US News

• The White House federal marijuana pardon does not extend to military members. Military.com
• The White House released a new Arctic strategy on Friday that calls to “enhance” the US military presence in the region to counter Russia and China. AWC

Russia

• Russia on Monday launched one of its largest barrages of missile strikes in Ukraine in its first major coordinated attack on Ukrainian energy and communication infrastructure across the country, marking a significant escalation of the war. AWC
• Retired Adm. Mike Mullen said Sunday that the US should work quickly to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine. AWC
• The Kremlin said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin might meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss a Turkish proposal for hosting talks between Russia and the West, Reuters reported on Monday. AWC
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday said that Belarus and Russia agreed to deploy a joint military force in response to tensions on the western borders of the “Union State,” which refers to the combined territories of the two nations. AWC
• President Biden said Thursday that the risk of nuclear “armageddon” is at its highest point since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a rare admission of the danger his policy of supporting Ukraine in a war on Russia’s border poses. AWC
• White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there is no new intelligence suggesting Russia was deploying nuclear weapons. She was speaking with reporters about President Joe Biden’s statement that the US and Russia are approaching armageddon. AWC
• Ukraine’s Rada approved a draft budget for 2023 in a closed session. The spending plan has a $30 billion deficit which Kiev largely expects to be covered by Washington. The White House has sent Ukraine tens of billions in aid since Russia invaded in February. AWC
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday called for NATO to launch a “preventative strike” on Russia to prevent Moscow from using nuclear weapons, a move that would almost certainly spark World War III and possibly nuclear war. AWC
• US special operations forces are on the ground in Ukraine as part of a broad covert operation that includes CIA personnel, The Intercept reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed US intelligence and military officials. AWC
• Sweden’s domestic security agency said Thursday that its initial probe into the leaks in the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines has “strengthened the suspicions of serious sabotage.” AWC
• $300 million in private American weapons sales have gone to Ukraine. NYT
• Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday called the explosion on the Kerch Bridge that connects the Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia a “terrorist act” on civilian infrastructure carried out by the Ukrainian government’s special services. AWC

China

• Amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday said in comments aimed at Beijing that war is “absolutely not an option” for resolving the dispute over Taiwan. AWC

Middle East

• President Biden on Friday issued guidance requiring presidential approval for drone strikes outside of Iraq and Syria, which are the only two countries officially recognized as active US war zones. AWC
• In a Sunday vote boycotted by most of the opposition, the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decided to extend the legislative mandate of its own parliament by another year. AWC
• US special operations forces launched a rare raid in Syrian government-controlled territories in Syria, killing one person and arresting two more. AWC
• A pair of US raids against ISIS targets in Syria were carried out by US forces overnight Thursday into Friday. At least three ISIS leaders were reported slain, including Bakkan Wahid al-Shammri. AWC
• US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that a rocket attack targeted US forces in Syria on Saturday and that no US troops were killed or injured in the incident. AWC
• A US-led coalition drone strike in northern Syria on Monday killed an ISIS member, The Associated Press reported Monday, citing a Kurdish-Syrian security official.
• Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, said Wednesday that he fears there will be a “return to war” in Yemen after a six-month ceasefire expired on Sunday. AWC