The Washington Post - Ishaan Tharoor / In a ‘meat grinder’ of a war, Russian and Ukrainian casualties rise

• In Ukraine, it’s far from quiet on the eastern front. By the end of the weekend, Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from three villages in the eastern Donetsk region, a tactical retreat that betrays Kyiv’s deeper vulnerabilities. Short of ammunition and fresh troops more than two years into its dogged resistance of Russian invasion, Ukraine finds itself on the back foot as the Kremlin attempts to renew its offensive momentum. 

• Zelensky recently claimed that Russia had suffered some half a million war casualties, including 180,000 soldiers killed in action. It’s impossible to verify this figure. The Kremlin and its state propaganda channels have worked fitfully to obscure the scale of the calamity. 

• Leo Docherty, Britain’s minister of state for the Armed Forces, said at the end of the last week that his government estimates “that approximately 450,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands more have already deserted since the start of the conflict.” 

• Nevertheless, Russia has seemed able to absorb these stunning losses, while turning the screw on Ukraine’s defenders in the east. Western intelligence officials dispute Zelensky’s estimate for Ukraine’s casualties — some 31,000 soldiers killed in the fighting — and believe the figure is far higher, likely more than double. Ukraine is far smaller than Russia and can’t compete with the Kremlin’s ability to mobilize fresh recruits.

   

Politico - Joseph Gedeon / Attorneys inside and outside the administration urge Biden to cut off arms to Israel
 

• A coalition of lawyers domestic and abroad — including at least 20 that work in the Biden administration — are calling on President Joe Biden to halt military aid to Israel, arguing that its actions in Gaza do not comply with U.S. and international humanitarian law. 

• They plan to send a letter arguing their case to Attorney General Merrick Garland and general counsels across the administration in the coming days. In the letter, obtained by POLITICO, the lawyers contend that Israel likely violated U.S. statutes including the Arms Export Control Act and Leahy Laws as well as the Geneva Conventions prohibiting disproportionate attacks on civilian populations. 

• The group that drafted the letter includes current attorneys from the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department. While the letter is still circulating for signatures, so far more than 90 lawyers have signed on, including from the departments of Justice, Labor and Energy, along with lawyers at the European Commission and in the private sector. 

• It’s the latest sign of dissent inside the administration over its Israel policy. It also comes at a key time — a week before the White House faces a May 8 deadline to certify to Congress that its ally’s military actions involving American-supplied weapons adhere to U.S. or international law.

   

Bloomberg - William Horobin / France, Spain Stoke Hope Europe’s Recession Is Over: GDP Latest
 

• French economic growth accelerated in the first quarter and Spain also performed better than anticipated, boosting the chances that the euro area emerged from a mild recession. 

• Gross domestic product in the region’s second-largest economy rose 0.2% from the final three months of last year as domestic demand picked up, the Paris-based Insee said on Tuesday. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated a 0.1% expansion. 

• Spain’s economy grew by 0.7% in the quarter, matching the prior period after that was revised up. Economists had predicted a slowdown to 0.4%. 

• A bumper day of data is expected to show the euro zone’s prospects are brightening after high inflation, rising interest rates and weak global demand saw output shrink in the second half of 2023. Helping revive the region is Germany, which is exiting a similar malaise led by its troubled industrial sector. The likely start of monetary easing by the European Central Bank should also provide a shot in the arm from June.

   

The Guardian - Robert Tait / Columbia begins suspending pro-Palestine protesters after ultimatum ignored
 

• Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protesters ignored an ultimatum on Monday to abandon their encampment or risk suspension. The university said it started suspensions early on Monday evening. 

• “We have begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus,” the university said in an update on its website. “Once disciplinary action is initiated, adjudication is handled by several different units within the university based on the nature of the offense.” 

• The ultimatum, setting a Monday deadline of 2pm, had come after the university’s president, Minouche Shafik, announced that efforts to reach a compromise with protest organisers had failed. She said that the institution would not bow to demands to divest from Israel. 

• “It is important for you to know that the university has already identified many students in the encampment,” a letter written on university notepaper and headed “Notice to Encampment” read. “If you do not leave by 2pm, you will be suspended pending further investigation.”

Our opinion reads for today:

Project Syndicate - Richard K. Sherwin / Trump’s Enablers on the Supreme Court

The Economist / The wider lessons of Scotland’s political turmoil