Russia

• The German foreign intelligence service assesses that Kiev is losing a “three-digit number” of soldiers daily, according to a report in Der Spiegel. Berlin informed politicians of the assessment during a secret meeting this week. AWC
• The Pentagon has decided to extend a troop deployment in southeast Romania, which is part of the US military buildup in Eastern Europe that was ordered around the time Russia invaded Ukraine. AWC
• Over the weekend, other NATO members’ pressure on Berlin continued to mount while bipartisan American lawmakers have issued demands that Washington lead by example and send its own heavy tanks to Ukraine. The lawmakers highlighted the influence such a move could have in convincing other allies to send heavy tanks to Kiev “in lock step” with the American government. AWC
• The head of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, said on Sunday that Western military support for Ukraine could bring about a “global catastrophe” and warned of potential retaliation for arms supplies. AWC
• The US on Thursday announced a new massive $2.5 billion arms package for Ukraine that includes Stryker armored combat vehicles for the first time. AWC
• Russian officials on Thursday reacted to a report from The New York Times that said the US was warming to the idea of helping Ukraine strike Crimea despite the risk of a Russian escalation. AWC
• Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, warned on Thursday that Russia losing the war in Ukraine could potentially trigger a nuclear war. AWC

China

• The US has expanded its training of the Taiwanese military to include a program involving the US National Guard, Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. AWC

Middle East

• National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday in the first high-level US visit to the country since the new Israeli government was sworn in. AWC
• A US military base in southern Syria was targeted in a drone attack on Friday that wounded two members of a US-backed militia. AWC
• US Africom Command said it launched an airstrike in Somalia on Friday against al-Shabaab in support of the US-backed Mogadishu-based government. AWC