Russia

• Ukraine asked its Western backers to bomb drone factories in Iran, Syria, and in Russia, The Guardian reported on Wednesday, citing a document Kyiv submitted to the G7 in August. AWC
• The House on Wednesday night voted down an amendment to the Pentagon appropriations bill introduced by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) that would have banned the transfer of civilian-killing cluster bombs to other countries. AWC
• Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said that the US and Britain helped Ukraine with the September 22 missile strike that targeted the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea. AWC

China

• China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Wednesday that the purpose of recent large-scale Chinese military drills around Taiwan is to “combat the arrogance” of Taiwan “separatists,” referring to recent actions by Taipei to boost ties with the US and other Western countries. AWC

Middle East

• Iran has lodged a formal complaint to the UN accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of threatening a nuclear attack on the Islamic Republic. AWC
• A US official spoke with a Druze spiritual leader to express support for protests against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that have been taking place in Syria’s southern Suwayda governate. AWC
• The Kurdish-led, and US-backed, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) moved reinforcements to the province of Deir Ezzor in Syria for continued fighting on Tuesday. In eastern Syria, illegally occupied by American forces and their SDF partners, ethnic tensions have been boiling over and clashes have been erupting for weeks between the Washington-supported group and local Arab tribesman. The Institute