Thursday Briefing: Ukraine agrees to a strike pause
Good morning. We’re covering a limited cease-fire deal for Ukraine and Canada’s bid to join Europe’s military buildup. Plus, a push against India’s “boss husbands.”
Ukraine agreed to halt strikes on energy sitesPresident Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine agreed yesterday to Russia’s offer of a mutual pause in attacks on energy targets for 30 days as a step toward a broader cease-fire. He discussed the pause during a phone call with President Trump, who described the conversation as “very good.” The two leaders spoke a day after Trump’s conversation with Vladimir Putin, Russia’s leader. It was the first time Trump and Zelensky had spoken since their disastrous Oval Office meeting last month. Zelensky called the conversation “positive, very substantive and frank,” making clear that he had thanked Trump for America’s support. Trump also floated the idea that the U.S. could take control of Ukrainian power plants — an idea that Ukrainian energy experts said was probably unworkable. Technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia “in the coming days,” a White House statement said. They will discuss broadening the pause to cover activity in the Black Sea, “on the way to a full cease-fire.” What’s next: Zelensky said that the agreement would need U.S. monitoring to work, and that Kyiv would prepare a list of sites that needed protection. “Just the assertion and the word of Putin that he will not strike energy sites is too little,” he said. “War has made us practical people.” Analysis: Most of what Putin agreed to on Tuesday’s call with Trump was spun as a concession, but the Russian leader didn’t really give any ground.
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