Monday briefing: Ukraine steps up sabotage

Ukraine steps up sabotage and targets trains

While Russia and Ukraine have both failed to make substantial progress on the frontlines of their war, Ukraine has turned to guerrilla tactics, including sabotage, assassinations, and attacking Russian trains and train tunnels.

On November 29, Ukrainian saboteurs placed explosives on a Russian freight train about 5,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border in an attempt to damage a key tunnel through the Severomuysky Mountains. After an explosion rocked the tunnel, Russian officials said the blast was caused by “the detonation of an unidentified explosive device.” Ukrainian partisans also said they blew up a freight train last month as it was transporting ammunition and fuel from Russian-occupied Crimea.

Russia uses similar tactics. Last month, Polish authorities convicted 14 people on charges of sabotage led by Russian intelligence, Polish officials said. Their main targets were trains carrying military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, officials said.

Elsewhere in the war:

Russia bombarded Kharkiv, a city in eastern Ukraine, with missiles and drones in the run-up to New Year’s Eve.

Just days after the invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, signed a sweeping censorship law to silence wartime dissent. According to a Times analysis, the law led to more than 6,500 cases of people being arrested or fined through August last year.

The US sinks three Houthi boats in the Red Sea

U.S. military helicopters came under fire from Iran-backed Houthi fighters in the Red Sea yesterday and returned fire, sinking three Houthi boats and killing those on board, the U.S. Central Command said.

The episode marked a significant escalation of the Houthis’ attacks in the Red Sea, where they have launched dozens of rocket and drone attacks on commercial ships in response to Israel’s war against Hamas. It was the first time since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas that the Yemen-based Houthis were known to directly target US forces, who had been deployed in the region to protect ships in the waterway.

The Colonial Roots of Philippine Poverty

Decades after the Philippines gained independence from the US, tens of millions of landless Filipinos face desperation that stems in part from the policies imposed by the powers that have controlled the archipelago for centuries.

Policies aimed at making the country dependent on American manufactured goods have left the Philippines without a strong industrial base or the kind of factory economy that has elevated other Asian countries. Instead, the US left in place systems that favored wealthy families who controlled the plantations and the political sphere, leaving the landless at their mercy.

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That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. – Justin

PS After The Times announced that Tracy Bennett would become Wordle’s first editor, her life took a public turn.

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