Russia

• On Sunday, Denmark and the Netherlands became the first countries to pledge they will provide Ukraine with US-made F-16 fighter jets following formal US approval of the transfer. AWC
• A Ukrainian military official suggested to The Washington Post that Ukrainian forces are not documenting where they’re using US-provided cluster bombs in Ukraine despite assurances the Biden administration said it received. AWC
• Warsaw plans to buy nearly 100 Apache attack helicopters manufactured by Boeing for $12 billion. Until Poland receives the helicopters, the US will provide Apaches to its NATO ally. The Institute 
• US and Western officials speaking to The New York Times blamed Ukraine’s struggling counteroffensive on Kyiv’s tactics, saying Ukrainian troops are too spread out. AWC
• Polish President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday that Russia has been moving nuclear weapons into Belarus and said the deployment changes the “security architecture” of the region. AWC
• Airports in Moscow temporarily halted service for the second day in a row on Tuesday as Ukrainian drones again targeted the region, part of Kyiv’s strategy to bring the war to Russian civilians. AWC
• The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its forces destroyed a US-made military boat carrying a Ukrainian assault team near Snake Island in the northern Black Sea. AWC

China

• On Monday, Australia’s biggest warship participated in drills with the Philippines and the US in the disputed South China Sea as part of Canberra and Manila’s first-ever bilateral amphibious exercises. AWC
• China on Monday hit back at the US, South Korea, and Japan after the leaders of the three nations accused Beijing of “dangerous and aggressive” behavior in the South China Sea. AWC

Korea

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a cruise missile test while aboard a naval ship on Monday. Concurrently, the US and South Korea began yet another series of military exercises which Pyongyang views as rehearsals for war and regime change. The Institute

Middle East

• Israeli airstrikes near the Syrian capital of Damascus late Monday wounded at least one Syrian soldier, Syria’s SANA news agency has reported. AWC
• Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that Saudi border forces are systematically murdering migrants attempting to cross into the Kingdom from Yemen. The monitoring group said killing refugees had become an official policy of Riyadh. The Institute 

Africa

• US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a press release last week that it launched an airstrike in Somalia on August 15. AWC
• Algeria’s national radio reported on Monday that France is planning a military intervention in Niger if Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum is not released by the junta that ousted him in a July 26 coup. AWC