Police said there were also multiple injuries during the incident, which took place near the hotel where Team Norway has been staying.

New Zealand Prime Minster Chris Hipkins said the tournament would go ahead as planned.

“Clearly with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening, there are a lot of eyes on Auckland," Hipkins said. "The government has spoken to FIFA organizers this morning and the tournament will proceed as planned. I want to reiterate that there is no wider national security threat. This appears to be the action of one individual.”

Acting Police Superintendent Sunny Patel said the man began shooting at the site on lower Queen Street at about 7:20 a.m. Police swarmed the area and closed off streets.

The man moved through the building, firing at people there, Patel said.

“Upon reaching the upper levels of the building, the male has contained himself within the elevator shaft and our staff have attempted to engage with him,” Patel said in a statement. “Further shots were fired from the male and he was located deceased a short time later.”

It wasn't immediately clear if police had shot the gunman or he had killed himself.

Patel said that while alarming, the incident was isolated and didn't pose a national security risk.

The incident comes as soccer teams gathered in New Zealand for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The opening match is scheduled for Thursday between New Zealand and Norway.

Team Norway captain Maren Mjelde said people woke up quickly when a helicopter began hovering outside the hotel window.

“We felt safe the whole time,” she said in a statement. “FIFA has a good security system at the hotel, and we have our own security officer in the squad. Everyone seems calm and we are preparing as normal for the game tonight.”

Speaking at a Politico event hosted by the British Embassy in Prague, Moore said Putin was “under pressure” now at home after the uprising showed something “deeply rotten” in the country. He said he suspected many Russians “are silently appalled."

“He is clearly under pressure,” Moore said of Putin. “You don’t have a group of mercenaries advance up the motorway toward Rostov and get to within 125 kilometers of Moscow unless you have not quite predicted that was going to happen.”

Prigozhin led a brief rebellion last month after months of criticism of Russia’s military leadership and the approach to the war in Ukraine. He also had publicly challenged the premise of Putin's invasion in Ukraine. 

He led his troops toward Moscow, but then agreed to stand down after an agreement was struck for him to go to Belarus and for charges to be dropped. 

“I don’t think it needs all the resources of MI6 to conclude that there are deep fractures within the Russian elite around Putin. If you have an invading army coming up the road at you, that indicates there has been a falling out,” Moore said, adding, “The extraordinary thing was to see the way that Putin handled that, and the weakness that that demonstrated.”

Moore issued an invitation to Russians to spy on the Kremlin for the U.K., which he said many others have done since the war began. He promised discretion as they “work to bring the bloodshed to an end.”

“As they witnessed the venality infighting and sheer callous incompetence of their leaders, the human factor at its worst, many Russians are wrestling with the same dilemmas and the same tugs of conscience as their predecessors did in 1968,” Moore said.

“I invite them to do what others have already done this past 18 months. And join hands with us. Our door is always open. We will handle their offers of help with the discretion and professionalism for which my service is famed. Their secrets will always be safe with us. And together we will work to bring the bloodshed to an end,” he added.

In a new Quinnipiac poll, 51 percent of respondents said they don't approve of Biden’s decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, while 39 percent said they approve of his decision. 

The question posed to respondents stated that Biden made the decision “despite concerns from human rights groups that they endanger civilians,” before asking respondents whether they approve or disapprove. 

More Democrats than Republicans said they approve of Biden’s decision – with Democratic approval at 52 percent, and GOP approval at 30 percent. Republicans were more likely to disapprove of the decision — with 64 percent of Republican respondents saying they disapproved of the decision and 36 percent of Democratic respondents saying they disapproved of Biden's choice.

Cluster munitions are highly controversial weapons containing multiple bomblets that disperse over a wide area, making them effective at targeting formations of enemy armies and tanks, but also posing a risk to civilians. 

Ukraine has long asked for cluster munitions, which are banned by more than 100 countries – though not by the United States, Ukraine, nor Russia. 

Biden announced what he called a “difficult” but “necessary” decision earlier this month to send Ukraine cluster munitions. Ukraine recently launched a counteroffensive against Russia to take back its land, but U.S. and Ukrainian officials have said troops are using up artillery munitions at a rapid pace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the cluster bombs are critical to defeating Russia in the counteroffensive.

The same Quinnipiac survey found 64 percent of Americans thought supporting Ukraine was in the United States’ best interest, while 29 percent said they did not. One third of Americans said they think the United States was doing too much to help Ukraine, 18 percent said they think the U.S. is doing too little to help, and 41 percent said the U.S. was doing the right amount, the same poll indicated.

The poll surveyed 2,056 U.S. adults from July 13 to July 17. It had a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points. The surveys are based on random samples of adults using “random digit dialing” to conduct live interviews by landlines and cell phones.

In a speech to a joint meeting of Congress marking Israel’s 75th anniversary, Herzog called Israeli protests against Netanyahu and his government “painful, and deeply unnerving, because it highlights the cracks within the whole.” 

President Biden has urged Netanyahu to work with Herzog to reach an agreement with the political opposition to abandon some of the most controversial measures of the government’s judicial overhaul plan, which critics say would neuter the country’s Supreme Court and undermine its democracy. 

“As head of state, I will continue doing everything to reach a broad public consensus, and to preserve, protect and defend the state of Israel’s democracy,” Herzog said to lawmakers.

Herzog’s visit to Washington, and his address to Congress, served as an attempt by the Biden administration to bridge the divides in his party — reinforcing Democratic support for Israel without legitimizing Netanyahu’s controversial government. 

Biden spoke with Netanyahu Monday as the Israeli president arrived in Washington and agreed to meet in the fall in the United States, but has not yet extended an explicit invitation to the White House.

Democratic divisions were apparent Wednesday, when at least seven progressives skipped the Israeli president’s speech. They included Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Cori Bush (Mo.), Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.) and Pramila Jayapal (Wash.). 

Some of those lawmakers have denounced Israel as an apartheid state and condemned Netanyahu’s government as racist — critical of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians, its settlement activity in the West Bank and saying that the judicial overhaul will worsen the situation. 

Herzog addressed those statements head-on.

“I am not oblivious to criticism among friends, including some expressed by respected members of this House,” he said, adding that while he respects the criticism, “One does not always have to accept it,” which elicited laughs and claps in the chamber.

His remarks came one day after the House overwhelmingly approved a resolution affirming that Israel “is not a racist or apartheid state” and that the U.S. “will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel,” while also condemning xenophobia and antisemitism.

The final vote was 412-9-1, with all opposition coming from progressive Democrats — some of whom boycotted Wednesday’s speech.

The resolution was drawn up in reaction to remarks by Jayapal, the chair of the Progressive Caucus, who, during a progressive conference in Chicago over the weekend, said that “Israel is a racist state.” 

The comment drew vocal bipartisan criticism, and Jayapal later apologized, walked back her remarks and focused her criticism on the Netanyahu government.

Jayapal did not attend Herzog’s speech, with a Democratic aide saying in a statement that her absence was due to “scheduling conflicts.” She did, however, support the resolution Tuesday.

One of the loudest applause lines came when Herzog warned that criticism of Israel should not “cross the line into negation of the state of Israel’s right to exist.”

“Questioning the Jewish people’s right to self-determination is not legitimate diplomacy, it is antisemitism,” he added.

While Herzog’s roughly 40-minute remarks were overwhelmingly celebrated by both sides of the chamber, some Republicans stayed seated while other lawmakers stood to applaud the Israeli president describing Israel as hosting “the largest and most impressive LGBTQ pride parades.” 

Still, the chamber was filled with lawmakers proclaiming support for Israel — with the U.S. and Israel working closely together to counter threats from Iran and its nuclear ambitions and to advance efforts to establish ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. 

“Israel thanks the United States for working towards establishing peaceful relations between Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a leading nation in the region and in the Muslim world,” Herzog said.

“We pray for this moment to come. This would be a huge sea change in the course of history in the Middle East and the world at large.”

The remark received an overwhelming bipartisan standing ovation. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the ranking member on the Judiciary committee who is Jewish, held up Israel’s flag during the Israeli president’s remarks.

Herzog said that his deepest “yearning … is for Israel to one day make peace with our Palestinian neighbors” — comments that drew a bipartisan standing ovation — but called out Palestinian attacks against Israelis as undermining possibilities for a future peace. 

“Notwithstanding the deep political differences, and the numerous challenges that surround Israeli-Palestinian relations — and I do not ignore them — but it should be clear that one cannot talk about peace while condoning or legitimizing terror, implicitly or explicitly. True peace cannot be anchored in violence,” he said. 

Herzog thanked the U.S. for its “commitment to Israel’s security,” but noted that the relationship is a “two-way alliance, in which Israel has been making critical contributions to the national security and interests of the United States in numerous ways.” 

To date, the U.S. has provided $158 billion in bilateral assistance and missile defense, according to the Congressional Research Service, although that number is not adjusted for inflation. 

The Obama administration negotiated two 10-year agreements that provided Israel $30 billion through 2018, and $33.8 billion between 2019 and 2028. 

In 2021, Congress appropriated an additional $1 billion to restock Israel’s missile defense system, Iron Dome, but that was largely delayed over opposition from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

Herzog is only the second Israeli president to address Congress. His father, Chaim Herzog, marked Israel’s 40th anniversary with a joint speech to Congress in 1987. 

He called it “the honor of a lifetime” to follow in his father’s footsteps, and he paid notice to his other deep family roots in his speech, referencing how his grandfather, the chief rabbi of the newly established state of Israel, met with then-President Truman in the White House in 1949. 

The president’s brother, Michael Herzog, is Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S.

“To us, it is clear that America is irreplaceable to Israel, and Israel is irreplaceable to America. It is time to design the next stage of our evolving friendship and our growing partnership together,” Herzog said in his speech. 

“Israel and the United States will inevitably disagree on many matters. But we will always remain family.”

Russia and summit host South Africa reached a “mutual agreement” that Putin would not attend the Aug. 22-24 gathering, which brings together a bloc of developing economies known as BRICS, though he was initially invited, the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

The development could be viewed as embarrassing for Putin, who is now expected to be the only leader of a country in the bloc not to attend.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Putin “has decided to take part” in the summit via video link, without confirming if he had intended to attend the summit.

It ended months of speculation over whether Putin would travel to South Africa, which is a signatory to the Rome treaty that formed the International Criminal Court and therefore has the obligation to arrest the Russian leader if he sets foot on South African territory.

South Africa had given strong hints that it would not arrest Putin if he attended but had also been lobbying for him not to come to avoid the problem.

South Africa said as recently as last week that the Russian leader had been determined to attend, perhaps as a way to challenge the ICC warrant, which Moscow has dismissed.

Moscow has showcased the BRICS alliance as an alternative to the West’s global dominance, but this year's meeting has proved awkward for Putin following the ICC's move in March to indict him for war crimes relating to the abduction of children from Ukraine.

Although Moscow dismissed the warrant, Putin has not traveled to a country that is a signatory to the ICC treaty since his indictment. Analysts have said that the public debate about whether the Russian leader would or would not travel to South Africa was in itself an unwelcome development for the Kremlin.

The South African government has strong political ties with Russia, but Putin's attendance would have exposed it to possible diplomatic and legal repercussions.

South Africa's main opposition party has recently taken the government to court in an attempt to compel it to arrest Putin should he travel to the country. The ICC treaty has also became part of South African domestic law, meaning the government could be taken to court in South Africa if it failed to honor its commitment to the international court.

Ramaphosa spoke with Putin by telephone this weekend and held more “consultations" with BRICS officials on Tuesday, Ramapohosa's office said in a statement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would attend the BRICS summit in person to represent Russia, Ramaphosa's office said.

Meanwhile, the leaders of all the other BRICS nations, including China's Xi Jinping, would attend the summit, Ramaphosa's office said.

Wednesday's announcement comes a day after a court document was made public in which Ramaphosa said that any attempt by South Africa to arrest Putin would be viewed as a "declaration of war" by Russia. The affidavit made by Ramaphosa was part of the government's response to the court challenge brought by the country's main opposition party to compel it to arrest Putin.

“I must highlight, for the sake of transparency, that South Africa has obvious problems with executing a request to arrest and surrender President Putin,” Ramaphosa said in the affidavit. “Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war."

However, Kremlin spokesman Peskov denied that.

“No one has indicated anything to anyone," Peskov said. “In this world, it is absolutely clear to everyone what an attempt to encroach on the head of the Russian state means. So there is no need to explain anything to anyone here.”

___

AP writers Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg contributed to this story.

___

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

“We came here to break new ground, which we think is important at this stage, and it is clear that we are going to need a little more work to be able to complete that task,” he said during a press conference Wednesday. 

He said that the two sides would “work intensively in the weeks ahead” on issues such as integrating renewable energy into the power sector as China largely relies on coal power.

Meanwhile, in remarks this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the country’s commitments on climate change are “unwavering” but also said they “must be determined by the country itself, rather than swayed by others,” per the official People’s Daily newspaper. 

China is currently the world’s largest emitter of planet-warming gasses while the U.S is the second-largest, though the U.S. is the greatest historical emitter. The U.S. is currently seeking to reduce its emissions, while China has said that it intends for its emissions to peak in 2030.

The talks come after China halted its cooperation with the U.S. on issues including climate change for a few months last year after then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visited Taiwan. They resumed talks on climate change in November. 

Apprehensions at the southern border decreased in June, driven by a substantial drop in illegal border crossings between ports of entry.

According to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) figures, border officials encountered migrants 144,571 times at the border in June, down 30 percent from the 206,702 encounters a month prior.

While the overall number of encounters dropped, encounters with unauthorized migrants at ports of entry rose month-to-month, a sign that the Biden administration's efforts to funnel migrants toward ports of entry are working.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials reported 45,026 encounters at ports of entry in June, up more than 27 percent from 35,315 in May.

That rise stood in contrast with the drop in Border Patrol encounters between ports of entry: 99,545 in June, down 42 percent from 171,387 in May.

The drop in Border Patrol encounters is the second significant contraction in fiscal 2022, after encounters plummeted nearly 40 percent from December to January.

June's figures show the lowest number of border encounters since President Biden's first full month in office, with a number nearly identical to former President Trump's highest posted encounter figures.

In May of 2019, the Trump administration reported 144,116 total encounters, a number that quickly came down, first as a result of Mexico's crackdown on migrants at its southern border and later because of the coronavirus pandemic.

While the two administrations have differed drastically in style, immigrant advocates say they share substance in many of their border and immigration policies.

The Biden administration in February rolled out new asylum regulations that activists said mirrored Trump's asylum ban, a charge the White House and DHS vehemently denied.

Those asylum rules have been challenged, and a hearing is scheduled before a federal court Wednesday.

If the asylum rules are blocked, the administration could lose one piece of the puzzle that it's used to convince migrants to avoid entering the country between ports of entry, and to avail themselves of parole programs designed to help them avoid land crossings altogether.

Updated: 6:47 p.m.

Sarah Leslie and her father, visiting from New Zealand, were part of a group that left Tuesday morning from Seoul to visit the DMZ and tour the border village of Panmunjom. She told The Associated Press that Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King was part of the 43-member group, but he was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, so she did not know he was a soldier.

She said as the tour was coming to an end, she saw King running “really fast,” darting about 30 feet in between buildings before crossing and disappearing behind the border.

“I assumed initially he had a mate filming him in some kind of really stupid prank or stunt, like a TikTok, the most stupid thing you could do,” Leslie said. “But then I heard one of the soldiers shout, ‘Get that guy.’”

She said the soldier who shouted to stop King was a U.S. soldier patrolling the area, but the soldiers did not have enough time to respond. She said she did not see anyone on the North Korean side of the border.

The American-led United Nations Command announced Tuesday that a U.S. national crossed the border during the tour of Panmunjom and was being detained by North Korea. U.S. officials later identified King as an Army soldier, saying he “willfully” crossed the border.

Officials say King was recently released from a South Korean, prison, where he was being held on assault charges. He was slated to return to Fort Bliss, Texas, on Monday, but he joined the tour group instead of boarding his plane.

Leslie noted the tour visited the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom, where they could step on North Korean soil from inside one of the jointly held buildings. She added she needed to give her passport and get a permit in advance of the tour.

She also said the soldiers took the tourist group to give statements about what happened after the incident.

“People couldn’t really quite believe what had happened,” Leslie said. “Quite a few were really shocked. Once we got on the bus and got out of there, we were all kind of staring at each other.”

The Associated Press contributed.

Emhoff will visit Samoa from July 23-24, where he will meet with government officials and community leaders, his office announced Wednesday.

"In particular, the Second Gentleman will highlight our shared work to address the climate crisis, enhance disaster preparedness, promote sustainable and inclusive economic development, and invest in the economic empowerment of women," Liza Acevedo, Emhoff's communications director, said in a statement. "The Second Gentleman’s visit will underscore the strong U.S. relationship with Samoa and the commitment of the United States to the Pacific Islands."

The visit to Samoa will follow Emhoff's trip to New Zealand, where he is leading the U.S. delegation at the Women's World Cup. That event kicks off Thursday in Auckland.

The second gentleman will also attend the U.S. team’s first match against Vietnam on Friday. While in New Zealand, he will meet with private-sector and community leaders to highlight the partnership between the two countries.

Emhoff's trip to Samoa reflects how the Biden administration has sought to build stronger ties with the island and the region as a whole.

Earlier this year, the Peace Corps returned to Samoa for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. Coast Guard has helped Samoa patrol its economic zone.

Russian missile and drone strikes destroyed grain facilities and critical port infrastructure in Odesa early Wednesday morning, injuring at least six people.

Odesa, a major city in Ukraine’s south on the Black Sea, is the country’s largest and most important port. The attack threatens Ukrainian grain exports, which bolster the country’s economy and supply the global market. 

The strikes on Odesa follow Russia's announcement that it will suspend the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a United Nations-negotiated deal to allow grain exports from Odesa that is set to expire Sunday. The strikes suggest a connection between that deal's failure and an effort by Moscow to hurt Ukraine's major export, even if doing so contributes to global grain shortages.

“Russian terrorists have absolutely consciously kissed the infrastructure of the grain deal, and every Russian missile is a strike not only on Ukraine, but also for everyone in the world who seeks a normal and safe life,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday.

Zelensky pledged to increase the defenses at port facilities around the country.

Wheat prices have risen about 3 percent since Monday amid market pressures and the Russian moves.

“Putin hasn’t just blown up the Black Sea Grain Initiative; now he has hit the port city of Odesa with a hail of bombs for the second consecutive night,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.

“In doing that, he is robbing the world of any hope of Ukrainian grain. Every one of his bombs also hits the world’s poorest,” she added.

Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said 14 regions were targeted by Russian missile strikes overnight Wednesday, injuring at least 19 people. Kyiv was a target of explosive drones, but all were shot down, the city’s defense minister said.

The flurry of strikes came after explosives damaged the Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea to Russia from the east. That bridge is considered critical infrastructure for military and civilian supplies.

Ukrainian authorities did not directly claim responsibility for the attack, which was similar to another attack on the bridge in October 2022.

The soldier was identified as Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King, who willfully ran across the border during a tour of the border village of Panmunjom, according to U.S. officials. King, 23, was being held in a South Korean prison on assault charges, but he was recently released and was set to fly back to Fort Bliss, Texas, on Monday.

He had joined the tour of the area located within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and crossed the North Korean border Tuesday afternoon. The American-led U.N. Command said Tuesday he is being detained in North Korea, marking the first time an American has been detained in the country in nearly five years.

North Korea has not commented on King’s apparent detention, as experts have suggested the country may use him as a bargaining chip with the U.S. or use him in propaganda. U.S. officials said they are working to address the incident, but it is unclear how because King crossed the border willingly.

“We’re very early in this event, and so there’s a lot that we’re still trying to learn, but what we do know is that one of our service members who was on a tour willfully and without authorization crossed the military demarcation line,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday.

More on the US soldier's detainment from The Hill

• US soldier detained in North Korea: What you need to know
• US soldier in North Korean custody 'willfully' crossed border
• US soldier detained after crossing DMZ into North Korea 

“I’m absolutely foremost concerned about the welfare of our troop. And so we will remain focused on this,” he added.

King’s detainment comes as tensions continue to rise between North Korea and the U.S. North Korea launched two short-range missiles early Wednesday morning in what appears to be an act of protest against a U.S. nuclear submarine arriving in South Korea on Tuesday for the first time in more than 40 years.

King's mother, Claudine Gates, told ABC News she was shocked when she heard her son crossed the North Korean border, adding she spoke to her son just “a few days ago," when he told her he was returning to Fort Bliss. She also noted she just wants him to "come home."

"I can't see Travis doing anything like that," Gates said.

The Associated Press contributed.

North Korea launched two short-range missiles into its eastern sea early Wednesday morning just a day after the U.S. docked its nuclear submarine in South Korea.

The move comes as tensions remain high between the two countries due to more frequent missile test launches by North Korea and the arrival of the nuclear-armed submarine.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired the ballistic missiles from near its capital of Pyongyang between 3:30 a.m. and 3:46 a.m. Wednesday. The missiles flew about 341 miles before landing in the eastern waters of the Korean peninsula.

Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada also said they reached a maximum altitude of 31 miles and noted the missiles may have experienced an “irregular maneuver.”

The USS Kentucky arrived Tuesday afternoon at the port of Busan, which is the first visit by a U.S. nuclear submarine to South Korea since the 1980s.

“This port visit reflects US’ ironclad commitment to the ROK [South Korea] for our extended deterrence guarantee, and complements the training, operations and other military cooperation activities conducted by Strategic Forces to ensure they are available and ready to operate around the globe,” U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement.

This new launch is about a week after North Korea launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in three months.

This also comes as the American-led United Nations Command and U.S. officials attempt to negotiate the release of an American soldier who “willfully” crossed the North Korean border from South Korea. The soldier has been identified as Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King, who was just released from a South Korean prison where he was doing time for assault charges.

Instead of going back to the U.S. on a plane, he chose to leave and join a tour of Panmunjom, a border village in the Demilitarized Zone, where he ran across the North Korean border, according to U.S. officials.

The Associated Press contributed.

Democrats and Latino organizations are lambasting Texas officials over a report this week that the state's troopers have been ordered to systematically violate the human rights of migrants, including by pushing children into the Rio Grande and denying water aid in extreme heat.

The Houston Chronicle report, based on an email written by a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper, detailed a series of incidents where migrants were seriously injured or killed by measures set in place by Texas to deter them from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

"If true, this is atrocious, barbaric, and downright wrong," wrote White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a tweet responding to the report.

"It would also not be surprising coming from a Governor who abandoned migrant children on the side of the road in below freezing temperatures on Christmas Eve," she added.

Much of the criticism over the human rights violations alleged in the report has been directed at Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who launched Operation Lone Star, a state-run border crackdown, in 2021.

“Texas is deploying every tool and strategy to deter and repel illegal crossings between ports of entry as President Biden’s dangerous open border policies entice migrants from over 150 countries to risk their lives entering the country illegally," Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, told The Hill in an email.

"The absence of razor wire and other deterrence strategies encourages migrants to make unsafe and illegal crossings between ports of entry, while making the job of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers more dangerous and difficult. President Biden has unleashed a chaos on the border that’s unsustainable, and we have a constitutional duty to respond to this unprecedented crisis,” said Mahaleris.

But Texas Democrats in the House of Representatives on Tuesday excoriated the governor, saying no amount of deterrence is worth the violations described in the trooper's email.

"We learned last night that a state trooper sent in what looks like an official email details about Operation Lone Star and directives by DPS leadership to not allow migrants — even those who may be struggling to survive in the water, perhaps on the verge of drowning — to not help them, to push them back towards Mexico in the water," said Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-Texas).

The email detailed cases including one where a pregnant woman miscarried trapped in the razor wire set up by DPS, one where a 4-year-old girl passed out from heat exhaustion as she attempted to pass through the wire only to be pushed back by Texas National Guard soldiers, and a case where a teenage boy broke his leg in the razor wire and had to be carried out by his father.

The trooper who wrote the email also alluded to an order to deny water to heat-stricken migrants and to "traps" set up to catch migrants off guard in the wire.

According to the report, DPS spokesman Travis Considine denied that an order to deny water to migrants was ever issued, but didn't comment on other allegations in the email.

DPS did not respond to The Hill's request for further comment, but the agency announced Tuesday it is conducting an internal investigation into the allegations.

Under Operation Lone Star, DPS agents have set up razor wire installations along known crossing points, as well as chains of buoys in sections of the Rio Grande to make crossing more difficult.

The Democrats also took aim at Abbott for the buoy system, both on the grounds that they could trap migrants underwater and because they allegedly violate international boundary regulations.

"I believe that they're drowning devices. Those buoys are not only set up on the surface of the water but also have net well below them so that people can get trapped in them and also can't go around them at all, even to try to save themselves," said Castro.

Rep. Henry Cuéllar (D-Texas), who represents the border city of Laredo, said the buoys had the potential to change the boundary with Mexico, which has raised concerns about the system.

"The problem we have is that the state is not cooperating, or working, or coordinating at all with the federal government," Cuéllar said.

"They're going solo on it, and I certainly stand with my colleagues to make sure that we find out exactly what's happening. Again, we want to see border security but at the same time you've got to treat the migrants with respect and dignity."

While Abbott has said his government is acting to fill gaps where the Biden administration is not performing its duties, Democrats say the state's foray into immigration and border policy is out of constitutional bounds.

"Let me be very clear: The jurisdiction of immigration is a federal constitutional grounded responsibility. It is the responsibility of President Joe Biden and his administration, and he has taken that responsibility seriously," said Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas).

The Texas Democrats called on Biden to act more aggressively to impose federal authority at the border, and even called for international organizations to intervene.

"I call on the Department of Justice to investigate these cruel actions toward migrants. Razor wire and barrels in the river, pushing children back into the river and denying water during extreme heat are just deliberate acts of torture," said Rep. Sylvia García (D-Texas). 

"It goes against everything that we have ever been taught as Texans, and it goes beyond politics and crosses the line into human rights violations. I would call in the United Nations to look at this."

But the lawmakers recognized that Abbott is politically motivated to stay the course.

"He's not going to listen because it's working for him. It's working for his base. And I don't really think that he thinks about children. He doesn't think about what he's doing to people and how he's hurting them. He's looking at how it works for his base, and whatever he deems he's going to do next in terms of his race, whether it's for governor or something else," García said.

Still, the Democrats took the opportunity to slam Abbott, who has comfortably won three gubernatorial elections.

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) said he was reluctant to believe all the allegations in the letter but called for Abbott's impeachment if the email is accurate.

"If this is true, articles of impeachment ought to be brought against this governor. He is unfit to hold any office of public trust, especially one as high as being governor of the state of Texas. You don't do this. Children are at risk. Babies," said Green. 

"Governor, you have made a mistake. If this is true, you've crossed a line and you ought not continue to serve."

Domingo García, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the country's oldest Latino civil rights organization, called for Abbott to "answer" for Operation Lone Star.

"LULAC condemns the inhumane treatment of innocent people and denounces the use of razor wire, buoys, and any other barriers that jeopardize the safety of women and children seeking asylum. These are Christian refugees, and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect," said García.

"Operation Lone Star is utterly barbaric, and Governor Abbott and all those supporting him must answer for their actions. What would Jesus say about such treatment of the most vulnerable in society?"

“So what I would say is, the goal should be a sustainable, enduring peace in Europe, but one that does not reward aggression,” DeSantis said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper when asked whether he would push Zelensky to make land concessions in an effort to end the war. 

“And there's going to be different levers that you're going to be able to pull. We will pull some levers against Russia,” he continued, noting his plan to be “much more aggressive” or energy and export policies, which he said has “been Putin’s lifeline.”

Zelensky has made clear that ceding any land to Russia is not an option, and his country recently launched a counteroffensive to retake lost land. 

DeSantis has said he does not support escalating the United States’ involvement in the war. He also walked back comments he made describing the nature of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute.” 

He later said, clarifying his earlier remarks, “If I could snap my fingers, I’d give it back to Ukraine 100 percent,” referring to the land in question. 

DeSantis’s avoidance on the issue reflects a split in the GOP on support for Ukraine. While traditional GOP defense hawks largely support any funding Ukraine needs, the more conservative wing of the party has been critical of the billions of dollars in funding.

“So we'll use the levers that we have, but the goal is going to be a sustainable peace that does not reward aggression,” DeSantis said on Tuesday. 

The Ukrainian counteroffensive may be moving at a slower pace than originally expected, but it is “far from a failure,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said Tuesday. 

Kyiv’s counteroffensive began roughly six weeks ago but so far has failed to retake significant territory from the Russians.  

But Milley — who said Ukrainian forces are “preserving their combat power” by not sending in their best soldiers — said the movements have been slowed down by the need to steadily clear mines set by the Russians. 

“This is going to be long, it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be bloody,” Milley warned, but said the effort “is far from a failure, in my view.” 

“That's a different war on paper and real war,” Milley said. “These are real people in real machines that are out there really clearing real minefields and they're really dying. So when that happens, units tend to slow down … in order to survive, in order to get through."

Ahead of the counteroffensive, Russian troops had several months to create an “extensive security zone” against Ukrainian troops, for which they created complex minefields, strung barbed wire and dug trenches, Milley said.  

But the Ukrainians are helped by Russia’s military command structure being thrown into disarray after Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed coup against military leaders.

Wagner Group troops had been heavily involved in Russia’s attempt to take the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut as well as fighting elsewhere in the country. But with thousands of such soldiers apparently relinquishing their weapons to Moscow’s military, it’s unclear how the new command structure will shake out, with Milley calling it “confusing at best.” 

“The morale is low. And now recently because of the Prigozhin mutiny, the command-and-control apparatus at the strategic level is certainly confusing at best, and probably challenging in many, many other ways,” Milley said.  

Milley said the Russians have also suffered “significant” officer casualties. 

Kyiv could also soon get a boost from the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which earlier Tuesday discussed ramping up Ukraine’s ammunition as it met virtually. 

“We also discussed plans to ramp up production at both the national level and the multinational level through the European Union's important initiative to produce more ammunition,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who spoke alongside Milley, told reporters. 

The group was formed to keep Ukraine in constant supply of weapons in the war. But the West is reportedly struggling to keep up with Ukraine’s long-term ammunition needs as the counteroffensive is expected to stretch longer than originally thought.  

After the group’s virtual meeting, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Twitter lauded the gathering as demonstrating “unwavering support for Ukraine.”