US News

• Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, particularly in the GOP, are pushing back against the renewal of a law authorizing a tool used by US spy agencies, in the post 9/11 era, to conduct warrantless surveillance on foreign targets and Americans with whom they may be interacting. The Institute 

Russia

• Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told Financial Times in an interview published Wednesday that his country serves as an ideal “testing ground” for Western weaponry. AWC
• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Wednesday that its inspectors have seen no sign of explosives at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine despite claims from Kyiv that Russia had planted bombs. AWC
• A group of former senior US officials has held talks with influential Russians, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an effort to lay the groundwork for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, NBC News reported on Thursday. AWC
• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that not many members of Russia’s Wagner Group followed their exiled leader to Belarus. AWC
• Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said Wednesday that Ukraine will receive “a lot” from NATO at the summit his country is hosting next week from July 11-12. AWC
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was now in Russia, raising questions about the deal between Moscow and the mercenary leader that ended his short-lived mutiny. AWC
• The Associated Press reported Thursday that the Biden administration has decided to arm Ukraine with cluster bombs and will announce the munitions as part of a new $800 million arms package. AWC 
• Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said Thursday that the threat to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is subsiding. AWC

China

• The Chinese Defense Ministry on Wednesday said the US was turning Taiwan into a “powder keg” in a warning over the Biden administration approving new arms deals for Taiwan worth $440 million. AWC
• The US wants to turn India into a center for resupplying and maintenance of naval vessels in South Asia as part of its military buildup against China in the region, Nikkei Asia reported Thursday. AWC

Syria

• The Pentagon released a video of a Russian fighter jet flying near an American drone above Syria. Moscow and Washington have accused each other of conducting unsafe aerial operations. The Institute 
• According to neoconservative columnist Josh Rogin – one of Bill Kristol’s protégés –  Biden told these regime change advocates that, among other things, Assad must go. The Institute 
• US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a press release on Thursday that it was involved in 37 operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria during the month of June. AWC