General
Monday Briefing
An earthquake’s devastation in Myanmar.
A Ukrainian soldier in the Donetsk region in 2023.Credit…Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
The secret history of the war in Ukraine
After Russia’s armies crossed into Ukraine in 2022, two Ukrainian generals traveled in secret to a U.S. military garrison in Germany. There, they sealed a partnership that brought America into the war far more intimately than has previously been known.
That deal, known only to a small group of officials, became part of what the Biden administration framed as its effort to both rescue Ukraine and protect the post-World War II order in the West. It also enabled Ukrainians to survive three long years of fighting against a far larger, vastly more powerful enemy.
Now, as President Trump begins to undo elements of this agreement, here is the untold story of America’s hidden role in the military operations against Russia’s invading forces.
In brief: Read the main takeaways here.
More on the Trump administration
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Trump threatened to impose tariffs on countries that buy Russia’s oil if the country thwarts cease-fire negotiations with Ukraine.
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Trump said he was “not joking” about a third term and suggested that there were “methods” to circumvent the two-term limit laid out in the Constitution.
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Trump said he “couldn’t care less” if automakers raised prices in response to planned tariffs.
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Dozens of nations voiced opposition after a company asked the Trump administration to let it circumvent international law and start seabed mining in the Pacific Ocean with a U.S. permit.
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Trump publicly defended Michael Waltz, his national security adviser, over the Signal leak. Behind the scenes, he wondered if he should fire him.
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The Trump administration has offered refugee status to white Afrikaners from South Africa, documents show.
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Track Trump’s actions since he took office.
Aftershocks and airstrikes in Myanmar
Across Myanmar, more than 1,600 people were confirmed dead and more than 3,000 were injured in an earthquake that struck on Friday. It was the worst quake there in over a century. Here is a map of the damage and images of the devastation.
