‘IT MUST COME FASTER’: On the eve of today’s meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued another urgent plea for more weapons to retake eastern territory lost to Russia and to defend against Russian missile attacks that are taking a toll on civilians in the western parts of the country, including Lviv and Ternopil.
“We keep telling our partners that Ukraine needs modern anti-missile weapons. Our country does not have it at a sufficient level yet, but it is our country in Europe that needs such weapons most right now,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
At a press conference for Danish media, Zelensky said if the flow of weapons from the west doesn’t increase sharply, the war risks devolving into a stalemate in which little ground changes hands. “Everyone will stand still. There will be a move of one or another side one to five kilometers forward, and then one to five kilometers back. If we get more weapons requested from our partners, we will start moving forward.”
“It must come faster if we all live by the same goal,” he told reporters. “We have shown our strength, and now it is very important that our Western partners show this strength together with us.”
PENTAGON BELIEVES PUTIN HAS THE SAME GOALS AS WHEN HE FIRST INVADED UKRAINE
STOLTENBERG: ‘NATO LEADERS REALIZE THE URGENCY’: Briefing reporters this morning in Brussels ahead of the meeting of NATO defense ministers, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the point of today’s meeting is to hear from Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and determine the best way to get more weapons to the front lines.
“I fully understand that being in Ukraine, seeing all the death, all the destruction, seeing the brutal war taking place, not least in the Donbas, there is urgent need for even more, and that’s exactly what we’re going to address today with the Ukrainians — how can we provide more support, and how can we ensure that that support reaches them as soon as possible.”
“All allies have already started to significantly provide Western weapons, NATO-standard weapons, including very advanced air defense systems, multiple rocket systems, and also other types of advanced western artillery. We are also providing different types of armored vehicles and a wide range of different systems,” he said. “I cannot tell you exactly what kind of announcements that would be made today, but there are now really a wide range of different systems, including heavy systems, armored systems, and weapons.”
‘HOW THEY USE THESE SYSTEMS IS UP TO THEM’: When the Biden administration agreed to send long-range HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine, it was with the firm understanding the weapons would not be used to attack Russian soil.
But in an interview on the Fox News Channel yesterday, John Kirby, the new NSC coordinator for strategic communications, seemed to crack the door open to the use of longer-range missiles to target Russian missile launchers that are located just over the border and firing into Ukraine.
“How they use these systems is up to them. This is their war, their fight. And we’re doing everything we can to get them the kinds of capabilities that they need in the moment,” Kirby told Fox’s Martha MacCallum. “We don’t dictate to them geographic limits on the kinds of capabilities that they have. They’re in a fight for their lives, literally, and a fight for their territorial integrity.”
“In other words, they have the latitude to use the weapons that we have sent them to take out those missile launchers in Russia, if that’s what they feel they need to do with those weapons?” asked MacCallum.
“We have talked to them about use. We have talked to them about our concerns over escalation management,” Kirby replied. “Clearly, I think they understand where our concerns are.”
ZELENSKY INDICATES UKRAINE WOULDN’T HIT TARGETS IN RUSSIA WITH LONG-RANGE WEAPONS
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HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin delivers opening remarks at today’s meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters, which begins at 3 p.m. Brussels time, 9 a.m in Washington.
Then, after the meeting, Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley will brief reporters on the decisions made by the more than 40 nations who have pledged to support Ukraine. That is expected to take place at 12:45 p.m. Washington time.
Both events will be streamed live on the NATO and DOD websites.
WHITE HOUSE: BIDEN SEEKS TO ‘RECALIBRATE, NOT RUPTURE’ SAUDI RELATIONS: The White House confirmed yesterday that President Joe Biden will travel to Saudi Arabia next month and meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but not in a one-on-one meeting.
During his presidential campaign, Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state over the brutal murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
“We were going to, in fact, make them pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are,” Biden said during a presidential debate in 2019. “There’s very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia.”
Now with gas prices averaging more than $5 a gallon in the U.S., the White House says it’s time to recognize that Saudi Arabia can remain a valued partner in other areas, even as the U.S. decries its human rights record.
“While we recalibrate relations, we’re not seeking to rupture relations, because Saudi Arabia has been a strategic partner of the United States for eight decades,” a senior administration official told reporters on a conference call yesterday. “We share a host of interests with Saudi Arabia, from containing Iran, to counterterrorism, to helping protect its territory where, importantly, 70,000 Americans live and work.”
Technically, Biden is attending a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus 3, and he will be in sessions with his counterpart, King Salman, who is ailing. But the crown prince, who goes by MBS, is part of Salman’s team.
“I would just say he’ll see over a dozen leaders on this trip, and so that includes King Salman and the leadership from our Saudi hosts for the GCC+3 Summit. So, yes, we can expect the president to see the crown prince,” the official said.
DEMOCRATS UPSET: Biden is getting some pushback from members of his own party over the decision to make nice with MBS after all the tough talk about holding him accountable for Khashoggi’s murder.
“I believe President Biden was right when he was candidate Biden about this relationship and holding to account the individual who was complicit in, and ordered the brutal murder and dismemberment of my constituent Jamal Khashoggi and that is the crown prince,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA).
“I’m looking forward to getting briefed by the administration on what they are going to get in terms of human rights concessions from the Saudi regime,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) on CNN.
“I, of course, have led the fight here in the United States Senate to recast and recalibrate our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” he said. “But if the president is going to sit down and talk to this regime, then I hope that what comes with it are some real concessions about what’s happening in Yemen and on the Saudis’ human rights record.”
“I respect President Biden. I know he has a tough job dealing with gasoline prices, trying to find ways to find new sources and supplies to bring down inflation and the energy sector. And Saudi Arabia is a major player, full stop,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the second ranking Democrat in the Senate.
“Next point I want to make is that the Saudi Arabia record, particularly when it comes to Khashoggi, is an outrage. It is the type of thing that clearly it was a designed murder, and effort to dispose of the corpse in a way that it could never be discovered,” Dubin said on CNN. “So I have mixed feelings on this, and if the president called me, I’d say, Mr. President, you can’t trust these people.”
Asked if he would advise Biden not to go, Durbin replied, “I would give them that counsel.”
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The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Zelensky indicates Ukraine wouldn’t hit targets in Russia with long-range weapons
Washington Examiner: Pentagon believes Putin has the same goals as when he first invaded Ukraine
Washington Examiner: Trevor Reed files UN petition to hold Russia responsible for wrongful detention
Washington Examiner: European regulator says Western-made planes flying in Russia are ‘very unsafe’
Washington Examiner: Air Force crew cleared of wrongdoing in chaotic C-17 flight from Kabul
Washington Examiner: Jan. 6 committee updates hearing schedule after postponement
Washington Examiner: Border Patrol agents to be disciplined for horseback ‘whipping’ incident
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Armies need, you know, soldiers
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Send an international maritime flotilla through the Taiwan Strait
Air Force Magazine: House Panel Releases Draft Defense Bill, Cutting F-15EX Buy, Blocking Changes to Pass-Through Funds
USNI News: House Appropriators Want Navy To Save 5 Littoral Combat Ships From Decommissioning
Defense News: House Democrats Rebuke Calls To Raise Spending In Defense Bill
Military Times: 4.6% Pay Raise For Troops Gets Support Across Capitol Hill
Reuters: U.S. Rebuffs China By Calling Taiwan Strait An International Waterway
The Drive: New Chinese Aircraft Carrier’s Dry Dock Is Flooded, Launch Imminent
Wall Street Journal: Trains Help Drive Russia’s Latest Gains In Ukraine
Washington Post: For Ukrainian Troops, A Need Arises: Javelin Customer Service
Reuters: U.S. Awaits ‘Constructive’ Response From Tehran On Nuclear Deal
AP: Ex-WVa councilman gets 45-day sentence in Capitol riot case
Bloomberg: US Navy’s Giant Underwater ‘Orca’ Drone Is Running Years Late
Breaking Defense: As Tyndall tries to rebound, A-10 fight prompts F-35 maintainer shortfall, ‘significant risk’
Air Force Magazine: Raytheon’s Pratt & Whitney Gets $4.4 Billion F-35 Engine Deal
Air Force Magazine: How Sanctions Are Affecting Russia’s Defense Industrial Base
Breaking Defense: Analyzing The Biggest Changes In The Marine Corps Force Design 2030 Update
19fortyfive.com: Yes, There Is a Chance Russia Could Use Nuclear Weapons Over Ukraine
19fortyfive.com: Meet Germany’s Newest Tank, the KF51 Panther. Russia Will Hate It.
19fortyfive.com: Russia Could Increase Defense Spending 20% Due to Ukraine War Losses
19fortyfive.com: Russia’s MiG-35 Fighter Is On the Brink
19fortyfive.com: NATO Has a Problem: Turkey and Greece Could Be Headed for a Showdown
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 15
All Day Brussels, Belgium — Two day meeting of NATO defense ministers begins with a working dinner in which partners Finland, Georgia, Sweden, Ukraine and the European Union. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin attends in person. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is scheduled to brief reporters both days. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news
9 a.m. — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin delivers opening remarks at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. https://www.defense.gov/News/Live-Events
9 a.m. — Henry Stimson Center virtual discussion: “Lethal and Effective: Marine Corps Force Design 2030 and U.S Japan Defense Cooperation,” with Gen. Eric Smith, assistant commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps; and Yuki Tatsumi, senior fellow and co-director of the Stimson Center’s East Asia Program https://www.stimson.org/event/lethal-and-effective-marine-corps
10 a.m. 390 Cannon — House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol hearing on “the January 6th Investigation,” with testimony from Jeffrey Rosen, former acting attorney general, his deputy Richard Donoghue and Justice Department official Steve Engel. https://january6th.house.gov
10 a.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual 2022 National Security Conference on “Security in the Balance,” with retired Air Force Gen. Mike Holmes; Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman, House Armed Services Committee; and others. Full agenda at https://conference.cnas.org
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments virtual discussion: “Deterrence and Defense in the Baltic Region: New Realities,” with Estonian Ambassador to the U.S. Kristjan Prikk; Kusti Salm, permanent secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Defense; Thomas Mahnken, CSBA president and CEO; Jan van Tol, CSBA senior fellow; Chris Bassler, CSBA senior fellow; Katherine Kjellstrom, CSBA fellow; and Tyler Hacker, CSBA analyst https://csbaonline.org/about/events/deterrence-and-defense
12:00 p.m. — Hudson Institute virtual event: “The Ambassadors Series: A Conversation with Swedish Ambassador,” with Karin Olofsdotter, Ambassador of Sweden to the U.S.; and Michael Doran, senior fellow and director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, Hudson Institute https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-event-a-conversation
12:45 p.m. — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley hold a news conference, after a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. https://www.defense.gov/News/Live-Events
1 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group Defense One Tech Summit discussion: “Emerging Technologies for Tomorrow’s U.S. Military” https://d1techsummit.com
1 p.m. 2359 Rayburn — House Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee markup of the FY2023 appropriations bill for the agencies under its jurisdiction. http://appropriations.house.gov
7 p.m. — Politics and Prose bookstore book discussion on “Degrade and Destroy: The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State, from Barack Obama to Donald Trump,” with author Michael Gordon, national security correspondent at the Wall Street Journal https://www.politics-prose.com/event
THURSDAY | JUNE 16
TBA Brussels, Belgium — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin press conference at the conclusion of the NATO defense ministerial at NATO Headquarters https://www.defense.gov/News/Live-Events/
8 a.m. 3351 Fairfax Dr. — National Defense Industrial Association 2022 Human Systems Conference at the George Mason University Arlington Campus, focusing on Joint Cognitive Systems, June 15-16, with Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering David Honey delivers keynote address https://www.ndia.org/events/2022/6/15/2022-human-systems-conference
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion with Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova https://www.csis.org/events/armchair-conversation
9:45 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Korea-Japan Relations and Trilateral Cooperation,” with former National Security Council Director for East Asia Christopher Johnstone, CSIS Japan chair; and Sue Mi Terry, director of the Wilson Center’s Asia Program https://www.csis.org/events/capital-cable
10 a.m. 390 Cannon — House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol hearing on “the January 6th Investigation,” with testimony from Greg Jacob, former chief counsel to the vice president https://january6th.house.gov
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast discussion: “Assessing Russia’s War in Ukraine,” with former Defense Undersecretary for Intelligence Michael Vickers; Eliot Cohen, Arleigh Burke Chair in Strategy, CSIS; Emily Harding, deputy director and senior fellow, International Security Program, CSIS; and Seth Jones, senior vice president and director, International Security Program, CSIS https://www.csis.org/events/assessing-russias-war-ukraine
12 p.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: beginning at noon, on “Regaining Decision Advantage: Overhauling Joint All-Domain Command and Control to Bolster U.S. Deterrence,” with retired Air Force Gen. Herbert Carlisle, former commander at Air Force Air Combat Command and chair of the Stimson Center’s Board of Directors; retired Navy Adm. Scott Swift, former commander U.S. Pacific Fleet and founder of the Swift Group LLC; and retired Army Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, former deputy commander at Army Futures Command and executive vice president of strategic planning at Flyer Defense LLC https://www.hudson.org/events/2120-virtual-event
MONDAY | JUNE 20
TBA — House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., will release the text of his “Chairman’s Mark” of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. https://armedservices.house.gov/press-releases
TUESDAY | JUNE 21
8 a.m. 2401 M St., N.W. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security iDefense Writers Group conversation with Meredith Berger, acting Undersecretary of the Navy/assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations, and the environment Email Thom Shanker at [email protected]
WEDNESDAY | JUNE 22
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee full committee markup of H.R.7900, the FY2023 NDAA http://www.armedservices.house.gov
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The fiercest fighting is in Severodonetsk and in all cities and communities nearby, as before. The losses, unfortunately, are painful. But we have to hold on. This is our state. It is vital to hold on there, in Donbas. The more losses the enemy suffers there, the less power they will have to continue.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the pivotal battle for control of eastern Ukraine.
