Monday Briefing: Ukraine says troops have pushed Russia back from Kharkiv

The Reuters Daily Briefing Monday, May 16, 2022 by Rossalyn Warren Sponsored by   Hello Here's what you need to know. Ukraine says troops have pushed Russia back from Kharkiv, Shanghai sets out plans for the end of its COVID-19 lockdown, and Buffalo's Black community are left stunned after shooting. Today's biggest stories Local residents gather outside an apartment building damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 15, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko RUSSIA AND UKRAINE AT WAR Ukrainian troops counter-attacking against Russian forces in the country's northeast have pushed them back from the city of Kharkiv and advanced as far as the border with Russia, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. The developments, if confirmed, would signal a further shift in momentum in favour of Ukrainian forces nearly three months into a conflict that began when Russia sent tens of thousands of troops over the border into Ukraine in February. The intentional flooding of a small village north of Kyiv that created a quagmire and submerged cellars and fields, but prevented a Russian attack on the capital, was worth all the sacrifice, residents said. Russia said earlier today that the West should have no illusions that Moscow will simply put up with the Nordic expansion of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance to include Sweden and Finland, casting the move as a mistake that would stoke military tension. Here's what you need to know about the Russia-Ukraine conflict right now Mourners embrace each other, while attending a vigil for victims of the shooting at a TOPS supermarket in Buffalo, New York, U.S. May 15, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid WORLD Iran-backed Hezbollah has been dealt a blow in Lebanon's parliamentary election with preliminary results showing losses for some of its oldest allies and the Saudi-aligned Lebanese Forces party declaring significant gains. In North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the military to stabilize distribution of COVID-19 medicine in the capital, Pyongyang, in the battle on the country's first confirmed outbreak of the disease, state media said. Earlier today, Shanghai set out plans for the end of its COVID-19 lockdown that has lasted more than six weeks, heavily bruising China's economy. The end date for lockdown is June the 1st. Authorities in Ethiopia's war-shattered Tigray region are forcing young people to join their army's fight against the central government by threatening and jailing relatives, according to captured fighters and residents. Sri Lanka's new prime minister will address the crisis-hit nation today, as the country's power minister told citizens not to join the lengthy fuel queues that have galvanized weeks of anti-government protests. U.S. An investigation into the weekend shooting of more than a dozen people at a western New York supermarket will turn on Monday to whether authorities missed telltale signs and red flags left by the teenage gunman prior to his racist killing spree. Buffalo's Black community were left stunned after being visited by 'evil'. The gunman had driven for hours from his home to target the store, having selected it because of the neighborhood's high concentration of Black residents, according to authorities. In California, a gunman opened fire in a Southern church during a lunch banquet on Sunday, killing one person and wounding five, before churchgoers detained the suspect and hog-tied his legs with an electrical cord, authorities said. Earlier today, the White House said it has released $110 billion in funding from the $1 trillion infrastructure package that seeks to fix crumbling roads, expand broadband internet and improve the electrical grid. The Biden administration is increasingly feeling it has little control over short-term inflation, officials say, and is looking for ways to offset the political risk from price hikes in the months leading up to November's elections. FILE PHOTO: Founder and CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk speaks during a media tour of the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada, U.S. July 26, 2016. REUTERS/James Glover II/File Photo BUSINESS China's daily coal output in April jumped 11% from the same month a year earlier, boosted by Beijing's order to increase supply to ensure security of the country's energy supply, but the volume dropped from a record high set in March. Skyrocketing natural gas prices have raised manufacturing and transportation costs across many U.S. industries, and the situation should persist as the United States exports more gas to Europe to make up for Russian supplies lost to sanctions. The Russian rouble firmed past 64 per dollar on Monday and climbed towards a near five-year high against the euro, supported by continuing restrictions on currency trading. Over the weekend, Elon Musk tweeted that Twitter's legal team accused him of violating a nondisclosure agreement by revealing that the sample size for the social media platform's checks on automated users was 100. Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said on Sunday he believes the economy is at risk of possibly going into a recession, as the U.S. Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates to tackle rising inflation. Sponsored by Deloitte: Earning digital trust Organizations can improve digital trust by investing in AI-based data monitoring, cloud-enabled data trusts, blockchain and quantum technologies. Learn more Quote of the day "I think she's someone who has tremendous dignity and I admire her devotion. What she's accomplished has been historic." Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, speaking about the Queen Queen Elizabeth attends star-studded horse show finale Video of the day Abortion rights groups rally across U.S. Over the weekend, thousands of abortion rights supporters rallied across the United States, angered by the prospect that the Supreme Court may soon overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide a half century ago. And finally… Djokovic wins Italian Open to claim first title in over six months World number one Novak Djokovic claimed his first title in over six months after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-0 7-6(5) to win the Italian Open on Sunday. More from Reuters COVID The Great Reboot Sustainable Business Legal News Breakingviews Thanks for spending part of your day with us. Share your thoughts You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing. 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