US President Donald Trump's overseas envoy will travel to Germany this weekend to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders for the latest round of high-level talks on ending the war.

Steve Witkoff, who has been leading White House attempts to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, will discuss the latest version of the proposed peace agreement in Berlin.

The Trump administration is pushing for a deal to be in place by Christmas and has held several rounds of talks with Ukrainian and Russian representatives in recent weeks, though there has been little sign a breakthrough is imminent.

It has not yet been confirmed which European leaders will attend the Berlin talks.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported details of the meeting, said UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz would all take part.

The Witkoff-Zelensky meeting comes days after Ukraine gave the US its revised version of a 20-point peace plan, the latest iteration of a proposal which first emerged in late November and has triggered a flurry of diplomatic activity.

The fate of territory in eastern Ukraine remains one of the most intractable topics in the negotiations, with Kyiv refusing to cede land which has been illegally occupied, and Moscow repeating its intention to take the Donbas region in full by force unless Ukraine withdraws.

Zelensky has reacted sceptically to the White House's latest proposal on resolving the territorial question, which is for Ukraine's army to pull out of the region and for it to be turned into a "special economic zone".

The Ukrainian president told reporters that under the US-proposed terms, the Kremlin would undertake not to advance into the areas vacated by Ukraine's forces, with the land between Russian-controlled parts of the Donbas and Ukraine's defensive lines effectively turned into a demilitarised zone.

The proposal, seemingly an attempt to resolve the question of legal ownership by creating a new status for the land, has been publicly questioned by Zelensky, who said: "What will restrain [Russia] from advancing? Or from infiltrating disguised as civilians?"

Ukraine and allies in Europe have said publicly that the US-led talks have been fruitful, and have hailed progress on securing amendments to a plan which was widely viewed as favouring Russia when it first emerged.

But there have been signs in recent weeks that Trump is losing patience with Zelensky and his backers on the continent.

In a scathing interview with Politico earlier this week, the US president labelled European leaders "weak" and renewed his calls for Ukraine to hold elections.

Zelensky said elections could be held within 90 days if the US and Europe provided the necessary security. Elections have been suspended since martial law was declared when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

As the White House's diplomatic push continues, attention in Europe is focused on how to support Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, with talks ongoing over security guarantees and funding.

The Ukrainian government faces a stark financial situation: it needs to find an extra €135.7bn (£119bn; $159bn) over the next two years.

On Friday, European Union governments agreed to indefinitely freeze around €210bn (£185bn; $247) worth of Russian assets held in Europe.

It is hoped that agreement paves the way for the funds to be loaned back to Ukraine if a deal can be reached at an EU summit next week, providing Kyiv with financial help for its military and efforts to rebuild parts of the country left devastated after nearly four years of all-out war.

That move has been condemned as theft by the Kremlin, and Russia's central bank has said it will sue Euroclear, a Belgian bank where the vast majority of Russian assets frozen after the invasion are held.

Officials were still negotiating the exact structure of a deal to repurpose the Russian assets on behalf of Ukraine, with the Belgian government being particularly sceptical due to its particular legal exposure as the main holder.

Elsewhere, it was reported that the latest version of the peace plan being circulated envisions Ukraine rapidly joining the European Union.

The Financial Times said Brussels backed Ukraine's swift accession to the bloc, an idea proposed by Ukraine in the latest draft it has given to Washington.

Ukraine formally applied to join the EU days after the 2022 invasion but despite promises of an accelerated process is still several years away from becoming a member.

Under the plan, Ukraine would become a member as soon as January 2027, AFP reported, citing an unnamed senior official. It was unclear whether Washington had approved that element of the draft.

More images from the estate of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein have been released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.

The Democrats said the 19 images came from a tranche of 95,000 photos the committee received from Epstein's estate as part of its ongoing investigation.

US President Donald Trump, former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon are among the high-profile figures featured in the photos. The images, many of which have been seen before, do not imply wrongdoing.

It comes one week before a deadline for the US justice department to release all Epstein-related documents, which are separate from the images shared by the committee on Friday.

The individuals featured in the images have not yet commented. Many of them have previously denied wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

In a statement, Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said: "It is time to end this White House cover-up and bring justice to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends."

"These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. We will not rest until the American people get the truth. The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW" he added.

Republicans, who are in the majority on the committee, have accused Democrats of "cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions to create a false narrative about President Trump".

The White House called the release a "Democrat hoax" against Trump that has been "repeatedly debunked".

Trump appeared in three of the images released on Friday. One image showed him standing next to a woman whose face has been redacted.

Another showed Trump standing next to Epstein while talking to model Ingrid Seynhaeve at a 1997 Victoria's Secret party in New York – an image that was already publicly available.

A third photo showed Trump smiling with several women, whose faces have also been redacted, flanked on either side of him.

An additional photo showed an illustrated likeness of the president on red packets next to a sign that reads: "Trump Condom".

Among the images released was what appeared to be cropped photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor next to Bill Gates. A fuller version of the photo, which was available on photo agency Getty Images, showed King Charles, the then-Prince of Wales, on the right side of the photo.

The Getty Images' caption said the picture was taken during a summit during the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in London in April 2018.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was also pictured in some of the images. He was shown speaking with Epstein at a desk, and in another, standing beside him in front of a mirror.

A third image showed him speaking with filmmaker Woody Allen.

A photo featuring former US President Bill Clinton's showed him standing next to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for her role in facilitating the disgraced financier's abuse.

Two other people the BBC has yet to identify are also in the image, which appeared to have been signed by Clinton.

Clinton has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. In 2019, a spokesperson said he "knows nothing about the terrible crimes" Epstein pleaded guilty to.

Other prominent figures which appear in the images include US economist Larry Summers, lawyer Alan Dershowitz and entrepreneur Richard Branson. Not all the images show those individuals in the company of Epstein.

Epstein was charged with sex trafficking in July 2019. He died in prison a month later while awaiting trail.

The president was a friend of Epstein's, but has said they fell out in the early 2000s, years before he was first arrested.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

The justice department is required to release investigative material related to Epstein by 19 December under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by Trump last month.

Sir Keir Starmer has urged resident doctors not to go ahead with "reckless" strikes planned for next week, saying it is "beyond belief" they could take place during a flu outbreak.

The prime minister said the NHS is in its "most precarious moment" since the coronavirus pandemic due to soaring flu cases across the UK, and that strikes would put the healthcare system and its patients in "grave danger".

The doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), is polling its members to see if they are willing to call off the walkout, with the results to be released on Monday.

But if they vote against it, a five-day strike by resident doctors will begin two days later on Wednesday 17 December.

A BMA spokesperson said the government could stop the strike by tackling pay, conditions and trust with a credible offer.

Flu has come early this winter, and it looks to be a particularly nasty season because of a new mutated version of the virus which is circulating, say experts.

Many are now calling it "super flu", but it is not more severe nor harder to treat.

An average of 2,660 patients per day were in hospital with flu in England last week – the highest ever for this time of year and up 55% on the week before, NHS England said.

Flu cases are also rising in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, figures show.

Children and young people are particularly affected by the outbreak, health officials said.

Writing in the Guardian, Sir Keir said the strikes "should not happen" and said resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, should accept a deal to avert industrial action.

Sir Keir said as well as the government's new offer, they had also given the BMA the chance to reschedule the strikes until after Christmas.

"Don't get me wrong – of course I would rather they were cancelled... But under the circumstances, I wanted to be sure we have left no stone unturned in our efforts to protect the NHS," he said.

The BMA said it will ask its members whether the government's offer will be enough to call off Wednesday's strikes.

If members indicate yes, then they will be given time to consider the offer in more detail and a formal follow-up referendum would be held on ending the dispute completely.

The offer aims to address problems for some doctors trying to find work and to provide more training places for newly qualified medics to progress in their careers.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting made a similar intervention to Sir Keir's on Friday, warning strikes coupled with increasing flu patients would be a "double whammy" for the NHS.

However, the medical director for the NHS in London, Chris Streather, said the flu situation was "well within the boundaries" of what the NHS could cope with and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

More images from the estate of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein have been released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.

The Democrats said the 19 images came from a tranche of 95,000 photos the committee received from Epstein's estate as part of its ongoing investigation.

US President Donald Trump, former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon are among the high-profile figures featured in the photos. The images, many of which have been seen before, do not imply wrongdoing.

It comes one week before a deadline for the US justice department to release all Epstein-related documents, which are separate from the images shared by the committee on Friday.

The individuals featured in the images have not yet commented. Many of them have previously denied wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

In a statement, Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said: "It is time to end this White House cover-up and bring justice to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends."

"These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. We will not rest until the American people get the truth. The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW" he added.

Republicans, who are in the majority on the committee, have accused Democrats of "cherry-picking photos and making targeted redactions to create a false narrative about President Trump".

The White House called the release a "Democrat hoax" against Trump that has been "repeatedly debunked".

Trump appeared in three of the images released on Friday. One image showed him standing next to a woman whose face has been redacted.

Another showed Trump standing next to Epstein while talking to model Ingrid Seynhaeve at a 1997 Victoria's Secret party in New York – an image that was already publicly available.

A third photo showed Trump smiling with several women, whose faces have also been redacted, flanked on either side of him.

An additional photo showed an illustrated likeness of the president on red packets next to a sign that reads: "Trump Condom".

Among the images released was what appeared to be cropped photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor next to Bill Gates. A fuller version of the photo, which was available on photo agency Getty Images, showed King Charles, the then-Prince of Wales, on the right side of the photo.

The Getty Images' caption said the picture was taken during a summit during the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in London in April 2018.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was also pictured in some of the images. He was shown speaking with Epstein at a desk, and in another, standing beside him in front of a mirror.

A third image showed him speaking with filmmaker Woody Allen.

A photo featuring former US President Bill Clinton's showed him standing next to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for her role in facilitating the disgraced financier's abuse.

Two other people the BBC has yet to identify are also in the image, which appeared to have been signed by Clinton.

Clinton has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. In 2019, a spokesperson said he "knows nothing about the terrible crimes" Epstein pleaded guilty to.

Other prominent figures which appear in the images include US economist Larry Summers, lawyer Alan Dershowitz and entrepreneur Richard Branson. Not all the images show those individuals in the company of Epstein.

Epstein was charged with sex trafficking in July 2019. He died in prison a month later while awaiting trail.

The president was a friend of Epstein's, but has said they fell out in the early 2000s, years before he was first arrested.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

The justice department is required to release investigative material related to Epstein by 19 December under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by Trump last month.

US President Donald Trump has said the prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia will halt fighting "effective this evening".

Trump made the announcement after telephone conversations with the two leaders following deadly border clashes in recent days which have left at least 20 people dead and half a million displaced.

Neither Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul nor his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet has commented.

However, after his call with Trump earlier, Charnvirakul told a news conference that a ceasefire would only come about if "Cambodia will cease fire, withdraw its troops, remove all landmines it has planted".

In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said both leaders "have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me.

"Both Countries are ready for PEACE and continued Trade with the United States of America."

The long-standing border dispute escalated on 24 July, as Cambodia launched a barrage of rockets into Thailand, which responded with air strikes.

After days of intense fighting which left dozens dead, the neighbouring South East Asian countries agreed to an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire" brokered by Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Since then, tensions continued to build.

This week, violence expanded into at least six provinces in north-eastern Thailand and five provinces in Cambodia's north and north-west.

The two countries have been been contesting territorial sovereignty along their 800km land border for more than a century, since the borders of the two nations were drawn after the French occupation of Cambodia.

Warehouses supplying the vast majority of Ukraine's pharmacies have been destroyed in a series of Russian attacks over recent months.

Medical supplies worth about $200m (£145m) were destroyed in just two strikes in December and October.

A large warehouse storing medicines in the city of Dnipro was destroyed in a Russian air strike on 6 December. As a result, about $110m worth of medicines were destroyed - estimated at up to 30% of Ukraine's monthly supply.

"It was a missile and drone strike against our facility. The missiles flew past, but the drones hit it," said Dmytro Babenko, acting director-general of pharmaceutical distributor BADM.

"They caused a fire which unfortunately proved impossible to contain and the whole facility was destroyed."

BADM is one of two companies that supply about 85% of Ukrainian pharmacies in roughly equal shares.

The other company is Optima Pharm, whose warehouses have been hit three times this year - on 28 August, 25 October and 15 November.

The October attack destroyed its main storage facility in Kyiv, and cost the company more than $100m, says Optima Pharm's chief financial officer Artem Suprun.

Russia denies hitting civilian targets, but when the Optima Pharm warehouse was hit in October, the defence ministry in Moscow said only that it had targeted a factory producing drones.

On the day BADM's warehouse was destroyed, Russia said it had hit "a warehouse storing military equipment" as well as energy and transport infrastructure.

Such attacks significantly complicate the treatment of sick and wounded in Ukraine, after almost four years of Russia's full-scale war.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), an NGO that had been using the warehouse in Dnipro, says it lost $195,000 worth of medication and supplies, which could have served 30,000 people in need.

"When I arrived at the site I was devastated, the scene was simply awful. All of this medicine could have served people for years, and in a single moment it was all lost," says the IRC's Andriy Moskalenko.

The IRC said the Dnipro facility had served "as a critical hub for hospitals, healthcare providers, pharmacies and humanitarian actors".

Mr Babenko from BADM said the Russian attack had destroyed "vitally important medicines" that had been imported and are not produced in Ukraine.

"It's a pretty complicated situation," he told the BBC.

But he is hopeful that the attack will not leave Ukrainians without medicines.

"There won't be significant shortages, possibly only of certain types of goods. We're hoping to restore all supplies in a month or a month-and-a-half," Mr Babenko said.

Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of deliberately targeting hospitals, ambulances, medics and rescue workers, claims Moscow has denied.

According to the government in Kyiv, more than 2,500 medical institutions have been damaged or destroyed, and more than 500 civilian doctors, nurses and other medical workers killed.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization said it had recorded 2,763 attacks on Ukraine's healthcare system since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, and it said that in 2025 there had been a 12% increase in attacks from the previous year.

The US ambassador to the UN has accused Rwanda of leading Africa's Great Lakes region toward war, just over a week after a peace deal was signed in Washington to end the decades-long conflict.

US President Donald Trump Trump hailed the deal between DR Congo's President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame as "historic" and "a great day for Africa, great day for the world".

But the M23 rebel group says it has "fully liberated" the key city of Uvira in an offensive the US and European powers say is backed by Rwanda. UN experts have previously accused it of having "de facto control" of the rebel force's operations.

Rwanda denies the allegations, however, its presence in Washington was a tacit acknowledgment of its influence over the M23.

The rebels were not signatories to Trump's deal - and have been taking part in a parallel peace process led by Qatar, a US ally.

The latest fighting risks further escalating an already deeply complex conflict.

Why did the M23 seize Uvira now?

Prof Jason Stearns, a Canada-based political scientist who specialises in the region, told the BBC that the view in M23 circles was that "they need more leverage in the negotiations", while the feeling in the Rwandan government is that Tshisekedi cannot be trusted.

He added that the assault on Uvira, in South Kivu province, "flies in the face of all the negotiations that are under way".

"It appears to humiliate the US government. I'm not sure what strategic purpose that would serve," Prof Stearns told the BBC.

The M23's new offensive in South Kivu started a few days before Kagame and Tshisekedi flew to Washington last week to ratify the agreement first hammered out in June.

Bram Verelst, a Burundi-based researcher with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) think-tank, said the assault appeared to be an attempt to force Burundi to withdraw the troops it had in eastern DR Congo backing the army against the rebel forces and Rwanda.

He pointed out that Uvira - which lies just 27km (17 miles) from Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika - was of strategic importance because of the presence of at least 10,000 Burundian troops in South Kivu.

"Uvira is Burundi's gateway into eastern DR Congo, to send troops and supplies. That has now been cut off," Mr Verelst told the BBC.

"It seems that many Burundian troops are withdrawing, but it's not clear if all contingents will retreat," he added.

Yale Ford, an Africa Analyst for the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, pointed out that Uvira, which had a population of about 700,000, was the DR Congo government's last major foothold and military hub in South Kivu.

He added that the M23 was now likely to establish a parallel administration in the city, and use its military gains "as a bargaining chip in peace talks".

As for the DR Congo government, it has not acknowledged its latest military setback, but says that the "gravity of the situation is compounded by the now proven risk of regional conflagration".

What does it mean for Burundi?

Burundi has been a natural ally of DR Congo for years because of its enmity with Rwanda.

Both accuse the other of backing rebel groups seeking to overthrow their respective governments.

The neighbours share a similar language and ethnic make-up - with Tutsi and Hutu communities often vying for power - and both have suffered terrible ethnic-based massacres.

But unlike Rwanda, which is headed by a Tutsi president, the majority Hutus are in power in Burundi.

Burundi's government fears that if the M23 cements its presence in South Kivu, it would strengthen a Burundian rebel group called Red Tabara.

Based in South Kivu, it is mainly made up of Tutsis - and has attacked Burundi in the past.

In an apparent attempt to placate Burundi's fears, the M23 said it had "no sights beyond our national borders".

"Our fight has the objective of peace, the protection of the population, the rebuilding of the state in DR Congo, as well as the stability of the Great Lakes region," the group added.

Burundi has shut its border with DR Congo, but, according to Mr Verelst, it is still allowing people to cross into its territory after carrying out security checks.

Aid agencies say that about 50,000 people have fled into Burundi in the past week.

Burundian troops - along with the Congolese army and allied militias - fought to block the rebel advance towards Uvira, but the city itself fell "without much fighting", Mr Verelst said.

The fall of Uvira would hit Burundi's already struggling economy as the country has been suffering from a severe shortage of foreign currency and fuel, and had been heavily dependent on eastern DR Congo for both, he said.

How did the M23 manage to capture Uvira?

The M23 began a major advance earlier this year when it captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, on the border with Rwanda.

At the time, South African troops were deployed to help DR Congo's army, but they were forced to withdraw after the M23 seized the city in January.

Shortly afterwards the rebels captured the next big city in eastern DR Congo, Bukavu, capital of South Kivu.

The move on Uvira came after the rebels broke the defence lines of the DR Congo army, militias allied with it and Burundian troops.

Prof Stearns said the M23 was estimated to have more than 10,000 fighters, but there was likely to have been an "influx" of Rwandan troops for the recent offensive to capture Uvira.

"The reason why they are able to defeat their enemy is that the Rwandan army, at least, is very disciplined, and I think discipline matters more than manpower," he said.

"The conflict in recent days has also featured the extensive use of drone technology on both sides but the Rwandans have used this more to their advantage than the Congolese," he added.

Where does this leave the peace process?

It appears to be in deep trouble.

The US ambassador to the UN blamed Rwanda for the recent fighting.

"Instead of progress toward peace, as we have seen under President Trump's leadership in recent weeks, Rwanda is leading the region toward more instability and toward war," Mike Waltz told a Security Council meeting.

An earlier statement - issued by the US, European Union, and eight European governments - went further, saying that both the M23 and the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) should immediately halt "offensive operations", and Rwandan troops should withdraw from eastern DR Congo.

Prof Stearns said the policy experts he had spoken to were "baffled" by the timing of the move to capture Uvira.

"It was literally as they were signing a peace deal in Washington that Rwandan troops were amassing, and then invaded the area around Kamanyola, which is across the border from Rwanda, and then advanced on Uvira," he added.

Rwanda's foreign ministry has not responded to the claims that its troops were in South Kivu, but said the ceasefire violations and fighting could not be "attributed" to Rwanda.

It accused the DR Congo and Burundian armies of bombing villages near the Rwandan border, and said Burundi had "amassed" nearly 20,000 troops in South Kivu in support of DR Congo's army.

It added that it was now clear that DR Congo was "never ready to commit to peace", and even though Tshisekedi had attended the ceremony in Washington, it was "as if he had been forced to sign" the peace accord.

The DR Congo's government levelled a similar accusation against Kagame, saying he had made a "deliberate choice" to abandon the Washington Accord, and to undermine Trump's efforts to end the conflict.

Can the deal be salvaged?

Prof Stearns said the US-led peace process was now on a "troubled path, perhaps it is stuck".

He pointed out that the success of the deal hinged on DR Congo's army launching an operation to disarm the FDLR militia group, members of which were involved in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and which Kagame's government sees as a continued threat.

But, Prof Stearns said, he could not see DR Congo's army launching such an operation at the moment.

The peace deal also envisaged economic co-operation between DR Congo and Rwanda, including on hydro-electric power, mining and infrastructure development - something that the US hopes would pave the way for American companies to increase investments in the mineral-rich region.

Prof Stearns said he could not see this happening either while Rwandan troops remained in eastern DR Congo, and fighting continued.

He added that his understanding was that the parallel peace process in Doha - led by Qatar's government to broker a peace deal between the M23 and DR Congo's government - was also on hold at the moment.

"It's very difficult to imagine the Congolese returning there right now after there has been this major offensive by the M23," he added.

What are Tshisekedi's options?

Prof Stearns said that Tshisekedi was under "very serious" pressure from the public for his failure to keep his numerous promises to bring an end to the fighting in the east.

He said Tshisekedi might also be under pressure from parts of the army, with whom he had a strained relationship after the arrest of generals for alleged corruption and because of the setbacks in the east.

He added that Tshisekedi was banking on the US to put pressure on Rwanda to withdraw its support for the M23.

"It's going to be very difficult for the Congolese army to muster a response.

"It's now in the hands of the various peace brokers, the US in particular, and perhaps Qatar and other donors," the academic said.

"It's to be seen how much they care about ending this conflict, and how much political capital they are willing to spend."

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

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A raccoon that broke into a Virginia store and joyfully drank its way through the liquor aisle is now suspected of a wider crime spree, officials say.

A Hanover animal control officer suspects the stripe-tailed mammal also broke into a nearby karate studio and then raided the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for snacks.

"Supposedly, this is the third break-in he's had," said Officer Samantha Martin.

The raccoon, now nicknamed the "trashed panda", was first discovered passed out in the bathroom of the Ashland liquor store two days after Thanksgiving. After sobering up, the unlikely outlaw was released back into the wild.

A new study found the masked mammals known for rummaging rubbish bins for easy food, are evolving and getting comfortable around humans.

Ms Martin says it's only a matter of time before the masked bandit strikes the shopping centre again.

"This is not the first time he's been in one of the buildings," she told the county government's official podcast, Hear in Hanover, on Thursday.

"He was in the karate studio. I think he got into the DMV [and] ate some of their snacks one time," she said.

She later added that there is a chance the earlier break-ins could have been perpetrated by a different raccoon - but officials have identified him as their prime suspect.

Raccoons are known for breaking into peoples garbage cans, leading to the nickname "trash panda".

The county has been selling shirts with the logo "trashed panda" and has raised a whopping $207,000 (£155,000) as of Friday. The money will be used to renovate the shelter, and add to its capacity, Ms Martin said.

Officials say the little Kung Fu trash panda was living his best life when he was detained in the liquor store and kept his spirits up even after being placed in the county kennel.

"I just set him in there, [and] let him kinda relax for a few hours. The sun was beating on him so he was feeling good," Ms Martin said, adding that he was released about one mile away from the shopping complex. "He didn't do anything wrong. He was just having a good time."

The story has gone viral, which Ms Martin says is because it is so "relatable".

"Everybody's been there," she says. "Everybody's had a few extra and passed out by the toilet, and hopes somebody can come get you the next morning."

"I hope he learned his lesson," she said, before adding that there's a good chance he might be found committing another heist soon.

"He'll be back. He's not a dummy."

Warehouses supplying the vast majority of Ukraine's pharmacies have been destroyed in a series of Russian attacks over recent months.

Medical supplies worth about $200m (£145m) were destroyed in just two strikes in December and October.

A large warehouse storing medicines in the city of Dnipro was destroyed in a Russian air strike on 6 December. As a result, about $110m worth of medicines were destroyed - estimated at up to 30% of Ukraine's monthly supply.

"It was a missile and drone strike against our facility. The missiles flew past, but the drones hit it," said Dmytro Babenko, acting director-general of pharmaceutical distributor BADM.

"They caused a fire which unfortunately proved impossible to contain and the whole facility was destroyed."

BADM is one of two companies that supply about 85% of Ukrainian pharmacies in roughly equal shares.

The other company is Optima Pharm, whose warehouses have been hit three times this year - on 28 August, 25 October and 15 November.

The October attack destroyed its main storage facility in Kyiv, and cost the company more than $100m, says Optima Pharm's chief financial officer Artem Suprun.

Russia denies hitting civilian targets, but when the Optima Pharm warehouse was hit in October, the defence ministry in Moscow said only that it had targeted a factory producing drones.

On the day BADM's warehouse was destroyed, Russia said it had hit "a warehouse storing military equipment" as well as energy and transport infrastructure.

Such attacks significantly complicate the treatment of sick and wounded in Ukraine, after almost four years of Russia's full-scale war.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), an NGO that had been using the warehouse in Dnipro, says it lost $195,000 worth of medication and supplies, which could have served 30,000 people in need.

"When I arrived at the site I was devastated, the scene was simply awful. All of this medicine could have served people for years, and in a single moment it was all lost," says the IRC's Andriy Moskalenko.

The IRC said the Dnipro facility had served "as a critical hub for hospitals, healthcare providers, pharmacies and humanitarian actors".

Mr Babenko from BADM said the Russian attack had destroyed "vitally important medicines" that had been imported and are not produced in Ukraine.

"It's a pretty complicated situation," he told the BBC.

But he is hopeful that the attack will not leave Ukrainians without medicines.

"There won't be significant shortages, possibly only of certain types of goods. We're hoping to restore all supplies in a month or a month-and-a-half," Mr Babenko said.

Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of deliberately targeting hospitals, ambulances, medics and rescue workers, claims Moscow has denied.

According to the government in Kyiv, more than 2,500 medical institutions have been damaged or destroyed, and more than 500 civilian doctors, nurses and other medical workers killed.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization said it had recorded 2,763 attacks on Ukraine's healthcare system since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, and it said that in 2025 there had been a 12% increase in attacks from the previous year.