Putin said he’d accept a cease-fire for energy targets
During a call with President Trump, President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that he would accept a halt to strikes on energy infrastructure in Russia’s war with Ukraine, as long as both sides honored it, according to the Kremlin. But the Russian leader did not agree to a broader, 30-day cease-fire proposed by the U.S. and Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said he was open to suspending attacks on energy targets, but he, too, insisted that the deal not be one-sided. “It cannot be the case that Russia attacks our energy sector, and we remain silent,” he said. “We will respond.”
Putin has told Trump “that the ‘key condition’ to resolving the conflict was an end to military and intelligence aid to Ukraine by the West,” said my colleague Paul Sonne, who covers Russia. That path, he added, “would essentially make Ukraine perpetually vulnerable to Russia.”
The White House said a pause on energy strikes would be a first step toward peace, but the outcome of the call with Putin seemed to fall well short of what Trump had suggested was possible.
Analysis: Halting attacks on energy targets would benefit both nations. Ukraine has struggled with Russia’s repeated attacks on its power grid, and Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil and gas facilities have jeopardized a crucial revenue stream.
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The U.S. is seeking access to Ukrainian minerals, which require extensive energy to process. The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia power plant in southern Ukraine could help with that goal, Kyiv says.
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Russia significantly stepped up its sabotage campaign as it sought to pressure Europe and the U.S. to curb their support for Ukraine, a study found.
Israel’s strikes on Gaza killed more than 400
Israeli forces launched devastating aerial attacks across the Gaza Strip yesterday, ending a temporary cease-fire with Hamas that began in January and raising the prospect of a return to all-out war. More than 400 people, including children, were killed in the strikes, Gaza’s health ministry said, one of the war’s deadliest single-day tolls. Here’s what to know.
The attacks came after weeks of fruitless talks aimed at extending the fragile cease-fire. The first phase of the truce expired in early March, but it had largely held as diplomats worked to broker an extension to free the surviving Israeli hostages and end the war. Of the 59 hostages still in Gaza, fewer than half are believed to be alive.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested yesterday that Israel would carry out more attacks in tandem with negotiations. “This is just the beginning,” he said. “We will keep fighting to achieve all of the war’s objectives.” Hamas officials argued that Israel had brazenly overturned the truce, but it had no immediate military response.
Analysis: Israel appears to have returned to war in an attempt to crush Hamas’s hopes of retaining control of Gaza, Patrick Kingsley and Ronen Bergman write.
“For more than two centuries,” Roberts said, “it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.” The judge attacked by Trump had ordered a halt to the deportation of hundreds of migrants to El Salvador.
Context: The deportation case has emerged as a flashpoint in a larger debate over presidential power and the role of courts to review how that 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.
