Monday Briefing: Ukraine says it killed a Russian general

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December 18, 2024

	By Gaya Gupta

Good morning. We’re covering the killing of a Russian general in Moscow and the latest on Gaza cease-fire talks.

Plus, the search for a van Gogh masterpiece.

The residential building in Moscow where an explosive device was detonated. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

Ukraine said it killed a Russian general in Moscow

A general in charge of the Russian military’s nuclear and chemical weapons protection forces was killed by a bomb on a Moscow street yesterday. Ukraine said it was responsible for the killing, which was one of the most brazen assassinations since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.

The general, Igor Kirillov, and an aide were killed when an explosive device was detonated near a residential building, Russian officials said. A day before the killing, Ukraine accused Kirillov of criminal activity, saying he was responsible for the “massive use of banned chemical weapons” in Ukraine. The general was also prominent in Russia’s propaganda campaign against Ukraine and the West. Here’s what else we know about Kirillov.

A senior U.S. official said yesterday that the U.S. had not been informed about the planned assassination. He warned it could end up being counterproductive if it triggered a severe reaction from Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

Background: Ukraine has increasingly carried out deadly covert actions. Last month, Ukraine took credit for a car bombing in Crimea that killed a senior Russian commander.

North Korea: The U.S. has seen “indications” that the North Korean forces sent to Russia to help in the war in Ukraine have suffered their first casualties.

Gaza City in October. Omar Al-Qattaa/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Optimism for a cease-fire in Gaza is rising

Hamas said yesterday that “serious and positive talks” were taking place to reach a deal with Israel to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages held there. Officials from countries involved in the diplomacy said the sides might be nearing a truce.

The pace of talks has picked up, pushed by multiple factors, including wars in Lebanon and Syria that have seriously weakened Hamas’s allies as well as the election victory of Donald Trump. This month, Trump threatened “hell to pay” if the hostages in Gaza were not freed before his inauguration on Jan. 20.

Details: Mediators are discussing a cease-fire that would begin with a 60-day truce in which Hamas would release some of the 100 or so hostages still held in Gaza — some of whom have died — in exchange for Palestinians jailed in Israel. Qatari and Egyptian mediators, who have brokered the talks alongside the U.S., hope the initial truce will continue into a permanent cease-fire.

Months of negotiations have seen hopes for a cease-fire deal rise repeatedly, only for them to be dashed days later by a fresh impasse. Here’s what we know so far.

Syrian rebel fighters in Damascus on Saturday. Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times

Syria’s rebel leader vowed to disband all armed groups

As the new government in Syria tries to rebuild a functioning state, the leader of the rebel coalition that swept to power over a week ago said that all armed groups in the country would be dissolved. The leader, Ahmed al-Shara, said all rebel fighters would be brought under the authority of the defense ministry, though it was not clear how or when this would be achieved.

After President Bashar al-Assad’s fall, the new authorities in Damascus have sought to project stability after almost 14 years of civil war. Syria’s new government is trying to get public institutions back up and running.

Life during rebel rule: Before taking Damascus, the rebel group ruled the city of Idlib for years. Residents there say the group imposed strict laws, but also improved public services.

Related: Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, traveled to Israeli-controlled territory in Syria yesterday to meet with his military officers there.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes spoke about the school shooting in Madison, Wis. Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times

Sports

A chess club in Manhattan.  Graham Dickie/The New York Times

Gen Z-ers and millennials in the U.S. are joining old-fashioned chess, mahjong and backgammon groups, hoping to ease the isolation and digital overload that weigh on their generations. Board games stored in their grandparents’ attics are especially hot among young people hungry for socialization.

The artist Dennis Maher’s home in Buffalo, N.Y. Jordan Taylor Fuller

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Van Gogh’s “Portrait of Dr. Gachet,” painted in 1890.  Fine Art Images/Heritage Images, via Getty Images

The search for a lost masterpiece

When the hammer fell at Christie’s in New York in 1990, a painting by Vincent van Gogh, “Portrait of Dr. Gachet,” completed just weeks before the Dutch artist’s suicide, went for $82.5 million, a record at the time.

Since that day, the painting has all but disappeared. Its whereabouts has become one of the art world’s greatest mysteries.

In 1998, the van Gogh was sold privately to an undisclosed party. A team of Times reporters sought out the small group of people involved in that sale and the larger corps of experts who track such purchases. Their effort to find the van Gogh stretched from auction houses and galleries in New York to a Swiss villa on Lake Lugano. Here’s what they found.

Christopher Testani for The New York Times

Make: This is the secret to the perfect baked potato.

Listen: In this audio essay, Paul Krugman delivers some parting words after 25 years as a Times Opinion columnist.

Read: “What in Me Is Dark” traces the influence of John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” through the ages.

Travel: Heading to Yellowstone National Park during winter may be the best way to beat the crowds.

Massage: Wirecutter tested at-home massage tools. Here’s what works.

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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