US News

• Republicans in the House are divided over a deal Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made with conservative GOP members to secure enough votes to win the speakership that could potentially bring this year’s military budget down by about $75 billion, although the chances of the cut making it through Congress are unlikely. AWC

Russia

• Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned in an op-ed published by The Washington Post on Saturday that “time is not on Ukraine’s side” as its economy is in shambles and the country is entirely reliant on foreign aid. AWC
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Monday that none of Ukraine’s Western backers has “done enough” to support Kyiv in a call for more military aid. AWC
• The US is considering sending Stryker armored combat vehicles to Kyiv as part of a new weapons package that is expected to be announced next week, POLITICO reported on Monday. AWC
• The UK is considering sending Ukraine its main battle tank, the Challenger 2, which would mark a significant escalation of military aid and would be the first time Kyiv would receive a Western-made heavy tank. AWC
• The US and Sweden on Monday opened talks on a military cooperation agreement that will pave the way for a US troop presence in the country as Stockholm is preparing to become a NATO member. AWC
• The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that the US will begin training 100 Ukrainian soldiers how to use Patriot missile defense systems as soon as next week on US soil at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. AWC
• German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made an unannounced visit to the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Tuesday as Berlin is under growing pressure to provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks. AWC
• The head of the private Russian military firm Wagner Group said Tuesday that the mercenaries have taken control of the town of Soledar in the eastern Ukrainian oblast of Donetsk. AWC
• A Ukrainian official said it was logical for Kiev to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. The country’s Ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, claimed it was “silly” to exclude Kiev from the Brussels-based alliance because Ukraine will be “full” of weapons manufactured in NATO member states. The Institute 

China

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union announced a new cooperation pact on Tuesday. The chief of the EU said the agreement was made to counter threats from Russia and China. The Institute
• China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said it launched more military exercises around Taiwan on Sunday to counter the “collusion” between Taiwan and “external forces” as US and other Western support for Taipei continues to increase. AWC
• The US and Japanese militaries are increasing cooperation to prepare for a possible war with China over Taiwan or other areas in the Asia Pacific, the top US Marine Corps general in Japan told Financial Times. AWC
• The US wants to deploy units of Marines armed with missiles along Japan’s Okinawa islands as part of a military buildup aimed at China, the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun has reported. AWC

Israel

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on Monday and said it was time for the US and Israel to become more closely aligned on Iran. AWC
• Israel’s former military intelligence chief has said Israel convinced the US that Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani posed an “immediate threat” to American soldiers, the same language former President Trump used to justify his assassination at the time, although no evidence was ever provided for the claim. AWC

Somalia 

• The US announced a $9 million military assistance package to the Somali government based in Mogadishu. The Joe Biden administration hopes the Somali military will use the weapons against al-Shabaab. The Institute