Monday Briefing

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.

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.

An aftershock yesterday struck Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, near the epicenter of the initial quake, toppling several buildings. Fear for any survivors in the rubble is rising; this evening brings the 72-hour mark after which experts say the chances of survival drop sharply.

Civil war: As Myanmar reeled from the disaster, the ruling military junta continued its brutal bombing campaign. A long-running civil war has ravaged the country, leaving nearly 20 million people in need of shelter and food even before the quake, according to the U.N. But experts say the earthquake could change the war’s trajectory.

Support: Aid from other countries began arriving, but there were doubts about how Myanmar’s army would distribute it. The U.S., the richest nation in the world and once its most generous provider of foreign aid, has sent nothing.

Thailand: The earthquake sent a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok crashing to the ground, killing at least 11 people.

A pivotal verdict for Marine Le Pen

A court will decide today whether Marine Le Pen, the French far-right leader, is guilty of embezzlement. A conviction could bar her from running in the 2027 presidential election, potentially causing a political firestorm at a time when the French Fifth Republic appears increasingly dysfunctional.

Le Pen, who has tried and failed three times to become president, has steered her anti-immigrant party, now known as the National Rally, away from its antisemitic roots and toward the mainstream. It is now the largest single party in the National Assembly, with 123 seats. She and other party members are accused of embezzling some $4.8 million in E.U. funds, charges she denies.

• Syria: The interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, announced a new caretaker government. It will be in power for five years, allowing for a permanent constitution to be adopted and elections to be held.

• War in Gaza: Israel and Hamas signaled that renewed cease-fire talks were underway, but details were elusive.

• Britain: Police officers forced their way into a Quaker meeting house in London and arrested activists who had gathered there to plan Gaza antiwar protests.

• France: Almost 25 years ago, the government made sex education in schools mandatory. But only now has it put a curriculum in place.

• Canada: After 120 years, an Indigenous whaling shrine taken from a First Nation community is returning home.

• Haiti: The country doesn’t make guns, but its gangs have serious firepower. Read about how they get their weapons.

• China: Xi Jinping, the country’s top leader, met with executives of Saudi Aramco, BMW, Toyota Motor, FedEx and dozens of other foreign companies.

• Space: A rocket developed by Isar Aerospace lifted off from the Andoya Space Center in Norway and crashed about 30 seconds later.

• U.K. royals: Prince Harry has been accused of bullying by the leader of a charity that he co-founded.

SPORTS NEWS

• Soccer: After 56 years without winning a trophy, Newcastle’s Carabao Cup victory prompted an outpouring of support “like nothing you have ever witnessed before.”

• Tennis: Aryna Sabalenka, ranked No. 1 in the world, surged past her familiar rival, Jessica Pegula, to win the Miami Open.

• Figure skating: At the world championships in Boston, Americans triumphed, and the sport remembered a year marked by grief.

• Formula 1: The Haas rookie Ollie Bearman talks about building his dream life (and furniture).

MORNING READ

Skateboarding is taking to the sky again

Before 1999, when the skateboarder Tony Hawk landed the 900 — named for the number of degrees of rotation the move needs — the trick had seemed impossible. Soon after Hawk’s moment of triumph, the vertical skating (or “vert”) that he exemplified faded in popularity. But now it’s coming back.

Recently, videos of young skaters launching into the air have flooded social media. The revival has shocked some veterans, but it has allowed Hawk to push the form back into the public eye. He has been campaigning for vert skating to be in the 2028 Olympics. A final decision is expected on April 9.

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