March 26, 2025

UKRAINE | Today is day 1126 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• U.S. negotiators said yesterday that a tentative agreement has been reached between Ukraine and Russia on a limited cease-fire agreement that would ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea. Russian officials said, however, that the agreement is dependent on multiple conditions, including the lifting of some sanctions and restoration of Russia’s access to the SWIFT system of international payments. [more]
• Russian officials today announced that 23 captured Ukrainians, many current or former fighters of Ukraine’s elite Azov brigade, have been convicted on terrorism charges related to fighting in Ukraine and sentenced to between 13 and 23 years in prison. [more]

U.S. COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY | Trump administration officials yesterday denied that classified information about upcoming military strikes on Houthi rebel forces in Yemen was discussed in a group chat on the commercial app Signal in which Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently included. National security officials were questioned about the chat by members of the Senate intelligence committee yesterday and are scheduled to appear before the House intelligence committee today. In an interview last night, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said he took responsibility for the leak, saying ““We made a mistake. We’re moving forward.” The Atlantic today released contents of the chat thread that had been previously withheld, showing a detailed timeline of the pending attack posted by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday aimed at overhauling U.S. elections by, among other things, requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, counting only mail or absentee ballots received by Election Day, setting new rules for voting equipment, and requiring states to provide voter rolls to the Department of Government Efficiency for evaluation. Critics suggest the order infringes on the Constitutional right of states to determine the “times, places and manner” of carrying out elections and suggest that the order will be challenged in court. [full executive order] [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | A new report from the Conference Board indicates that U.S. consumer confidence fell to a 12-year low in March – the fourth straight monthly decline and, according to Board analysts, a signal of possible recession in the near future. [more]

U.S. OIL AND GAS | Alaska-based U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason ruled yesterday that the Biden administration lacked the authority for its 2023 cancellation of seven oil and gas leases that had been issued for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and sent the matter back to the Department of Interior for further action. [more]

U.S. MEASLES | Health authorities say the number of cases in outbreaks of measles in Texas and New Mexico has now surpassed 370, with 19 new cases of the disease having been reported since last Friday. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Citing poor record-keeping and accountability by the independent Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the Los Angeles city council voted unanimously yesterday for the city to take initial steps toward assuming control of hundreds of millions of dollars in homelessness-related spending. [more]

U.S. AND GREENLAND | Vice President JD Vance announced yesterday that he will join his wife on a trip to Greenland later this week and suggested that the status of Greenland is a matter of global security. The visit comes amidst ongoing suggestions by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump that the U.S. should take control of Greenland. [more]

EUROPEAN UNION | European Commission officials today suggested as part of the new E.U. Preparedness Union Strategy that residents of the bloc should maintain sufficient supplies for at least 72 hours as a preparatory measure for potential risks including natural disasters, cyberattacks, geopolitical crises, and the possibility of armed aggression against EU countries. [E.U. fact sheet] [press release] [more]

U.K. | British treasury chief Rachel Reeves is expected to announce new cuts in welfare funding and increases in defense spending in her update to Parliament today on the state of public finances. [more]

SOUTH KOREA | At least 24 people have been killed, more than 200 structures destroyed, and 27,000 people have been evacuated amidst wind-driven wildfires in the southern regions of South Korea that acting President Han Duck-soo says are among the worst ever experienced in the country. [more]

MORE SOUTH KOREA | Following a nearly three-year investigation, South Korea’s government-appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report yesterday concluding that the government bears responsibility for facilitating fraudulent and abusive foreign adoptions of Korean children as part of efforts to reduce public welfare costs. Reports note that the foreign adoption practices peaked under a succession of military governments in the 1970s and ’80s and say the commission confirmed human rights violations in 56 of 367 adoption complaints filed. [more]

SUDAN | Amidst the country’s ongoing civil war, reports cite aid groups in Sudan as saying at least 54 people were killed Monday in a military airstrike on the village of Tora. Government officials said the reports were incorrect and that operations in the area were carried out against the rebel Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, not civilians. [more]

CHINA | Chinese authorities say former Taiwanese publishing house editor-in-chief Li Yanhe has been convicted of inciting separatism by a Chinese court and sentenced to three years in prison. Reports note that Gusa Publishing, where Li worked, has published books on topics that are usually censored in China, including on corruption and authoritarian rule in China and on the military’s 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests. [more]

MUSIC | June Carter, Kenny Chesney, and Tony Brown have been announced as this year’s inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. [press release] [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1979, the historic peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, agreed to by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat and based on the Camp David Accords mediated by U.S. President Jimmy Carter, was signed. [more history]