Ukraine braces for heavy battles

Plus, warm moments between Putin and Xi

Sign up for Reuters newsletters Weekend Briefing From Reuters Daily Briefing By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor Good morning, afternoon or evening, wherever you might be. We have an excellent weekend read on Ukraine's struggle to hold the eastern front against Russia, and a World News podcast on the South African elections. Children in Kharkiv look at smoke from a Russian missile strike. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Russia carves a 'buffer zone,' Ukraine braces for heavy battles Kharkiv region: Russia's opening of a new front in the northeast is unbalancing Ukraine's outnumbered troops as Moscow's forces make inroads of nearly 6 miles into their territory. Vladimir Putin said Russia is making a buffer zone to protect its people from attacks after deadly Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod. Hugs for Russia: Xi Jinping isn't known for effusive warmth, but the Chinese president hugged Putin twice at their meeting in Beijing. When they weren't embracing, they were pledging a fresh partnership and casting the U.S. as a chaos-sowing Cold War hegemon. They also discussed a plan to ship gas from Russia to China, maybe even oil, an idea that was hatched in 2018, but which has taken on more significance now that its gas exports to Europe have collapsed and sanctions are rife. Sponsored Fierce fighting in Gaza, aid starts rolling off U.S. pier The latest: Israeli forces battled Hamas fighters in the alleyways of Jabalia, where residents said bulldozers were demolishing homes and shops. Militants attacked tanks massing around Rafah, and Israeli forces retrieved the bodies of three hostages taken during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. Israeli government splits over the war reflect unease in the security establishment over who will run Gaza after the fighting stops. The week: The U.S. says it's working to get its trapped doctors out of Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu is intensifying his efforts to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, and criminal gangs and profiteers are thriving in Gaza as banknotes grow scarce. Donald Trump and the case of the estranged former fixer Analysis: Donald Trump's lawyers at his New York criminal trial portrayed Michael Cohen as a liar and a Trump-hater who acted alone to pay off Stormy Daniels. Not so fast, legal experts say. They maintain that prosecutors largely backed up his testimony with hard evidence. Check out our special report on Trump's fans calling for violence against his trial judges. Debate: Trump and Joe Biden agreed to face off in two debates, one hosted by CNN on June 27, the other by ABC on Sept. 10. Trump allies are laying the groundwork to contest a potential loss in November, and more foreign actors are working to influence this year's elections, U.S. officials said. Boeing's departing CEO keeps his first-class boarding pass In for the long haul: Shareholders reelected Dave Calhoun as board chairman as Boeing deals with a sprawling crisis that includes multiple investigations, possible prosecution over fatal crashes and slumping production of the 737 MAX, the jet with a notorious record of mishaps. A Boeing engineering union said it will offer its representatives training on U.S. whistleblower laws following concerns that its members lack adequate protection against possible reprisals. The 40,000-feet view: In other business news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly broke above 40,000 points for the first time. And people are buying more stuff, judging by the latest quarterly financial results for Walmart and last month's performance at Procter & Gamble, one of the retailer's largest suppliers. Finally, it's caveat Endeavor: Watch what happens when you're a minor shareholder in a company that goes private and you have absolutely nothing to say about the deal price. Before I forget…   Kazakhstan's former economy minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev received a 24-year prison sentence for killing his wife. The trial was seen as a test of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's promise to strengthen human rights and an indication that members of the elite are no longer above the law.   Some Canadian provinces have logged a jump in unclaimed dead bodies, with next of kin citing funeral costs as a reason for not collecting loved ones' remains.   Portugal's parliament dismissed a proposal from far-right parties to charge President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa with treason for supporting reparations for slavery and colonialism.   North Macedonia's newly elected president Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova pressed Greece's buttons by calling her country just "Macedonia" during a speech. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had better luck with Turkey, its historical foe to the east, in a largely positive meeting with President Tayyip Erdoğan.   The Vatican tightened procedures for evaluating reported supernatural events, including weeping Madonnas, blood-dripping crucifixes, apparitions of the Virgin Mary and stigmata.   Three tales from the animal annals: A curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York says he was released and back in the USA after Turkish authorities arrested him at the Istanbul airport in the company of 1,500 scorpions and spiders. Orcas sank a yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar. And research on elephants in Zimbabwe shows they greet each other a lot like we do, barring the urine, defecation and secretions from a unique gland. Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com Weekend Briefing is sent once a week. 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