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Boston Globe
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Russia appears to launch new offensive in Ukraine amid peace talks
In particular, Russian forces are pushing into the remaining Ukrainian-controlled territory in the Donbas area in the east, in the fourth year of a conflict that has become a war of attrition. They used the winter lull to build up equipment reserves, improve battlefield communications, and tweak the tactics and technical abilities of attack drones, the military analysts said. Advertisement Despite some localized battlefield successes, the pace of Russia's advances remains slow, and few analysts expect it to achieve a decisive victory this summer that would reshape the war. Russia's intensified bombing campaign and mounting civilian casualties are already hurting geopolitically. President Trump has stopped praising President Vladimir Putin of Russia and threatened new US sanctions against Russia. Ukraine is deepening its alliance with major European nations. And the Ukrainian public is more skeptical than ever of Russia's peace overtures. 'What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,' Trump said in a social media post Tuesday. 'He's playing with fire!' Advertisement The Kremlin, in typical fashion, has not directly commented on the offensive or announced its commencement. Putin has said merely that the Russian forces are creating a 'buffer zone' with Ukraine to protect Russian civilians from enemy raids. He has also repeated his mantra that the war will end only when Russia eliminates the 'root causes' of the conflict, a shorthand for wide-ranging demands that Ukraine and its allies see as subjugation. While advancing on the ground despite heavy losses on both sides, Russia is also using combined drone and missile strikes to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses, exhaust its citizens, and deplete its industrial base. Russia's defense ministry has justified attacks on Ukrainian cities as a tit-for-tat response to the more limited Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian towns and cities, which are causing a smaller number of civilian deaths. It is unclear what role the Kremlin expects the unfolding offensive to play in the broader complex diplomatic maneuvers over ending the war. Nor is it clear whether Trump would follow through on his threats to exert more pressure on Putin to reach a cease-fire. Some Western analysts say that Putin may be using the dry weather season most conducive for offensive operations to maximize his negotiating power before giving more weight to peace talks later this year. It would be rational, they argue, for Russia, which has had the edge on the battlefield for most of the past two years, to use military pressure as leverage in any negotiations. 'Russia is used to the idea of fighting and talking at the same time,' said Samuel Charap, a Washington-based senior political scientist focused on Russia at Rand Corp., a security research organization. The offensive, he said, shows that Russia is unwilling to meet European and Ukrainian calls for a cease-fire before negotiating a peace deal that satisfies its demands. Advertisement Charap does not expect a diplomatic breakthrough in the near future, given how far apart the two sides are. But he said that the current uptick in violence did not rule out progress in talks. Warring sides often 'attempt to get as much as possible before the guns fall silent,' Charap added. But many other analysts, as well as the governments of Ukraine and the European Union, say the acceleration of attacks prove that Putin is not serious about the peace talks, which tentatively restarted in Istanbul this month under pressure from the White House. The Russian offensive is not about gaining negotiating leverage, they say -- it is about winning the war. On Wednesday, Russia's foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, proposed a new round of talks in Istanbul on Monday. Ukraine's defense minister, Rustem Umerov, responded by saying that Kyiv was open to another meeting but wanted to see concrete cease-fire proposals from the Kremlin first. Kyiv said it had already submitted its own proposals to allies. 'Diplomacy cannot succeed amid constant attacks,' President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said Monday, hours after one of Russia's largest aerial strikes of the war. Some Russian analysts tied to the opposition contend that this year's offensive could argue that any Russian gains might evaporate as the country's military machine deflates later this year under economic pressure and dwindling resources. But Russia's military and economy have already survived multiple setbacks and predictions of collapse. For now, Russian forces are on the attack. Advertisement This month, they have more than doubled the area that they seized in April, capturing an average of 5.5 square miles each day, according to data from Deepstate, a Ukrainian war-monitoring group with ties to the country's military. Russia this month is advancing at the fastest pace since November, the data shows. Most of the recent gains came in Donetsk, one of the two regions that make up the Donbas, the historically Russian-speaking area at the center of the Kremlin's territorial claims. This month, the Russian military broke through defenses between the besieged Ukrainian cities of Pokrovsk and Toretsk, pushing north toward the last regional logistical hubs under Ukrainian control. The attack appears to be the beginning of a planned Russian campaign to conquer the remainder of Donetsk this year, said Dmitri Kuznets, a military analyst at independent Russian news outlet Meduza. Russian forces are also making smaller gains in the Sumy region, north of the major city of Kharkiv. They are building on the momentum after pushing back most Ukrainian forces that last year had occupied part of Russia's Kursk region, across the border from Sumy. Russia also appears to have expanded the production and improved the effectiveness of its drones. Last week, Russian forces launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities over three nights, the biggest barrage of the war. A small but significant fraction of these weapons are penetrating air defenses and causing damage to both industrial and civilian buildings. Military analysts have attributed this trend to a combination of Kyiv's dwindling antiair ammunition, innovations in Russian tactics, and the sheer scale of the attacks. Advertisement
Business Mayor
12-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Trump signs order aiming to cut some U.S. drug prices to match lower ones abroad
President Donald Trump on Monday revived a controversial policy that aims to slash drug costs by tying the prices of some medicine in the U.S. to the significantly lower ones abroad. Trump signed an executive order including several different actions to renew that effort, known as the 'most favored nation' policy. He did not refer to specific nations, but signaled that he would target other developed countries because 'there are some countries that need some additional help, and that's fine.' 'Basically, what we're doing is equalizing,' Trump said during a press event on Monday. 'We are going to pay the lowest price there is in the world. We will get whoever is paying the lowest price, that's the price that we're going to get.' White House officials did not disclose which medications the order will apply to, but said it will impact the commercial market as well as Medicare and Medicaid. They said Monday's announcement will be broader than a similar policy that Trump tried to push during his first term, which only applied to Medicare Part B drugs. Officials added that the administration will have a particular focus on drugs that have the 'largest disparities and largest expenditures,' which could include popular weight loss and diabetes treatments called GLP-1 drugs. It's unclear how effective the policy will be at lowering costs for patients. In a social media post on Monday, Trump claimed drug prices will be cut by '59%, PLUS!' But Trump during the press event claimed drug prices may fall even more, between 59% and 80%, or 'I guess even 90%.' Some Wall Street analysts and other experts also questioned whether the policy can be implemented. In a note on Monday, JPMorgan analysts called the policy 'challenging to practically implement' because it would likely require congressional approval and could run into legal hurdles. It is Trump's latest effort to try to rein in U.S. prescription drug prices, which are two to three times higher on average than those in other developed nations – and up to 10 times more than in certain countries, according to the Rand Corp., a public policy think tank. In a statement on Monday, the pharmaceutical industry's biggest lobbying group, PhRMA, lauded Trump for taking aim at other nations 'not paying their fair share.' Still, PhRMA's CEO Stephen Ubl said 'importing foreign prices from socialist countries would be a bad deal for American patients and workers' because it would hurt the industry's ability to bring them new treatments. Some experts have said the order could face challenges from the pharmaceutical industry in court. Read More Generic platinum chemotherapy shortages did not increase deaths Despite the order, shares of U.S. drugmakers rose Monday. Merck 's stock added more than 4%, while Pfizer and Amgen climbed more than 2% AARP, which advocates for older Americans, thanked Trump for issuing the order in a statement on Monday. 'For too long, big drug companies have been ripping off America's seniors—charging the highest prices in the world for lifesaving prescriptions, padding their profits at the expense of American lives, and forcing older adults to skip medications they can't afford,' AARP's chief advocacy and engagement officer Nancy LeaMond said in the statement. How Trump's drug pricing order will work President Donald Trump, joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 12, 2025, in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images Part of the order takes aim at nations abroad, which have more power to negotiate down drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. 'Starting today, the United States will no longer subsidize the health care of foreign countries, which is what we were doing,' Trump said, adding the U.S. 'will no longer tolerate profiteering and price gouging from Big Pharma.' He added that 'it was really the countries that forced Big Pharma to do things that, frankly, I'm not sure they really felt comfortable doing.' The order directs the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce to crack down on 'unreasonable and discriminatory policies' in foreign countries that 'suppress' drug prices abroad, the officials said. 'We are going to be working to make sure that countries aren't being unfair in their negotiations with pharmaceutical companies, right?' one official said. Drugmakers are 'constantly complaining' about being put 'in an untenable situation when in these negotiations' because those companies typically have to broker drug discounts with entire countries, the official added. Unlike the U.S., several foreign countries offer universal health coverage where the government is the sole payer, giving it significant leverage to negotiate or set drug prices. White House officials said they expect drugmakers to provide discounts across the board to 'reciprocate' the actions the Trump administration is taking to address prices abroad. Trump's order also directs the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a pathway for U.S. patients to buy their drugs directly from manufacturers at most favored nation prices, bypassing middlemen. 'We're going to cut out the middlemen and facilitate the direct sale of drugs at the most favorite nation price, directly to the American citizen,' Trump said. Within 30 days, the secretary will also have to set clear targets for price reductions across all markets in the U.S., according to the officials. That will open up a round of negotiations between HHS and the pharmaceutical industry, officials said, not providing exact details on the nature of those talks. If 'adequate progress' is not made toward those price targets, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will impose the most favored nation pricing on drugs through rulemaking. The order also directs the Food and Drug Administration to consider expanding imports from other developed nations beyond Canada. Trump signed a separate executive order in April directing the FDA to improve the process by which states can apply to import lower-cost drugs from Canada, among other actions intended to lower drug prices. Monday's order also directs the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to aggressively enforce 'anti-competitive actions' that keep prices high in the U.S. The Department of Commerce will also consider export restrictions that 'fuel and enable that low pricing abroad.' The effects on patients, companies Drugmakers have argued that the most favored nation policy would hurt their profits and ultimately, their ability to research and develop new medicines. White House officials contended that pharmaceutical companies will continue to make money after the price cuts if they realize that the U.S. 'alone is not going to pay for innovation' and if they increase prices abroad to get additional revenue there. Drugmakers 'should pursue deals where they get financially rewarded commensurate the value that they are providing to other nations, health systems,' one official said. 'Other countries should pay research and development, too. It's for their benefit,' Trump added on Monday. The industry also lobbied against similar Trump plans during his first term. He tried to push the policy through in the final months of that term, but a federal judge halted the effort following a lawsuit from the pharmaceutical industry. The Biden administration then rescinded that policy. Read More Understanding metabolites underlying eye development White House officials initially pressed congressional Republicans to include a most favored nation provision in the major reconciliation bill they plan to pass in the coming months, but the policy would have specifically targeted Medicaid drug costs, Politico reported earlier this month. Several GOP members opposed that measure. The industry's largest trade group, PhRMA, estimated that Trump's Medicaid proposal could cost drugmakers as much as $1 trillion over a decade. Some health policy experts have said a most favored nation drug policy may not be effective at lowering medication costs. For example, USC experts said the policy 'can't undo the basic economics of the global drug marketplace,' where 70% of pharmaceutical profits worldwide come from the U.S. 'Facing a choice between deep cuts in their U.S. pricing or the loss of weakly profitable overseas markets, we can expect many firms to pull out from overseas markets at their earliest opportunity,' experts said in a report in April. That will leave Americans paying the same amount for medications, drugmakers with lower profits and future generations of patients with less innovation, they said. 'In sum, everyone loses,' the experts said. Even if the drug industry pushes back on Trump's executive order in court, his administration still has another tool to push down drug prices: Medicare drug price negotiations. It's a key provision of the Inflation Reduction Act that gives Medicare the power to negotiate certain prescription drug prices with manufacturers for the first time in history. Trump last month proposed a change to that policy that drugmakers have long sought. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle could be receptive to the idea, which proposes changing rules that differentiate between small-molecule drugs and biologic medicines. Trump last week said he plans to announce tariffs on medicines imported into the U.S. within the next two weeks. Those planned levies aim to boost domestic drug manufacturing. Drugmakers, including Eli Lilly and Pfizer , are pushing back on those potential duties. Some companies have questioned whether the tariffs are necessary, given that several of them have already announced new U.S. manufacturing and research and development investments since Trump took office. Still, Trump last week doubled down on efforts to reshore drug manufacturing. He signed an executive order that streamlines the path for drugmakers to build new production sites.
The Hill
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Major breakthrough in China trade war
Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here It's Monday. Get ready for a busy two work weeks on Capitol Hill. Everyone has their eye on the Memorial Day weekend prize. In today's issue: The United States and China announced this morning that they have agreed to a 90-day pause on most retaliatory tariffs. The 90-day deal: The U.S. agreed to lower its tariff rate on Chinese imports from 145 percent to 30 percent. China agreed to lower its tariff rate from 125 percent to 10 percent. The stock market ❤️ this news: Stocks soared this morning following the announcement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.6 percent after the opening bell. The S&P 500 increased by 3 percent, and the Nasdaq composite was up 4.1 percent. How this came about: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have been in Switzerland negotiating with Chinese officials. Now what?: Officials in both countries have pledged to continue negotiations for a lasting trade deal. President Trump signed a controversial executive order this morning aimed at drastically lowering drug prices. For the next month, the Department of Health and Human Services will be able to negotiate with the pharmaceutical industry. Why?: 'It is Trump's latest effort to try to rein in U.S. prescription drug prices, which are two to three times higher on average than those in other developed nations – and up to 10 times more than in certain countries, according to the Rand Corp., a public policy think tank.' (CNBC) Omg: During Trump's announcement, he mentioned the 'fat shot drug,' referring to weight loss injectable medications. 📹 Watch the clip How it would work: It would cap prescription drug prices at the lowest price offered to any other country. Why it's controversial: Trump tried instating a similar rule in late 2020, but courts blocked it, and then-President Biden rescinded it. It's also unclear which payments and drugs this rule would apply to. CNN explainer Plus, some experts say this may not lower drug prices for patients. Why the pharmaceutical industry is unhappy with this plan: It is also bracing for Trump's planned tariffs on prescription drugs. ➤ TIDBIT — WEGOVY VS. ZEPBOUND: The first major study to compare obesity drugs shows that people who took Zepbound lost roughly 50 percent more weight than people who took Wegovy, per The Associated Press. House Republicans unveiled their portion of President Trump's tax bill ahead of Tuesday's marathon hearing. Millions of people would lose their health insurance under this plan, though it doesn't include the most controversial components conservatives have floated. What are the proposed Medicaid changes?: What the bill does *not* include: Democrats' rebuttal: Democrats released a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score — a widely used nonpartisan analysis of congressional legislation — showing that at least 8.6 million more people wouldn't have health insurance in 2034 if this bill passes. Why are Republicans pushing for Medicaid cuts?: They want to extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts and pass his other priorities. But do that, they must find ways to pay for it. Their goal is to slash $1.15 trillion in total, and the committee that oversees Medicaid has been tasked with finding at least $880 billion in cuts. Now what?: The House Energy and Commerce Committee will consider this bill Tuesday. It's unclear whether this bill strikes the right balance between moderate and conservative Republicans. Read The Hill's Nathaniel Weixel's reporting on the proposed Medicaid cuts: 'Republicans unveil steep cuts to Medicaid in portion of Trump tax bill' 'Democratic senators are having private conversations about how to help Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) in the wake of an explosive report that the first-term Pennsylvania senator is behaving erratically and in a way that may pose a danger to himself or others, according to sources familiar with those discussions,' reports The Hill's Alexander Bolton. What we know: 'Two Democratic senators told The Hill they are talking with colleagues about how to best help Fetterman, who they fear is struggling to cope with the emotional rigors of serving in Congress, a stressful job even for the fittest individuals, who often find themselves the targets of political attacks.' Read Bolton's reporting: 'Senate Democrats, worried about Fetterman, discussing ways to help' The explosive New York magazine report that started this discussion: 'All By Himself: John Fetterman insists he is in good health. But staffers past and present say they no longer recognize the man they once knew.' ABC News reported on Sunday that President Trump is planning to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 as a gift from the royal family of Qatar. Trump will then use the jumbo jet as Air Force One. Once he leaves office, it will be transferred to his eventual presidential library. Trump confirmed the report: He called it a 'very public and transparent transaction.' He bashed Democratic criticism of the high-dollar gift, calling Democrats 'World Class Losers!!!' 🔎 Read Trump's post How they got the plane, a source told Axios's Marc Caputo: 'So when they were searching for a plane … the emir of Qatar raised his hand and said: 'I got a plane for sale.' And so we've toured it. It came to Palm Beach [in February, shown in the photo above]. We toured it. It's perfect in every way because it was designed for a head of state.' Read more: 'Backstory: How Trump got a free 'palace in the sky'' Keep in mind: Trump is leaving for the Middle East today for his four-day trip. He will be stopping in Qatar, but the White House and Qatar both deny the timing. The New York Times published interesting analysis on his trip: 'Trump Heads to the Middle East Focused on Business Deals, Not Diplomacy' ➤ HAPPENING TODAY: Hamas said it released the last known living American hostage from the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, which set off the war in Gaza. What we know about Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli soldier The House is out. The Senate is in. President Trump is on his way to the Middle East. (All times EST) Today: Trump travels to the Middle East for his 4-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. 5:30 p.m.: The Senate votes. 📆Today's agenda 6:30 p.m.: Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg holds a town hall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 💻Livestream Tuesday: The House returns. 📆Tomorrow's agenda 🍫 Celebrate: Today is National Nutty Fudge Day. Because you read until the end, enjoy this otter water park.
Boston Globe
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Since ceasefire talks began, life in Ukraine has become more dangerous
On March 11, Ukraine launched on Moscow its largest drone assault of the entire war — the morning of the day it agreed to a cease-fire. The barrage killed three people and wounded 18 others in the Russian capital and nearby, Russian authorities said. Advertisement Overall, the first months of this year, coinciding with the Trump administration's peace talks, have clocked in as far deadlier than the same period last year, according to the United Nations. Analysts say an increase in violence during ceasefire talks is not unusual in wars. When talks are underway in conflicts, they say, warring armies tend to jockey for advantage before a truce halts the fighting. The result can be more casualties, particularly in Ukraine as flurries of strikes overwhelm air defenses. Advertisement 'If there is going to be a moment when they cannot pursue military action, you expect armies to get in whatever blows they want before they have to stop,' Samuel Charap, a Russia analyst at the Rand Corp., said in a phone interview. 'I don't think an increase in attacks necessarily means rejection of the negotiating process.' In 2014 and 2015, Russia escalated military action sharply in Ukraine before or during cease-fire talks, capturing the eastern towns of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve to force political terms on Kyiv. 'There are things militaries want to achieve before a potential cessation of hostilities,' Charap said. The new run of attacks has put Ukrainians on edge. Olena Khirkovska, 57, an accountant whose apartment was destroyed in a Russian missile strike in Kyiv on April 24, said the strikes seemed intended to frighten Ukrainians into accepting an unfavorable deal. 'We are strong; fear us,' was the message of the attacks, she said, adding, 'It feels like they don't want peace at all' while engaging in negotiations. President Trump began the cease-fire talks Feb. 12, with phone calls to President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. Since then, the Trump administration has pursued separate rounds of negotiations with Ukrainian and Russian officials. During talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on March 11, Ukraine agreed to the US proposal for an unconditional 30-day cease-fire. Later in March, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a limited truce covering strikes on energy infrastructure, but each accused the other of violating that. Advertisement Russia offered a 30-hour cease-fire on Easter Sunday, and Ukraine accepted. Again, each side accused the other of violations but acknowledged that violence declined during the truce. Putin has proposed a three-day cease-fire next week for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Vice President JD Vance in an interview Thursday with Fox News suggested a drawn-out timeline for talks stretching into the summer. The war, Vance said, would not end 'anytime soon.' Russia and Ukraine, he said, had laid out their terms for a settlement. 'We're going to work very hard over the next 100 days to try to bring these guys together,' Vance said. The pace of Russian missile and drone attacks rose after Trump's phone call in February with the two leaders, an analysis of Ukrainian air force reports shows. In the 30 days that followed the calls, Russia launched 4,694 missiles and drones at Ukraine, compared with 1,873 in the 30 days before the calls. After the bombardment of Kyiv that pancaked an apartment building, Trump wrote in a social media post of Putin, 'It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war.' It is not clear that the increase in attacks is linked to the talks. Russia has for months been ramping up exploding drone assaults after a factory producing the most common model, an Iranian-designed drone called a Shahed, came online last year, said Mark F. Cancian, a senior analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. 'That's a reflection primarily of availability,' he said. 'They fire everything they have.' But there was a change in Russian tactics, analysts said. Rather than striking multiple targets throughout Ukraine, it has focused many nights on one intensive bombardment of a single city or town. Advertisement That tactic overwhelms Ukrainian air defenses and 'results in much greater destruction and human casualties,' said Oleksiy Melnyk, a military analyst at the Razumkov Center, a research organization, in Kyiv. The goal, he said, is to stir opposition to the war in Ukraine and raise 'pressure on the Ukrainian government' to accept settlement terms. The UN documented more than 2,641 civilians killed or wounded in the first three months of this year, Joyce Msuya, the UN assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told diplomats at the United Nations on Tuesday. That was nearly 900 additional dead and wounded civilians in Ukraine compared with the same period last year, she said. The rate of civilian deaths rose further in April, coinciding with a period when US negotiators met separately with Ukrainian and Russian officials for talks.
