Your briefing on Tuesday

Ukraine is promised billions from Europe

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has been promised billions of dollars in new military aid on a whirlwind tour of European allies that reflects a striking shift in the political landscape as Europe takes a more central role in Ukraine’s arming.

In Britain, where Zelensky’s tour of four countries ended, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised a large package of air defense missiles and attack drones, in addition to Britain’s recent delivery of long-range cruise missiles. It followed Germany’s commitment to a nearly $3 billion weapons package, as well as promises of additional weapons from France and Italy.

Europe’s support for Ukraine, analysts said, underscores that the war is at a critical stage, with Ukrainian troops moving en masse for a counter-offensive that could set the terms for future negotiations with Russia. It also reflects a recognition that US support for Ukraine is likely to come under pressure as the US presidential race heats up.

Strategy: The new long-range missiles, attack drones, tanks and other armored vehicles secured from allies in recent days will meet many, but not all, of the weapons requirements Ukraine needs for a counter-offensive.

Other news from the war:

• The leader of the Russian private military group Wagner denied a report he had offered to share intelligence on Russian troops with Ukraine.

• Ukrainians write angry messages to Russia on the sides of rockets, mortar shells and exploding drones.

Palestinian displacement commemorated at the UN

The UN officially commemorated for the first time the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the war surrounding Israel’s founding 75 years ago. The event – on the occasion of the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” by Palestinians – was not attended by the US and Britain, and it drew a sharp reaction from Israel’s ambassador to the world body.

The event was the latest arena for a decades-long narrative struggle between Israelis and Palestinians. For Israelis, the establishment of their state was a heroic moment for a long persecuted people that should be celebrated. But for the Palestinians, it was a moment of deep national trauma. About 700,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes or fled, and hundreds were killed by Israeli militias.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, condemned the event as “shameful” and called on countries to boycott it. “To attend this despicable event means to destroy any chance for peace by adopting the Palestinian narrative that calls the creation of the state of Israel a disaster,” he said in a video statement.

Citable: “This resolution represents an acknowledgment by your organizations of the ongoing historic injustices inflicted on the Palestinian people in 1948 and before, and continuing since,” said Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president. He added that it was also a refutation “for the first time by you of the Israeli-Zionist narrative that denies this Nakba.”

Results of FBI Investigation Investigation

For four years, John Durham, a Trump-era special counsel, has been conducting a politically fraught investigation into the FBI’s investigation into Donald Trump’s ties to Russia. In a report made public yesterday, he accused the FBI of “discounting or deliberately ignoring material information” that refuted a story of conspiracy between the former president and Russia.

The report revealed little substantial new information about the investigation, known as Crossfire Hurricane, and it failed to deliver the kind of blockbuster revelations accusing the agency of politically motivated misconduct that Trump and his allies suggested Durham would uncover. Instead, it largely recounted previously revealed flaws in the investigation.

“An objective and fair assessment of this information should have led the FBI to not only question the Crossfire Hurricane predication, but also consider whether the FBI was being manipulated for political or other purposes,” Durham wrote. “Unfortunately not done.”

Implications: Durham said he was not recommending “wholesale changes” to FBI rules on politically sensitive investigations and national security wiretapping, which have already been tightened in recent years.

Other political news from the US:

THE LAST NEWS

Around the world

Before it came in plastic bottles or aluminum cans labeled sparkling water or club soda, it was called seltzer and came out of New York City factories in heavy-duty siphon bottles. There is now only one traditional seltzer factory left in the city: Brooklyn Seltzer Boys, which features a century-old carbonator and a museum with a spritzing station.

“A good seltzer should hurt,” said the owner, Alex Gomberg, whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1953. “It has to be so fizzy that it kind of stings your throat.”

SPORTS NEWS FROM ATHLETICS

How Xavi transformed Barcelona into La Liga champions: Old fashioned rules, Robert Lewandowski’s goals and a new hunger for success defined the club’s rise to the title after a shaky start.

How American star Christian Pulisic was offered as a trade chip by Chelsea: The Premier League team was prepared to part ways with the striker in an attempt to do just that draw a semi-finalist of the Champions League.

The worst job in football? Abused by managers, manipulated by coaches – in the life of a fourth civil servant.

ART AND IDEAS

But Jane Hartley, above, the real-life US ambassador to Britain, says her life is markedly different from that of Kate Wyler, her fictional counterpart — not least because the role doesn’t, in fact, come with its own fashion stylist. “I wear my own clothes,” she said.

Hartley has suddenly discovered that her job is the object of fascination, even at the highest levels of the State Department and White House. She said Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, both quizzed her on the intricacies of the eight-part series after watching it.

While the show may not get everything right, diplomats said they were grateful for their turn in the spotlight. “It’s about goddamn time we were the heroes,” said Matthew Palmer, the real deputy chief of the London mission.