Your briefing on Tuesday
The destruction of Bakhmut
As fighting continues around Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, drone footage captured by The Times on Friday, it scorched buildings, destroyed schools and crater parks that now define the city. Corrosive smoke hangs heavy over the skyline after relentless shelling.
The Russians declare victory in this long and bloody battle. Yet the Ukrainians, who are making a profit in the suburbs, say the destruction of the city is not the end of the campaign to drive the Russians from the ruins of a once-peaceful city known for its salt mines and sparkling wine and now largely lies in the ashes.
In a place full of death and destruction, signs of life are the exception. An estimated 100,000 Russian soldiers were killed and wounded in the battle for Bakhmut. Ukraine also suffered heavy casualties in a battle described by both sides as a “meat grinder.”
Context: The battle for Bakhmut was the longest and bloodiest battle of the war. Be here maps showing Russia’s dragging advance.
shame: Bakhmut’s name is now next to it Gettysburg, Iwo Jima and Falluja — places few people had heard of until they became strategically important in a war, writes my colleague Thomas Gibbons-Neff.
To the ground: “By the time Russia declared victory over the ruins, it was clear that the city was almost lost,” said Marc Santora, reporting from the region last week. The battle for the land around the city continues, he said. “The city itself is gone – destroyed and under Russian control – but the battle for Bakhmut is not over.”
EU commissions investigation into migrant video
The European Commission has formally asked Greece to launch an investigation into a Times report based on exclusive footage showing the country’s coastguard abandoning migrants in the Aegean Sea last month, a top official said.
The Times’ findings point to a slew of violations of Greek, European and international law, but Greek authorities have so far declined to comment on the incident in the video. The Coast Guard ship seen in the footage was largely paid for with EU funds, a fact that could also open the country to investigations by EU authorities.
Greece’s conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recently defended his migration policy as “tough but fair”. His approach had earned his government “reasonable goodwill” with the EU, he said. The bloc, wary of taking in more asylum seekers, is relying on Greece and a handful of other coastal states to strictly guard its external borders.
How we did it: The Times verified the images, taken on the Greek island of Lesbos on April 11, using a range of tools, including metadata analysis and geolocation. Times reporters also tracked down the migrants involved in the incident and interviewed them at a detention center in Turkey’s coast last month.
Talks about the US debt ceiling continue
President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy yesterday expressed their optimism that they could break the partisan stalemate and prevented a US debt default, even though they remained far apart over a deal to raise the debt limit. In comments, both describe the conversations as “productive.”
However, the two sides remained at odds. The White House has called Republican demands for spending cuts extreme, while McCarthy and his aides have accused White House officials of being unreasonable. The number of legislative days in which Congress can vote to raise the debt ceiling before the scheduled deadline is rapidly dwindling.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen yesterday reiterated her warning to Congress that the US could exceed its borrowing authority to pay its bills starting June 1. Republicans hinted that a deal was unlikely to materialize until bankruptcy was really imminent. When asked last night what it would take to break the deadlock, McCarthy replied simply, “June 1st.”
Issues: Chief among the unresolved issues is how much in total to spend next fiscal year on discretionary programs and how long any spending limits should last. Republicans want to increase military spending while cutting other programs. But they’ve shown some flexibility about how long they’d try to limit spending overall.
THE LAST NEWS
Around the world
Andrew Tate, left, the self-proclaimed “king of toxic masculinity,” never made a secret of it why he had chosen Romania as his home. “I like to live in a society where my money, my influence and my power means I’m not under or obligated” to any law, he told his fans.
But the influencer’s proclamation of confidence in Romania as a risk-free haven for antisocial behavior reflected more fantasy than reality. Tate is now facing charges of human trafficking and rape after seeking a place where “corruption is open to everyone”.
SPORTS NEWS FROM ATHLETICS
How Manchester City ‘switched on’ to win the Premier League: January and February were tough for Pep Guardiola’s team. This is how it recovered to be crowned Premier League champions once again.
The day the WSL title race was almost won: In the penultimate weekend of the WSL season, the ‘Big Four’ competed against each other Chelsea almost seal the title.
ART AND IDEAS
A symphony of pans
For weeks, opponents of the pension changes introduced by President Emmanuel Macron in France have resisted made known their disgrace with the banging of pots and pans. Known as “casserolades,” after the French word for saucepan, the protests have disrupted or halted dozens of ministers’ visits to schools and factories.
Like the ‘yellow vests’ protest movement that started over fuel prices and then expanded, the beating has also become a symbol of wider discontent after months of large street demonstrations failed to convince the government to back down from the pension reform.
“The desire to deafen and react with noise reflects a kind of discredit of the political discourse,” said Christian Salmon, a French essayist. “We are not being listened to, we are not being listened to after weeks of protests. So now we only have one option, and that is not to listen to you.”