US News

• The White House offers state and local governments $1 billion in grants directed toward improving cybersecurity. Nextgov
• Veterans may be committing suicide at over double the Pentagon’s estimated rate. Military Times
• The Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin and Raytheon a contract to produce 1,800 Javelin Missiles. Defense Post

Europe

• Switzerland will buy 36 F-35s from Lockheed Martin for $5.5 billion. Reuters
• Germany and Spain conducted NATO’s first enhanced air policing mission. Defense Post

Russia

• After Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, Western leaders led by President Joe Biden vowed the Kremlin would face historic isolation that would bring its war machine to a halt and cripple Moscow’s economy. However, nearly seven months into the war, Russia has maintained its economic strength as Moscow has found several partners worldwide. AWC
• Conservative groups, including Heritage Action and Concerned Veterans for America, are calling on Congress to reject calls for additional aid. Defense One
• The US Ambassador to the UN says she has no plans to meet with Russian officials at a conference of world leaders next week. Reuters
• The US issued a new round of sanctions against Russia. AJ
• Washington and Brussels will pressure Ankara to step up the economic war on Moscow, the Financial Times reported Thursday. Western officials say the Russian economy has been able to weather the Washington-led sanctions blitz partly because the Turkish economy is offering backdoors to Moscow. According to the diplomats, Turkish banks will now be forced to abandon the Russian Mir payment system. The Institute 
• Erdogan says Turkey will push for a diplomatic end to the war as soon as possible. Hurriyet Daily
• On Saturday, Russia pulled back its forces from areas in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region as Kyiv made its first significant territorial gains in its counteroffensives. AWC
• The Kremlin said on Tuesday that despite Ukraine’s gains in the northeastern Kharkiv region, there are no plans for a mobilization, which would involve a nationwide draft. AWC
• Ukraine had stepped up intelligence sharing with the US ahead of its northeast counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region that has seen significant success, The New York Times reported on Saturday. AWC
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday made a fresh pitch for more Western arms after Ukraine made territorial gains in its counteroffensive in the northeast Kharkiv region. AWC
• Russia says it has little hope for the new US ambassador to Moscow. Reuters
• The US and 11 NATO members started large-scale military drills in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The war games dubbed “Dynamic Mariner” will put several NATO ships in a region with a major Russian military presence, at a time of soaring tensions between the West and Moscow. The Institute
• Germany will give Ukraine two additional multiple rocket launcher systems. Reuters
• Germany declined to provide Ukraine with the tanks that were requested by Kiev. Defense Post 
• The White House will announce a new weapons package for Kiev in the coming days. US News
• The Russian Foreign Ministry warned the US against providing Ukraine with longer-range missiles, saying that doing so would cross a “red line” and make Washington a “party to the conflict.” AWC
• The Treasury Department on Friday issued a “preliminary guidance” for a G7 plan to implement a price cap on Russian oil that is shipped by sea. AWC
• The European Union is backing off its sharply divisive plan to implement a price cap on Russian gas, according to Reuters. There were major concerns leading up to an emergency meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels on Friday, but the overriding fear was Moscow would respond by cutting all gas exports to the continent. AWC
• The United Nations is pushing to include a key product in fertilizer within the deal that allows Moscow and Kiev to export grain through Ukrainian ports. A Western diplomat said expanding the grain agreement to include Ammonia from Russia could stabilize the grain deal. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently criticized the export deal because the food products were going to wealthy countries that have sanctioned Moscow, rather than low-income countries. The Institute 
• 3.7 billion tonnes of agricultural products left Ukrainian ports through the grain export agreement. Reuters

China

• The US is pushing China not to back Russia in Ukraine. Reuters
• Taiwan’s Defense Ministry has confirmed for the first time that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had sent drones over the median line, the unofficial barrier that separates the two sides of the Taiwan Strait that was drawn by the US in 1955, The South China Morning Post reported on Sunday. AWC
• China sanctions heads of weapons makers in response to arms sales to Taiwan. AP
• Turkey will seek membership in the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Bloomberg

Nagorno Karabakh

• Russia and Armenia agree to joint steps to stabilize the Armenian-Azeri border. AJ
• Fighting near Nagorno Karabakh kills nearly 200 people. Reuters

Kyrgyzstan 

• Kyrgyzstan reported fighting Tajikistan resulting in 24 deaths. Reuters

Afghanistan

• The Taliban say travel restrictions are ineffective and create distance between Kabul and Washington. Tolo
• The Taliban claim to kill 40 rebels. Reuters
• A border clash broke out between Afghanistan and Pakistan resulting in multiple fatalities. The Taliban say Pakistan was attempting to build a new outpost on the border. Pakistan blamed the attack on terrorists. AJ

Iran

• A senior Israeli official speaking to reporters on Sunday said that Israel believes the Biden administration will not rejoin the Iran nuclear deal until at least after the November midterm elections in the US. AWC
• A senior Israeli official said Monday that the negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, are over and that the US and Europe should start discussing a stronger agreement. AWC
• The State Department disputes the Israeli claim that talks to revive the deal are effectively dead. Times of Israel
• The US says Iran is not a willing negotiating partner on the nuclear agreement. Reuters
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Monday that he doesn’t expect an agreement with Iran to revive the nuclear deal will be reached anytime soon. AWC
• France, Germany, and the UK released a joint statement on Saturday accusing Iran of not taking the negotiations to revive the nuclear deal seriously. AWC
• David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, said Monday that Israeli covert attacks inside Iran will continue regardless of whether or not the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, is restored. AWC
• The US is considering another round of sanctions on Iran over the attack on Salman Rushdie. Times of Israel 

Syria

• At Russia’s urging, Syria’s and Turkey’s top intelligence officials held several meetings. MEE
• ISIS killed seven US-backed Kurdish SDF fighters on Monday as part of an ongoing operation at the camp housing tens of thousands of former ISIS fighters. AWC
• The Kurds announce an end to their three-week-long operation inside the al-Hol prison camp in US-occupied Syria. Dozens of women were arrested with alleged links to ISIS. The New Arab
• A report says Israel bombed Syria 25 times in 2022, killing 27 soldiers and injuring 23 civilians. Xinhua

Middle East

• Israel seized or destroyed 44 Palestinian structures in the West Bank. The New Arab
• The Joe Biden administration rolled out a new assistance agreement with Jordan. Washington will send Amman $10.15 billion over the next seven years. The new deal will make Jordan the third largest recipient of American aid, following only Ukraine and Israel. AWC
• Al-Qaeda’s Yemen wing has been hitting the Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatists in southern Yemen in recent weeks. Indications are that deals taking pressure off the STC elsewhere may allow them to refocus. AWC

Africa

• The White House on Wednesday announced it would send over $1 billion in security assistance to Egypt. The Joe Biden administration approved the aid as several top Democratic lawmakers pushed to reduce security assistance for Egypt by $300 million. While Egyptian military dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s government is creditably accused of severe human rights abuses, Cairo is the third-largest recipient of US aid. The Institute