Russia
- A new poll by Reuters shows only 41% believe Washington should continue to send arms to Kiev. The White House is pushing Congress to pass a $24 billion aid package for Ukraine. However, the assistance package is being held up as the House seeks a new Speaker, causing some in Kiev to panic. The Institute
- POLITICO reported on Thursday that President Joe Biden was contemplating using State Department funds to ship weapons to Ukraine. Washington and Kyiv are beginning to panic as Congress did not pass Biden’s proposed $24 billion aid package to Ukraine in September. AWC
- The EU’s top diplomat on Thursday said the European bloc could not provide Ukraine with enough support without the US amid uncertainty about when Congress might authorize the next tranche of spending on the proxy war. AWC
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane was not downed by an “external impact” and claimed grenade fragments were found in the recovered bodies. AWC
- President Biden is considering asking Congress for a massive $100 billion spending package for the Ukraine war, The Telegraph reported on Saturday. AWC
- Slovakia’s outgoing government has halted security assistance for Ukraine. The Slovak Social Democracy party (Smer-SD) won last week’s election on a platform of ending military aid to Kiev. The Institute
China
- Another encounter between Chinese and Philippine vessels occurred in the South China Sea on Wednesday, with Chinese authorities saying they warned boats making an “unapproved” entry near Second Thomas Shoal, a reef claimed by both Manila and Beijing. AWC
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer arrived in China on Saturday. Schumer and five other Senators are the first American legislators to visit China since 2019. The delegation’s visit comes as the relationship between Washington and Beijing has severely deteriorated. The Institute
- Japan’s land minister has sued Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki in an effort to force the construction of a landfill needed to relocate a US base on the island, a project the majority of Okinawans oppose. AWC
Israel
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “We are at war, this is not an operation,” after Hamas launched thousands of missiles and seized villages near Gaza. AWC
- President Joe Biden had a phone conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after the Israeli leader declared his country was at war. The American President pledged US support for Israel’s “self-defense.” AWC
- US officials said Sunday that they expect Israel to launch a ground invasion of Gaza within the next 24-48 hours after the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally declared it was at war with Hamas, The Washington Post reported on Sunday. AWC
- President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday for the second time since Hamas launched an operation in southern Israel and said that more US military aid is on its way. AWC
- Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced on Sunday that he’s ordered the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean to show US support for Israel amid fighting in Gaza and southern Israel. AWC
- An Israeli lawmaker told Al Jazeera on Saturday that his party had been warning that Israeli policies toward Palestinians would “erupt” into the violence that Israel is experiencing in the wake of Hamas’ assault. AWC
- Rep. Michael McCaul on Sunday said the House needed a speaker to “replenish” Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which would involve providing Israel with more military aid. AWC
Syria
- At least 80 people have been killed in a drone attack that targeted a graduation ceremony at a military college in Syria’s central Homs province on Thursday, the country’s health minister has said. AWC
- The conflict between US allies continued to escalate when a Turkish warplane bombed sites used by Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria. AWC
