Wednesday Briefing: A deal between the U.S. and Ukraine

Plus, the International Booker Prize nominees.

View in browser|nytimes.com February 26, 2025 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering a minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine, and a British plan to spend more on the military. Plus: The International Booker Prize nominees. Mining rare earth materials in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. Libkos/Getty Images The U.S. and Ukraine reached a minerals deal Ukraine has agreed to turn over the revenue from some of its mineral resources to the U.S., an American and a Ukrainian official said yesterday, in a deal that followed an intense pressure campaign from President Trump. It was not immediately clear what, if anything, Ukraine would receive from the U.S. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine previously rejected at least one other draft agreement because it lacked specific U.S. security guarantees and because Trump was requesting mineral rights worth $500 billion. Some of the more onerous conditions have since been removed. Here's what's at stake. A U.S. official said a final translated draft of the agreement was sent to Ukraine yesterday; this would first be signed by the U.S. Treasury secretary and his Ukrainian counterpart, before being signed by Trump and Zelensky in Washington. Details: The draft agreement said Ukraine would contribute half of its revenues from the future monetization of natural resources to a fund. The U.S. would own the maximum financial interest in the fund allowed under American law. The fund would also be designed to reinvest some revenues into Ukraine. Here's what we know. Changing alliances: When it comes to the war in Ukraine, Trump has courted outlier states like Belarus, North Korea and Russia, while standing against traditional U.S. allies. More on Trump and Ukraine The House passed a budget resolution that would allow Trump's sprawling fiscal agenda to move ahead. Here's what's in the bill. The Trump administration said it would start handpicking the reporters allowed to ask the president questions in the daily press pool. A band of moderate Republicans in Congress sharply criticized the administration for siding with Russia on U.N. resolutions regarding the war in Ukraine. The federal office that manages polar research has fired workers, raising fears about a reduced U.S. presence in Antarctica and the North Pole. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, epitomized how Europe's leaders are trying to navigate Trump: Flatter first, then gently resist. The administration's effort to rapidly shrink the federal work force continued, and more than 700 National Park Service employees have said they would leave under the resignation plan offered to federal workers. More than 230,000 Canadians have signed a petition to revoke Elon Musk's Canadian citizenship and passport. Track Trump's actions since he took office. Ahmed al-Shara at the conference in Damascus yesterday. Omar Albam/Associated Press Syria's new leader called for national unity Ahmed al-Shara, Syria's interim president, called for unity yesterday at a two-day conference aimed at charting the country's future after decades of dictatorship. The gathering, in Damascus, brought together hundreds of people from Syria's many religious sects and ethnic groups, as well as journalists, community leaders and activists. But one major player was absent: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the U.S.-backed militia that controls much of Syria's northeast. The current government told the group that it would have to disarm and join a unified national military if it wanted to attend the dialogue. An unlikely path: The contrast between al-Shara's jihadist past and his current pragmatic nationalism has left Syrians wondering what he actually believes and how he will govern. Tensions: Israel said it had struck sites in southern Syria, hours after al-Shara's government demanded that it withdraw from territory it had seized. British troops during a NATO exercise in Romania this month. Robert Ghement/EPA, via Shutterstock Britain plans to increase military spending Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, said yesterday that Britain would significantly raise its military spending by 2027. The announcement was meant to send a signal about burden-sharing to President Trump before the leaders' meeting at the White House tomorrow. The change would amount to an increase of 13.4 billion pounds ($17 billion) in military spending per year. It would be paid for by scaling back on overseas development aid. Starmer said he regretted the cuts, but he presented them as a temporary measure in a challenging new security environment. Context: Recent statements from Trump about Ukraine have reinforced fears that the U.S. is retreating from its decades-long commitment to Europe's defense. And NATO's secretary general recently called on members to spend "considerably more" than 3 percent of economic output on defense. MORE TOP NEWS James Hill for The New York Times Vatican: Nearly two weeks after Pope Francis, 88, was hospitalized, speculation is mounting and prayers for his recovery resemble a vigil. Germany: In the recent election, residents of the former East Germany voted increasingly for a party that has been linked to neo-Nazis. Here's what to know. Economics: Germany's central bank reported an annual loss for the first time in more than 40 years. Taiwan: Facing the possibility of conflict with China, Taiwan's leader has been trying to avoid a breach with President Trump since his turn against Ukraine. Space: Rest easy: The odds that the asteroid 2024 YR4 will hit Earth have dropped to nearly zero, NASA says. Democratic Republic of Congo: An unidentified illness has killed scores of people and infected hundreds more, the W.H.O. reported. South Korea: Four workers were killed when part of a bridge under construction collapsed near the city of Cheonan, officials said. Canada: Facing early-onset Alzheimer's, a woman fought for the right to plan her death. Crime: The mother of a slain Palestinian American 6-year-old boy testified in court. Her landlord is charged with murder and hate crimes. Arts & Culture Music: Drake is back at No. 1 on the charts for his collaborative album with PartyNextDoor, "Some Sexy Songs 4 U." Museums: For years, Poland's cultural institutions veered to the right. The revamped Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw is aiming for the middle. Ballet: Miriam Miller was recently promoted to principal dancer at the New York City Ballet. She is set to make her debut in the dual role of Odette-Odile in "Swan Lake." Tech: A thousand musicians, including Kate Bush and Billy Ocean, released a "silent record" to protest the British government's proposal to allow their work to train A.I. models. SPORTS NEWS Premier League: Why Manchester United is cutting up to 200 jobs. Soccer: A British police officer was dismissed for hooliganism, and he was also given a three-year ban from attending matches. Athletics: Given the right conditions, could a woman run a four-minute mile? Formula 1: The league's preseason game of "smoke and mirrors" will be more important than ever, as this season may be one of the closest yet. MORNING READ Yuki Sugiura/Booker Prize Foundation Most of the books nominated for this year's International Booker Prize are under 200 pages long. This isn't because of some "much-prophesied loss of attention span," according to the chair of the judging panel — instead, the 13 nominees simply "don't have a wasted word." Check out the full list. Lives lived: Marian Turski, a Polish Holocaust survivor who dedicated his life to warning the world about the dangers of indifference to racial and ethnic injustice, died last week at 98. CONVERSATION STARTERS A grand spectacle: Marina Abramovic, the grandmother of performance art, presented her latest works at a property designed by Luis Barragán, Mexico's famed midcentury architect. (Very) shabby chic: So-called thrashed clothes — garments resembling something closer to rags — are coveted by vintage fanatics. Going home: The Metropolitan Museum of Art is returning the bronze head of a griffin to Greece after determining that the artifact was quite likely stolen in the 1930s. The longevity gap: Why do women live longer than men? ARTS AND IDEAS Photo Illustration by The New York Times; H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock, via Getty Images 100 years later, this thing is still on A century ago this week, the musician Art Gillham entered a studio in New York to test a soon-to-be-transformative tool: the microphone. In that moment, the record industry left the acoustic era and went electric. The effects were felt across genres and styles. Instruments could be reproduced more faithfully. Stand-up basses were no longer outperformed by blaring horns. But the biggest beneficiaries were pop singers — microphones gave them personality, like Hollywood stars. Read more about the device that changed music. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Armando Rafael for The New York Times Cook: This shortcut chicken korma uses cashew butter to save prep time. Read: "The Secret Public" traces how music popularized queer culture. Hunt: Peruse homes in Nice, France, that cost less than 700,000 euros. Focus: Writing down poetry each morning helps our writer avoid the trap of her phone. 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. 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