Putin said he would accept a ceasefire for energy targets
During a call with President Trump, President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that he would accept a stop on the strikes on energy infrastructure in the Russian war with Ukraine, as long as the two parties honored him, according to the Kremlin. But the Russian chief did not accept a 30-day wider cease-fire offered by the United States and Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, from Ukraine, said that it was open to suspending attacks on energy targets, but also insisted that the agreement is not unilateral. “It cannot be possible that Russia attacks our energy sector and we remain silent,” he said. “We will answer.”
Putin told Trump “that the” key condition “to resolve the conflict was the end of military aid and intelligence in Ukraine by the West,” said my colleague Paul rings, who covers Russia. This path, he added, “would essentially make Ukraine perpetually vulnerable to Russia.”
The White House said that a break on energy strikes would be a first step towards peace, but that the outcome of the call with Putin seemed to be below what Trump had suggested.
Analysis: Stopping attacks on energy targets would benefit the two nations. Ukraine has fought against Russia’s repeated attacks on its electrical network, and Ukraine strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities compromised a crucial source of income.
In relation:
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The United States is looking for access to Ukrainian minerals, which require extensive energy to treat. The Zaporizhzhia power plant under Russian control in southern Ukraine could help this goal, says Kyiv.
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Russia has considerably intensified its sabotage campaign as it sought to put pressure on Europe and the United States to limit their support for Ukraine, a study revealed.
Israel’s strikes on Gaza have killed more than 400
Israeli forces launched devastating air attacks through the Gaza band yesterday, ending a temporary cease-fire with Hamas that started in January and increasing the prospect of a return to total war. More than 400 people, including children, were killed in strikes, said the Gaza Ministry of Health, one of the tolls in one deadliest day in the war. Here’s what you need to know.
The attacks occurred after weeks of unsuccessful talks aimed at extending the fragile ceasefire. The first phase of the truce expired in early March, but it was widely held while diplomats worked to negotiate an extension to release the surviving Israeli hostages and end the war. Of the 59 hostages still in Gaza, less than half would be alive.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested yesterday that Israel would lead more tandem attacks with negotiations. “This is only the start,” he said. “We will continue to fight to achieve all the goals of war.” Hamas officials argued that Israel had cheerfully overturned the truce, but that it had not had an immediate military response.
Analysis: Israel seems to have returned to war to try to crush Hamas’ hopes to keep control of Gaza, Patrick Kingsley and Ronen Bergman.
“For more than two centuries,” said Roberts, “it has been established that indictment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a legal decision.” The judge attacked by Trump had interrupted the deportation of hundreds of migrants in Salvador.
Context: The expulsion affair has become a flash point in a more important debate on the presidential power and the role of the courts to examine how this power is applied.
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That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. – Natasha
Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.
