The NYT Morninng Briefing- May 26, 2023 by Natasha Frost - covering the Wagner private military company’s planned withdrawal from Bakhmut and Turkey’s runoff election.

 

May 26, 2023

By Natasha Frost Writer, Briefings

Good morning. We’re covering the Wagner private military company’s planned withdrawal from Bakhmut and Turkey’s runoff election.

The ruined city of Bakhmut.Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Wagner says it is leaving Bakhmut

Days after declaring victory in Bakhmut, the Wagner private military company said that it was turning the Ukrainian city over to the Russian Army, which must now try to hold on to it without the help of the brutal mercenary force on which it has grown dependent.

A Wagner withdrawal could open a new phase of the monthslong struggle for Bakhmut, testing whether the Russian Army can hold the hard-won ground against Ukrainian forces that have advanced on the city’s outskirts and are preparing to launch a broader counteroffensive.

Ukraine has conceded that despite the firepower it devoted to hold Bakhmut, where tens of thousands are believed to have died, Russia now controls nearly the entire city. Ukraine says its forces are shifting their focus to make it difficult for Russia to hold Bakhmut or move deeper into the country.

Footage: Wagner’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, suggested that Russia’s regular soldiers could expect no more help from the group in Bakhmut. In a three-minute video, Prigozhin is shown visiting what he says are Wagner positions in the city and telling his fighters to hand them over to Russian troops. “Leave them soap, but take away your toothbrushes,” he says.

In other news from the war:

Russia is using Soviet-era bombs on Ukraine. They are proving much harder to shoot down than faster, modern missiles, which Ukrainians have become adept at intercepting. See a photographic chronicle of the second year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A British Border Force ship with migrants picked up in the English Channel.Andrew Testa for The New York Times

Net migration to Britain exceeds 600,000 a year

Immigration numbers in Britain have reached a new high as its government is divided internally over how to manage migration policy. Since 2021, as Britain completed its departure from the E.U., the number of Eastern Europeans entering the country has dwindled, while immigration from India, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines has risen.

Statistics for last year show net migration at 606,000, an increase of almost 120,000 over the year before. The figures underscore the dilemma confronting Britain’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, who faces growing political pressure to curb the number of immigrants even as he tries to revive a sluggish economy hampered by labor shortages.

Though the figure was lower than many had expected, the upward trend has stirred tensions at the highest reaches of the government. The Conservative Party has been in power for 13 years but has failed to meet a succession of promises to reduce immigration.

Context: The rise in immigration was driven by non-Europeans entering the country. The total includes around 360,000 international students and their dependents, 235,000 people coming to Britain for work and 172,000 on humanitarian visas.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing the toughest election of his two-decade rule.Yasin Akgul/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Turkey’s coming runoff election

Voters across Turkey will make a critical choice on Sunday between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The runoff election will be watched around the world for how it could shape the future of Turkey.

“Most people are operating under the assumption that Erdogan is going to win,” said Ben Hubbard, our Istanbul bureau chief. Erdogan came out ahead in the first round, secured a key endorsement and has been using the state to campaign even harder.

What would an Erdogan victory mean for the future of Turkey?

Ben: It likely means, in the big picture, a certain amount of consistency. Erdogan has effectively been the most powerful politician in the country for 20 years. It’s unlikely that he is going to get re-elected and then drastically change course. For domestic opponents, for political dissidents, for members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community, there’s a lot of fear that some of the erosion of democratic norms that he has overseen is going to continue.

How would an Erdogan victory affect Turkey’s role on the world stage?

Internationally, there were many leaders and politicians — in the U.S. and in Europe — who would have loved to see him be defeated. They didn’t say it publicly. But there’s a feeling that while he’s a partner and an ally with the U.S. in NATO, he’s always kind of a headache.

Still, Erdogan has played this interesting broker role. He is this rare figure in NATO who meets regularly with the president of the enemy nation. He talks to Putin, and he talks to Zelensky. If he wins, I would imagine that the response in Western capitals will not be one of joy but of “OK, we’ll keep trying to manage this as we were.”

For more: Erdogan has reoriented Turkey’s national culture to maintain power, writes Jason Farago, a Times critic at large. For the past 20 years, the president has promoted a nostalgic revival of the Ottoman past — sometimes in grand style, sometimes as pure kitsch.

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THE LATEST NEWS

Around the World

Ben Curtis/Associated Press

Fulgence Kayishema, one of the most wanted fugitives of the Rwandan genocide, was apprehended by police in South Africa this week. A man killed four people central Japan, a rare episode of violence in a country where gun crime remains low. The police in London arrested a man who crashed a car into gates near the British prime minister’s office and residence. Germany’s economy, the largest in Europe, has slipped into a recession.

From the U.S.

Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Top White House officials and Republican lawmakers were closing in last night on a deal that would raise the debt limit for two years. Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida raised $8.2 million in his first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, his campaign said.

The Week in Culture

Gustavo Dudamel will resign as music director of the Paris Opera in August, four years ahead of schedule. He said he was stepping down to spend more time with his family. Wesley Morris, a critic for The Times, pays tribute to Tina Turner. The 76th Cannes Film Festival ends tomorrow night when the Palme d’Or is handed out, capping one of the strongest festivals in years. Disney’s remake of “The Little Mermaid” is dutiful and humorless, our reviewer writes. The final episode of “Succession” airs this weekend. Read our appraisal of Nicholas Britell’s powerful score.

A Morning Read

Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

Sherry-Lehmann was an iconic purveyor of luxury wines in Manhattan. But earlier this year, the store’s liquor license expired and it closed. Sherry-Lehmann now owes the state $2.8 million in unpaid sales taxes — and its customers an explanation.

The secretive world of high-end wine has periodically been rocked by scandal, often involving fake wine and fraudulent sales of rare vintages, but never involving quite so venerable a name.

For more: Eric Asimov, The Times’s wine critic, talks about how wine has changed during his 25-year career.

SPORTS NEWS FROM THE ATHLETIC

Why spending millions on transfers doesn’t always work: “Winning the transfer window” is a misunderstood theory for a lot of Premier League clubs.

The Serie A striker on Manchester United’s radar: Rasmus Hojlund, a star for Atalanta, is on the rise. Just don’t compare him to Erling Haaland.

The night Real Madrid stood in solidarity with Vinícius Júnior: The past few days have been tumultuous for the Brazilian player, who is assessing his future in Spain.

ARTS AND IDEAS

Blockbuster season

Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm Ltd., via Associated Press

The summer movie season begins next week. Here are a few of our critics’ picks. (See the full calendar.)

Horror: “The Boogeyman” is based on a Stephen King story about a young woman who battles a home-invading supernatural entity. (June 2) Animation: In “Elemental,” from Pixar, residents of Element City are composed of one of four principal elements: water, fire, air or earth. (June 16) Sci-fi: “Asteroid City” is Wes Anderson’s take on the 1950s fascination with flying saucers, and as usual it features a star-studded cast. (June 16) Comedy: In “Maggie Moore(s),” Jon Hamm plays a police chief investigating the murders of two women with the same name. (June 16) Action: “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is Harrison Ford’s final film in the franchise. (June 30)

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