Thursday Briefing: Russia says Ukraine aimed drones at Moscow

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August 22, 2024

	By Justin Porter

Good morning. We’re covering drone attacks on Moscow and cross-border strikes between Israel and Hezbollah.

Plus, China’s “road-trip auntie.”

A Ukrainian army vehicle at the Sudzha border crossing earlier this month. David Guttenfelder for The New York Times

Russia says Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow

Russia said it repelled a drone attack against Moscow yesterday, as Ukraine presses on with its offensive in Russia’s southern Kursk region. The Russian authorities did not report any damage or casualties, saying 10 Ukrainian attack drones were destroyed by the capital’s air defenses.

A Washington-based think tank said Ukraine was making marginal advances within Russia. Footage showed that Ukrainian troops had entered the outskirts of Korenevo, a town of about 5,000 people, and pushed into two more villages. Russian forces are trying to install pontoons to cross a section of the Seym River after Ukraine destroyed several bridges.

President Vladimir Putin has promised a decisive response to Ukraine’s incursion, but so far there has been more focus on containment than retaliation. Russian forces have slowed Ukraine’s advance and hardened the front line, setting up the next phase of a battle with high stakes for both sides. Instead of weakening the Kremlin, the invasion may eventually cause more Russian citizens to rally around the flag, some analysts said.

Context: Drone assaults away from the front lines have become a feature of the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine also said it had intercepted 50 Russian drones over its territory overnight.

A funeral in the Lebanese village of Nabi Chit yesterday. Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

Israel and Hezbollah trade strikes with talks stalled

The Israeli military and Hezbollah traded cross-border strikes yesterday, as months of diplomatic efforts have failed to ease hostilities.

Israel said that it had struck weapon-storage facilities used by Hezbollah. The strikes killed at least one person and injured 30 others, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said. Hezbollah said it had responded by targeting an Israeli base in the Golan Heights, which Israel said had caused at least one injury.

Diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war in Gaza are at a standstill, despite hopes from the U.S. that a new proposal could break the deadlock. In broad terms, the U.S. proposal appears to conform to demands by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israeli troops continue to patrol part of Gaza along the border with Egypt. Here’s what we know about the proposed deal.

Related:

🇺🇸 U.S. ELECTION 2024

The presidential election is less than 80 days away. This is what we’re watching.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

Changing the message on Trump

Kamala Harris and her allies are crafting a new approach to Donald Trump. Democrats have portrayed him as a dangerous villain, a racist and a threat to democracy. Now, they’re trying something else — deflating him.

Harris and her allies have argued at the Democratic National Convention that Trump is a meanspirited fraud who is playing a long con on the American people. They are depicting him as a fake working man’s populist and an anti-union “scab.”

The strategy is designed not just to earn applause but to win votes, eroding Trump’s support among the undecided and mostly white middle-class voters in three states that are likely to decide the election: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

On Day 3 of the convention, taking place on Wednesday night in the U.S., the jovial, blunt-spoken Tim Walz, Harris’s running mate, will speak to the largest audience of his political career, as he formally accepts the nomination for vice president. Bill Clinton is also expected to take the stage.

Here’s what else to know:

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

Sports

The Australian cricketer Alyssa Healy. Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

The star may have been ejected into space after a supernova explosion, as shown in this simulation. Adam Makarenko/W. M. Keck Observatory

A “speedy little star” — either a low-mass star or a brown dwarf — is traveling through the Milky Way at about a million miles an hour. That could be fast enough to break free from the gravitational clutches of our galaxy, and may shed light on the oldest, and some of the fastest, stars in our skies.

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A screenshot from one of Su Min’s videos, showing her near the foot of Mount Everest. Su Min

Meet China’s ‘road-trip auntie’

Four years ago Su Min left home, an abusive marriage and started a solo road trip across China. Since then, she’s become an internet sensation and an accidental icon of women’s awakening across the country.

But she never filed for divorce — until a month ago. Her husband refused at first, and a legal fight loomed. Judges in China often deny petitions or force couples into mediation that disadvantages women, studies show, and domestic violence claims are often ignored. Her husband gave in only after she agreed to pay him more than $22,000.

“It’s all I have — how could I not be upset?” Su, 60, said in an interview. Still, she said, “even though money is very important, freedom is more important.”

Roasted Shrimp With Okra and Tomatoes Bryan Gardner for The New York Times

Cook: Roasting brings out the best in tomatoes and okra, and adding shrimp levels them up.

Beware: It’s risky to reunite with an ex — just ask Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.

Listen: Amplifier has seven collaborations you need to hear right now.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Justin

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