Just before the sun came up on Saturday on the Kerch Strait Bridge, a strategically and symbolically important link between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, a bomb detonated, creating a giant fireball.But Ukrainian elation about the explosion quickly turned into concern about how Russia would respond. And in the days since, Moscow’s retaliation has been to pound Ukrainian cities with missiles in the most sweeping rocket assault since the start of the war.Guest: Michael Schwirtz, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.Background reading: President Vladimir V. Putin vowed that more strikes would follow if Russian targets were hit again.The hail of missiles also seemed intended to appease the hard-liners in Russia who are furious with the humiliating setbacks on the battlefield.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
A massive fireball erupted on the Crimean Bridge, igniting a passing fuel train and causing a truck to explode. The bridge, opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018, was heavily damaged in the incident.
The recent explosion of a Ukrainian bridge has sparked debates on whether the driver was aware that he was driving to his death, or if the Ukrainian intelligence services had duped an unwitting innocent. The destruction of the bridge has also raised concerns about potential Russian retaliation.
The recent cyberattack on Ukraine’s power grid could be a new phase in the war between Ukraine and Russia as the latter has not been successful in winning the battle on the field. This persistent strategy might make it harder for Ukraine to sustain this war and the disruption caused could create an uneasy sense of normalcy.
The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its global growth projection for next year and warned that the world economy would face a recession in 2023 if policymakers don't address inflation. Meanwhile, President Biden has called for the resignation of three L.A. city council members after a recording leaked of one member using racist language to describe another member's Black child.