US News

• On Thursday, a group of Republicans introduced a bill in the House and Senate that would reaffirm NATO’s Article 5 does not override congressional war powers. The effort was led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Warren Davidson (R-OH). AWC

Cuba

• Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Thursday told the House Armed Services Committee that he wants to give President Biden the authority to intervene militarily in Cuba to “take out” Chinese assets that are allegedly on the island. AWC

Russia

• Russia’s Wagner Group has called off its march on Moscow and agreed to stand down after launching a two-day mutiny and seizing a military base in the city of Rostov-on-Don. AWC
• The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday passed a resolution to pressure President Biden to escalate US involvement in the Ukraine war by supplying Kyiv with longer-range missiles. AWC
• President Biden warned Monday that the threat of Russian President Vladimir Putin using tactical nuclear weapons is “real.” AWC
• The Pentagon on Tuesday claimed that an “accounting error” has freed up an additional $6.2 billion to spend on military aid for Ukraine. AWC
• Ukrainian officials are still pushing for a commitment on Kyiv’s potential NATO membership at the alliance’s upcoming July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. AWC
• The US weapons maker Lockheed Martin says it is “standing by” to help Ukrainians fly and maintain F-16 fighter jets once NATO countries finalize their plans to provide Kyiv with the aircraft. AWC
• Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Tuesday that the Russian military has information that shows Ukraine is plotting to attack Crimea with US-provided HIMARS rocket systems and British-provided Storm Shadow cruise missiles. AWC
• A group of Belarusian exiles is receiving training in Poland to prepare for a day when they return to Belarus to take on the government of President Alexander Lukashenko, The Times reported on Sunday. AWC
• The New York Times reported Monday that the US and its Western allies have shipped weapons to Ukraine that were broken and needed repair or were only useful for spare parts. AWC
• A Pentagon official has told Congress that controversial cluster munitions Ukraine has been seeking from the US would be “useful” to Ukrainian forces on the battlefield. AWC
• National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will travel to Denmark this weekend for a meeting organized by Ukraine that is expected to be attended by officials from several countries that have remained neutral on the war, including India, China, South Africa, and Brazil. AWC
• Russian officials said Thursday that a bridge in northern Crimea that connects to Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast was damaged by a Ukrainian missile strike. AWC
• Western officials told CNN that Ukraine’s bloody counteroffensive is “not meeting expectations on any front” as Ukrainian forces are struggling to break through Russia’s defenses. AWC
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine’s counteroffensive is going “slower than desired” as Ukrainian forces have made little progress and are taking heavy losses. AWC
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $1.3 billion in new economic aid for Kyiv at a meeting on Ukraine’s reconstruction held in London, known as the Ukraine Recovery Conference. AWC
• Two US B-1B Lancer bombers arrived in Sweden this week as Stockholm is awaiting entry into NATO. According to the US military, it marks the first time US bombers landed in the Nordic nation. AWC
• Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Saturday that training for Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 fighter jets should begin next month. AWC
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill last week banning the import of books produced in Russia or printed in the Russian language. The new law is Kiev’s latest escalation in its extensive effort to eliminate Russian culture in Ukraine.  The Insitute
• Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive has been underway for over two weeks, and Kiev has little to show for the loss of life and military equipment expended the in the operations. The Institute 
• Several US media outlets have reported that US intelligence was aware Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was planning to take military action against Russia’s defense establishment before his short-lived uprising began on Friday. AWC
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested on Sunday that the US was expecting more unrest in Russia following Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s two-day uprising. AWC

China

• President Biden on Tuesday called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” just one day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the Chinese leader in Beijing. AWC
• The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Beijing and Havana are negotiating to establish a joint military training facility in Cuba, something the report acknowledged China would be exploring as a response to further US military entrenchment in Taiwan. AWC
•  Taiwanese military experts will join US and Japanese analysts in conducting war game simulations for a potential conflict with China in the Taiwan Strait, The South China Morning Post reported Monday. AWC
• The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said that eight Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes came close to Taiwan’s contiguous zone, which extends 24 nautical miles off the island’s coast. AWC
• The Chinese government summoned the US ambassador in Beijing to lodge a formal complaint over President Biden calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator,” The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. AWC
• The commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz said Chinese vessels and planes that he encountered during a seven-month deployment in the western Pacific were “very polite and very professional.” AWC
• A US Coast Guard cutter made a rare solo transit through the Taiwan Strait on June 20, which came a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded his two-day visit to Beijing. AWC
• Two US B-52 bombers arrived in Indonesia on Monday, marking the first time the nuclear-capable aircraft landed in the Southeast Asian nation as the US is looking to beef up its military presence in the region to prepare for a future war with China. AWC
• The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said that eight Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes came close to Taiwan’s contiguous zone, which extends 24 nautical miles off the island’s coast. AWC
• The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan docked in Da Nang, Vietnam, on Sunday for a six-day visit to the country amid rising tensions between the US and China in the region. AWC

Korea

• The arrival of a large US nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea was a “dress rehearsal” for the docking of a nuclear-armed submarine, Nikkei Asia reported Monday. AWC

Saudi

• Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran on Saturday and signaled Riyadh is open to a naval alliance with Tehran, an idea recently put forward by Iran’s navy chief. AWC