Thursday Briefing: Russia arrests a suspected assassin

December 19, 2024

	By Gaya Gupta

Good morning. We’re covering a suspect detained in Russia for the killing of a general and the disarming of former soldiers in Syria.

Plus, the big stories of 2024 through our photographers’ eyes.

On a snow-covered street a person stands in front of red-and-white caution tape near a large building. A police officer with a rifle stands behind the tape.

Near the scene of the explosion that killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov in Moscow on Tuesday. Yuri Kochetkov/EPA, via Shutterstock

Russia detained a man suspected of killing a general

The Russian authorities said yesterday that they had detained a suspect in the killing of a senior military officer, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov. The officer, who died in a bombing on Tuesday, was the target of the most prominent political assassination in Russia since the invasion.

The suspect, a 29-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan whose name was not released, was captured in a village outside Moscow, a spokeswoman for Russia’s prosecutor’s office said. She said he had confessed that Ukrainian intelligence recruited him to kill Kirillov, who was in charge of the protection forces for the Russian military’s nuclear and chemical weapons.

Analysis: The assassination spread some fear among Russia’s military and political elites. It also eliminated a top military leader who, according to Ukraine, had ordered the use of banned chemical substances. But it won’t do anything to bring an end to the war or help Ukraine’s forces on the battlefield, who are steadily losing ground, my colleague Michael Schwirtz writes.

Diplomacy: Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was in Brussels yesterday to meet with the head of NATO. He will address E.U. leaders during a summit today.

Just inside a tall white gate, a man in a blue zipped top and jeans proffers a rifle and a camouflage jacket to an armed man with a covered face.

Ivor Prickett/The New York Times

Al-Assad’s former soldiers are lining up for the future

Hundreds of soldiers and police officers who served under Bashar al-Assad heeded the call of Syria’s new rulers to formally relinquish their ties to his ousted regime.

More than 600 people showed up on Sunday when a so-called reconciliation center first opened in the city of Latakia. Many more came throughout the day, hoping for a chance at amnesty. Temporary IDs were created and photographs were taken. The men answered questions about what they had done while in al-Assad’s service, and many handed in weapons.

The rebel coalition has promised to hunt down senior officials implicated in the regime’s crimes, but spare rank-and-file conscripted soldiers. It will be some time before any of the men who showed up on their own know their fate. The Times spoke to some of them as they waited in line. Watch here.

Back to business: A Syrian Air flight from Damascus landed in Aleppo, becoming the first domestic flight since the Assad regime fell.

A fragile truce: Battles between Kurdish and Turkish-backed fighters in northern Syria threatened to upend an already shaky cease-fire.

People chant and hold protest signs on a street.

A protest outside the court in Avignon, France last month. Yoan Valat/EPA, via Shutterstock

Verdicts are expected in France’s mass rape trial

After months of testimony, a French court is expected to hand down verdicts this week in the trial of Dominique Pelicot, who said he had invited dozens of strangers to join him in raping his drugged wife.

Pelicot, who is on trial with 50 other men in the southern city of Avignon, is likely to receive a maximum sentence and spend 20 years in prison.

During the trial, judges and lawyers have tried to grasp the enigma that is Pelicot, with only modest success. Friends and family described him as a dedicated grandfather, father and husband. But his therapists described him as perverse, incapable of empathy, addicted to sex, and a person who saw others as objects to use or bend to his will.

For more: On The Daily, our reporter talks about Pelicot’s wife, Gisèle, who has become a feminist hero in France.

MORE TOP NEWS

Mothers stand outside of a building. Other women sit on a bench with their children.

Waiting for vaccinations at a health center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Arlette Bashizi for The New York Times

Health: Measles is killing thousands of children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there are problems getting vaccines to families.
Gaza: William Burns, the C.I.A. director, arrived in Qatar yesterday for talks on a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas.
U.S.: The Fed cut interest rates by a quarter point, and projected only two more cuts next year.
China: A Pentagon report said that Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and its military have grown robustly despite corruption scandals affecting the top ranks.
California: The governor declared a state of emergency over the outbreak of bird flu among the state’s dairy cattle.
Tech: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to a law that could ban its American operations.
Japan: An heir to 7-Eleven is waging a $50 billion battle to keep the business in the family.
Germany: Polls show the next chancellor could be Friedrich Merz, who wants to get the German economy humming again.
Automobiles: Honda and Nissan are discussing a merger to compete with China’s electric vehicle industry.
Britain: A court ruled that the police can seize about $2.5 million from bank accounts associated with Andrew Tate, the misogynistic online influencer.

Canada: President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose major tariffs on Canadian goods has added anxiety to Canada’s political malaise.

Sports

Soccer: Workers’ rights in Saudi Arabia are still an issue ahead of the 2034 World Cup, an international charity warned.
Formula 1: The 2024 season has come and gone. The Athletic looks back on its predictions for the year.
Tennis: When should you hitch your hopes to an up-and-coming player? Joao Fonseca seems like a pretty safe bet.

MORNING READ

Men praying on a small patch of grass with several trees and a pool of water in front of them in an otherwise dry landscape.

Afghanistan’s Bakwa District, a former drug hub. Bryan Denton for The New York Times

During its war against the U.S., the Taliban made millions of dollars off boom towns in Afghanistan that traded in opium, heroin and methamphetamines. But after the war’s end in 2021, that boom has gone bust.

The Taliban ordered a ban that all but eliminated poppy and other illicit drugs, doing in two years what the U.S. failed to do in 20. But the move has cost the nation a sizable piece of its economy, leaving residents bitter and angry.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

A pair of hands wearing black gloves strips mushrooms into a pan.

Mason Trinca for The New York Times

Chasing peace: People are turning to psychedelics, ketamine and other treatments for palliative care to help cope with end-of-life distress.
Oscar buzz: Which films will be nominated for best picture at the Oscars? Our pop culture reporter tells us about the ones that have the best shot.
Steak or powder: Are protein supplements a scam? Experts say most people don’t need them, but they do have their uses.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

LOOKING BACK AT 2024

A shuffling slideshow of images from the year.

The year in pictures

This year was made up of extraordinary moments. Times photographers were ready.

In January, Nanna Heitmann photographed wounded Russian soldiers being treated in Ukraine near the front line. In July, when a gunman tried to assassinate Trump, Doug Mills captured the bullet flying behind Trump’s head. And just a few weeks ago, Daniel Berehulak showed us what it looked like when thousands of Syrians flooded Damascus to celebrate the end of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime. This is 2024, seen through our photographers’ eyes.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Christopher Testani for The New York Times

Cook: This miso-marinated pork roast tastes and smells like the holidays.

Read: Curtis Chin’s memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant,” celebrates the cuisine and the community of his youth.

Watch: Here are the best under-the-radar films available to stream.

Train: A set of resistance bands may be the perfect workout gear.

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

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

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