Tuesday Briefing: Putin lashes out

Plus, using A.I. to piece together an ancient epic.

View in browser|nytimes.com August 13, 2024 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering Russia's response to a Ukrainian incursion and unrest in the Middle East. Plus: Using A.I. to piece together an ancient epic. Residents of an apartment building in Russia's Kursk region that was damaged by shelling. Associated Press Putin blamed the West for Ukraine's incursion Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, lashed out at the West yesterday over Ukraine's weeklong incursion into the Kursk region of Russia. His comments are a sign that the cross-border assault has unsettled the Kremlin. Even as Moscow scrambled to respond, its forces kept up their attacks in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv military officials said. "The West is fighting us with the hands of the Ukrainians," Putin said in a televised meeting with top officials, adding, "The enemy will certainly get the response he deserves, and all our goals, without doubt, will be accomplished." Kursk's acting governor told Putin that 28 towns and villages were under Ukraine's control. He said its troops had pushed nearly 12 kilometers into Russian territory. However, the head of Ukraine's armed forces claimed control of more than twice as much territory, "about 1,000 square kilometers." Background: Analysts said Ukraine's move had two main goals: to draw Russian forces from the front lines in eastern Ukraine and to seize territory that could serve as a bargaining chip in future peace negotiations. Putin insisted that the attack would not soften his negotiating position. On the ground: The Times visited one of the spots where Ukrainian forces stormed into Russia and surprised the defenders. Reporters found scenes of ruin. An Israeli submarine, center, passing between two ships in the Mediterranean off the coast of Haifa, Israel, on Monday. Ahmad Gharabli/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Israel is bracing for an attack from Iran The Israeli military said it was at "peak readiness" yesterday as it girded for retaliation from Iran and its regional proxies; the U.S. military was moving a guided-missile submarine into the region; and a White House spokesman said U.S. intelligence suggested it was "increasingly likely" that an attack on Israel "could happen as soon as this week." Here's the latest. President Biden spoke with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy about efforts to de-escalate tensions and broker a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, the spokesman said. In a joint statement, the leaders expressed support for a truce and urged Iran to "stand down its ongoing threats" against Israel. Iran vowed revenge after a top Hamas leader was killed in Tehran last month, leading many in Israel to fear an imminent attack. Nearly two weeks have passed and no large-scale response has materialized, leaving the region on edge. Analysts say Iran is trying to formulate a response that doesn't let an assassination on its soil go unpunished, while avoiding an all-out war. In other news from the region: Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, slammed his defense minister for questioning the goal of "total victory" in Gaza. The resignation of Mohammad Javad Zarif, who had been appointed Iran's vice president for strategy, is a public display of deep divisions within the country's incoming government. 🇺🇸 U.S. ELECTION 2024 The presidential election is less than 90 days away. This is what we're watching. Before speaking with Elon Musk, Donald Trump made his first post on X, formerly Twitter, in nearly a year. Matt Rourke/Associated Press Elon Musk interviewed Donald Trump Donald Trump was interviewed on X by Elon Musk, the platform's owner and the world's richest man, in a conversation that offered little new information about Trump's views. Earlier in the day, the former president made his first posts on the platform in almost a year. Here's the latest. The appearance, which lasted more than an hour and a half, was part of Trump's effort to regain the momentum he has lost since President Biden ended his re-election campaign and threw the reins to Vice President Kamala Harris. She is looking to ride a wave of Democratic enthusiasm into her party's national convention, which opens on Monday in Chicago. Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner, had sent Musk a letter warning that he was responsible for moderating any misinformation during the livestream. X's chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, called that an attempt to stretch a European law to cover U.S. political activity. Read more about how Musk has used X to push his political views. Here's what else to know. Trump falsely asserted that images of crowds at Harris rallies were fabricated. The Times analyzed the claims. The F.B.I. is investigating whether the Trump campaign was hacked. Trump has blamed Iran. State-level election officials are battling a flood of new disinformation. A judge ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s petition to appear on New York's ballot was invalid, saying the independent presidential candidate had used a "sham" address to maintain his New York residency. Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us and we'll find the answers. Stay up-to-date: Live coverage | Poll tracker | The "Run-Up" podcast | On Politics newsletter MORE TOP NEWS Hollie Adams/Reuters Britain: Riots have put pressure on the new prime minister, Keir Starmer, to defuse tensions stoked by far-right groups over immigration and fraying public services. London: A girl and a woman were injured in a stabbing attack in Leicester Square. China: U.S. officials are traveling to China this week for meetings intended to keep the countries' economic relationship on stable footing. U.S.: Immigrants are becoming citizens at the fastest clip in a decade as the country moves through a backlog that built up during the Trump administration. Eurovision: Swedish prosecutors dropped an investigation into Joost Klein, the Netherlands' entrant in this year's song contest, who was disqualified after an altercation with a camerawoman. Health: Even light drinking is associated with an increase in cancer deaths among older adults, a large study found. Canada: Two polar bears killed a worker at an air-defense radar station. California.: A 4.4-magnitude earthquake shook the Los Angeles area. Climate A warming planet: Scientists warn that global warming could be pushing vast systems in the natural world toward collapse. But how close are we to those tipping points? Greece: Hundreds of firefighters near Athens battled a major wildfire that broke out on Sunday. Europe: Extreme heat contributed to the deaths of 47,000 people in 2023, but many more could have died without heat adaptation measures, a study found. Spain: The nation, like other dry countries, is increasingly reliant on desalination plants. SPORTS NEWS Soccer: A.C. Milan has completed the transfer of Emerson Royal from Tottenham Hotspur, and the N.B.A. star Kevin Durant has become a minority shareholder of Paris Saint-Germain. Baseball: The top 50 potential free agents. Best of: Writers for The Athletic chose their favorite moments from the Paris Olympics. And here are 10 moments of beauty from the Games. MORNING READ Lena Mucha for The New York Times The villa once owned by Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, is too expensive to keep and perilous to sell. No one knows quite what to do with it, but keeping it mothballed costs Germany 280,000 euros, or nearly $306,000, a year. CONVERSATION STARTERS A 'Kafkaesque nightmare': After a man spent 30 years in jail, his murder conviction was overturned. So why is he still in prison? Suspicious treasures: She helped salvage an ancient shipwreck. Then investigators came to her home looking for looted artifacts. On message: Brands love influencers, but not when they talk about politics. Some companies are using A.I. tools to predict whether they're likely to do so. ARTS AND IDEAS The British Museum Missing pieces of an ancient epic Generations of researchers have tried to piece together a complete version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which was written more than 3,000 years ago. Fragments of the story have been found on clay tablets in archaeological digs, in museum store rooms and on the black market. But because there are so few experts in the ancient cuneiform script, many of these writings are unread and many more are unpublished. Now, an artificial intelligence project called Fragmentarium is helping to fill some of those gaps. The team uses machine learning to piece together digitized tablet fragments. So far, it has helped researchers discover new segments of the epic, as well as hundreds of missing words and lines from other works. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Chris Simpson for The New York Times Cook: Take 20 minutes to make ginger-garlic shrimp. Cope: Readers shared art that helped them through grief. Travel: Head to the Camargue in southern France for rustic landscapes, pink marshes and birds of all kinds. Shop: A boxy handbag can give structure to an outfit. Here are a few of our favorites. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018