‘HASN’T UKRAINE PAID ENOUGH YET?’: As NATO leaders meeting in Madrid approved another round of military and economic support for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky once again called for security guarantees from the West, including a path to NATO membership.
Zelensky, locked in a life-and-death struggle with the army of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has watched in frustration as Finland and Sweden were fast-tracked for NATO membership, while Ukraine’s application languished for years.
“Just think about one fact now: today, a non-NATO country, albeit with your support, has been holding back a state that you all officially identify as your main threat for more than four months. We are deterring Russia from destroying us and from destroying you,” Zelensky said in his virtual address to the NATO summit.
“NATO’s open-door policy should not resemble the old Kyiv metro turnstiles: they are open, and when you approach, the turnstiles close until you pay,” Zelensky said. “Hasn’t Ukraine paid enough yet? Is our contribution to the defense of Europe and the whole civilization still insufficient? What else is needed then?”
RUSSIA HAS NO INTEREST IN PEACE TALKS, LEADING NATO OFFICIALS SAY
WAR WEARINESS SETTING IN: Ukrainian forces continue to take heavy casualties as they fight a pitched battle against Russian troops trying to encircle Ukraine’s last stronghold in the east in a last-ditch attempt to prevent Russia from gaining control of the entire Donbas region.
And Russian missile strikes on civilian targets, including the shopping mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, have left Ukrainians feeling nowhere is safe.
“It’s very difficult to hold on for five months. We cannot see — physically or mentally, we cannot see the end of our suffering,” said first lady Olena Zelenska, wife of President Zelensky, in an interview on CNN International. “You know, in the first weeks and months, we were like sprinters, we were doing a short run at high speed. We gave it 200%. But now, everybody now is running a marathon. We need to calculate our strength; we need to hold on.”
Zelenska said she feels the stress of the war, like her fellow citizens, and spends time with her husband when she can. “We, just like every family, are waiting to be reunited, to be together again, to spend evenings, to have dinner together, to talk to the children about their things.”
“It’s very difficult for all of us,” she told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “We are trying to find joy in simple things, maybe stroke a cat or do something simple. But we’re all looking — we all look forward for this war to end.”
US SPY CHIEF: PUTIN HOPES TO CONQUER ‘MOST OF UKRAINE,’ SITUATION ‘PRETTY GRIM’
ZELENSKY ‘GETS TO DECIDE’: Despite private concerns that Ukraine’s goal of expelling Russian forces from all of Ukrainian sovereign territory may be unattainable, the U.S. insists it will not pressure Zelensky to trade land for peace.
“Victory has got to be decided by President Zelensky, and he gets to decide what that looks like for his country. Our job is to make sure that he can continue to defend himself,” said John Kirby, NSC coordinator for strategic communications, in an interview on CNN.
“I would push back on the notion that we’re pessimistic about their ability to conduct a successful counteroffensive. They are doing that almost every day in multiple places,” he said. “Yes, they have challenges, and yes, Russia has made some incremental progress, but it is just that … It’s incremental, it’s spotty, and the Ukrainians have been able to push back, and we fully expect that they’ll be able to do that going forward.”
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said at a Commerce Department conference that the most likely outcome is a “grinding struggle” in which Russia consolidates its hold over southern Ukraine by the fall. “In short, the picture remains pretty grim and Russia’s attitude toward the West is hardening,” she said.
The latest assessment from the British Defense Ministry is that “Ukrainian forces continue to hold their positions in the city of Lysychansk following their withdrawal from Severodonetsk.”
“Russian forces continue to make limited progress as they attempt to encircle Ukrainian defenders in northern Donetsk,” the assessment said. “It is highly likely that Ukrainian forces’ ability to continue fighting delaying battles, and then withdraw troops in good order before they are encircled, will continue to be a key factor in the outcome of the campaign.”
UN REPORT DETAILS ALLEGED WAR CRIMES BY RUSSIAN TROOPS IN UKRAINE
Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Victor I. Nava. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.
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HAPPENING TODAY: President Joe Biden holds a news conference at 8 a.m. Washington time as the NATO Leaders Summit in Madrid wraps up. Biden then leaves immediately to return to Washington.
UKRAINE SWAPS PRISONERS WITH RUSSIA: Ukraine’s Defense Ministry announced yesterday a one-for-one prisoner swap with Russia that returned 144 captured soldiers to Ukraine, many badly wounded.
Among the prisoners were 95 men who mounted a valiant last stand at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, vowing to fight to the death.
In announcing the swap, Zelensky said, “The oldest of the liberated is 65 years old, the youngest is 19.”
“We will do everything to bring every Ukrainian man and woman home.”
SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH VETERANS OVER TEXAS: By a 5-4 vote, in an opinion written by retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that veterans can sue states to get their jobs back after returning from military service.
Writing for the majority, Breyer said federal law supersedes the state’s sovereign immunity, siding with a former Texas state trooper who sued under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.
“Upon entering the Union, the States agreed that their sovereignty would ‘yield … so far as is necessary’ to federal policy for the Armed Forces,” Breyer wrote.
GREATEST GENERATION HERO DIES: Hershel “Woody” Williams, the last remaining Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, died yesterday at the age of 98.
“Woody exemplified the warfighting spirit of all Marines — a combat-proven leader whose lifelong dedication to all service members and Gold Star families began with his heroic actions at the Battle of Iwo Jima,” the Marine Corps said in a statement. “His legacy as a warrior and an advocate for veterans will live on among all Marines, and he will be deeply missed.”
“Today, America lost not just a valiant Marine and a Medal of Honor recipient, but an important link to our Nation’s fight against tyranny in the Second World War,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “Woody Williams gave to his nation on the battlefield and after, establishing a foundation to honor and recognize Gold Star families.”
“Woody Williams hit the beach at Iwo Jima alongside thousands of other Marines in one of the bloodiest battles in American history,” said Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley in his tribute. “I am the son of an Iwo Jima veteran, and the sacrifice they made on that island is almost beyond description … We will always honor them by continuing to protect the Constitution they fought for and defended with their lives.”
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The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Russia has no interest in peace talks, leading NATO officials say
Washington Examiner: US spy chief: Putin hopes to conquer ‘most of Ukraine,’ situation ‘pretty grim’
Washington Examiner: NATO sends nuclear retaliation warning to Russia and China
Washington Examiner: Amnesty International finds bombing of Mariupol theater a ‘clear war crime’
Washington Examiner: UN report details alleged war crimes by Russian troops in Ukraine
Washington Examiner: NATO formally invites Finland and Sweden to join alliance
Washington Examiner: Biden announces permanent base in Poland, strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank
Washington Examiner: Air Force in ‘week-to-week dogfight’ to hit recruiting benchmarks
Washington Examiner: Secret Service wasn’t contacted by Jan. 6 committee before Hutchinson testimony
Washington Examiner: Liz Cheney to Republicans: You cannot be loyal to both Trump and the Constitution
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Biden’s new Europe military deployments are well intentioned but a serious mistake
Reuters: Russia Steps Up Attacks In Ukraine After Landmark NATO Summit
AP: Russia and China slam NATO after alliance raises alarm
Washington Times: U.S. Pacific Commander: China Targeting Military C2
Breaking Defense: The U.S. Isn’t Investing Nearly Enough In Critical Tech To Outpace China: Report
AP: Russians fight to encircle Ukraine’s last eastern stronghold
Marine Corps Times: Ukraine Lessons Take Center Stage In Marines’ New Information Warfare Plan
Stars and Stripes: DOD Inspector General To Evaluate Pentagon’s Intelligence Sharing About The Ukraine War
AP: ‘We cannot pause our lives’: Ukrainians begin rebuilding
Bloomberg: US Hypersonic Missile Fails in Test in Fresh Setback for Program
Air Force Magazine: Experimental IR Satellite Heads to GEO to Advance Hypersonic Missile Warning and Tracking
Air Force Magazine: Air Force Initiates New Next-Gen Tanker ‘Family’ With Request for Information
Air Force Magazine: One Year in, Air Force’s Spectrum Warfare Wing Focuses on Connecting ‘Pockets of Excellence’
Breaking Defense: An Island, An Amphib, A Typhoon: Navy Hosts Climate-Focused War Game
Military.com: Mom ‘Horrified’ After Autopsy Shows Son’s Treatment During Navy SEAL ‘Hell Week’ Training
Military Times: Nationwide FBI raids target alleged ‘cult’ near five Army posts
AP: 4 ex-Navy officers convicted in ‘Fat Leonard’ bribery trial
19fortyfive.com: Will Putin Destroy the Russian Military To Win in Ukraine?
19fortyfive.com: Putin Is Willing To Do Whatever It Takes to Win in Ukraine
19fortyfive.com: X-37B: The Space Plan Built to Shatter The Records (And Fight Russia?)
19fortyfive.com: Why Russia Is Using Old Kh-22 Aircraft Carrier-Killer Missiles to Hit Ukraine
The Cipher Brief: A Post-Mortem on the Summit of the Americas
The Cipher Brief: Are Intelligence Community Employees Flawed?
Calendar
THURSDAY | JUNE 30
6:15 a.m. — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg press conference at the conclusion of the Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government in Madrid, Spain. https://www.nato.int
10 a.m. — The Middle East Institute virtual discussion: “Will the War in Ukraine Push Iran and Russia to Compete?” with Jakub Godzimirski, professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs; Diana Galeeva, visiting fellow at Oxford University; Hamidreza Azizi, fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs; and Abdolrasool Divsallar, MEI nonresident scholar. https://www.mei.edu/events
FRIDAY | JULY 1
10 a.m. — American Security Project virtual briefing: “Unpacking the 2022 NATO Summit,” with former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Navy Adm. James Stavridis, vice chair and managing director of the Carlyle Group. https://www.americansecurityproject.org/event
MONDAY | JULY 4
Independence Day holiday — no Daily on Defense
TUESDAY | JULY 19
Aspen Meadows Resort, Colorado — Aspen Strategy Group three-day (19-22) Aspen Security Forum with White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan; Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown; CIA Director William Burns; Chief of Space Operations Gen. John “Jay” Raymond; U.S. Northern Commander Gen. Glen VanHerck; former Defense Secretary Robert Gates; former Defense Secretary Mark Esper; Army Gen. Richard Clarke, commander U.S. Special Operations Command; Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Kay Bailey Hutchison, former U.S. ambassador to NATO; and others. https://www.aspensecurityforum.org
WEDNESDAY | JULY 27
Fort Bragg, North Carolina — Association of the U.S. Army two-day, in-person “Warfighter Summit and Exposition,” with Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville; Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston; Alejandro Villanueva, former Army Ranger and former offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens; as well as leaders from Army Forces Command, the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division. Register at https://meetings.ausa.org/warfighter/index.cfm
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The reality that we face today as Republicans, as we think about the choice in front of us — we have to choose, because Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution.”
Rep. Liz Cheney, in a speech delivered Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California.
