RUSSIA LOSING MORE GROUND: As Russian President Vladimir Putin was signing documents in the Kremlin’s gilded St. George’s Hall claiming that four regions of Ukraine were now part of Russia, his forces in two of those regions were suffering more embarrassing battlefield setbacks in the face of a steady advance of Ukrainian troops.
“Ukraine continues to make progress in offensive operations along both the northeastern and southern fronts,” said the British Defense Ministry in a tweet. In the Kharkiv area in the north, the British intelligence assessment said Ukraine has “consolidated a substantial area of territory” and “advanced up to 20 km (12 miles) beyond the Oskil river into Russia’s defensive zone,” closing in on another crucial supply node in the town of Svatove.
“Politically, Russian leaders will highly likely be concerned that leading Ukrainian units are now approaching the borders of Luhansk Oblast, which Russia claimed to have formally annexed last Friday,” the update said.
“Ukrainian forces continued to make significant gains in Kherson Oblast while simultaneously continuing advances in Kharkiv and Luhansk,” said the latest update from the Institute for the Study of War. “Ukrainian forces liberated several settlements on the eastern bank of the Inhulets River … forcing Russian forces to retreat to the south toward Kherson City.”
UKRAINE EMERGING AS MAJOR MILITARY POWER BETWEEN NATO AND RUSSIA
‘DOZENS OF SETTLEMENTS LIBERATED’: The southern counteroffensive has suddenly picked up momentum after a slow start last month, and if Ukrainian forces can regain control of Kherson, the first major city captured by Russia in the early days of the war, it would be a huge psychological lift for Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian army is carrying out a pretty fast and powerful advance in the south of our country as part of the current defense operation. Dozens of settlements have already been liberated from the Russian sham referendum this week alone,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily video address to Ukrainians. “In particular, according to the military reports from the Kherson region: The settlements of Lyubymivka, Khreshchenivka, Zolota Balka, Bilyaivka, Ukrainka, Velyka and Mala Oleksandrivka, and Davydiv Brid were liberated from the occupier and stabilized.”
Zelensky signed some decrees of his own yesterday, including one declaring that negotiations with Putin are impossible and another declaring Putin’s annexation documents “null and void.”
“Any Russian decisions, any treaties with which they try to seize our land — all this is worthless,” Zelensky said.
MORE HIMARS, PRECISION AMMO: Ukraine’s prowess on the battlefield in employing high-tech U.S. weapons systems has prompted the Biden administration to commit four more HIMARS launchers along with more than 100,000 artillery and mortar rounds.
“The HIMARS are pretty famous because you’ve seen how the Ukrainians can use these capabilities to take out critical Russian logistics nodes, command and control nodes, ammunition depots … and really weaken the Russian forces’ ability to respond,” said Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia at a Pentagon briefing.
“So having these additional four HIMARS is going to enable the Ukrainians and the other capabilities as well to have flexibility in how they employ these capabilities with their forces as they look for additional opportunities to seize the strategic advantage.”
Notably, the $625 million security assistance package announced yesterday included 500 M982 Excalibur precision-guided rounds and 16 more of the 155 mm Howitzers that fire the satellite-guided munition, as well as 75,000 conventional munitions. Rounding out the package is 200,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition, obstacle emplacement equipment, and Claymore anti-personnel munitions.
The new commitment is the 22nd drawdown of equipment directly from U.S. inventories and brings the total dollar value of U.S. military support for Ukraine since the start of the war to more than $16.8 billion.
US ANNOUNCES $625 MILLION AID PACKAGE TO UKRAINE
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US, ROK RESPOND TO N. KOREA MISSILE TEST: The United States and South Korea answered North Korea’s launch of an intermediate-range missile over northern Japan with a volley of missiles of their own into waters off the Korean coast.
But a South Korean Hyunmoo-2 short-range missile misfired and crashed inside an air force base on the outskirts of the coastal city of Gangneung, alarming local residents. The U.S. and South Korea also carried out drills in which a South Korean F-15K fighter jet fired two precision bombs at a firing range on a Yellow Sea island.
“This is not the first time we have done this in response to provocations by the North,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on CNN, who said the show of force was aimed at demonstrating the U.S., South Korea, and Japan “have the military capabilities at the ready to respond to provocations by the North, if it comes to that.”
“Now, it shouldn’t come to that. We have made it clear to Kim Jong Un we’re willing to sit down with no preconditions. We want to see the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. He hasn’t shown an inclination to move in that direction,” said Kirby. “And quite frankly, he’s moving in the opposite direction by continuing to conduct these missile tests, which are violations of Security Council resolutions.”
RUSSIA, CHINA BLOCK UN MEETING ON N. KOREA: The U.S. asked the United Nations Security Council to meet today to discuss North Korea’s provocative missile tests, but China and Russia opposed the move.
“We have called for a Security Council meeting to address the DPRK’s dangerous long-range ballistic missile launch that overflew Japan,” tweeted U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “We must limit the DPRK’s ability to advance its unlawful ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs.”
North Korea’s full name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Britain, France, Albania, Norway, and Ireland joined the U.S. in requesting the special session of the 15-member body.
SEIZE THE OLIGARCH’S ASSETS: A proposed bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would empower U.S. authorities to seize high-priced assets of Russian oligarchs and use the proceeds to aid Ukrainians.
The amendment to the annual must-pass defense policy bill is backed by Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
“The Ukrainian people are fighting for their freedom in an unprovoked war and have suffered unspeakable atrocities. This amendment will hit Putin and his henchman where it hurts by cutting off their access to financial assets in the U.S. and using that money to help the Ukrainian people,” said Risch in a press release. “Until we do this, these assets will continue to fund Russian terror and genocide across Ukraine. This amendment is not enough, but it’s a good start and would send a very strong message about American support for Ukraine.”
The NDAA is expected to come to a vote in the Senate later this year.
McCAUL ALLEGES COVER-UP ON CHINA FUNDING: Citing a recent Government Accountability Office report that documents how the U.S. government supports scientific research by foreign entities, including some in China, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) accused the Biden administration of not being fully forthcoming on the extent of U.S. collaboration.
“Unfortunately, the tens of millions of dollars in research collaboration they found is only part of the full picture,” said McCaul, who is chairman of the China Task Force. “The Biden administration stopped the Office of Management and Budget’s efforts to track federal spending in China that began under Trump at my request.
“I will keep working with my colleagues to track and stop every U.S. government dollar that is going into China, and ultimately, into the hands of the CCP,” he said in a statement.
INDUSTRY WATCH: Northrop Grumman is touting its role in designing and building the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory after stunning new versions of the first images from the telescope were released by NASA yesterday.
“NASA released the Chandra X-ray versions of Webb’s first images on October 4, including updated versions of Webb’s galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, Stephan’s Quintet, a star cluster in the Carina Nebula, and the Cartwheel galaxy,” the company said, “To achieve these images, the Chandra X-ray uses its highly sensitive X-ray telescope, imaging spectrometer, high-resolution camera and associated devices to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the Universe such as exploding stars, clusters of galaxies and dark matter.”
See the image of the Cartwheel galaxy here.
SEE IT: NEW PHOTO SHOWS AFTERMATH OF DART ASTEROID COLLISION
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: US announces $625 million aid package to Ukraine
Washington Examiner: Ukraine emerging as major military power between NATO and Russia
Washington Examiner: Zelensky says latest Russian troops killed in war ‘were not trained for combat’
Washington Examiner: Ukraine captures Iranian drone used by Russians intact
Washington Examiner: American sentenced to over four years in Russian prison for alleged police fight
Washington Examiner: US conducts exercises with Japan and South Korea after North Korean missile test
Washington Examiner: Spy Games: Steele dossier source trying to keep Russian intelligence suspicions out of Durham trial
Washington Examiner: SEE IT: New photo shows aftermath of DART asteroid collision
Washington Examiner: Texas National Guardsman dies from self-inflicted gunshot wound
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Biden must not let China use North Korea as leverage
Defense One: US Denies Ukraine’s Request For Long-Range Missiles In Latest Arms Gift
AP: Britain’s Defense Secretary Calls Ukraine War a ‘Wakeup Call’ for NATO
Washington Post: Ukraine Drives Russian Retreat
Bloomberg: Poland Is In Talks With US About Nuclear-Weapons Sharing
Defense One: What Surprised One Drone Maker About Russia’s War on Ukraine
Defense Scoop: Pentagon Acquisition Chief Sees ‘Lots of Different Options’ for Procuring Kamikaze Drones
Breaking Defense: Iron Beam, Israel’s Laser Air Defense System, Could Be Ready in 2-3 Years
The Drive: Russian Aggressor Squadron Gets Its First Su-35S Fighter Jets
CBS News: Tear Gas Video Triggers Investigation Into Navy SEAL Selection Course
Air & Space Forces Magazine: SDA Joins the Space Force as Agency Looks Ahead to Demos in 2023
Air Force Times: New Air Force Special Ops Teams Model the Future of ‘Agile’ Air Wars
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Pregnant Candidates Can Now Apply to Air Force Officer Training School Without a Waiver
Military Times: DOD Still Working to Complete Protections for Military Tenants
Reuters: China Has ‘Destroyed’ Tacit Agreement On Taiwan Strait — Minister
Bloomberg: Taiwan Pledges to Keep Advanced Chips From Chinese Military
Business Insider: Watch The US Navy’s New First-In-Class Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Finally Set Sail On Its First Deployment
South China Morning Post: China Airs Footage Of Aircraft Carrier Killer Nuclear Missiles ‘In Warning To US’
19fortyfive.com: China Is Showing the World How it Would Sink a US Navy Aircraft Carrier
19fortyfive.com: China’s New Drone Could Hit Mach 3
The Cipher Brief: Taiwan and the Perils of Strategic Ambiguity
19fortyfive.com: The World Response to Ukraine’s Plan to Get ATACMS to Fight Russia
19fortyfive.com: Ukraine’s Tank: How the T-64 Tank Became An Icon Of Resistance to Putin
The Cipher Brief: Putin’s Nuclear Risk Calculus
19fortyfive.com: Opinion: John Bolton: Putin Must Go: Now Is the Time For Regime Change in Russia
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 5
3 a.m. – 12 p.m. Warsaw, Poland — Casimir Pulaski Foundation and the German Marshall Fund 2022 Warsaw Security Forum today and tomorrow. Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/channel
8 a.m. 1910 Oracle Way, Reston, Virginia — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association discussion: with Kimberly Buehler, director of the Army Office of Small Business Programs https://afceanova.swoogo.com/OCT22SBB
12 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “NAFO (North Atlantic Fellas Organization) and Winning the Information War: Lessons Learned from Ukraine,” with Matt Moores, co-founder of NAFO; and Iuliia Mendel, Ukrainian journalist https://www.csis.org/events/nafo-and-winning-information-war-lessons-learned-ukraine
12 p.m. — Hudson Institute virtual book discussion: The Fifth Horseman and the New MAD (mutually assured destruction): How Massive Attacks of Disruption Became the Looming Existential Danger to a Divided Nation and the World at Large, with author Harlan Ullman, senior adviser at the Atlantic Council; Susan Eisenhower, president of the Eisenhower Group; Dov Zakheim, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and former Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Husain Haqqani, director for South and Central Asia at Hudson https://www.hudson.org/events/2163-the-fifth-horseman
THURSDAY | OCTOBER 6
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave, N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: on “The Implementation Plan for the Army Climate Strategy,” with Principal Deputy Assistant Army Secretary for Installations, Energy, and Environment Paul Farnan and former Assistant Defense Secretary for Operational Energy Plans and Programs Sharon Burke https://www.csis.org/events/launch-army-climate-implementation-plan
11 a.m. 2121 K St. N.W. — International Institute for Strategic Studies discussion: on “Ukraine: Back to the Future (of Warfare)?” with former Defense Undersecretary for Policy Michele Flournoy, co-founder and managing partner of WestExec Advisors; Ukrainian Maj. Gen. Borys Kremenetskyi, defense attache at the Embassy of Ukraine; Lawrence Rubin, associate fellow at IISS; and Franz-Stefan Gady, senior fellow at IISS https://www.iiss.org/events/2022/10/ukraine-back-to-the-future-of-warfare
1 p.m. — Atlantic Council virtual Forward Defense Forum: “How Can We Deter China in the 2020s?” with former Defense Undersecretary for Policy Michele Flournoy, co-founder and managing partner at WestExec Advisors; and Tim Cahill, senior vice president for global business development and strategy at Lockheed Martin https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/how-can-we-deter-china-in-the-2020s/
FRIDAY | OCTOBER 7
2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “The current state of affairs in Afghanistan,” with Fawzia Koofi, Afghan parliamentary lawmaker https://www.csis.org/events/armchair-discussion:-fawzia-koofi
TUESDAY | OCTOBER 11
TBA — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg news conference ahead of NATO Defense Ministerial. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news
WEDNESDAY | OCTOBER 12
TBA NATO Headquarters, Brussels — NATO Defense Ministers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, meet over two days at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. A separate meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group, hosted by the U.S., will take also take place. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is scheduled to conduct a news conference at the end of each day. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We don’t need a referendum to know which country Ukrainians would like to be part of: They are showing it by fighting for their freedom at great cost.”
Max Boot, columnist, Washington Post
