US News

• A recently released study exposes the “widespread dispersion” of radioactive fallout and devastation caused by the US government’s first detonation of a nuclear weapon. The Institute
• In a little-remarked move, the Biden administration announced Monday that Victoria Nuland will take over as the acting second-in-command at the State Department. She replaces Wendy Sherman, who plans to retire at the end of this week. RS

Russia

• The US and its allies are worried that Ukraine’s stalled counteroffensive means the war between Russian and Ukrainian forces will be an open-ended conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. AWC
• The Biden administration on Tuesday announced a new $400 million weapons package for Ukraine that includes ammunition for artillery and air defense systems, anti-tank weapons, and other types of equipment. AWC
• On Tuesday, the German newspaper Bild reported that the German military is blaming Ukraine’s lack of success in its counteroffensive on the tactics of its commanders. AWC
• US officials told The New York Times on Wednesday that the main thrust of Ukraine’s counteroffensive has started while the Russian military reported a “massive” Ukrainian tank attack in the southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast. AWC
• The US Marines Corps has activated its first Tomahawk cruise missile battery, a system previously banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which the US withdrew from in 2019. AWC
• The North Atlantic alliance will step up its aerial surveillance of Russian activity in the Black Sea as tensions in the region rise. Moscow recently withdrew from the Black Sea grain export agreement and warned it would consider civilian ships potentially carrying military supplies to Kiev. The Institute 
• President Joe Biden has ordered his administration to begin sharing evidence of alleged Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in the Hague, a US official said on Wednesday. According to the New York Times, the White House began notifying lawmakers of this change in policy on Tuesday. The Institute 
• On Wednesday, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) took responsibility for the October 2022 truck bombing of the Crimean Bridge that connects Crimea to the Russian mainland. AWC

China

• The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday hit back at Japan over comments made by a Japanese official about Tokyo potentially assisting Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. AWC
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Pacific Island nation of Tonga for the first time on Wednesday and took aim at China, blasting Beijing’s activities in the region as “predatory” and “problematic.” AWC
• The US Air Force tested a new missile system in the Pacific that gives cargo planes the ability to launch long-range cruise missiles that are normally fired by large bombers. AWC

Middle East

• While the Biden administration has expressed concern about the judicial overhaul being pushed forward by the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it has made clear US military aid to Israel will not be affected. AWC
• Washington says a Russian fighter jet deployed a flare that made contact with an American MQ-9 Drone in the skies above Syria over the weekend. The White House and Kremlin have traded accusations that the other is conducting dangerous operations in Syria during the past several months. The Institute 
• For the second time in a week, unnamed American officials say a US drone was struck with a flare dropped by a Russian jet in Syrian airspace. During recent months, American and Russian aircraft have increasingly engaged in hostile encounters in Syrian skies.  The Institute 
• A life-saving United Nations mapping system to coordinate rescue efforts was blocked in Syria by US sanctions following a devastating earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey on February 6, Middle East Eye reported on Wednesday. AWC