Russia

• The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that Western officials knew Ukrainian forces didn’t have enough training or equipment for their counteroffensive but hoped they would be able to break through anyway. AWC
• Ukraine is the most heavily mined country in the world, and demining efforts could take decades or even hundreds of years, The Washington Post reported on Saturday. AWC
• The Joe Biden administration believes it is important to get F-16s to the Ukrainian military and estimates the warplanes could arrive around the end of the year. Although, the White House does not assess the F-16s will alter the course of the war. AWC
• The Pentagon inspector general found the arms Washington sent to Kiev did not undergo the required inspections. A report from the inspector general found weapons the US sent to Ukraine in the hands of criminals and on the black market. The Institute 
• Lockheed Martin believes global instability is driving demand and sees an increase in annual profits. Washington’s proxy war in Ukraine has caused an increase in arms spending among NATO members, boosting weapons makers’ stock prices. The Institute 
• Russia on Saturday accused Ukrainian forces of killing a Russian journalist in the southern Zaporizhzhia region using US-provided cluster munitions, which are widely banned due to the harm they cause civilians. AWC
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed on Sunday that members of the Wagner group who are in Belarus want to go into Poland, comments that come amid heightened tensions between Warsaw and Minsk. AWC
• Ukrainian officials told The Washington Post on Thursday that Ukrainian forces have started firing US-provided cluster munitions at Russian soldiers in southeastern Ukraine, which was later confirmed by the White House. AWC
• The head of Britain’s MI6 spy agency has called for Russians opposed to the war in Ukraine to collaborate with the intelligence service. AWC

China

• The US and Australia on Friday launched the largest-ever iteration of their Talisman Sabre exercise as the US is increasingly focused on building alliances in the Asia Pacific against China. AWC
• The House and Senate are set up for a fight over how much military aid to include for Taiwan in 2024 spending bills as each chamber’s appropriators granted a different amount, Defense News reported Thursday. AWC
• Republican members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party used much of their time during a hearing Thursday to accuse Biden officials of “weakness” for their willingness to engage with China, both diplomatically and economically. RS

Korea

• North Korea on Thursday issued a warning over the US deployment of a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea, saying the provocation could potentially justify Pyongyang using its nuclear weapons. AWC

Middle East

• President Joe Biden has admonished Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease his attempts to ram through his coalition’s controversial juridical overhaul amid mass opposition protests. He recommends instead that the Israeli leader seek a broad consensus. Following a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Biden told New York Times columnist Tom Friedman that if a more “democratic” path is not taken Washington’s “special relationship” with Tel Aviv could be affected. The Institute 
• US Central Command announced on July 20 that the US was deploying a Marines Corps unit and additional warships to the Middle East amid heightened tensions with Iran. AWC
• US Africa Command on Thursday said that it launched an airstrike in Somalia in support of Mogadishu-based government forces who were engaged with al-Shabaab on the ground. AWC