Ukraine War

• According to a report from CNN, White House officials are losing confidence that Ukraine will be able to retake all the territory Russia has captured since it invaded on February 24 as Russian forces continue to make gains in the eastern Donbas region. AWC
• President Volodymyr Zelenski’s Deputy Chief of Staff Ihor Zhovkva, who is responsible for foreign policy, said in an interview in Kiev. “NATO is telling us we are not giving you anything.” Bloomberg
• President Biden kicked off his three-day visit to a NATO summit in Madrid by announcing that the US plans to increase its military presence in Europe. AWC
• Boris Johnson is expected to tell NATO members to “dig deep” and prepare for a more dangerous decade with increased threats. Sky News
• Turkey has dropped its opposition to Finland and Sweden becoming members of Nato, paving the way for the Nordic countries to join the alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The three countries have signed a joint memorandum. FT AWC
• The US Treasury Department on Tuesday announced new sanctions on Russia that target the country’s defense industrial base and enacted a ban on the import of Russian gold. AWC
• Bulgaria said on Tuesday it was expelling 70 Russian diplomatic staff over espionage concerns. Reuters

Afghanistan

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Tuesday that the US will provide Afghanistan with nearly $55 million in humanitarian aid after an earthquake in the country killed at least 1,000 people, but US sanctions are still in place and are hampering recovery efforts. AWC

Middle East

• Israel plans to ask President Biden to approve the delivery of a new laser-powered air defense system to Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, as part of an effort to build an anti-Iran alliance in the region. AWC
• Indirect nuclear talks between the US and Iran began in Qatar. AWC
• In late May, Iraq’s parliament passed a bill forbidding and criminalizing all ties with Israel. The bill forbids officials, media, and others from establishing relations with Israel, punishable by death. Iraqi President Barham Salih did not sign the bill, and this is being made a huge deal by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who says it is “very, very shameful” of the president to favor ties with Israel. AWC
• Over the past 18 months, more than 100 people have been murdered in the al-Hol prison/refugee camp in US-occupied Syria. VOA