Ukraine kills dozens of Russians
Ukraine launched a major attack against a building housing Russian soldiers in the Donetsk region on New Year’s Day.
A full picture of the casualties is still emerging. Ukraine claimed that “about 400” had died, while Russia said yesterday that 63 service members had been killed.
But even with the lower figure, the attack was one of the deadliest strikes against Russian forces in Ukraine since the war began.
Mistakes by Russian forces may have contributed to the toll. One Russian military blogger said that “ammunition stored in the same building” had detonated in the strike. And Russian state media outlets said that the attack had been caused by the soldiers’ use of cellphones, which helped Ukrainian forces pinpoint their location.
China’s shaky economic recovery
China’s economic path forward is likely be uneven and painful. Years of Covid lockdowns have taken a brutal toll on its businesses. After the country’s chaotic reopening, the uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus has deprived them of workers and customers, even though the reversal of restrictions was meant to improve the economy.
The global economy is also slowing, as shoppers tighten their budgets at home and abroad. Manufacturing activity in China contracted in November and December. Many Chinese workers are now looking for ways to rebuild their savings, even as the Lunar New Year holiday approaches later this month, a time when families typically splurge.
The weak spending is also further depressing the profit margins of many of China’s small private businesses, which power its economy. Stores and car dealerships face a surplus of unsold products. And a survey released on Saturday found that for service industries like restaurants, business last month was almost as bad as it was in early 2020.
The State of the War
- A Lethal Start to 2023: Ukrainian forces used U.S.-supplied guided rockets to hit a building housing Russian soldiers in the eastern Donetsk region, both sides said, in one of deadliest strikes on Russian forces since the beginning of the war.
- Russian Airstrikes: Ten months into the war, Ukraine has turned the tide on the ground, but it can do little to stop Russia’s aerial attacks, even if its air defenses lessen their impact. For Ukrainians, there are few options but to endure.
- Global Starvation: A global food crisis, one of the farthest-reaching consequences of the war, is worsening as winter sets in and Moscow presses assaults on Ukraine’s infrastructure.
- A New Alliance: The United States is scrambling to stop Iran from producing drones, as officials believe the Middle Eastern nation is building a partnership with Russia.
Bright spots: The lifting of quarantine rules has helped drive sales of airline tickets ahead of the Lunar New Year. And the removal of daily P.C.R. testing on people and imported goods has saved time and money for both companies and workers.
Youth: This month, as many as 2.6 million applicants will compete for 37,100 prestigious entry-level government jobs. Although the work offers stability at a time when youth unemployment is high, it can be monotonous and draining.
Benedict XVI lies in state
At least 65,000 people paid their respects to Benedict XVI, the pope emeritus, yesterday, the Vatican said. Benedict died on Saturday at 95, and is lying in state at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
Benedict was the church’s pre-eminent conservative thinker and leader, once called “God’s Rottweiler” by his critics. But Pope Francis, his successor, has undone much of Benedict’s legacy by firing and stripping authority from some of his top cardinals. Now, with Benedict’s death, conservatives in the church have lost a north star.
Details: Benedict rested on a simple dais in front of the main altar, dressed in traditional red and white garments, his hands crossed beneath a rosary. There were no other papal insignia or regalia, such as the silver staff with a crucifix.
What’s next: Benedict’s funeral is on Thursday. Francis will officiate. Italian officials expect about 60,000 people to attend.
Opinion: Benedict’s legacy will be felt across decades, or even centuries, Ross Douthat writes.
THE LATEST NEWS
Asia Pacific
A right-wing filmmaker in Croatia is making a movie celebrating Franjo Tudjman, the country’s first president, whom some call a patriot and others revile as an ethnonationalist zealot.
The director has cast Kevin Spacey; he thinks both men have been unfairly maligned.
ARTS AND IDEAS
2023 in culture
Welcome to a new year of culture. Among the releases that New York Times critics are most looking forward to:
Margaret Lyons can’t wait for Season 4 of “Succession”: “Oh, I can hear the jangly piano theme now, and just knowing that the bereft and broken Roys, their gorgeously cruel dialogue and endless, joyless quests for power will be back on my screen soon fills me with elation.”
Mike Hale is eagerly awaiting two crime dramas that take different approaches to a venerable format, the mystery of the week: “Accused” on Fox and “Poker Face” on Peacock. Both premiere this month.
Zachary Woolfe recommends a production of Wagner’s “Lohengrin.” The production has been absent longer than the other 25 or 30 titles at the center of the Metropolitan Opera’s history. “It’ll be a major event when, on Feb. 26, the opera finally returns to New York in a new staging.”
