Your Monday briefing

‘Mission Accomplished’ in Bakhmut?

Russia has claimed victory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. While Moscow heralds a “mission accomplished” moment, Ukraine insists the city has not completely fallen. But while the deadliest blow of the war may be over, what comes next is far from clear.

Bakhmut is in ruins, and controlling it wouldn’t necessarily help Moscow achieve its greater goal – capturing the entire eastern region of Donbas – now that Ukrainian forces have exhausted Russian forces and weakened their defenses in some areas to the north. and south of the city have broken through.

Ukrainian officials say they now plan to rain down artillery on Russian troops occupying Bakhmut. Military analysts say if Moscow continues to send reinforcements to defend the city, it could weaken Russian forces’ ability to hold back a wider counter-offensive that Ukraine says is about to begin.

Citable “You have to understand that there is nothing there,” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said of the devastated city, which was once home to 80,000 people. He added: “There is nothing on this space, just soil and a lot of dead Russians.”

Other news from the war:

Results of the Greek elections

In a decisive victory, New Democracy, the party of Greece’s conservative prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, won 40.8 percent of the vote in the country’s general election, preliminary results showed. But the party failed to win the majority needed to lead a one-party government, potentially paving the way for another vote in weeks.

Mitsotakis described the preliminary outcome as a “political earthquake” that called for an “experienced hand on the helm” of Greece, saying any negotiations with difficult potential coalition partners would only lead to a dead end.

Since Mitsotakis seems to have ruled out forming a governing coalition, a second ballot would be held under a different system, which awards bonus seats to the winning party, giving New Democracy a better chance of forming an independent government.

Hot button problem: EU leaders have praised Mitsotakis and seem to be giving him some slack for the continent’s unpleasant job of keeping migrants at bay, though he has been accused of illegally pushing asylum seekers back to sea.

US debt limit negotiations

President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to meet this afternoon to try to spark talks aimed at avoiding a US debt default. Negotiations faltered over the weekend as the two sides clashed over Republican demands to cut spending in exchange for raising the debt limit.

Negotiators work against a punishing clock. The debt ceiling, the legal limit on the government’s ability to borrow to pay its obligations, is expected to be reached as early as June 1.

Biden and McCarthy are negotiating a fiscal package that would raise the cap, which Republicans have refused to do without cuts. They remain far apart on key issues, including caps on federal spending, new job requirements for some federal poverty alleviation recipients, and funding designed to help the IRS crack down on high-earners and tax-dodging companies.

This week: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is expected to provide another update to Congress on the government’s cash balance.

THE LAST NEWS

Other great stories

For thousands of Afghans, the US withdrawal from Kabul was just the beginning of a long, dangerous quest for safety that has taken them halfway around the world and through the jungles of South and Central America.

These desperate, inscrutable journeys represent the clash of two of President Biden’s biggest policy crises: the hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the record number of migrants crossing the US border.

Lives lived

British writer Martin Amis, known for his caustic, erudite and bleak comic novels, has died at the age of 73.

SPORTS NEWS FROM ATHLETICS

Barcelona Femeni loses his first league game in almost two years: Barcelona Femeni lost to Madrid CFF 2-1 first league defeat since June 2021.

How Pirelli balances F1’s most vital variable: Pirelli is tasked with producing tires that provide competitive racing.

From the time: Brooks Koepka triumphed at the PGA Championship to become the first member of LIV Golf to win a major title since joining the circuit.

African architecture on the cutting edge

The Architecture Biennale which opened in Venice on Saturday, explores how cultures from Africa can shape the buildings of the future.

For the first time, the exhibition has a curator of African descent, Lesley Lokko, and more than half of the Biennale’s 89 participants are from Africa or the African diaspora.

The work of Sechaba Maape, which was inspired by South Africa’s first nations and their connection to nature, is displayed in that country’s national pavilion. Worldwide, architecture is beginning to evolve towards biomimicry, in which the built environment mimics the natural one. African design, says Maape, has always done this through pattern and form. The response in Venice and on social media has been overwhelming, he said.

“Architecture should be the thing that instead of separating us from our home, the Earth, should help us feel more mediated and more connected,” Maape said. — Lynsey Chutel, a Briefings writer in Johannesburg.

That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha

PS A puppuccino and a beef woof slider? The latest in dog travel: quality hotel amenities for dogs.

“The Daily” is about the dark side of James Webb, after whom a famous telescope is named.

You can reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.