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News Roundup

News Roundup 6/8/2023

by | Jun 8, 2023 |

US News

  • The FBI aided a Ukrainian intelligence effort to ban Twitter users and collect their data, new leaks show. Twitter declined to censor journalists targeted by Ukraine, including The Grayzone’s Aaron Maté. Grayzone

Russia

  • Russia on Wednesday questioned what the US might have known about Ukrainian plans to attack the Nova Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine using a US-provided HIMARS system. AWC
  • Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday reaffirmed Kyiv’s position that it’s against the idea of pausing the fighting in Ukraine to foster peace talks between the warring sides. AWC
  • Germany is preparing to lead NATO’s largest-ever air deployment exercises in a show of force meant as a warning to Russia. AWC
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukraine has received a “powerful offer” from countries that are willing to provide their American-made F-16 fighter jets. AWC
  • The former civilian head of the NATO alliance is warning that some Eastern European states are prepared to send their soldiers to Ukraine if the bloc does not make significant pledges to Kiev during an upcoming summit. The Institute 

China

  • Several media outlets have reported that Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China this month amid soaring tensions between Washington and Beijing. AWC

Syria

  • US Central Command said in a press release on Tuesday that it conducted 38 operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria in May, killing eight alleged ISIS “operatives” and detaining 31 more. AWC

News Roundup 6/7/2023

by | Jun 7, 2023 |

US News

  • The State Department has falsely accused rock legend, Roger Waters, a co-founder of Pink Floyd, of antisemitism over a recent performance in Germany. AWC
  • The Treasury Department announced sanctions on two members of a Mexican cartel. UPI

Russia

  • The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Biden administration has “shrugged off” Ukrainian attacks inside Russia as US officials are no longer as concerned about escalation as they were earlier in the war. AWC
  • Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Monday that his government is asking Ukraine if Belgian rifles were used by pro-Kyiv fighters in a recent attack on Russia’s Belgorod region. AWC
  • US officials confirmed to The Washington Post that US and other NATO equipment was used in a cross-border attack in Russia’s Belgorod region that was launched on May 22. AWC
  • On Monday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said Ukraine was “well prepared” to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces thanks to the support the US and NATO have provided. AWC
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Saturday that his country will sit out the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius this July if Kyiv is not given a “signal” toward full membership in the alliance. AWC
  • The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the US received intelligence in June 2022 about a Ukrainian plot to bomb the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline that connects Russia to Germany. AWC
  • Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that Moscow must keep in mind that American-made F-16 fighter jets are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. AWC

China

  • CIA Director William Burns held “clandestine” meetings with Chinese intel agencies during an unannounced trip to Beijing last month, US officials told the Financial Times, suggesting the visit was intended to “stabilize” deteriorating relations with the People’s Republic. The Institute
  • The White House on Monday accused the Chinese military of being more “aggressive” in waters near China’s coast following two encounters between the US and Chinese militaries in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. AWC
  • French President Emmanuel Macron objects to NATO’s plans to open a liaison office in Japan and thinks the alliance should stay in the North Atlantic, Financial Times reported on Monday. AWC
  • The US, Japan and Australia announced a joint plan to build undersea cables. The project will cost about $100 million and viewed by the nations as a counter to China. Fox News
  • Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said Tuesday that he wants Congress to pass a supplemental spending bill this year to address so-called threats from China, Defense News reported. AWC
  • The commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral John Aquilino, highlighted the military’s threatening posture towards China, speaking at the annual meeting of the National Committee on US-China Relations last month. The group is known for encouraging engagement between the world’s two largest economies. The Institute 

Middle East

  • Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Summit on Monday and pledged Washington’s “ironclad” support for Tel Aviv. Part of the White House’s plan to strengthen Israel’s security would be to push Saudi Arabia into a normalization agreement with Israel. The Institute 
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ramped up his threats of war against Iran and slammed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, for cooperating with Tehran on Sunday. The Institute 
  • On Tuesday, Iran reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia after a seven-year closure, the result of the normalization deal between Tehran and Riyadh that was brokered by China. AWC
  • The Treasury Department placed sanctions on seven people and six entities for supporting Iran missile program. UPI

News Roundup 6/5/2023

by | Jun 5, 2023 |

US News

  • The FBI is looking to gather new information about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported on Thursday. AWC
  • Rodolphe Jaar was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the plot to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021. AJ

Mexico

  • Mexican TV has reported that a militant affiliated with Mexico’s Gulf Cartel was spotted carrying an advanced rocket launcher, the same type that the US has shipped thousands of to Ukraine. AWC

Russia

  • The Russian Defense Ministry said early Monday that Ukraine began a “large-scale offensive” by launching attacks along five sections of the frontlines in the eastern Donbas region. AWC
  • NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Turkey has not changed its position  on refusing to allow Sweden in the alliance. Boston Herald 
  • The US will focus its efforts on arming Ukraine and not attempting to bring the war to a negotiated settlement, America’s top diplomat said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out a plan to massively expand Kiev’s military before talks begin. AWC
  • The Pentagon Thursday said it’s awarded a contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to ship Starlink satellite internet terminals to Ukraine. AWC
  •  Ukrainian soldiers trained by NATO and armed with Western weapons will serve as the “tip of the spear” during the upcoming counteroffensive against Russian forces, according to the Washington Post. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said this support represents the “next level” of security assistance. The Institute
  • The Kremlin says it will not reenter the New Start treaty until Washington lifts its hostile policy towards Russia. Fox News
  • Zelensky says Ukraine is ready to launch its counteroffensive. The Hill

China

  • The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced Thursday that the US and Taiwan signed the first trade agreement under a new economic initiative that was launched last year. AWC
  • Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu delivered a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore and said a conflict between the US and China would be an “unbearable disaster,” a warning that comes amid soaring tensions between the two powers. AWC
  • US Indo-Pacific Command accused a Chinese warship of acting in an “unsafe manner” when it passed a US Navy guided-missile destroyer that was transiting the Taiwan Strait with a Canadian frigate on Saturday. AWC
  • National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says the One China policy is still in effect. Politico
  • Germany will send two warships to the Indo-Pacific in 2024. Reuters

Iran

  • Iran’s navy commander said Friday that Tehran was working to form a naval alliance with several Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iraq. AWC

Somalia

  • US Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced that it launched an airstrike in Somalia on June 1, marking the second US bombing in the country within a week and the third since May 20. AWC

News Roundup 6/1/2023

by | Jun 1, 2023 |

US News

  • The former CIA officer, Brian Jeffrey Raymond, is accused of sexually assaulting 20 incapacitated women, but the case against him could fall apart because of the botched execution of the search warrant by the State and Justice Departments. NBC News
  • The debt ceiling agreement reached between the White House and House Republicans places no constraints on spending on the war in Ukraine, a White House official told Bloomberg. AWC

Europe

  • The US ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, announced Tuesday that Washington was kicking Pristina out of the US-led Defender Europe military exercises over its treatment of the ethnic Serb population of northern Kosovo. AWC
  • The US flew two B1-B bombers over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday in a show of force meant as a warning to Milorad Dodik, the leader of the semi-autonomous Serb republic within Bosnia, known as Republika Srpska. AWC

Russia

  • A Ukrainian official this week was pushing for a stronger commitment from NATO during the annual GLOBSEC forum in Bratislava, Slovakia. AWC
  • As a condition for ending the war, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded Russia remove its military forces along its border with Ukraine. The Institute
  • As NATO looms ever larger as a major actor in global affairs in the wake of the war in Ukraine, the lack of transparency that characterizes its long-range military planning processes poses a serious challenge to democratic oversight. RS
  • The Biden administration announced on Wednesday a new $300 million weapons package for Ukraine that includes Stinger anti-aircraft systems and ammunition for Patriot air defenses and the HIMARS rocket systems. AWC
  • French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that NATO should offer “concrete and tangible security guarantees” to Ukraine as the alliance is debating what to offer Kyiv at a NATO summit that will be held in Vilnius this July. AWC
  • Ukraine and its Western backers are planning to hold an international summit to increase support for Kyiv’s terms for a settlement to the conflict with Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. AWC
  • As relations between Russia and Germany continue to spiral downward amid the war in Ukraine, the two nations engaged in tit for tat moves closing down consulates and limiting the number of diplomatic personnel in each country, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. The Institute 
  • The North Atlantic alliance began military drills hosted by Finland just miles from the Russian border. An American defense official said the war games show the bloc’s commitment to the newest member of NATO. The Institute 
  • The commander of the Czech Republic’s armed forces said the North Atlantic alliance and Russia are on the path to a direct war. The general described the potential war as the “worst-case scenario” but emphasized that it remains a distinct possibility.  The Institute 
  • The Russian embassy in the UK on Wednesday slammed London over British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s comments about Ukrainian attacks inside Russia. AWC

China

  • The State Department said Wednesday that a shipment of US-made Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that arrived in Taiwan last week was part of a $223.56 arms sale to Taipei that was approved in 2019. AWC
  • US Indo-Pacific command on Tuesday claimed a Chinese fighter jet conducted an “unprofessional intercept” of a US spy plane over the South China Sea, an area where the US has increased its military presence in recent years. AWC

Middle East

  • Abu Dhabi has halted its involvement with a Washington-led coalition aimed at preventing Iranian ship seizures in the Middle East. The UAE disclosed the decision the day after the Wall Street Journal reported growing discord between Abu Dhabi and Washington over the region’s lack of American military assets. The Institute 
  • Brett McGurk, the top Middle East official on the National Security Council, recently made an unannounced trip to Oman to discuss potential diplomatic outreach with Iran over its nuclear program, Axios reported Tuesday. AWC

News Roundup 5/30/2023

by | May 30, 2023 |

US News

  • A bipartisan group of Senators sent a letter to the Defense Department chief calling for an investigation into major American arms dealers accused of systemic “price gouging,” on Wednesday, according to The Hill. The Institute 
  • The debt ceiling agreement reached between the White House and House Republicans that was announced Sunday caps military spending at $886 billion for 2024, matching President Biden’s requested budget. AWC

Kosovo

  • NATO troops stationed in Kosovo under the alliance’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission were wounded Monday while trying to disperse a group of ethnic Serb protesters in the town of Zvecan. AWC

Russia

  • Russian authorities said Tuesday that eight Ukrainian drones targeted civilian areas of Moscow, marking the largest attack on the capital city since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last year. AWC
  • Russia has issued an arrest warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) over his comments about Russians dying in Ukraine and calling US spending on the proxy war with Russia the “best money we’ve ever spent.” AWC
  • Ukraine called for Moscow to establish a demiliterized zone 100 km into Russia as a condition to ending the war. Reuters
  • Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Western plan to send F-16s to Ukraine as unacceptable and “playing with fire.” Kyiv Independent
  • Politico reports the war is being exploited by corrupt players in Kiev to create a new oligarch class. Politico 
  • Several members of the Democrat Party in Congress are urging the White House to provide Kiev with significantly more military support.The Institute 

China

  • The US said Monday that China has declined an offer for a meeting between Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Li Shangfu, who is under US sanctions. AWC
  • The US, Japan, and the Philippines will hold their first-ever trilateral coast guard exercises in the South China Sea starting this week amid rising tensions with China in the region. AWC
  • Taiwanese media has reported that Taiwan received delivery of Raytheon-made Stinger anti-aircraft missiles from the US as part of a $500 million package of free military aid that Washington has been preparing for Taipei. AWC

Middle East

  • Israel launched airstrikes in Syria on Sunday night, hitting targets near the capital Damascus that caused material damage, Syria’s SANA news agency reported. AWC
  • The US on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on Syria for the first time since the country was brought back into the Arab League as part of a normalization push between Damascus and regional governments. AWC

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