Wednesday Briefing: Ukraine hits Russia with U.S. missiles
Good morning. We’re covering Ukraine’s attack on Russia using U.S. missiles and jail sentences for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy leaders. Plus, the Scandinavian band that’s big in Asia.
Ukraine fired U.S.-made missiles into Russia for the first timeUkraine’s military used American-made ballistic weapons known as ATACMS yesterday to strike into Russia for the first time and hit an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of southwestern Russia, officials said. The attack came on the same day President Vladimir Putin lowered Russia’s threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. The timing of the long-planned move was clearly meant to send a message, just days after President Biden authorized the use of the long-range missiles by Ukraine for strikes inside Russia. The decree shows how Putin is trying to use the threat of his nuclear arsenal to deter the U.S. from further supporting Ukraine. The White House played down Putin’s new doctrine and said it had observed “no changes to Russia’s nuclear posture.” Analysis: It’s telling that the reaction in Washington to yesterday’s attacks was just short of a yawn, my colleague David Sanger wrote. Over nearly three years, the war in Ukraine has inured Washington and the world to the renewed use of nuclear weapons as the ultimate bargaining chip. Related: Germany’s defense minister called the severing of two fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea an act of sabotage. Concerns have been rising in Europe that Russia may wage a hybrid war against it in retaliation for helping Ukraine.
New York prosecutors suggested freezing Trump’s caseManhattan prosecutors rebuffed President-elect Donald Trump’s request to dismiss his criminal conviction yesterday and instead raised the prospect of a four-year freeze while he holds office. The prosectors acknowledged the unprecedented nature of the case in a letter to the judge overseeing the trial, but argued that a jury had already convicted Trump of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal before he was elected. Eager to clear his criminal record, Trump is expected to move forcefully for a dismissal. The fight will almost certainly delay Trump’s sentencing, which was scheduled for next week.
Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders were jailed up to 10 yearsA Hong Kong court yesterday sentenced to prison 45 former politicians, journalists and activists who in 2020 took part in an unofficial poll by the opposition, some for as long as 10 years. The sentences highlighted the sweeping power of a national security law Beijing imposed to tighten its grip on the Chinese territory. Benny Tai, 60, a legal scholar and opposition strategist, was sentenced to 10 years while Joshua Wong, 28, a prominent pro-democracy activist, was among 24 defendants whose sentences ranged from just over four to just under five years. Here’s a look at the 45 pro-democracy leaders. |
