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| A member of Ukraine’s 14th Mechanized Brigade near the eastern city of Kupiansk on Thursday. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times |
Trump backed off demands for a cease-fire in Ukraine
After a two-hour phone call between President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Trump, the Russian leader revealed no breakthroughs, instead telling reporters that he was ready to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine and repeating his demand for broad concessions.
Putin repeated his mantra that a peace deal needed to “remove the root causes of this crisis,” a reference to Russia’s demand for wide-ranging influence over Ukraine.
Trump offered a more optimistic take on the call, even as he backed away from threats intended to press Russia for a cease-fire. Trump instead emphasized that Russia and Ukraine should negotiate directly, a functional endorsement of Putin’s position. He added that he had also spoken with Ukraine’s president and with European leaders.
Vice President JD Vance earlier in the day questioned Putin’s position. “I’m not sure that Vladimir Putin has a strategy himself for how to unwind the war,” he said.
Prisoner release: Putin and Trump also discussed a potential nine-for-nine prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia, Putin’s foreign policy adviser told Russian news agencies.
Military buildup: Russia has been beefing up bases near the Finnish border, and analysts predict the area could become a hot spot.
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| Palestinians fleeing Beit Lahia in northern Gaza after an Israeli operation last week. Saher Alghorra for The New York Times |
Israel wavers on its Gaza strategy
After months of cutting off aid to the Gaza Strip, Israel yesterday allowed a few trucks of food to enter the territory. And despite escalating its rhetoric and its airstrikes, the Israeli military has yet to begin a long-awaited ground offensive.
The lack of strategic clarity surrounding those actions reflects disagreements within Israel’s leadership about its national priorities. Here’s what we know about the situation on the ground.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners oppose sending food to Gaza and are pushing for full re-occupation of the territory, even as foreign allies have feared the blockade would lead to famine. Israel’s top generals believe a ground invasion would be difficult to sustain and dangerous for hostages held in Gaza.
Context: Israel is waiting to see how Hamas responds to a new, intense round of negotiations over a cease-fire, amid pressure from the Trump administration for the two sides to reach a truce.
More news from the region:
| A think tank came up with a plan to destroy pro-Palestinian activism in the U.S. The Trump administration’s actions mirror its proposals.Israel has been working for decades to recover the remains one of its most famous spies, who was executed in Syria in 1965. This week, it came one step closer. |
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| Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, and Antonio Costa, the European Council president, at Lancaster House in London yesterday. Pool photo by Henry Nicholls |
Britain and the E.U. struck a deal
At a “reset” summit, Britain and the E.U. agreed to increase security cooperation and lower some trade barriers introduced by Brexit as the two sides reduce their reliance on the U.S., after the Trump administration imposed global tariffs and signaled it was reducing its commitment to European defense.
The immediate, hostile reaction to the deal from Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s opponents illustrated the perils for almost any politician in revisiting Brexit. The two sides agreed that European boats would have access to British fishing waters until June 30, 2038, a concession that could be politically costly for Starmer.
Related: Europe’s economy will grow more slowly than expected this year, dragged down by trade uncertainty from Trump’s tariffs, E.U. economists said.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
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| Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters |
| Portugal: The center-right Democratic Alliance won a snap election and will continue to rule as a minority government. Chega, a hard-right party, won more than 22 percent of the vote. India: The government is taking legal action against academics, journalists and private companies seen as critical of the recent military campaign against Pakistan.U.S.: Stocks fluctuated, the dollar slipped and bond yields jumped after the U.S. lost its triple-A credit rating, highlighting worries about the cost of Trump’s policies. Canada: Trump’s tariff war has unleashed anxiety about the possibility that Windsor, Ontario, the country’s automaking capital, could become a ghost town. Immigration: The Supreme Court let the Trump administration remove protections from nearly 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially a step toward deportations. New York: Officials are investigating what caused a Mexican Navy sailing vessel to crash into the Brooklyn Bridge, killing two crew members. Spain: Seeking to alleviate a housing crisis, the government ordered Airbnb to remove nearly 66,000 listings. |
Entertainment & Media
| Television: Amid a funding crisis that caused Sesame Workshop to lay off 20 percent of its staff, “Sesame Street” signed a new distribution deal with Netflix. Fashion: Balenciaga announced that Pierpaolo Piccioli, the former head of Valentino, had been named creative director. Cinema: At the Cannes Film Festival, Ari Aster’s “Eddington,” which satirizes Covid-era political battles, is among the most hotly debated movies, and “Sound of Falling” is an early front-runner for the Palme d’Or. |
| Media: The president of CBS News said she would depart, the latest development in a showdown between the news division and Trump. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
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| Andrew Redington/Getty Images |
| Golf: How Scottie Scheffler turned on the style to win the PGA Championship. Cycling: There has been enough action in the Giro d’Italia’s first week to fill three. Here are the highlights. Soccer: The BBC confirmed that the presenter Gary Lineker would leave the company after he was criticized for a social media post. |
| MORNING READ |
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| Ysa Pérez for The New York Times |
Miami, the third-largest U.S. school district, is embracing chatbots. School leaders say they want students to learn how to critically assess new A.I. tools and use them responsibly. The effort could remake teaching and learning.
| CONVERSATION STARTERS |
| Healing plié: Before he served in Iraq, Román Baca was a ballet dancer. Now, he uses dance to help with trauma. Buck the trend: Instead of keeping up with the endless onslaught of new trends, our critic suggests developing your personal style. |
| Slop, everywhere: Jesus Christ made out of shrimp. A cat deep-frying potatoes. It’s impossible to avoid the constant stream of A.I.-generated slop. Pope Leo: Robert Prevost grew up in a deeply Catholic family outside Chicago’s South Side. Our reporters traced his journey from Father Bob to pope. |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
Warm up like the stars
Your pre-work routine might involve meditating, or maybe a coffee. But not every warm-up ritual is so conventional: Jeff Daniels says he recites a diaphragm exercise (“budda-gudda budda-gudda”), the Tony Award nominee Marjan Neshat tries to find a perfume for her character, and the “Let’s Make a Deal” host Wayne Brady blows bubbles. Check out some others.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
Cook: This Thai-inspired meal pairs ground turkey with sugar snap peas and fresh herbs.
