for myself and I'm willing to take on a little more, make my own decisions about where my risk lands and where I put my energy. And so I think taking care of patients is a little more difficult for that reason," Menon told ABC News.

Menon and his wife, Anna, are both NASA astronauts, a development he says the couple never anticipated.

"There was a 0% chance we thought this would happen," he said during the April news conference, adding that he had previously been rejected by NASA before ultimately being selected in December 2021.

"I wanted to be an astronaut, but I thought that door was closed because I had tried and had been unsuccessful at an interview."

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(LONDON) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left last week's NATO summit armed with a valuable commitment from President Donald Trump -- that Kyiv would get approval to produce vital interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense system, which since 2023 has helped defend Ukraine's skies against Russian aircraft, drones and ballistic missiles.

Zelenskyy and his top officials have long warned that Ukraine needs more air defense systems and far more ammunition to blunt Russia's daily long-range strikes. In recent weeks and with interceptor missile stocks reportedly running low, those warnings have become more dire.

Trump's approval for Kyiv to get a production license to produce Patriot interceptors on home soil is "really good news for Ukraine," Chrystia Freeland, previously Canada's deputy prime minister and now an economic adviser to Zelenskyy, told ABC News on the sidelines of the Chatham House think tank's conference in London last week.

"It would be even better if they were getting Patriots right now, because they're being hammered," Freeland added. "It's great to get the licenses. But between getting the licenses and actually being able to make the Patriot [missiles] to defend themselves, it's going to take time. And during that time, lots of people are going to die."

As civilian casualties in Ukraine rise, securing more air defense systems and ammunition are a priority for Kyiv, Zelenskyy has said repeatedly. Russian strikes killed at least 265 civilians in Ukraine and injured 1,816 in June, senior United Nations official Rosemary DiCarlo told the body's Security Council earlier this month.

The combined casualty total for June is the highest recorded since the first months of Russia's full-scale invasion, DiCarlo said. Moscow's full-scale invasion ‌in February 2022, a top U.N. official told the Security Council on Thursday.

In a post to X on Monday, Zelenskyy said that he and Trump "have reached an important deal on licenses to produce Patriot systems. Our teams are now working to implement this truly historic political agreement. We worked toward this for a very long time."

Trump said during his warm meeting with Zelenskyy in the Turkish capital Ankara that the two leaders had developed a "good relationship." The friendly exchange was a far cry from the infamous bilateral meeting at the White House last year which devolved into a heated public argument, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance openly admonishing Zelenskyy.

Freeland said that while Trump's backing was welcome in Kyiv, Ukrainian leaders were focused on the bigger strategic picture. "They're playing 100% to necessity. Ukrainians aren't fighting to put on a show for Trump. They're fighting because otherwise they will die," she said.

"Trump does like a winner. He is not averse to flip flops. And I do think the stronger Ukrainians are the more likely they are to get his support," Freeland added.

The Ankara declaration -- NATO allies traditionally issue a joint communique to mark the end of each summit -- said that Ukraine "contributes to transatlantic security" and is in line to receive some $80 billion in allied funding across 2026, with 2027 funding to be "at least equivalent."

"Allies stand united in our unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," the statement read.

The outcome was a positive one for Ukraine, Freeland said. "I would emphasize that the Ukrainians are making their own luck. I think the better they do, the more enthusiasm there is for supporting them. I think the Ukrainians recognize," she said.

European allies, in particular, Freeland said, had shown they "are prepared to hang in there." She added, "I think neither the Russians nor the Americans thought that Europe could do it."

Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor is now in its fifth year, the latest round of conflict having followed a lower-intensity conflict which began in 2014 with Russia's annexation of Crimea and its fomentation of separatist rebellion in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

A campaign that was designed to deliver a rapid Russian victory has now lasted longer than World War One, with Kyiv claiming to have inflicted nearly 1.5 million casualties on the invading forces while Russia's ongoing offensives in the east of the country remain at a glacial pace.

Ukrainian long-range strikes into Russia, meanwhile, have increased exponentially in scale and intensity, putting particular pressure on the country's lucrative oil production, refining and export sectors. Ukrainian drones are also increasingly targeting the supply routes into Crimea, seeking to effectively blockade the occupied peninsula from afar.

Ukraine's foreign partners have been lauding the country's reported successes. Even Trump, who famously suggested last year that Ukraine did not "have the cards" to play, said last month that Zelenskyy was "doing pretty well" in the showdown with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Both the Trump administration and former President Joe Biden's administration had put pressure on Kyiv to refrain from attacking certain targets, with Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil facilities reportedly a particularly sensitive subject under both administrations.

But Ukraine's ongoing success on that front, Freeland said, showed it had been "a mistake to ask the Ukrainians to tie one hand behind their back."

"One of the things that has changed is Ukrainians are now using their own weapons and they're making their own weapons, and that means they don't need to ask anyone's permission for where they strike. And I do think that's made a big difference," she added.

Though the wartime narrative appears to be swinging somewhat in Ukraine's favor, the country's cities remain under near-constant fire and Kyiv's forces do not appear able to liberate significant territory still occupied by Russian troops. In his latest casualty update in February, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had lost at least 55,000 soldiers killed since 2022.

Ukraine also still appears to be frozen out of NATO membership in the short term, despite Zelenskyy's repeated and recent appeals for the alliance to set out a clear roadmap for Ukraine's accession, which allies have repeatedly said they support in principle.

"I have actually heard, behind closed doors and also in public, more and more European leaders saying Russia shouldn't have a veto on who is in NATO, and Ukraine now has the strongest army in Europe, we should have them on our team," Freeland said.

Moscow and Kyiv still appear far apart on the key issues in any future settlement. Though Putin has claimed a willingness to negotiate, he is still refusing to engage directly with Zelenskyy and is still demanding a raft of major Ukrainian concessions in exchange for peace.

"I think it's impossible to foresee what will happen next," Freeland said when asked about the war's outlook. "Where are we right now? We know that the Ukrainians are doing well ... We know that Russia is suffering more than it has since the beginning of the war."

"I think that the view that Ukraine was about to collapse was always overdone. And I think that was a line that Russia pushed in order to get Western allies, particularly the United States, to push Ukraine to surrender. And they were effective, for a while," she added.

"What I think is important for us to recognize and what is absolutely true, is Ukraine's success right now is showing us that if we give them the tools, they will finish the job," Freeland said.

ABC News' Yulia Drozd contributed to this report.

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(LONDON) -- More than 2,700 people are estimated to have died in England and Wales in recent months as a result of heat-related causes, a new report has found.

The excess deaths occurred as a result of heat waves in May and June, according to researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Imperial College London and the Met Office.

Globally, heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths, according the World Health Organization (WHO).

The heat wave that occurred between May 21 and 29 was likely responsible for around 550 deaths, while the heat wave that occurred from June 18 to 28 was likely responsible for about 2,200 deaths, the analysis found.

Both heat waves broke long-standing temperature records, according to the report.

In the U.K., the temperature threshold for an official heat wave is lower than in much of the U.S.

A heat wave is defined as a period of at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures meeting or exceeding the heat wave temperature threshold, according to the Met Office. The threshold varies by county and ranges from 77 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

Across much of the U.S., the temperature threshold is at least three consecutive days with daily maximum temperatures at 90 degrees or greater.

The most heat-related deaths occurred southeast of England, with 549 in total. London saw 453 deaths and the West Midlands reported 368 deaths, researchers said. They suggested that people in areas less frequently exposed to extreme heat may be more vulnerable.

"It is vital that action on adapting Britain’s homes, workplaces, and critical infrastructure to extreme heat outpaces these health risks, especially if we are to protect those most vulnerable to its impacts, such as older people, babies, and children," Malcolm Mistry, assistant professor in climate and geo-spatial modeling at the LSHTM, said in a statement.

About 42% of heat-related deaths that occurred in the U.K. during those months were exacerbated by human-caused climate change, researchers said.

"Climate change is further boosting the temperature of essentially every heat wave we observe today," Flavio Lehner, a climate scientist at Cornell University, said in a statement to ABC News. "In other words, had the same weather pattern occurred 50 or 100 years ago, it would have also resulted in a heatwave, but one that was a bit cooler."

It’s not only daytime high temperatures that are a concern. Heat waves are becoming even more dangerous as overnight low temperatures are still too high for people to recover from the heat stress they experience during the day, according to the WHO.

Western Europe, the region most impacted by the historic heat wave in late June, experienced its hottest June on record last month, according to Copernicus, Europe's climate change service.

Many June and some all-time records for daily maximum temperature were broken in several countries, according to Copernicus.

France's nationwide average temperature hit 30 degrees Celsius, or about 86 degrees Fahrenheit, on June 24 -- the highest-ever temperature recorded, according to weather officials at Meteo-France, the national weather service. High temperatures in Paris recorded in the triple digits in the days after.

High temperatures also impacted cities like Madrid and Rome, according to Copernicus.

There were more than 5,000 excess deaths in Germany and another 4,700 deaths in France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands between June 20 and 28, Reuters reported.

Rising atmospheric and ocean temperatures "reflect a climate system continuing to accumulate heat" that result in increasingly intense heat waves and a persistently warm ocean, Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said in a statement.

"June 2026 underscored how profoundly the climate is changing," Burgess said. "Western Europe recorded its warmest June on record, and continued record warmth in the global ocean."

Matthew Glasser and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.

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(LOS GALLARDOS, Spain) -- At least 12 people have died and 23 others are unaccounted for as firefighters in southern Spain battle a rapidly spreading wildfire, officials said.

Emergency services in Andalusia said the death toll rose overnight amid the devastating blaze.

Andalusian regional leader Juanma Moreno said in a post on X that eight people had also been injured, including four who were in serious condition.

In an interview Friday morning on Spanish radio, Moreno said four of those killed were believed to be British nationals who became trapped in a car while trying to escape the flames.

The majority of the victims were from outside Spain, particularly British and Belgian nationals, Moreno said later Friday, but added that authorities are still working to identify the deceased.

The wildfire, burning in the municipality of Los Gallardos in Spain's southeastern Almeria province, continued to spread rapidly, with Moreno warning that weather conditions remained unfavorable for firefighters.

"The consequences are devastating," Moreno said in his post on X.

Speaking to reporters Friday evening in Turre, a couple of miles from the wildfire in Los Gallardos, Moreno called the blaze a "major tragedy" and warned Spain is facing a challenging summer due to heavy winter rainfall that fueled a surge in spring undergrowth which has now dried out with the heatwaves.

Emergency crews on Friday were continuing search-and-rescue operations as they worked to locate the people still reported missing.

Moreno told reporters that firefighters were battling to control one of the fastest and most complex wildfires in the Andalusia region in years.

Spanish officials cautioned that the full scale of the disaster is still emerging as rescue efforts continue and officials work to identify victims.

Earlier Friday, a regional government official said in an interview that the fire was likely caused by an electric poll which had fallen.

The regional minister for emergencies in Andalusia, Antonio Sanz Cabello, said on Friday that last night was "a truly tragic night" with "terrible consequences."

He said fighting the fire has been made more complicated by the remote terrain and the lack of access for heavy machinery. Sixteen aircraft are being used to fight the wildfire.

Cabello urged people to take maximum care and said teams are still fighting the wildfire in Los Gallardos "with all their strength."

Andalusia's government has urged people to be careful and follow all evacuation instructions from officials.

ABC News' Claire Bower contributed to this report.

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(THESSALONIKI, Greece) -- A passenger window on a Ryanair flight dislodged shortly after takeoff from Thessaloniki, Greece, partially sucking out a passenger on Friday.

A 61-year-old male passenger in the window seat was partially sucked out, according to a Greek doctor who treated the passenger on the tarmac once the plane safely landed.

The doctor said the passenger's wife was holding her husband's feet to stop him from being completely sucked out of the aircraft. The passenger is currently in the hospital.

The aircraft declared an emergency with oxygen masks dropping in the cabin. The plane returned to Thessaloniki, landing safely on Friday morning, according to a senior Greek aviation official.

The official told ABC News that the Ryanair Boeing 737 suffered an uncontained engine failure. Parts from the engine hit the plane, damaging the fuselage and breaking a passenger window, according to the official.

Greek authorities are in contact with Ryanair's chief pilot in Malta and with the head of Ryanair's safety department, who will share more details when available, the official said.

"Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning (10 July) returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff when a passenger window dislodged inflight. The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal," Ryanair said in a statement to ABC News.

Adding, "One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki. In order to minimize any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen, which departed Thessaloniki at 9:53 local this morning."

Boeing told ABC News in a statement that it is aware of the incident and is in contact with the airline.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was notified that the aircraft "did an air turnback to LGTS due to a right engine issue and cabin decompression on July 10, 2026."

"Under the provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organization's Annex 13, the Republic of North Macedonia, as the country of occurrence, will lead the investigation and determine the composition of the investigative team and any international participation," the NTSB said in a statement.

The 737 Next Generation aircraft involved in this incident was delivered by Boeing in 2008.  

ABC News has reached out to the engine maker for comment.

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(MONTREAL) -- An Air Canada plane exited the taxiway and slid into the grass beside the tarmac in Montreal on Thursday at approximately 4 p.m.

The plane, traveling from Los Angeles International Airport to Montréal Trudeau International Airport, landed normally on the runway before sustaining a “taxiway excursion” and stopping in the grass, according to an Air Canada statement.

No injuries were reported, the airline said. 

The flight’s 156 passengers and six crew members deplaned and were transported to the terminal on buses, according to Air Canada.

The airport’s Emergency Coordination Centre was activated and the runway temporarily closed to facilitate the safe evacuation of passengers, the Montreal airport said in a statement.

Barbara Edelston Peterson, a passenger on the flight, said those aboard the flight are “lucky to be alive.”

“Suddenly, all the smoke, dirt and grass was flying outside,” Edelston Peterson said in an interview with ABC News. “It was amazingly scary." 

Edelston Peterson said she was even more frightened by the plane’s wing nearly hitting a steel box on the grass beside the runway.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it is launching an investigation at the scene to determine the cause of the accident.

Air Canada also said it would undertake a detailed investigation of the incident. It said it towed the aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX, to the hangar for a full inspection. 

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(TOLEDO, Argentina) -- A 22-year-old pilot in Argentina was forced to land the plane she was training in after her instructor allegedly jumped midair to his death, investigators said. 

The unidentified student was taking lessons at the Flying Parrot Cordoba school and had taken off from Toledo on Saturday with her instructor, Leandro Bertazzo, a school official told ABC News.

During the lesson, Bertazzo allegedly jumped out of the plane after telling the student that she knew what to do, the student had told police, according to the school.

The student, who had a license but not enough flight hours, was able to land the Cessna 150 alone, according to investigators.

The student told the police that she could not believe that it happened and thought it was a joke, according to investigators.

The 42-year-old flight instructor's body was recovered later that day, investigators said. The school said he was with them since 2022.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office No. 2 of Córdoba said it would continue the investigation.

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(LONDON) -- Renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran in the Middle East puts into question key elements of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreed by regional nations last month, a senior Qatari government official told ABC News on Thursday.

Majed al-Ansari, an adviser to Qatar's prime minister and the spokesperson for the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on the sidelines of the Chatham House think tank's 2026 conference in London that Doha is hoping that intense rounds of reciprocal strikes between the U.S. and Iran do "not kill off the memorandum of understanding altogether."

"But it does put into question a lot of other things that we have already agreed upon," he said.

The past 48 hours, Ansari said, have been "quite tense." He added that since the resumption of strikes, "We've seen again navigation through the Strait of Hormuz basically grind to a halt."

"We are urging all sides to exercise restraint and give some more time for the talks," Ansari said.

U.S. Central Command said it launched more than 170 strikes on Iranian targets over the past two days in response to alleged Iranian attacks on commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week -- allegations that Tehran denied. One of the ships attacked was a Qatari liquid natural gas tanker, the Al-Rekayyat, Qatar said.

In response to the U.S. strikes, the Iranian military claimed to have launched attacks on U.S. military facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.

The U.S. and Iran have traded several volleys of attacks since the MOU was signed on June 17.

Ansari denied the Iranian claim that it launched fresh attacks on Qatar on Thursday. "There haven't been any attacks in Qatar. The Iranian claims, they're claims. But our military was very much ready, immediately as the attacks began on the region," he said. "We had some pass overs, but nothing targeting us."

President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that the MOU was "over" following the reported Iranian attacks, dismissing leaders in Tehran as "scum" and threatening intensified military action.

Asked about those comments, Ansari said Doha and "all parties remain engaged in the talks."

"Yes, we're not at the place that we were hoping to be at this time in the chronology of where we wanted the talks to go. But talks have not broken down," he said. "But, of course, any escalation on the ground derails the diplomatic work."

Qatar -- alongside Pakistan -- played a key role in forging the 14-point MOU agreed in June, under which the U.S. and Iran agreed to the reopening Strait of Hormuz and the end of the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. 

The agreement also stipulated that fighting would stop for 60 days while the U.S. and Iran negotiated the terms of a final deal, which would cover issues including Iran's nuclear material.

Ansari said talks on that final deal are ongoing despite the escalating strikes and heated rhetoric from both Washington and Tehran.

"The easy answer is everybody's talking to everybody," he said when asked what was happening behind the scenes, noting that work is ongoing on all three separate tracks -- one regarding the Strait of Hormuz, one regarding Iran's nuclear program and the third regarding the sanctions on Iran and frozen Iranian assets.

"Our focus is on that diplomatic resolution right now," Ansari added. "The focus has to be on the diplomatic track working, the talks succeeding and on the end of war to pave the way for sustainable peace in our region, and not for it just to be lulls between attacks."

"No country, however strong that country is when it comes to its military, is able to withstand an unending military conflict in a small region like ours," Ansari said.

Nonetheless, he said Qatar's armed forces are prepared for renewed conflict. "We have taken all the contingencies in respect of what might happen in the region," Ansari said. 

Qatar, he added, has "not taken part in any attacks against Iran or any other of our neighboring countries." When asked if Doha would be willing to do so, Ansari replied, "We reserve the right to retaliate."

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(NEW YORK) -- El Nino conditions continue to intensify and are likely to be a strong event in the coming months, significantly influencing our weather, the hurricane season and global temperatures, according to the latest forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

There is very high confidence that El Nino will continue through early spring 2027.

NOAA's latest forecast calls for a strong El Nino to develop by the fall, with an 81% chance of a very strong El Nino between October and December, which could also end up being one of the strongest events on record. Historical records go back to 1950.

Stronger El Nino events only make certain impacts more likely and do not always guarantee strong impacts, NOAA noted.

El Nino refers to the warmer-than-average phase of the El Nino--Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a natural cycle where sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean rise and fall. The cooler-than-average phase is called La Nina, while near-average conditions are known as ENSO-neutral.

NOAA ranks the strength of El Nino events by measuring the sea surface temperature departure from average (anomaly) across this region, classifying events as weak, moderate, strong or very strong.

"El Nino conditions are already underway and are forecast to strengthen rapidly into a strong event," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a statement. "This will intensify the chances of drought and heavy rainfall and the risk of heatwaves on land and marine heatwaves in many regions of the world."

While adjectives such as "super" and "extreme" are popular ways of describing the strength of an El Nino event on social media, NOAA and the WMO classify by strength. The WMO noted in a recent statement that "the term [[super]] is not part of standardized operational classifications."

Typical El Nino impacts across the United States

Impacts from El Nino, similar to La Nina, tend to be most consistent and pronounced from late autumn through early spring following the event's onset, NOAA says. There is usually a delay between the onset of the event and many of the associated effects.

"The more consistent impacts on precipitation and temperature don't occur until the winter months -- so for 2026-27," Michelle L'Heureux, physical scientist at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, said.

Experts caution that the impacts on weather patterns are nuanced. Each season is different, and typical El Nino conditions don't always materialize.

"Every El Nino is different in terms of timing, magnitude, and geographic extent, and such differences lead to variability in the impacts -- on temperatures and rainfall, for example -- on a global scale," Andrew Kruczkiewicz, senior staff researcher at Columbia Climate School, said.

Northeast: Warmer-than-average temperatures are favored across the northern half of the U.S. during meteorological winter (December to February), however its influence is less pronounced in the Northeast, compared to the Upper Midwest and Northwest.

El Nino typically increases the odds of above-average snowfall in the mid-Atlantic and coastal areas of the Northeast as storms often move up the coast. Farther inland, drier-than-average conditions and less snow are more likely.

South: During the winter months, near- to below-average temperatures are favored along the southern tier of the U.S., especially from Texas to the Southeast.

For precipitation, wetter-than-average conditions are typically observed across Texas, the Gulf Coast and Southeast. Below-average precipitation is frequently observed across parts of the south-central Mississippi Valley.

Midwest: Warmer-than-average temperatures are favored from the northern Plains into the Great Lakes in the winter. Drier-than-average conditions are frequently observed across parts of the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes regions.

El Nino typically increases the odds of above-average snowfall in the south-central Plains with below-average snowfall favored in northern Plains and Great Lakes regions.

West: During the winter months, warmer-than-average temperatures are likely across much of the Northwest. For precipitation, wetter-than-average conditions are typically observed across southern California and much of the Southwest, with below-average precipitation frequently observed across parts of the northern Rockies.

El Nino typically increases the odds of above-average snowfall in the southern Rockies, with below-average snowfall favored in the northern Rockies.

Meanwhile, above-average tropical activity in the eastern Pacific increases the likelihood of indirect impacts to the southwestern U.S., such as sending more rain to the region and more frequent flash flood concerns.

Alaska: El Nino impacts in Alaska tend to be more pronounced than across much of the contiguous U.S., with the strongest effects typically occurring during the winter and spring months. During winter, warmer- and drier-than-average conditions are more likely, with less snowfall and reduced snowpack.

Above average temperatures often persist into spring, while precipitation trends closer to average. However, warmer conditions typically mean more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow, prolonging snow deficits.

Hawaii: Rainfall is typically above average across Hawaii the year an El Nino event develops before conditions become drier during the winter months and remain dry well into the following year. The shift toward drier weather can increase the likelihood of drought and elevate the risk of wildfires.

Meanwhile, above-average tropical activity in the eastern Pacific increases the risk of impacts from tropical systems across the Hawaiian Islands.

El Nino's influence on hurricane season activity

While El Nino is only one of several key factors that influence tropical activity, forecasts now indicate it will be a strong event during the peak of the hurricane season, making it the primary driver of activity in both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific in the coming months.

El Nino conditions often suppress tropical activity during the Atlantic hurricane season by producing unfavorable atmospheric winds. In the Eastern Pacific, the opposite occurs, with favorable conditions supporting above-average hurricane season activity.

As a result, NOAA's May 21 hurricane outlook is predicting below average tropical activity for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season with above average activity likely in the eastern Pacific.

"El Nino increases convection (thunderstorms) across the eastern and central Pacific, which causes downstream wind shear over the Atlantic from strong upper-level winds," Andy Hazelton, an associate scientist at the University of Miami's Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, said.

Vertical wind shear, which refers to changes in wind speed and direction with height in the atmosphere, is often a primary factor in below-average hurricane season activity. Strong vertical wind shear can tear a developing tropical system apart or even prevent it from forming, NOAA says.

"The rising motion over the Pacific also leads to increased subsidence (sinking air) over the Atlantic, which suppresses thunderstorms and tropical cyclone development," Hazelton added.

Other factors, such as sea surface temperatures, also play an important role in tropical cyclone development and strength. Unseasonably warm ocean waters can partially offset the effects of unfavorable atmospheric winds, according to forecasters.

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(LONDON) -- One of the most brutal heat waves to impact Europe in the last 50 years broke temperature records in multiple countries, according to Copernicus, Europe's climate change service.

Western Europe, the region most affected by the heat wave during the second half of June, experienced its warmest June on record, the agency said.

The average land temperature in Europe in June 2026 was the second-highest on record, at 19.14 degrees Celsius, or 66.45 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Copernicus. This marks 1.78 degrees Celsius, or 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit, above the 1991 to 2020 average for the month.

Rising atmospheric and ocean temperatures "reflect a climate system continuing to accumulate heat" -- resulting in increasingly intense heatwaves, a persistently warm ocean and growing risks for people and ecosystems, Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said in a statement.

"June 2026 underscored how profoundly the climate is changing," Burgess said. "Western Europe recorded its warmest June on record, and continued record warmth in the global ocean."

Many June and some all-time records for daily maximum temperature were broken in several countries, according to Copernicus.

Weather officials in the United Kingdom said temperatures on June 24 rose in some areas to 35.7 degrees Celsius, or about 96.2 degrees Fahrenheit, topping a June 1976 record of 35.6 C.

In France, the country's national heat index -- a daily average -- hit 30 degrees Celsius, or about 86 degrees Fahrenheit, on June 24 -- the highest-ever temperature recorded, according to weather officials at Meteo-France, the national weather service. High temperatures in Paris were in the triple digits in the days after.

The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower closed early several days in a row as a result of the high temperatures.

The high temperatures also impacted cities like Madrid and Rome, which hit the high 90s during the last week of June.

Reuters reported there were more than 5,000 excess deaths in Germany alone -- mostly residents 75 and older -- and another 4,700 deaths in France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands between June 20 and 28.

"Heat stress is often called the 'silent killer' – and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures," WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an X post.

Overall, the planet experienced its second-warmest June globally, according to Copernicus.

In addition, much of Western Europe, including Italy, large parts of central and eastern Europe and the southern U.K., experienced drier-than-average conditions, associated with persistent high-pressure and heatwave conditions, according to Copernicus.

River flow was also below average across Europe, consistent with the widespread dry conditions, according to Copernicus. Large parts of France, much of central and eastern Europe and parts of northeastern Europe were especially impacted.

Globally, June 2026 was the second-warmest on record, with an average surface air temperature of 16.5 degrees Celsius, about 61.8 degrees Fahrenheit -- about .56 degrees Celsius, or about 1 degree Fahrenheit -- above the June average for 1991 to 2020.

Sea surface temperature at extrapolar oceans, or oceans outside the Arctic and Antarctic, was the highest on record for June at 20.86 degrees Celsius, or 69.5 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Copernicus.

Surface sea temperatures also remain "exceptionally high" across a large portion of the tropical Pacific, where El Nino conditions are present and forecast to strengthen in the coming months, the agency said.

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(NEW YORK) -- As hundreds of firefighters are battling wildfires that have ignited across France and other parts of western Europe, climate scientists released a report this week showing the region experienced its warmest June on record.

Sweltering temperatures in Western Europe in June, including a heat wave that broke records across several countries, are now extending into July, with a heat wave returning amidst multiple wildfires in France and other parts of Western Europe.

Last month's deadly western European heat wave occurred not only during the hottest June on record for Western Europe, but it was the second warmest globally, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, a European Union scientific Earth observation program.

"June 2026 underscored how profoundly the climate is changing. Western Europe recorded its warmest June on record, and continued record warmth in the global ocean," Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), said in the report.

She noted that the record-breaking heat reflects "a climate system continuing to accumulate heat."

"The result is increasingly intense heatwaves, a persistently warm ocean, and growing risks for people, ecosystems and infrastructure across Europe and beyond," Burgess said.

The report comes as wildfires have broken out in parts of Western Europe amid a severe drought.

Wildfires have broken out in Spain, Portugal and Greece.

The biggest wildfire in Western Europe is raging in the Pyrénées of France, prompting organizers of the famed Tour de France road cycling race, which started on Saturday in Barcelona, Spain, to ban spectators from lining the route in the mountainous region.

"The exceptionally large wildfire currently raging in the Pyrénées-Orientales is requiring a massive mobilization of wildfire-fighting resources, internal security forces, and all government agencies," race organizers said in a statement. "The top priority remains the protection of people, property, and natural areas, as well as bringing the fire under control."

Race organizers said only cyclists participating in the Tour de France and their supporting teams are authorized to travel the race route, which officials are trying to keep clear for emergency traffic.

The blaze in southwestern France near the Spanish border has burned 4,936 hectares, or a little over 12,000 acres, French officials said in a social media post on Wednesday.

At least 12,000 people had been evacuated from 27 municipalities across the Pyrénées-Orientales, although some have been allowed to return home as flames have subsided in some areas, authorities said.

The Pyrénées town of Vinça, which has a population of about 2,200, remained evacuated on Wednesday along with 11 other villages in the region.

Video from the region showed homes and vehicles burned, and huge swaths of forestland blackened. Firefighting aircraft were also filmed swooping down on burning areas, dropping fire retardant.

Earlier this week, the European Union announced it was sending such aircraft to France from Sweden and Cyprus.

About 450 firefighters are battling the fire in the Pyrénées from the ground and the air, but are struggling to gain control of the wildfire amid triple-digit temperatures in the area and wind gusts of up to 30 mph, officials said. Another 170 gendarmes, or law enforcement officers, have also been dispatched to the region to support the firefighting effort.

Firefighters appeared to make progress in battling the fire, reporting Wednesday that the conflagration did not expand overnight.

Temperatures in parts of southwestern France are forecast to reach 105 degrees on Wednesday, with temperatures climbing to 95 degrees and above across three-quarters of the country.

Most of the country is under an "elevated" fire alert.

High to very high fire danger warnings remained in effect on Wednesday in at least 54 departments -- or local regional areas, including the Pyrénées-Orientales department, officials said.

Before the current wildfire outbreak, the highest number of departments under high or very high fire danger warnings at the same time was 29 in 2025, authorities noted.

Officials and experts have noted the fire season has begun weeks earlier than usual in France amid the unseasonal extreme heat wave that hit Europe in June. The heat wave has returned this week.

Scientists have said the record temperatures are being pushed up by climate change.

A 22-year-old firefighter was killed while battling a blaze in the Savoie region in the French Alps on Tuesday night, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said in a social media post on Wednesday.

Fire danger warnings have also been issued in the Rhône Valley in southeast France, and across the central and western regions of the country.

The danger is expected to remain at a high level through this week across most of the country, given the lack of rain, scorching temperature and low humidity, authorities said.

ABC News' Matthew Glasser contributed to this report.

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(VENEZUELA) -- The death toll in Venezuela has climbed to at least 3,685 in the wake of the two powerful earthquakes that devastated the country, Venezuelan lawmaker Jorge Rodriguez said.

The pair of earthquakes struck on June 24, knocking down buildings, sending residents fleeing for safety and trapping some survivors under the rubble for days. Thousands were injured and more than 26,000 people were impacted, including those who lost homes or saw serious damage to their homes, officials said.

Nine Americans are among the dead, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Fox News on Tuesday.

John Barrett, Chargé d'Affaires of the American embassy in Caracas, said Tuesday that the U.S. was "assisting the Venezuelans in terms of storing and caring for the deceased remains that are being pulled out of the rubble."

"The government reports that they have accounted and identified the vast majority of bodies received, but they're continuing to go through that process, and as I understand it, are collecting DNA fingerprints, dental records from those bodies that they're in the process of still waiting to identify in coordination with family members," he said. 

Barrett said the four U.S. urban search and rescue teams sent to Venezuela have "completed their mission and returned home." 

"We are deeply grateful for their service. These highly skilled men and women helped save six lives and brought hope to countless families during Venezuela's darkest hours," he said. "The Department of State Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) remains on the ground, working alongside partners to deliver food, water, medical care, shelter, and other critical assistance to affected communities." 

Click here for information on how to help the victims.

ABC News' Will Gretsky and Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.

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(ANKARA and LONDON) -- President Donald Trump said on Wednesday morning that he believes that the interim agreement reached with Iran last month is "over," following an intense exchange of fire between the two sides on Tuesday into Wednesday morning.

Trump huddled with top advisers on Tuesday while attending the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, to discuss the U.S. response to several fresh attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz early this week, multiple people familiar with the discussions told ABC News.

The U.S., Qatar and Saudi Arabia attributed the attacks to Iranian forces, allegations denied by Tehran.

Speaking with reporters in Ankara on Wednesday during a press conference alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran will continue, but said of the agreement, "For me, I think it's over."

"I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum. You know what scum is? They're scum. They're sick people. They're led by sick people," Trump said of Iran's leadership in response to a question from ABC News.

"And they're vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it. As far as I'm concerned, it's over," the president continued. "There's something wrong with them, they're cuckoo," Trump added.

The president did, however, suggest that U.S.-Iranian negotiations over a final peace deal could continue.

The 14-point MOU committed the signatories to the reopening Strait of Hormuz for commercial traffic, with the U.S. lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Iran also committed not to pursue nuclear weapons -- a commitment Tehran has previously made -- while the U.S. agreed to allow Iranian oil sales and to begin work on a $300 million reconstruction fund for the country.

Under the MOU, fighting -- including between Israel and the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon -- would stop for 60 days while the U.S. and Iran negotiate the terms of a final deal, which would cover issues including Iran's nuclear material.

"I'll speak to our negotiators. They want to negotiate. They're good people. Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, but they have to come back to me. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them," Trump said on Wednesday.

"I'll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don't see it," Trump said later in the press conference, adding that he did not care whether talks continued after funeral proceedings for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei concluded.

When the MOU was signed last month, Trump said the deal "achieves everything we set out to accomplish, everything and much more." But key issues, including the status of Iran's nuclear program, remained unaddressed.

The White House has demanded an end to all Iranian enrichment of uranium, a proposal repeatedly rebuffed by Tehran, which says it needs to enrich uranium to power its civil nuclear power network.

On Wednesday, the president again said his administration would accomplish the "denuclearization of Iran."

"We're going to de-nuke it. We're not going to let them, because they're crazy, and they can't have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Intermittent exchanges of fire have continued between the U.S. and Iran despite the signing of the MOU in June.

Since Monday, U.S. Central Command said Iran had attacked three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM said it then launched retaliatory strikes on more than 80 Iranian targets, including air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities and small boats.

The U.S. also revoked a license that authorized the sale of Iran oil under the MOU in response to the tanker attacks, with one U.S. official telling ABC News that the incidents were "wholly unacceptable."

Iran's military said on Wednesday that it responded to the renewed American strikes by attacking 85 U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Trump on Wednesday lauded what he called the "powerful" U.S. strikes, adding, "We hit them very hard."

"I told them every time you hit, we hit, and of course they're dirty players, so they go after everyone, probably including me," the president continued, referring to alleged Iranian assassination plots in which Trump said he remains a target.

"They want to take out the U.S. leader -- me. I'm on every list. I saw things this morning, I'm on every single one of their lists, and so far I guess I've been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn't last very long, because that's the way it goes," Trump said.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament who has been serving as Tehran's chief peace negotiator, said in a post to X early on Wednesday that the U.S. had violated the MOU with its latest strikes.

"The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don't fold," Ghalibaf wrote.

Oil prices spiked on Wednesday after Trump's comments, with U.S. oil trading at $74.62, up around 6%, and global oil at $78.70, up more than 6%. The price of global oil is still significantly down on a high of nearly $120 last month before the MOU was announced.

Traffic has been moving through the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, including through Tuesday despite the latest attacks on ships. Data from Kpler, a global energy analytics firm, showed more than 100 transits of ships through the Strait between July 5 and July 7, including 41 crossings on July 7.

ABC News' Rachel Scott, Karen Travers, Justine Fishel, Isabelle Murray, Sarah Kolinovsky and Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.

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(ANKARA, Turkey) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to grow increasingly frustrated with NATO allies for not supporting his war effort in Iran, targeting Spain in particular and calling for "all trade" to be cut off with that country.

"Spain is a wasted cause," Trump said at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, during an official greeting with Secretary General Mark Rutte. "We don't want to do any trade business with Spain anymore. By the way, I'd like you to cut it up. Scan, Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don't participate, they don't pay. I don't want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits."

The comments were the latest complaint from Trump against Spain, the only member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that has not committed to defense spending equal to 5% of its GDP by 2030.

The U.S., because of its outsized military spending, indirectly contributes more to the NATO than any other country, Trump said last week. The U.S. is responsible for about 15% of NATO's direct funding, according to the bloc.

At last year's NATO summit at The Hague, allies agreed at Trump's prompting to target defense spending equal to 5% of each NATO member countries' GDP, up from the previous 2%. Spain was alone among the 32 member states in saying it wouldn't commit to the target.

Trump has previously threatened to end trade with Spain, including in March, when the Spanish foreign minister said at the time that they wouldn't allow the U.S. to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain for any strikes not covered by the U.N.'s charter.

"I don't want to do any more trade with them. All right, take it immediately," Trump said on Wednesday. "Don't even talk to them, they're hopeless, bad people, because you know they have everybody else going and paying and working in Spain, in particular Spain, there are a couple of others, but in particular Spain, they're open about it, they're hostile about it, and let's see how hostile they remain when they call up, and they 'please, please, we want to trade with you, sir, we want to trade with you, sir.' They make so much money with us, and we're going to see that they make a lot less. I want no business with them."

After Trump's comments, sources at Moncloa Palace, the Spanish prime minister's office, told Madrid's El Dario newspaper that Spain "maintains an excellent social, cultural, and economic relationship with the U.S., and it is not our intention for that to change."

Trump on Wednesday said "nobody," aside from the "small countries" wanted to help the U.S. in its war with Iran.

"There was calls made a few weeks ago," Trump said, claiming he spoke with the United Kingdom, Germany and France, among others. "Nobody wanted to help. Some of the very small countries wanted to help, because they're the most vulnerable. I mean, that's the only reason they wanted to help."

The leaders of the U.K., France and Germany did not immediately respond to Trump's statement on Wednesday. Each has repeatedly declined to involve their countries directly in the war, although each also has said Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

Trump spoke about his displeasure with NATO allies at large, saying that the U.S. has paid for allies to be protected against Russia but that safety has "nothing to do" with the U.S.

"They weren't there for us, and we've been there for them, " he said. "We spent over a trillion dollars over the last short period, trillion in order to protect these countries from Russia, and has nothing to do with us. We have a notion, but it's been a long-term thing, and they haven't treated us right."

Trump on Wednesday shook hands with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, a day after the president renewed his calls for the U.S. to take control of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory under Denmark.

Frederiksen pledged earlier in the summit to defend Greenland, saying, "Our position is clear as it has been all through. Greenland is, of course, not for sale."

Rutte later celebrated Trump's ability to get allies to pay a greater share for defense. Rutte appeared to remind the U.S. president that Spain was a part of the coalition that upped their spending.

"And you mentioned Spain, even you got Spain to pay 2% they spent, they made a huge step in last year, so there are still issues we have to solve, but hey, also, even Spain, I would say they got to the 2%," Rutte said.

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(LONDON) -- Ukraine launched more than 400 drones into Russia overnight in its latest wave of long-range strikes, according to authorities in Moscow, and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to expand such attacks as a means to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces downed at least 452 Ukrainian drones overnight. The craft, the ministry said on Telegram, were intercepted over 16 Russian regions -- including Moscow -- plus over Russian-occupied Crimea, as well as over both the Azov and Black seas.

At least 43 drones were downed while flying toward Moscow, the city's Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in a series of posts to Telegram.

Russia's federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, said in posts to Telegram that temporary flight restrictions were introduced at airports in Sochi, Krasnodar, Kaluga, Saratov, Penza, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl and Cheboksary.

All four of Moscow's international airports -- Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky -- were also put under flight restrictions during the overnight attacks.

Zelenskyy said in posts to social media that Kyiv's long-range strike campaign into Russia -- the scale and intensity of which has been steadily increasing during the course of Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor -- would evolve further.

"When our deep strikes were not reaching Moscow and St. Petersburg, Putin did not think much about it. He understood that the war was far from the Kremlin. Of course, once he feels what is happening in Moscow, he will begin to understand what is happening in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions. He'll begin to grasp the reality of the situation," Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian border regions which regularly come under Ukrainian attack.

"When not one hundred drones but a thousand start reaching Moscow, and when he feels it and sees it, he will be advised to move somewhere beyond the Urals. That will be a moment that opens a new chapter on the path toward ending the war. The farther Putin is from Moscow, the closer the end of the war and peace will be," Zelenskyy added.

The Ukrainian leader also suggested that Kyiv's expanding drone attacks would unsettle Russian elites, further undermining Putin's Kremlin.

"He fears for his life," Zelenskyy said of the Russian leader. "And then there are the elites. Where do the Russian elites live? Moscow and St. Petersburg -- the two major cities. Those places will be reached, because that is where they make the decisions to kill us."

"That is why deep strikes have had, and continue to have, a major impact. We must keep working on this," Zelenskyy wrote.

Russia continued its own long-range strike campaign into Ukraine on Monday night into Tuesday. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 123 drones into the country in its latest wave, of which 108 drones were shot down or suppressed. Twelve drones impacted across 10 locations, the air force said.

Those attacks followed a series of missile and drone strikes on Ukraine on Sunday night and early on Monday morning, in which at least 22 people were killed in the capital Kyiv and in the surrounding region, according to Ukrainian officials.

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