NO POWER, NO WATER: Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens are living without electricity and running water after the latest barrage of Russian airstrikes, which have little military utility but are designed to inflict maximum misery on civilians.
Yesterday dozens of Russian cruise missiles targeted at least 10 regions of the country, including the capital Kyiv, which was rocked by explosions that left 80% of the city without water.
“Good morning, European friends! How are you? Reading tweets, drinking coffee?” tweeted Olena Zelenska, Ukraine’s first lady. “Want to feel how Ukrainians start their day? Go down to cold basement for a couple of hours: with a flashlight and a power bank instead of a warm cup — having no idea when will the electricity be.”
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry claimed its air force shot down 44 cruise missiles “before their first cup of coffee” but said that enough missiles hit more than a dozen energy facilities to cause what the Pentagon called a “widespread impact on Ukraine’s power grid.”
“Ukraine has been able to defend against some of these attacks, but damage to the electric grid and water supply are serious concerns directly harming the civilian population,” a senior defense official told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.
“Russian forces fired over 50 Kh-101 and Kh-555 missiles from the northern Caspian Sea and the Volgodonsk region of Rostov Oblast, targeting critical Ukrainian energy infrastructure,” said the latest assessment from the Institute for the Study of War in Washington.
RUSSIA LAUNCHES FRESH WAVE OF STRIKES ON KYIV, TARGETING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
WHAT UKRAINE NEEDS NOW: While the Pentagon continues to say it’s focusing on beefing up Ukraine’s air defenses, the widespread damage has created a critical need for repair crews and spare parts to restore power and water.
“I can tell you that that is a topic that we’re talking a lot about inside of the U.S. government,” said the official at yesterday’s briefing. “Of course, the Defense Department is really in a supporting role to our civilian agencies, who have expertise in civilian infrastructure. And so we are considering how we might be able to support the Ukrainians as they try to get their infrastructure back online.”
Ukraine called the campaign to destroy critical civilian infrastructure an act of terror and has called repeatedly for Russia to be declared a terrorist state, something the U.S. State Department has declined to do.
“There is no question … that President Putin is exacting brutality, death, destruction across the country of Ukraine,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price at yesterday’s briefing. “It is certainly not always clear that the targets that are pursued by Russia’s missiles and bombs have any military purpose whatsoever. There are, and we’ve all seen, a number of strikes and bombardments that appear to be nothing more than an effort to brutalize the people of Ukraine.”
RUSSIAN STRIKES CAUSED ‘WIDESPREAD IMPACT’ ON UKRAINE’S POWER GRID, US SAYS
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HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he will welcome the 18th Airborne Corps back from its deployment to Europe.
“Secretary Austin will also receive unit briefings, conduct troop engagements, and host a spouse roundtable during the trip,” according to the Pentagon.
“SEEDS WERE BEING SOWN’: Former Vice President Mike Pence has a book coming out two weeks from today, and in an excerpt published by Axios, Pence describes a gathering that took place in the Oval Office just after the 2020 election, where he and former President Donald Trump met with the campaign’s lawyers to review their legal options to challenge the outcome of the election.
“What began as a briefing that Thursday afternoon quickly turned into a contentious back and forth between the campaign lawyers and a growing group of outside attorneys led by Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, an attorney who had represented General Mike Flynn,” writes Pence in his memoir So Help Me God. “After the campaign lawyers gave a sober and somewhat pessimistic report on the state of election challenges, the outside cast of characters went on the attack. … Giuliani told the president over the speakerphone, ‘Your lawyers are not telling you the truth, Mr. President.’”
“Even in an office well acquainted with rough-and-tumble debates, it was a new low … [and] went downhill from there,” Pence writes. “In the end, that day the president made the fateful decision to put Giuliani and Sidney Powell in charge of the legal strategy. … The seeds were being sown for a tragic day in January.”
THE MYSTERY OF THE MAKAROV: Yesterday, we reported on the drone attack on the Russian Navy frigate Admiral Makarov, which was designated as Russia’s flagship in the Black Sea after its warship the Moskva was sunk in April. Video posted on Twitter appeared to show at least one maritime drone getting within feet of the ship before the video cut out.
The Pentagon confirmed there were explosions in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol over the weekend, but officials would not say if the Makarov was damaged or sunk or whether the drone in the video was one of the mysterious unmanned coastal patrol vessels the U.S. supplied Ukraine earlier this year.
“Is the Admiral Makarov still in the Russian fleet, or is it a submarine at this point?” one reporter asked at yesterday’s briefing.
“We’re not going to provide any kind of damage assessment. As I mentioned, we do know that there were explosions in that area, but we’re not going to have any additional information to provide,” a senior military official replied. “I’d refer you to the Russian MOD for a status update on their vessels.”
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The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Russia launches fresh wave of strikes on Kyiv, targeting critical infrastructure
Washington Examiner: Russian strikes caused ‘widespread impact’ on Ukraine’s power grid, US says
Washington Examiner: Air Force to send six nuclear-capable B-52s to Australia amid tension with China: Report
Washington Examiner: White House weighs housing surge of migrants at Guantanamo Bay or third country: Report
Washington Examiner: Brazil’s conservatives limit Jair Bolsonaro’s options to contest election
Washington Examiner: Local authorities arrest Pentagon police officer for allegedly selling cocaine
AP: US military now doing on-site weapons inspections in Ukraine
AP: Russia recruiting U.S.-trained Afghan commandos, vets say
New York Times: Attacks By Sea Drones On Russian Fleet Put Focus On Ukraine’s Growing Arsenal
Red Snow: For Want of a Foot Warmer, The Winter War in the Donbas May Be Determined
Bloomberg: Turkey Holds Off on Sweden’s NATO Bid Ahead of Stoltenberg Visit
Reuters: China’s Xi Greets Vietnamese Ally With Ceremony, Call For Defiance
Radio Free Asia: New Photos Show China’s Artificial Islands Are Highly Developed Military Bases
Bloomberg: U.S. Ban on Americans Aiding China Chip Firms Narrower Than Feared
AP: China Slams Reported Plan for US B-52 Bombers in Australia
CNN: U.S. Iran Envoy Says He Is Focused On ‘Where We Can Be Useful’ And Not Going To ‘Waste Our Time’ On Nuclear Deal Right Now
Space News: For Space Force, Raymond’s Retirement Marks the End of an Era
Air & Space Forces Magazine: A-10s Deploy to Guam for PACAF Exercise
Task & Purpose: Navy Jet Considered ‘Beyond Repair’ Returns To Flight 5 Years After Mid-Air Collision
Military.com: F-35 Anniversary Marks a Major Inflection Point for the Fighter Jet
Yonhap: N. Korea Warns Of ‘More Powerful’ Actions Against Allies’ Air Drills
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Kadena-Based F-15C/Ds Start Retiring; F-15EX Likely Replacement
Air & Space Forces Magazine: AFCENT’s New Task Force 99 Begins Drone Experiments
NBC: ‘Working in Fear’: Some Private Contractors Are Accused of Abusive Labor Practices on US Military Bases
Defense News: Pentagon Seeks Additive Manufacturing to Spur Hypersonic Development
Defense News: Marines Aim For ‘Culture Of Interoperability’ With Japan, Philippines
19fortyfive.com: Can Ukraine Hold Out Until Putin Collapses?
19fortyfive.com: Putin Has A New Evil Plan to Win the Ukraine War
19fortyfive.com: Putin Retaliates: Russia Fires At Civilian Tugboats In Black Sea
19fortyfive.com: Russia Doesn’t Even Have Enough Rifles to Fight Ukraine
19fortyfive.com: Why the Ukraine Drone Attack on the Russian Navy Was Historic
The Cipher Brief: Is This Our Digital Sputnik Moment?
The Cipher Brief: Tehran’s Protest Problem May Run Deeper Than It Thinks
Calendar
TUESDAY | NOVEMBER 1
8:15 a.m. Hyatt Regency Crystal City — Naval Submarine League 2022 symposium on “Expanding the Reach of the Undersea Force,” Nov. 1-2, with Adm. Frank Caldwell, director of Naval Reactors; Vice Adm. Bill Houston, commander of Submarine Force; and Adm. Christopher Grady, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff https://www.navalsubleague.org/events/annual-symposium
9 a.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: “Terminator on the battlefield: Emerging and evolving tech in the Russia-Ukraine war,” with Margarita Konaev, deputy director of analysis and research and fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology; Gavin Wilde, senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Technology and International Affairs Program; Samuel Bendett, analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses’s Russia Studies Program; Tom Stefanick, visiting fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology; and Jaclyn Kerr, nonresident fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology’s Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative https://www.brookings.edu/events/terminator-on-the-battlefield
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “CISA Strategic Plan for 2023-2025: The Future of U.S. Cyber and Infrastructure Security,” with CISA Director Jen Easterly; CISA Chief Strategy Officer Valerie Cofield; Ron Green, executive vice president and chief security officer at Mastercard; and Grant Schneider, senior director of cybersecurity services at Venable https://www.csis.org/events/cisa-strategic-plan-2023-2025
12 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual discussion: beginning at noon, on “The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War,” with former Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA); former Rep. John Tierney (D-ME), executive director of the Council for a Livable World; and Neta Crawford, nonresident fellow at the Quincy Institute https://quincyinst.org/event/the-pentagon-climate-change-and-war/
1 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion: “Focused on Resilience: Future Proofing Government Networks At Scale,” with Air Force Chief Information Officer Lauren Barrett Knausenberger; Glenn Jones, director of the Navy’s Information Technology Division; Kevin Walsh, director of information technology and cybersecurity at the Government Accountability Office; Ken Gonzalez, associate director of Verizon’s Solutions Architects; and Jim Westdorp, chief technologist at Ciena Government Solutions https://www.govexec.com/feature/ciena-verizon-focused-resilience
2 p.m. 1030 15th St. N.W. — Atlantic Council discussion: “The future of U.S. nuclear strategy: Releasing the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review,” with Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Policy Richard Johnson; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance Alexandra Bell; and Cindy Lersten, director of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Policy and Strategic Planning https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/the-future-of-us-nuclear-strategy
8 p.m. 1212 Cathedral St., Baltimore, Maryland — Stevenson University “Baltimore Speaker Series,” with former CIA Director John Brennan https://baltimorespeakers.org/
WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 2
8 a.m. Hyatt Regency Crystal City — Naval Submarine League 2022 symposium: “Expanding the Reach of the Undersea Force,” with Rear Adm. Jonathan Rucker, program executive officer Attack Submarines; Rear Adm. Jeffrey Jablon, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet Submarine Force; and Adm. Chas Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command https://www.navalsubleague.org/events/annual-symposium/
8:30 a.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual Continuous Diagnostic and Mitigation (CDM) Summit, with Randy Resnick, director of zero trust portfolio management at the Defense Department, and acting Justice CIO Kevin Cox https://events.fcw.com/fcw-summit-cdm/
8:45 a.m. 1735 New York Ave. N.W. — Defense Strategies Institute Assured Microelectronics Summit, Nov. 2-3, with Christine Michienzi, chief technology officer for the deputy assistant defense secretary for industrial policy and CTO for the defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment https://dsigroup.org/assured-microelectronics-registration
THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 3
11 a.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. N.W. — U.S. Institute of Peace discussion: “Putin’s Shifting Approach to Conflict and the War in Ukraine,” with Mark Galeotti, principal director of Mayak Intelligence and senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, and Donald Jensen, director of the USIP Russia and Europe Center https://www.usip.org/events/putins-shifting-approach
12 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group virtual discussion: “Cyber Defenders: Collaborative Computing,” with Brian Mazanec, director of defense capabilities and management at the Government Accountability Office https://events.nextgov.com/cyber-defenders-collaborative-computing/
3:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. N.W. — Atlantic Council discussion: “Power projection: Accelerating the electrification of U.S. military ground vehicles,” with Assistant Army Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Douglas Bush; former Assistant Defense Secretary for Operational Energy Sharon Burke, founder and president of Ecospherics; Jeffrey Ryder, vice president for growth and strategy at GM Defense; and Jim Khoury, director of electrification outside sales and new business development at GM Defense https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/power-projection
FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 4
12:30 p.m. 1957 E St. N.W. — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs discussion: “The CCP 20th Party Congress and China’s Road Ahead” https://calendar.gwu.edu/ccp-20th-party-congress-conference
1 p.m. — U.S. Institute of Peace virtual discussion: “Resolving Tensions Between South Korea and Japan: Creative Approaches to Strengthening the Relationship,” with Jonathan Miller, director of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s Indo-Pacific Program; Nathan Park, nonresident fellow at the Sejong Institute in South Korea; Alexis Dudden, professor of history at the University of Connecticut; Daniel Sneider, lecturer in East Asian studies at Stanford University; Timothy Webster, professor of law at Western New England University; and Frank Aum, senior expert for Northeast Asia at USIP https://www.usip.org/events/resolving-tensions
3 p.m. — Wilson Center Middle East Program virtual discussion: “U.S. Policy on Lebanon,” with Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/us-policy-lebanon-conversation
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Want to feel how Ukrainians start their day? Go down to cold basement for a couple of hours: with a flashlight and a power bank instead of a warm cup — having no idea when will the electricity be.”
Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, in a tweet describing life after Russian cruise missiles knocked out power and water to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians
