Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Russia, U.S. trade barbs over weapons pledge; Severodonetsk on the brink Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Tatiana Stanovaya: What the West (still) gets wrong about Putin U.N. nuclear watchdog urged to rebuke Iran, a U.S., European draft shows NY Sun's Benny Avni: State Department clings to diplomacy on Iran deal, even as the UN and Congress are begging to differ Institute for Science and International Security’s David Albright and Sarah Burkhard: Iranian breakout timeline now at zero JPost’s Seth J. Frantzman: Turkey is blackmailing NATO to justify its invasion of Syria U.S. lawmakers relaunch effort to stop U.S. support for Saudi Yemen campaign Blinken: Saudi Arabia a ‘critical partner’ for U.S. in expanding Abraham Accords Rocket attack in rebel-held Syrian town kills at least 3 Biden to meet NATO's Stoltenberg at White House on Thursday Bloomberg’s Hal Brands: The world doesn’t need a more restrained AmericaIn The News
Russia
Ukraine is suffering significant setbacks in parts of the country’s east, amid grueling street-by-street battles in the key city of Severodonetsk, which appears to be mainly under Russian control. A spokesman for Ukraine’s National Guard said Kyiv is “making every effort to hold back the enemy,” even as up to 100 of its fighters are killed daily. “We’re not seeing the Ukrainian defenses buckle. They’re hanging on, but it is a grinding fight,” a top Pentagon official said. – Washington Post
Hundreds of Russian soldiers have escaped the fighting in Ukraine or refused to take part during the early stages of the war, according to military decrees viewed by The Wall Street Journal as well as accused soldiers and lawyers defending them. – Wall Street Journal
An effort to ship grain stranded by the Russia-Ukraine war showed progress Wednesday, as a top Russian official blessed Turkey’s role in removing mines from the Black Sea and a top U.S. official said Washington was working to keep sanctions from blocking Russia’s exports. – Wall Street Journal
Ukrainian troops will be sufficiently trained within a month to operate advanced U.S. rocket systems, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, weapons Kyiv hopes will enable it to win back territory occupied by the Russians. – Wall Street Journal
With the war in Ukraine nearing its 100th day, Russia and the United States traded barbs over Washington’s pledge to bolster Kyiv’s military defense with advanced rocket systems, while a key Ukrainian city appeared to be on the brink of capture. – Washington Post
The Biden administration on Wednesday defended its decision to send advanced multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine, rejecting criticism that the decision comes too late to make a difference while brushing aside the Kremlin’s complaint that the United States is prolonging the war. – Washington Post
While the catastrophe that many feared has been avoided — war unleashing radiation across the region from the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986 — officials at the Chernobyl plant are taking stock of Russia’s capricious and chaotic month here, in which nine of their colleagues were killed and five were kidnapped. – Washington Post
The old nuclear order, rooted in the Cold War’s unthinkable outcomes, was fraying before Russia invaded Ukraine. Now, it is giving way to a looming era of disorder unlike any since the beginning of the atomic age. – New York Times
The Baltic Sea port has silos to store plenty of grain, railway lines to transport it there from Ukraine, where it has been trapped by the war, and a deep harbor ready for ships that can take it to Egypt, Yemen and other countries in desperate need of food. – New York Times
The European Union’s embargo on most Russian oil imports could deliver a fresh jolt to the world economy, propelling a realignment of global energy trading that leaves Russia economically weaker, gives China and India bargaining power and enriches producers like Saudi Arabia. – New York Times
Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany on Wednesday promised two more potentially significant donations of heavy weapons to Ukraine — an air-defense system and a tracking radar to help the Ukrainian army locate sources of Russian heavy artillery — and defended his government’s record on getting these weapons to Ukraine in a timely fashion. – New York Times
Russian companies have been plunged into a technological crisis by western sanctions that have created severe bottlenecks in the supply of semiconductors, electrical equipment and the hardware needed to power the nation’s data centres. – Financial Times
Russia’s aggressive assault on reality seems to know no bounds. In the latest inversion of what to the rest of the world is called the truth, a popular Russian newspaper, Komsomolskaya Pravda, claimed that Russia actually stands to benefit from a partial EU oil embargo. – New York Sun
In early March, as the US and its allies unleashed a wave of sanctions on Russia, President Joe Biden stood in the White House and said they wanted to deal a “powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.” But as the war in Ukraine approaches its 100th day, that machine is still very much operational. – Bloomberg
Editorial: The tide of war in Ukraine has shifted against the nation’s defenders. After being driven back from the capital, Kyiv, and other major cities in the north of the country, Russian forces regrouped and launched a more focused attack on the southeastern Donbas region. The port of Mariupol fell on May 16 and the Russians are at the brink of taking Severodonetsk, the last large city they do not hold in the province of Luhansk. Gone is the near-euphoria about Ukraine’s early military successes. A new time of testing is at hand, both for Ukrainians themselves and for their supporters in the U.S.-led NATO alliance. – Washington Post
Editorial: For months the Biden Administration has come to the right conclusion on weapons and support, but late and only after prodding from Congress or the press. The way to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, and end the bloodshed, is to defeat him on the ground. – Wall Street Journal
Michael McFaul writes: Sanctions against Russians in response to Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine are both just and effective. But we need them to work more fairly to bring an end to this war. We should not be inadvertently punishing those Russians willing to risk everything to oppose Putin. – Washington Post
Seth G. Jones writes: In addition, Ukraine needs to conduct a sustained guerilla campaign behind Russian lines that involves ambushes, raids, sabotage, and subversion against Russian forces and political leaders hand-picked by Moscow to replace local Ukrainian officials. The worst outcome for Ukraine would be allowing Russia to de facto annex more Ukrainian territory. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Bryan Clark & William Schneider write: The United States and NATO need to move from simply keeping Ukraine in the fight and help it present Putin with the possibility of losing at sea and ashore. As long as Moscow can hold Ukraine’s economy and the world food supply hostage, Putin will think he can always get a better deal. Showing Russia its blockade can be broken could cause the country’s leaders to realize a real end to the war is their best option. – Hudson Institute
Nikolay Kozhanov writes: The war unleashed by Vladimir Putin gave rise to a restructuring of oil market flows and created new sources of uncertainty that will last at least until the conflict ends and relations improve. That is not likely to happen soon and the market seems to be beginning to recognize the long-term nature of the current situation. – Middle East Institute
Tatiana Stanovaya writes: For the moment, both Russia and the West appear to believe that their counterpart is doomed and that time is on their side. Putin dreams about the West suffering from political upheaval, whereas the West dreams about Putin being removed, overthrown, or dropping dead from one of many diseases he is regularly rumored to be suffering. No one is right. At the end of the day, a deal between Russia and Ukraine is only possible as an extension of an agreement between Russia and the West or as a result of the collapse of Putin’s regime. And that gives you an idea of how long the war could last: years, at best. – Foreign Policy
Tom Rogan writes: The sense of betrayal that the Baltic states feel over the French and German response to Putin cannot be underestimated. Put simply, they no longer trust their EU political allies. This leaves EU project adherents with a catch-22. Brussels can accept these divisions and risk alienating existing members — perhaps eventually leading to new “XYZ-exits” — or the EU can move to consolidate these alienated members. – Washington Examiner
Norman Eisen, Charles T. Kotuby, and Robin Lewis write: This unity and purpose must coalesce around our best traditions of process, procedure and the rules of law, but also signal our resolve toward real solutions of providing the weaponry to defend, and money to rebuild, a free and independent Ukraine. – The Hill
Marek Jan Chodakiewicz writes: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has produced Europe’s gravest refugee crisis arguably since the Second World War. The Ukrainian disaster shares some similarities with other European migrant emergencies. The Third World’s illegal masses consistently burst into Spain, Italy, and France. They also endeavor to walk in, mostly via Greece and the Balkans. – Fox News
Iran
Hackers working for the Iranian government last summer attempted to break into and damage computer systems at Boston Children’s Hospital, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday. – Wall Street Journal
Although the State Department insists diplomacy remains the best way to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a United Nations nuclear watchdog, the United States Congress, and facts on the ground beg to differ. – New York Sun
American and Israeli security figures met on Wednesday to coordinate their efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and deter its “aggressive regional activities,” according to a White House press statement. – Jerusalem Post
The United States, France, Britain and Germany are pushing for the IAEA Board of Governors to condemn Iran for failing to resolve longstanding questions about illicit uranium traces at undeclared sites, according to a draft resolution. – Reuters
U.S. and Israeli officials committed to coordinating efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons in a meeting of senior officials, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday. – Reuters
Iran will respond to any “unconstructive action” at the upcoming IAEA Board of Governors meeting, Iran’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) stressed at a dinner on Tuesday evening the need for a new Iran strategy and an end to negotiations with Iran in Vienna. – Jewish Insider
David Albright and Sarah Burkhard write: But we now know that what Iran takes apart, it can put back together quickly. Even if Iran downsized its enrichment program, it could quickly reconstitute its capabilities, as seen by its actions from 2018 to present. A deal is also but a short-term fix — the 2015 accord permits the program’s expansion in just a few years. And the IAEA’s judgement renders any meaningful verification of such a deal impossible, even dangerous, sure to lead Iran to further violations and others to seek nuclear weapons. It is time to recognize that only the toughest type of pressure, akin to that on Russia today, is going to convince Iran not to build nuclear weapons. – Institute for Science and International Security
Salem AlKetbi writes: Iran is closely following the war in Ukraine and how drones play a crucial role in military confrontations and interstate conflicts. It has also funneled missiles and drones to its allied organizations and militias, making it a heavyweight in the security equation in the Middle East. This is why Tehran is pursuing its strategy of narrowing the Vienna talks down to the nuclear issue, making it the center of the debate and what the West sees as the concessions it would get if it reached an agreement to extend the nuclear deal, while the biggest boon for Tehran is to keep its new sources of power away from any concessions or negotiating agenda. – Arutz Sheva
Turkey
Turkey will no longer hold high-level talks with neighboring Greece, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday amid rising tensions between the traditional rivals. – Associated Press
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey had not yet received any concrete proposals to address its concerns over Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bids, which Ankara objected to on grounds that they support groups it deems terrorists. – Reuters
Seth J. Frantzman writes: Turkey has vowed a new invasion in Syria, modeled on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Claiming a need to “clean” or “clear” an area near the border of “terrorists,” Ankara has vowed to invade. Its last invasion of Afrin in 2018 and later Sere Kaniye in 2019 led to hundreds of thousands of people being forced to flee and minorities being ethnically cleansed. Kurds, Yazidis and Christian minorities are Turkey’s main targets. – Jerusalem Post
Israel
The IDF demolished the home of the terrorist from Yabad, near Jenin, who killed five Israelis in a shooting attack in Bnei Brak on March 29, Palestinian media reported. – Jerusalem Post
Nine terror suspects were arrested in IDF operations throughout the West Bank during the night between Wednesday and Thursday, the IDF Spokesperson said. – Jerusalem Post
Since the beginning of the week, Hamas officials have been struggling to explain why their group did not respond to the Flag March, which took place in the Old City of Jerusalem to mark Jerusalem Day on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
A laser system that Israel is developing to intercept incoming enemy rockets will not only make rockets ineffective against Israel, but will also bankrupt Israel’s enemies, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Wednesday. – Jerusalem Post
The Flag March held in Jerusalem on May 29, 2022 on the occasion of Israel’s Jerusalem Day, passed with relatively little incident, despite concerns that it would result in an escalation of violence on the ground. These concerns were sparked by statements made in advance of the march by Hamas and other Palestinian elements, who threatened to carry out attacks during the march, to renew the rocket fire from Gaza and even to launch a “second Sword of Jerusalem” campaign that would be a continuation of the May 2021 round of Hamas-Israel conflict, which Hamas calls the “Sword of Jerusalem” campaign. – Middle East Media Research Institute
Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar denied on Wednesday that he was in talks with Likud and its chairman, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, about the prospect of forming a government together in the current Knesset session should the coalition collapse. – Haaretz
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is considering suspending its recognition of Israel ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to Israel. – Ynet
A controversial bill outlawing the display of enemy flags — including the Palestinian flag — from being flown at state-funded institutions passed a preliminary reading in the Knesset on Wednesday. – Times of Israel
IDF fighter jets shot down an Egyptian drone near the border on Monday after its operator lost control of the unmanned aerial vehicle. – Jerusalem Post
Editorial: Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) on Tuesday – the first such deal between the Jewish state and an Arab country. The agreement, signed in Dubai by Emirati Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al-Marri and Israel’s Economy and Industry Minister Orna Barbivay, came less than two years after the countries established diplomatic relations as part of the Abraham Accords brokered by the Trump administration. – Jerusalem Post
Daniel J. Samet writes: A good foreign policy looks to the future, not just the present and past. Israel’s handling of its relationships with India, Japan, and South Korea may be a harbinger of even more breakthroughs in the region. Jerusalem has pushed to normalize ties with Indonesia and Malaysia, albeit to no avail quite yet. A bigger Israeli presence in Asia might give Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur all the more reason to start anew with Jerusalem. – Commentary Magazine
Arabian Peninsula
The Middle East city-state of Dubai is fast becoming the international hub of choice for Russian companies and wealthy individuals seeking to run their businesses and protect their money while avoiding sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. – Wall Street Journal
The United Nations said on the eve of Thursday’s expiration of a two-month truce in Yemen that it has received “preliminary, positive indications” from the warring parties about extending the nationwide cessation of hostilities. – Associated Press
Nearly 50 members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a resolution on Wednesday seeking to end any U.S. involvement in Saudi Arabia’s air campaign in Yemen, with plans to introduce a similar measure in the Senate. – Reuters
Saudi Arabia
President Joe Biden is leaning towards making a visit to Saudi Arabia — a trip that would likely bring him face-to-face with the Saudi crown prince he once shunned as a killer. – Associated Press
Saudi Arabia has indicated to western allies that it is prepared to raise oil production should Russia’s output fall substantially under the weight of sanctions, according to five people familiar with the discussions. – Financial Times
Could President Joe Biden’s nominee to be America’s next ambassador to Saudi Arabia – a career diplomat who most recently served overseas as the chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem – be the key to bringing the kingdom into the Abraham Accords, or, barring that, help take the country one step closer to normalization with Israel? – Jewish Insider
Secretary of State Tony Blinken highlighted Riyadh’s potential role in expanding the Abraham Accords on Wednesday, ahead of an expected visit to the region by President Joe Biden later this month. – Jewish Insider
Middle East & North Africa
A rocket struck a residential area in a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding others, opposition activist said. – Associated Press
The Christian Lebanese Forces party will reject anyone aligned with the armed Shi’ite movement Hezbollah as prime minister and stick to its boycott of government if a new consensus cabinet is formed, the party’s leader said on Wednesday. – Reuters
Timo Behr and Saskia M. van Genugten write: Regardless of the outcome of this process, the strategy delivers a positive impulse for EU-Gulf relations, and EU efforts to enhance its presence and become more politically engaged in the Gulf are a step in the right direction. However, the document is no more than that: a first step toward building a more strategic partnership. And as in the decades leading up to this step, the two sides will meet familiar challenges on the way. – Middle East Institute
Amos Harel writes: The strengthening of relations with the Gulf is connected with a parallel U.S. initiative to transfer responsibility for working with the Israel Defense Force to the U.S. Central Command, whose purview is the Middle East, instead of the European Command. Senior Israel Defense Forces sources told Haaretz that the move had significantly improved day-to-day coordination between the two sides. – Haaretz
China
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s eight-country, 10-day tour of the South Pacific failed to deliver Beijing’s desired multilateral pact on security and development. But there are few signs the setback has damped China’s determination to expand its influence in the strategically important region. – Washington Post
China’s top diplomat in New Zealand warned that the South Pacific country risked squandering close trade ties as Wellington increasingly sides with the U.S. and Australia in trying to limit Beijing’s influence in the region. – Wall Street Journal
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Vanuatu on Wednesday for talks as he continued his regional island-hopping tour two days after failing to ink an ambitious deal with 10 South Pacific nations. – Associated Press
Australia and China continued their tit-for-tat diplomatic rivalry in the Pacific on Thursday as the foreign ministers from each country paid separate visits to island nations. – Associated Press
US authorities are ready to implement a ban on imports from China’s Xinjiang region when a law requiring it becomes enforceable later in June, a US Customs official said on Wednesday, adding that a “very high” level of evidence would be required for an exemption. – Reuters
Jacob Helberg and Enes Kanter Freedom write: Much like Europe’s recent experience with Russia, reversing the United States’ economic dependence on China will be difficult and incur near-term costs. These short-term costs, however, will only be compounded and substantially greater if policy action is deferred until after a military crisis commences. The United States can start decoupling deliberately, intelligently, and strategically from China while it still has time to do so—or it can do so reactively, hurriedly, and chaotically once disaster strikes. – Foreign Policy
South Asia
Sri Lanka is appealing for food assistance from its neighbours as the country’s debt crisis spirals into a humanitarian emergency. – Financial Times
Pakistani Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced his contract’s termination for going on the “tour in a personal capacity,” adding that “Pakistan’s policy on Palestine is clear.” – Jerusalem Post
In a recent article, titled “Radicalization of the South Asian Muslim States,” Pakistani military writer Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Muhammad Asif, while discussing the issue of radicalization in Afghanistan and Pakistan, noted Gul’s forecast that during the 1980s Pakistan had defeated the USSR in Afghanistan with American aid and, following 9/11, would defeat America with American aid, ostensibly, by supporting the Afghan Taliban, who seized power on August 15, 2021. – Middle East Media Research Institute
Asia
The Biden administration is forging closer economic ties with Taiwan in areas including trade, supply chains and technology-export controls, amid growing tensions with China. – Wall Street Journal
The Trans-Pacific Partnership that the U.S. negotiated with 11 other Pacific Rim countries was in that mold, but President Trump abandoned it in 2017 and Mr. Biden hasn’t sought its return. – Wall Street Journal
Pacific island leaders agree China’s plan for a sweeping trade and security pact needs to be discussed at a regional meeting before any decisions are made, Samoa’s leader said on Thursday. – Reuters
Within days of being sworn in on May 23, Wong — born to a Chinese Malaysian father — rushed to Fiji to counter a rare trip to nearby Pacific island countries by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He aimed to sign a sweeping regional deal to entrench Beijing’s influence after reaching a security agreement with the Solomon Islands that may allow naval ships to dock some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) from Australia’s coast. – Bloomberg
Four Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force warships will leave later this month for a four-month deployment throughout the Indo-Pacific region, Japan’s Ministry of Defense recently announced. – USNI News
Michael Mazza writes: American goals might evolve in a number of ways over the course of a Taiwan Strait conflict. Initial, relatively limited goals are likely to include the preservation of the US alliance system in Asia and of Taiwan’s de facto independence; more ambitious goals might include regime change in China or worldwide establishment of diplomatic ties with Taiwan. – Global Taiwan Institute
Europe
In a major concession to the Polish government, the European Union’s executive arm on Wednesday opened the door for the disbursement of billions of dollars in aid to Poland that had been blocked during a standoff over judicial independence in the country. – New York Times
Denmark voted to deepen its military cooperation with the rest of Europe, as a majority of Danes on Wednesday approved scrapping a 30-year-old opt-out that kept the Scandinavian nation out of common European Union security and defense policies. – Wall Street Journal
Two weeks into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that his support for international sanctions on Moscow would only go so far. It took months for the European Union to heed the message. – Wall Street Journal
Croatia is on track to adopt the euro next year after European Union regulators said the country met the criteria to qualify, a sign that the currency bloc will continue to expand after years of economic crises and shocks. – Wall Street Journal
Hungary was holding up the finalisation of the European Union’s sanctions package against Russia on Wednesday, insisting on the removal of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill from the list of sanctioned individuals, three diplomats said. – Reuters
Members of the French diplomatic corps are dropping their traditional reserve to go on a rare strike Thursday, angered by a planned reform they worry will hurt their careers and France’s standing in the world. – Associated Press
British regulators gave final approval Wednesday to develop a new North Sea gas field, while the Dutch government announced that it has issued permits for a joint gas exploration project with Germany. – Associated Press
Three times this year, NATO has assumed command of member navies’ aircraft carriers to practice integrating national forces under alliance leadership, an often-overlooked capability that experts and officials say is vital for NATO to operate effectively in wartime. – Business Insider
Slovakia will deliver eight self-propelled Zuzana 2 howitzers to Ukraine under a commercial contract which a state-controlled producer signed, the Slovak Defence Ministry said on Thursday. – Reuters
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed solidarity for Ukraine in what she described as a “barbaric war” with Russia at an event on Wednesday, after months of silence prompted criticism of her own policy towards Moscow. – Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden and his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan,will meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. – Reuters
Africa
A U.N. peacekeeping convoy was attacked by suspected terrorists in northern Mali on Wednesday and a Jordanian peacekeeper was killed and three other Jordanians were wounded, the United Nations said. – Associated Press
Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday extended a joint military operation launched late last year against Islamist insurgents in east Congo, the operation’s spokesperson said. – Reuters
U.S. Ambassador Mike Hammer will serve as the new U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday, taking up the position at a time of persistent political turmoil in the region. – Reuters
The Americas
Canada’s military has accused Chinese warplanes of harassing its patrol aircraft as they monitor North Korea sanction evasions, sometimes forcing Canadian planes to divert from their flight paths. – Reuters
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez confirmed he will attend the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles this month in a call with U.S. President Joe Biden Wednesday, Fernandez’s office said. – Reuters
The United States is still hammering out a final guest list ahead of next week’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, senior U.S. officials said on Wednesday, after weeks of tension around several countries expected to be excluded. – Reuters
The administration of President Joe Biden on Wednesday revoked a series of restrictions on flights to Cuba imposed by his predecessor, including ending a prohibition on U.S. airline flights to Cuban airports other than Havana. – Reuters
The U.S. Embassy in Havana on Wednesday criticized the trial of two Cuban artist-dissidents as neither “free nor fair” on social media, fueling a growing standoff over human rights just weeks after Washington moved to ease sanctions on the island nation. – Reuters
The Biden administration is in talks with Spain and Canada about taking more Western Hemisphere refugees for resettlement, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, signaling possible commitments that could be announced at next week’s Summit of the Americas. – Reuters
Hal Brands writes: Similarly in the Middle East, reasonable people can debate the proper level of U.S. involvement, or what constitutes a reasonable risk to accept on a variety of issues, from containing Iran to opposing Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine. But recent events have reminded us that a world less influenced by the US will be one in which autocratic predation becomes more common. The Ukraine war has reminded the world about the stubborn persistence of evil. In doing so, it has also illuminated the virtues of American power. – Bloomberg
Cybersecurity
The White House said on Wednesday that any offensive cyber activity against Russia would not be a violation of U.S. policy of avoiding direct military conflict with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. – Reuters
The director of the FBI on Wednesday said the intelligence agency is “laser focused” on thwarting Russian cyber operations, warning that the country has taken steps to launch potential destructive attacks. – The Record
Federal authorities have seized the internet domain names of numerous websites amid an investigation into the sale of stolen personal information online and cyberattacks for hire. – The Hill
U.S. Cyber Command Director Gen. Paul Nakasone confirmed for the first time that the U.S. had conducted offensive cyber operations in support of Ukraine. – The Hill
Defense
As a result, in FY2023, the Department of Defense (DOD) plans to spend at least $668 million on counter-UAS (C-UAS) research and development and at least $78 million on C-UAS procurement. As DOD continues to develop, procure, and deploy these systems, congressional oversight of their use may increase, and Congress may have to make decisions about future authorizations, appropriations, and other legislative actions. – USNI News
The U.S. Air Force’s top civilian said Wednesday the service is eyeing a 5% cut in the minimum number of aerial refueling tankers it is required to keep in its fleet. – Defense News
The U.S. military may need to reorganize to fight future wars, which will be profoundly changed by artificial intelligence, robotics and other advanced technologies, according to Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. – Defense News