Russia

• President Joe Biden dispatched his CIA Director to Kiev with a proposal to end the war in Ukraine last month, according to the Swiss outlet Neue Zürcher Zeitung. The peace plan was offered at the same time the White House was preparing significant escalations in military support for Kiev, including announcing that it will send Abrams tanks to Ukraine. AWC
• Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in an interview posted to his YouTube channel on Saturday that the US and its Western allies “blocked” his efforts of mediating between Russia and Ukraine to bring an end to the war in its early days. AWC
• The Times of London reported Thursday that Germany is “open” to theories that a Western country attacked the Nord Stream pipelines in an attempt to blame the incident on Russia. AWC
• The Biden administration on Friday announced a new $2.2 billion arms package for Ukraine that includes longer-range rockets, marking the latest US escalation, although they won’t be delivered until much later this year. AWC
• Ukraine’s ruling political party, Servant of the People, said Sunday that they will remove Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov from his post and replace him with Kyrylo Budanov, who is currently serving as Ukraine’s military intelligence chief. AWC
• Senior Pentagon officials told lawmakers in the House Armed Services Committee last week in a classified briefing that Ukraine is unlikely to retake Crimea from Russia, POLITICO reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the briefing. AWC
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday warned that Russia is amassing troops and that a major Russian offensive is coming. AWC

China

• When the Pentagon first announced a Chinese balloon was transiting US airspace, the official said that similar “instances” have happened in the past, including at times before the Biden administration. AWC

Korea

• North Korea on Thursday responded to the US and South Korea announcing they would be expanding joint military exercises, warning the steps are pushing toward an “extreme red-line” and will provoke the “toughest reaction.” AWC

Middle East

• Iran on Thursday formally blamed Israel for the weekend drone attack on a military facility in the Iranian city of Isfahan a few days after US officials speaking to the media said Israel was responsible. AWC
• Iraq’s foreign exchange rate has steadily declined over recent years, falling to lows which are severely damaging the Iraqi economy. Ironically, this comes at a time when the foreign reserves meant to back the Iraqi dinar’s global position are at a near-term high. AWC
• The Iraqi dinar’s rate of exchange with the US dollar bounced off a near-term low on Friday, raising hope that months of currency free-fall may finally be coming to an end. AWC