Friday Briefing: Putin’s conditions for a truce

Plus, the best movies of the century (so far).

View in browser|nytimes.com March 14, 2025 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering Vladimir Putin's conditions for a cease-fire and a new U.S. tariff threat against Europe. Plus: The movies of the century, so far. Ukrainian special forces troops preparing for an assault in the Donetsk region last month. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times Putin demands Ukrainian concessions for a truce President Vladimir Putin of Russia has not ruled out a U.S. and Ukrainian proposal for a monthlong cease-fire, but he set down numerous conditions yesterday that would probably delay any truce, or could make one impossible to achieve. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said Putin had made so many demands "that nothing will work out at all" or "it will not work out for as long as possible." Putin suggested he would insist on limits to Ukraine's ability to mobilize more troops and import arms during a cease-fire. He said Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region wouldn't be allowed to peacefully withdraw, saying Kyiv could order them "to simply surrender." His comments suggested that he saw Russia as having the upper hand on the battlefield and that it would benefit him to draw out the negotiations. The Kremlin had yet to comment on Putin's scheduled talks yesterday with Steve Witkoff, President Trump's Middle East envoy, to discuss the cease-fire proposal Ukraine has agreed to. The Kremlin said Putin had spoken by phone with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, who has emerged as a middleman on Ukraine. From the U.S.: Trump said yesterday that the U.S. and Ukraine had been discussing land that Kyiv would have to give up as part of a deal to end the war, and he told reporters that "a lot of the details of a final agreement have actually been discussed." Front lines: Russia claimed to have retaken Sudzha, the main population center in the part of the Kursk region that Ukraine captured last summer. Here's what to know. Ripple effects: Israel-Hamas cease-fire talks were in limbo as the U.S. turned its attention to talks with Russia over Ukraine. Pruning vines in the Côte des Blancs in France. A 200 percent U.S. tariff "would kill the business," a Champagne producer said.  James Hill for The New York Times Trump threatened Europe with a 200% wine tariff President Trump escalated his trade war with the E.U. yesterday, saying he would soon put 200 percent tariffs on its wine and other alcoholic beverages unless the bloc reversed its own tariffs on U.S. goods, planned for April 1. Stocks tumbled, slipping into correction territory and underscoring investors' souring mood over Trump's policies. European leaders have made it clear that they would rather make a deal with Trump than enact tariffs. In an interview yesterday, Howard Lutnick, the U.S. commerce secretary, warned other countries against retaliating. "If you make him unhappy, he responds unhappy," Lutnick said of Trump. What's next: The E.U. trade commissioner will have calls with his U.S. counterparts in Washington today, a spokesman said. Vineyards: A 200 percent tariff "would kill the business totally," said an owner of a small Champagne house that exports 10 to 12 percent of its annual production to the U.S. More on Trump Lawyers for President Trump asked the Supreme Court to lift a pause on his order ending birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. A judge ordered six federal agencies to rehire thousands of workers who had been fired as part of Trump's government-cutting initiative. Elon Musk's efficiency group has repeatedly posted faulty data that inflated its successes. Now, it's trying harder to hide its mistakes. A coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration after it gutted the Education Department. U.S. veterans are scrambling to bring over Afghans who served with them before a travel ban bars their entry. Track Trump's actions since he took office. Israeli shelling destroyed Al Basma I.V.F. Center, Gaza's largest fertility clinic, in 2023. Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters A U.N. panel said Israel tried to prevent Gazan births A U.N. commission accused Israel of targeting hospitals and other facilities in Gaza that provide reproductive services, in what it called an effort to prevent Palestinian births. It also documented what it said were wide-ranging sexual abuses, including forced stripping and nudity, sexual harassment, rape or threats of it, and the sexual torture of detainees. The report called Israel's actions "genocidal" and accused it of punishing Palestinians collectively for the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 people. Response: Israel's mission to the U.N. in Geneva immediately rejected the report, accusing the panel of "a shameless attempt to incriminate" the Israeli military "to advance its predetermined and biased political agenda." Israel has long accused the human rights council of singling it out for criticism. Syria: More than 13 million people fled their homes during the civil war. Photos and video show the destruction they are returning to. MORE TOP NEWS President Emmanuel Macron at the U.S. Capitol last month. Macron's call for an autonomy from the United States comes as President Trump threatens to turn his back on NATO. Eric Lee/The New York Times France: As U.S. policy grows more hostile, President Emmanuel Macron has become the focal point of Europe's effort to stand on its own. China: Tesla is getting crushed in its most important market outside the U.S., one that it had dominated for years. Immigration: Two German tourists trying to enter the U.S. were recently detained for weeks before being deported. India: Elon Musk's Starlink signed deals with the country's two biggest telecom players, improving his odds of breaking into an enormous market. Labor: Four Indonesian fishermen are suing the maker of Bumble Bee tuna, saying the company was aware of its suppliers' use of forced labor. Yemen: Hydrogen fuel cell components smuggled into the country will allow Houthi fighters to build faster, stealthier combat drones, a report said. Video games: The company behind Pokémon Go said it had agreed to sell its video game business for $3.5 billion to a company owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. U.S.: Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate being held by the government, sued the university and lawmakers to keep fellow activists' names secret. Britain: Prime Minister Keir Starmer said N.H.S. England, an administrative unit within Britain's National Health Service, would be scrapped. Here's what to know about his plan. SPORTS NEWS Formula 1: Andrea Antonelli, 18, is replacing Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time F1 champion at Mercedes. Antonelli will be the youngest driver this season. Tennis: We took a look inside the sudden fame of a court bee catcher. Golf: Scottie Scheffler is on a streak the sport hasn't seen since Tiger Woods's prime. MORNING READ Kazuhiro Nogi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Japan's government held a rare auction this week of nearly 150,000 metric tons of rice from its emergency stockpile, selling it off to drive prices down during a national shortage. Nobody is quite sure what caused the shortage, but experts think speculators may be hoarding rice in anticipation of rising prices. Lives lived: James Reason, a British professor who used Swiss cheese to explain human error, died at 86. CONVERSATION STARTERS Inside out: In "Severance," the battle between Helly R. and Helena tells a brutal tale of female self-loathing. Music for the eyes: Rock stars and other performers figured prominently at Paris Fashion Week. Bone hunters: See how explorers in Russia's Yakutia region dive into icy rivers for the remnants of ice age creatures like mammoths. Ask the therapist: "Gentle parenting" is spoiling my granddaughter, a reader writes. What should he do? ARTS AND IDEAS The New York Times 25 years of movie recommendations What movie will you watch this weekend? A "small and marvelous" film about a camel from 2000? A classic Adam Sandler rom-com from 2004? Or how about a grimly majestic concert film from 2008? Whatever your preference, let us help you choose. We've put together an interactive showcasing all the movies we've loved since 2000. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Sang An for The New York Times Bake: Set aside time to make a chocolate Guinness cake. Plan: Transport yourself with our guide on how to see North America by train. Read: Pick one (or more) of these 24 new novels The Book Review is excited about. Watch: In "Black Bag," Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender play a glamorous couple of spies. 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 next week. — 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