ZELENSKY’S CRI DE COEUR: While Ukraine continues to deal demoralizing losses to Russian ground forces, the country is suffering a terrible toll from Russia’s unrelenting aerial bombardment, which has leveled portions of some cities, destroying homes, hospitals, schools, and high-rise apartment buildings.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin cares little about the deaths of hundreds of Ukrainian civilians, including almost 100 children, nor about the deaths of thousands of his own troops.
And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will address the U.S. Congress this morning, is sounding a desperate alarm that Ukraine’s, while highly motivated, defense forces are winning battle after battle, without more outside help, they could ultimately be crushed by Russia’s merciless war machine.
“You all need to do more to stop Russia, to protect Ukraine, and by doing that to protect Europe from the Russian threat,” Zelensky told the Canadian Parliament yesterday. “We’re asking for justice, for real support, which will help us to prevail, to defend, to save life.”
PENTAGON SAYS THERE REMAINS ‘LIMITED TO NO PROGRESS’ BY RUSSIAN FORCES
‘HELP YOURSELF BY HELPING US’: In a separate virtual speech to leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force led by Great Britain, Zelensky expressed his frustration that the U.S. and its allies seemed afraid to confront Russia directly for fear of sparking World War III.
If the West is deterred from actions such as imposing a no-fly zone or providing combat aircraft to Ukraine, Zelensky questioned the message that sends to NATO nations who are promised protection under the alliance Article 5 guarantees.
“So, in order for Article 5 to work, there must be confidence,” Zelensky said. “Confidence that the alliance will not be afraid to react, that there will be no self-hypnosis about this ‘Third World War.’ Now, there is no confidence about it.”
Failing to act more decisively to defend Ukraine now, he argued, will only embolden Putin later. “The war against Ukraine is just the beginning … there will be other European countries,” he said, mentioning Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and Finland.
“Stop now on our land or they will come to you, too,” Zelensky warned. “Everything will be directed against Europe if Ukraine does not persevere. Therefore, I will ask you: help yourself by helping us. You know what weapons we need. You know what protection we need. It would be extremely difficult for us without your efforts.”
GIVING UP ON NATO MEMBERSHIP: Zelensky seemed resigned to the fact that NATO’s promise of future membership has turned out to be wishful thinking.
“It is clear that Ukraine is not a member of NATO. We understand that. We are rational people. For years we have heard about the alleged ‘open door’ policy. But we have already heard that we will not go in there,” Zelensky said, indicating he’s seeking alliances outside NATO. “If we cannot enter NATO’s ‘open door,’ then we must work with communities that we can work with, which will help us, protect us.”
“We understand, once again, that we are not in the alliance. We need to defend ourselves,” he said, expressing frustration that his pleas to close the skies with a no-fly zone have been rejected. “We cannot find someone who will help us. Honestly, I can’t see anyone … This needs to be addressed. We need to solve it now, before Russia has gone even further.”
FOURTH RUSSIAN GENERAL KILLED IN UKRAINE, OFFICIAL SAYS
PUTIN’S NUCLEAR BLACKMAIL: Former NATO commander retired Gen. Wes Clark says what has kept the U.S. from intervening in Ukraine to prevent a humanitarian disaster, as it has in other countries, such as Bosnia, Yugoslavia, and Somalia, is the fact that Putin has tactical nuclear weapons and Russia’s nuclear doctrine calls for using them to prevent defeat.
“If you look at this situation and these horrible humanitarian conditions that people are having to live in and being subjected to by Putin’s military, his artillery and his rockets, you ask, how could this happen in the 21st century?” Clark said on CNN, where he is a contributor. “It wouldn’t be permitted anywhere else in the world. But what is it that is stopping the world from doing anything about it? It’s Vladimir Putin’s threat, his allusion to nuclear weapons.”
The big problem, argues Clark and others, is that if the U.S. shows it’s afraid to risk calling Putin’s bluff, both he and China’s Xi Jinping will know they can force the U.S. to back down with the threat of nuclear escalation.
“If we don’t understand how to handle that threat now, it’s going to bedevil us in NATO, or in Taiwan. China’s watching. And the whole world is watching this sight of the great United States of America. And we’re letting Putin define the problem and draw the red lines,” Clark said. “It’s a real inflection point in U.S. foreign policy. We have got to find a way through this.”
On CNN yesterday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Russia’s “loose talk and bluster” about nuclear weapons the “height of irresponsibility,” but said, “President Biden has been very clear that one thing is for sure is that we’re going to avoid getting into any kind of conflict with Russia and certainly avoiding anything that brings us to World War III.”
PUTIN’S DANGEROUS NUCLEAR DOCTRINE: A LICENSE TO KILL
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HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is at NATO headquarters in Brussels this morning for another urgent meeting of defense ministers who are contemplating more ways to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank.
“I think our presence here sends a signal to the world that we remain united in our support of Ukraine, and we condemn Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion into Ukraine,” Austin said upon arriving for the meeting, and he repeated that America’s commitment to defend NATO allies remains “ironclad.”
Today’s meeting is a prelude to another urgent, or in the NATO vernacular, “extraordinary,” summit of leaders of NATO nations next week, which will be attended by President Joe Biden. The president will also join a scheduled European Council Summit to discuss “our shared concerns about Ukraine,” according to the White House.
At 11:45 a.m., Biden will announce another $800 million in additional military aid for Ukraine in remarks at the White House. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley will also be in attendance.
SHOW OF SUPPORT: In a dramatic gesture of support, the leaders of three European Union countries traveled by train to Kyiv and arrived yesterday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The group included Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa.
“The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” wrote Fiala in a Facebook post. “The aim of this visit is also to present a broad package of support for the Ukraine and Ukrainians.”
POLAND CALLS FOR NATO ‘PEACE MISSION’ IN UKRAINE PROTECTED BY ‘ARMED FORCES’
TRUMP: ‘I THINK HE’S CHANGED’: In an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner’s David Drucker, former President Donald Trump admitted he was “surprised” Russian President Vladimir Putin went through with his invasion of Ukraine, believing the threat was simply a negotiating tactic to extract concessions from Ukraine and the West.
“I’m surprised — I’m surprised. I thought he was negotiating when he sent his troops to the border. I thought he was negotiating,” Trump told Drucker, the Washington Examiner’s senior political correspondent, last night. “I thought it was a tough way to negotiate, but a smart way to negotiate.”
In the wide-ranging telephone interview from Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida, political headquarters, Trump joined other observers of Putin, noting that something is different about the Russian leader once seen as ruthless, but pragmatic. “I think he’s changed. I think he’s changed. It’s a very sad thing for the world. He’s very much changed.”
“I figured he was going to make a good deal like everybody else does with the United States and the other people they tend to deal with — you know, like every trade deal. We’ve never made a good trade deal until I came along,” Trump added. “And then he went in.”
READ MORE: ‘I THOUGHT HE WAS NEGOTIATING’: TRUMP DIDN’T THINK PUTIN WOULD ORDER UKRAINE INVASION
RUSSIAN FORCES STILL STRUGGLING: A senior U.S. defense official traveling with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Europe told reporters the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets inside Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were still about 9 miles outside the capital and making little to no progress elsewhere in the country.
The latest update from the British Ministry of Defense says Russian forces are “struggling to overcome the challenges posed by Ukraine’s terrain,” are largely confined to roads, and are unwilling to conduct off-road maneuvers.
“The tactics of the Ukrainian armed forces have adeptly exploited Russia’s lack of maneuver, frustrating the Russian advance and inflicting heavy losses on the invading forces,” the assessment says.
BIDEN NEEDS BETTER OPTIONS: With the establishment of a blanket no-fly zone over Ukraine having been ruled out for practical and strategic reasons — namely that the zone would be ineffective given that Russia can strike with stand-off weapons from its own air space and that Russian artillery would be unimpeded by an air patrol — military experts argue Biden needs to consider other options to protect civilians who are being slaughtered by Russia’s indiscriminate attacks.
“Having refused to establish a no-fly zone, President Biden needs more options to deal with enormous and urgent humanitarian needs,” argue Douglas Feith and John Hannah of the Hudson Institute. “We propose an international airlift, organized and supported by the U.S. The goal would be to provide food, medicine and other nonmilitary supplies for days, weeks and maybe longer.”
“NATO airpower would be more effectively used supporting combat air patrols over evacuation routes and shipments of aid and weapons into Ukraine,” argues Bryan Clark, also of the Hudson Institute. “Unlike the absolutism of a no-fly zone, combat air patrols would be episodic and tied to specific movements. As a result, they could be conducted by the smaller force of Ukrainian fighters, supported by NATO airborne early warning and command aircraft and refueling tankers.”
And fellow Hudson analyst William Schneider suggests Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drones, which are scheduled for retirement, might be suited to the mission. “Civil evacuation from war zones is protected under international law,” he notes. “This objective could facilitate international diplomatic support for the use of specialized military power to protect civilians in a war zone.”
UKRAINE NEEDS BETTER WEAPONS: Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst says the “timidity of the White House” has hampered Ukraine’s ability to blunt the Russian bombing campaign.
“The Biden team has been reluctant to send Ukraine the weapons it needs. Now, because they’ve been facing criticism, they keep talking about all the Stingers they’re sending Ukraine. And that’s true, but they only sent the first Stingers to Ukraine in late January because they kept slow rolling,” Herbst said on CNN.
“We should be sending to Ukraine, right now, not just those MiGs, but we should make sure they get serious anti-aircraft capacity, which can go after planes flying at 3,000 feet, 30,000 feet, not just the 5,000-10,000 feet like the Stingers,” Herbst said.
“If we had sent coastal missiles to Ukraine, Russia would not have seized all that coastline in the south,” he said. “Odessa is under threat. We should be making sure they get anti-ship missiles now.”
KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY: Fox News announced yesterday that veteran cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and a young Ukrainian woman, Sasha Kuvshynova, who was assisting the Fox team in Ukraine, were both killed Horenka, outside of Kyiv, when their vehicle was hit by gunfire.
Fox State Department correspondent Benjamin Hall was wounded and remains hospitalized.
“Pierre was a war zone photographer who covered nearly every international story for FOX News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us. His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched,” said Fox in a statement. “Sasha was just 24 years old and was serving as a consultant for us in Ukraine. She was helping our crews navigate Kyiv and the surrounding area while gathering information and speaking to sources.”
Russian troops have been known to fire indiscriminately at civilian vehicles, as this video posted on Twitter documents.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: ‘I thought he was negotiating’: Trump didn’t think Putin would order Ukraine invasion
Washington Examiner: Ukraine to ask US for armed drones, surface-to-air missiles when Zelensky addresses Congress: Reports
Washington Examiner: Poland calls for NATO ‘peace mission’ in Ukraine protected by ‘armed forces’
Washington Examiner: Zelensky ‘realized’ Ukraine cannot join NATO
Washington Examiner: Fourth Russian general killed in Ukraine, official says
Washington Examiner: ‘IT Army of Ukraine’: 300,000 hackers work together to fight Russia online
Washington Examiner: Psaki warns oligarchs latest yacht and villa seizures are ‘just the beginning’
Washington Examiner: Psaki: Russian drone flying into NATO airspace doesn’t constitute another invasion
Washington Examiner: Pentagon says there remains ‘limited to no progress’ by Russian forces
Washington Examiner: Three million refugees have fled Ukraine amid Russian invasion
Washington Examiner: Russia could seek Syrian forces in Ukraine as battlefield losses mount: UK
Washington Examiner: Online fundraising raises millions as insurgent political strategies arm Ukraine
Washington Examiner: Russian TV employee who protested war on air fined
Washington Examiner: Pentagon revises timeline for when Afghanistan terror groups can launch attacks
Washington Examiner: Head of Africa Command says ‘deadly terrorism has metastasized’ on continent
Washington Examiner: U.S. conducts air exercises over Yellow Sea in show of force against North Korea
Washington Examiner: Brazil revealed as country to which spy couple tried to sell nuclear secrets
Washington Post: Kyiv’s Outgunned Fighters Exploit Russian Weaknesses To Hold On To Capital
Reuters: NATO To Begin Planning For More Troops On Eastern Flank After Russia’s Ukraine Invasion
AP: Seoul: North Korean missile exploded in air in failed launch
Wall Street Journal: Russia Softens Iran Demands, Re-Opening Way for Nuclear Deal
The Nation: A Russian Strike Kills Foreign Fighters in Ukraine
Air Force Magazine: U.S. Troop Presence on NATO’s Eastern Flank Could Expand Amid Fears of Reprisal
Defense News: Navy, Marine Corps Rehearse Manned-Unmanned Helicopter Strikes
Air Force Magazine: Somalia Drawdown Has Been Ineffective, ‘Puts Troops at Greater Risk,’ AFRICOM Boss Says
Air Force Magazine: New Missile Tracking Satellites Could Be in Orbit by 2025
USNI News: CENTCOM CO: No U.S. Over-the-Horizon Strikes in Afghanistan Since Withdrawal
19fortyfive.com: Are Russia’s Drones Flying Over NATO Territory?
19fortyfive.com: Russia vs. Ukraine Is Now the Ultimate Drone War
19fortyfive.com: Ukraine Is Becoming A Giant Graveyard for Russian Tanks
19fortyfive.com: Putin’s Disaster: Russia Could Run Out of Steam in Ukraine in 2 Weeks
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | MARCH 16
9 a.m. — NATO defense ministers meet in-person at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talks to reporters beforehand, and conducts a full briefing afterward. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_193007.htm
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activity in Europe,” with testimony from Celeste Wallander, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; and Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, commander, U.S. European Command https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
10 a.m. — Washington Post Live virtual discussion on Ukraine with Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. https://worldstagemarch16.splashthat.com
11:30 a.m. — Organization of Iranian American Communities virtual media briefing with a bipartisan group of senators and prominent former officials to discuss Iran policy and nuclear talks. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
1:30 p.m. — Washington Post Live virtual discussion with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
2 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “NATO On The Line: The Views of Four Former SACEURs,” with retired Supreme Allied Commanders Europe Gen. Philip Breedlove; Gen. Joseph Ralston; Gen. James Jones; and Gen. Wesley Clark https://www.csis.org/events/nato-line-views-four-former-saceurs
2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Readiness hearing: “Energy, Installations, and Environment Program Update” with testimony from Paul Cramer, acting assistant secretary of defense, energy, installations, and environment; Paul Farnan, acting assistant secretary of the Army, energy, installations, and environment; Meredith Berger, assistant secretary of the Navy, energy, installations, and the environment; and Edwin Oshiba, acting secretary of the Air Force, energy, installations, and the environment https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
3 p.m. 222 Russell — Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Personnel hearing on health effects of exposure to airborne hazards, including toxic fumes from burn pits, with testimony from Dr. Terry Rauch, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for health readiness policy and oversight; Dr. Raul Mirza, division chief, occupational and environmental medicine clinical public health and epidemiology, U.S. Army Public Health Center; Col. Adam Newell, commander, Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center; Capt. Brian Feldman, commander, Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center; Dr. Anthony Szema, director, International Center of Excellence in Deployment Health and Medical Geosciences, Northwell Health Foundation; Tom Porter, executive vice president government affairs, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; Rosie Torres, Executive Director Burn Pits 360; and Steven Patterson, former environmental science officer, Combined Joint Task Force 101 Headquarters, Afghanistan, 2008-2009 https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
3 p.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual lecture with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific. https://www.heritage.org/asia/event
THURSDAY | MARCH 17
8 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Consequences of the War in Ukraine on the Middle East,” Emma Beals, non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute; Paul Stronski, senior fellow in Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program; Sinan Ulgen, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe in Brussels; Maha Yahya, director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center; and Jihad Yazigi, visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations https://events.ceip.org/consequencesofthewarinukraineo
8:30 a.m. — German Marshall Fund of the United States virtual discussion: “China’s Russia Strategy: The Ukraine Crisis and Beyond,” with Evan Medeiros, Asian studies chair and senior fellow in U.S.-China Relations at Georgetown University; Akio Takahara, professor of contemporary Chinese politics at the University of Tokyo; Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Institut Montaigne Asia program; and Bonnie Glase, director of the GMFUS Asia Program https://sites-gmf.vuturevx.com/38/7893/landing-pages/rsvp-blank.asp
9 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “A Force Multiplier? China and Russia’s Relationship in the Middle East,” with Li-Chen Sim, associate professor at Khalifa University; Jonathan Fulton, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council; and David Shullman, senior director at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/a-force-multiplier
9:30 a.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center virtual discussion: “The Ukraine Crisis and the Balkans: What Changes, and What Doesn’t,” with Arian Starova, president of the Atlantic Council of Albania and former deputy minister of defense (Albania); Srecko Latal, contributor, for Balkan Insight and researcher for Balkans Crossroads (Bosnia-Herzegovina); Plamen Pantev, professor at Sofia University (Bulgaria); Jasmina Kuzmanovic, correspondent for Bloomberg News (Croatia); Ioannis Armakolas, senior research fellow at Eliamep (Greece); Lulzim Peci, executive director of KIPRED (Kosovo); Srdjan Darmanovic, professor at the University of Montenegro and former foreign minister (Montenegro); Zlatko Vujovic, assistant professor at the University of Montenegro (Montenegro); Ognen Vangelov, professor at University American College, Skopje (North Macedonia); Oana Popescu-Zamfir, director of Global Focus (Romania); Milena Lazarevic, program director for the European Policy Centre (Serbia); and Jan Cingel, CEO of Strategic Analysis (Slovakia) https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/ukraine-crisis-and-balkans
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activities in the Greater Middle East and Africa,” with testimony from Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs; Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander, U.S. Africa Command; and Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander, U.S. Central Command https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
10 a.m. 106 Dirksen — Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe hearing to examine the Baltics under pressure, with Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
11 a.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center’s Middle East Program virtual discussion: “Will Iran Build the Bomb?” John Mearsheimer, professor of political science at the University of Chicago; Mahsa Rouhi, research fellow at the National Defense University’s Center for Strategic Research; and Tytti Erasto, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Nuclear Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-proliferation Program https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/will-iran-build-bomb
12 p.m. — Vandenberg Coalition virtual discussion: “The future of U.S.-China competition and how the China Challenge is reshaping U.S. foreign policy,” with former Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger, chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ China Program https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register
1:30 p.m. — Washington Post Live virtual discussion with Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
3 p.m. — Washington Post Live “World Stage: Ukraine with Mikko Hautala, Finnish Ambassador to the United States,” with Washington Post national security reporter Missy Ryan https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
4 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations hearing: “Defense Intelligence Posture to Support the Warfighters and Policy Makers,” with testimony Ronald Moultrie, undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security; Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander, U.S. Cyber Command; and director, National Security Agency; and Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director, Defense Intelligence Agency https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
FRIDAY | MARCH 18
10 a.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: “the new geopolitics of state fragility,” with Alexandre Marc, member of the Institute for Integrated Transitions; and Lina Benabdallah, assistant professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University https://www.brookings.edu/events/the-new-geopolitics-of-fragility/
11 a.m. — Washington Post Live ‘World Stage: Ukraine with Julianne Smith, United States Ambassador to NATO https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I will ask you: help yourself by helping us. You know what weapons we need. You know what protection we need. It would be extremely difficult for us without your efforts.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a speech to the Joint Expeditionary Force.
