URGENT CONSULTATIONS: Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley both called their Ukrainian counterparts yesterday to consult about the latest flareup in tensions between Russian-backed proxy forces and Ukrainian troops that is threatening to end a ceasefire brokered last summer. Last week, the Ukrainian military blamed a mortar attack by Russian troops for the deaths of four of its soldiers and the wounding of two others in the eastern part of the country.
In his call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Blinken affirmed unwavering U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and labeled Russian actions in the Donbas and Crimea regions as “ongoing aggression.”
“He expressed concern about the security situation in eastern Ukraine and offered condolences on the recent loss of four Ukrainian soldiers,” said a statement by spokesman Ned Price.
Milley spoke to the military chiefs of both Ukraine and Russia, but his office disclosed no details of the conversations with Ukraine’s Lt. Gen. Ruslan Khomchak or Russia’s Gen. Valery Gerasimov. Milley regularly consults with Gerasimov under a gentlemen’s agreement to keep their talks confidential. “The two military leaders exchanged their views on issues of mutual concern,” said a statement from Milley’s office. “In accordance with past practice, both have agreed to keep the specific details of their conversation private.”
WHAT’S RUSSIA UP TO? In mid-March, Ukrainian intelligence reported Russia’s proxy forces in occupied Donetsk and Luhansk deployed to the highest degree of combat readiness, according to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.
Upwards of 2,000 Russian troops were conducting an annual exercise in Crimea that has occurred in mid-March every year since 2017. The troops were expected to leave at the conclusion of the exercise last week, but instead, they have stayed.
In an analysis two weeks ago, the ISW downplayed the chances of a new Russian offensive. “Russia has not deployed additional combat assets into Donbas, such as artillery and armor units, to support an escalation,” the analysis noted. “The weather in eastern Ukraine is currently poor and unsuited to offensive operations. Ukrainian intelligence characterizes Russian proxy activity as preparation for “provoking tension” and “provocative action,” not a “new offensive.”
CONCERN AT THE PENTAGON: “We’re concerned about recent escalations of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine, including violations of the July 2020 ceasefire that led to the deaths of four Ukrainian soldiers on the 26th of March and the wounding of two others,” said spokesman John Kirby at yesterday’s Pentagon briefing.
“Russia’s destabilizing actions undermine the de-escalation in tensions that had been achieved through an OSCE-brokered agreement back in July of last year,” Kirby said. “Additionally, we are aware of Ukrainian military reports concerning Russian troop movements on Ukraine’s borders. We’re discussing our concerns about this increase in tensions and ceasefire violations and regional tensions with NATO allies.”
RUSSIA ESCALATES FIGHTING IN EASTERN UKRAINE, PROMPTING CALLS FROM CHAIRMAN MILLEY
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RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSGENDER TROOPS LIFTED: As promised by President Joe Biden, the Pentagon has lifted the Trump-era restrictions on service by transgender troops in the U.S. military, issuing new instructions to the services on restoring a 2016 policy crafted by then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter under President Barack Obama.
“Specifically, they prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or an individual’s identification as transgender. They provide a means by which to access into the military in one’s self-identified gender, provided all appropriate standards are met,” said spokesman John Kirby. “They provide a path for those in service for medical treatment, gender transition, and recognition in one’s self-identified gender.”
“These policies will be effective in 30 days, affording the military services the necessary time to update service-level policies and provide guidance to commanders, service members, medical professionals, and other communities of practice, as appropriate.”
‘A HANDFUL OF A MILLION DOLLARS’: Under the Trump policy, troops who identified as transgender could serve, so long as they dressed and acted in accordance with their birth gender. Troops with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria were barred from service unless they had been grandfathered under the 2016 policy. The policy reinstates the right of servicemembers to medical treatment, including gender reassignment surgery, to facilitate transition to their self-identified gender.
“We’re not anticipating with these changes and policies that there’s going to be a significant impact in terms of medical costs,” said Stephanie Miller, director of Pentagon’s accession (induction) policy. “It’s very small … a handful of a million dollars per year, which is really, you know, covered within the defense health budget of several billion.”
The Pentagon says there is a “subset” of approximately 2,000 transgender troops who have a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, including some who were still covered under the old policy.
“The policy that was in place for the exempt population or the grandfathered population,” said Miller. “So, the department has been operating for a number of years in support of transgender service members effecting that medical transition as needed.”
“It starts with working with the medical provider and receiving that diagnosis of gender dysphoria. And then, the medical provider or a team then designs a medical transition treatment plan. And that usually includes, you know, the primary care provider, an endocrinologist, surgical specialists, and even case managers,” she said. “We have wonderful teams … that really specialize in this and are prepared to work with service members to help them have a successful transition.”
AFGHANISTAN COUNTDOWN, DAY 30: As of today, there are 30 days left before U.S. and international troops are scheduled to withdraw fully from Afghanistan under the Feb. 29, 2020, agreement negotiated with the Taliban by the Trump administration. President Joe Biden has yet to indicate whether he will abide by the agreement or declare the Taliban to be in violation of the terms and extend the deployment of 2,500 U.S. troops, along with more than 5,000 NATO and partner forces.
Each day without an announcement has led experts to conclude that the Biden administration is likely to blow past the deadline. Biden has said if he decides U.S. troops will stay, it won’t be for long. But some analysts fear he will come under increasing pressure in the months ahead to send more troops to prevent a Taliban rout and all-out civil war.
WE STAND WITH BURMA: In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, writes that “the United States will continue to stand resolutely with Burma’s people” in the face of a brutal military coup, in which more than 100 people were killed in a single day of demonstrations.
Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. will “continue to rally the world to demand that Burma’s military stop the violence, release unjustly detained democratic political leaders and activists, relinquish the power it seized.”
“When the U.S. government provided sanctions relief in 2012, it was based on the military’s pledge to return to the barracks and support Burma’s burgeoning democracy,” said Thomas-Greenfield. “The coup flew in direct defiance of this promise.”
“Over the past two months, thousands of people, including hundreds of children, have been abducted, detained, tortured, murdered, or silenced in the struggle for Burma’s future,” she said. “This violence, a threat to peace and security, is growing more serious by the day.”
NO US MILITARY ROLE: At the Pentagon, spokesman John Kirby, who like other U.S. officials, still uses Myanmar’s previous name, said there is no consideration of any direct military intervention in response to the violence.
“I know of no role for the U.S. military with respect to what’s going on in Burma,” said Kirby. “However, the chiefs of defense from several different nations, including ours, Gen. Milley, make a very firm declarative statement about what the international community’s expectations are for a professional military. We certainly want to see an end to this violence against the people of Burma and a return to democracy. And … we’re calling on the military to effect exactly that.”
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The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Russia escalates fighting in eastern Ukraine, prompting calls from Chairman Milley
Washington Examiner: Pentagon reaffirms Biden’s transgender policy changes but declines to discuss impact on unit cohesion
Washington Examiner: Coast Guard role containing China should garner full seat with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lawmakers say
Washington Examiner: Dissidents shudder at China’s attempt to challenge US concept of human rights
Washington Examiner: Former intel analyst pleads guilty to leaking about drone program
Defense One: UK ‘Absolutely’ Will Buy More F-35s, Procurement Minister Says
USNI News: NORTHCOM: Russians Stay in Airspace ‘For Hours’ During Flight Operations Near Alaska
Reuters: Taiwan To Buy New U.S. Air Defence Missiles To Guard Against China
Breaking Defense: Sen. Young: ‘Go On Offense’ In China Tech Race; Bipartisan Bill Gathers Steam
USNI News: USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Launching Anti-ISIS Missions from Mediterranean, French Carrier Takes Helm of CTF 50
AP: Migrant families freed without court notice or any paperwork
AP: 7 Hong Kong democracy leaders convicted over 2019 protests
Kyodo News: Japan OKs Unchanged U.S. Troop Hosting Cost For FY 2021
AP: Brazil military chiefs quit as Bolsonaro seeks their support
Military Times: SOCOM Is Committing Itself To Attracting More Women And People Of Color
Stars and Stripes: Fired Marine Corps Commander, Absolved Of Wrongdoing, Still Fights To Clear His Name
Military.com: Even Staying Silent Doesn’t Always Spare Sexual Assault Victims from Retaliation, Study Finds
PBS: Trans Troops, Recruits Celebrate New Pentagon Rule Allowing Them To Serve Openly
19fortyfive.com: Next-Generation Air Dominance: The U.S. Navy’s New Fighter Jet
Politico: Electric Vehicles And Biofuel: Pentagon Poised To Go Greener Under Biden
19fortyfive.com: North Korea’s Recent Ballistic Missile Launch: Should Biden Worry?
War on the Rocks: Opinion: Listen to America’s top Commander in the Indo-Pacific and Fund the Pacific Deterrence Initiative
Calendar
THURSDAY | APRIL 1
9 a.m. — Atlantic Council webinar: “Whose Voices Count on Afghanistan? The Politics of Knowledge Production,” with Orzala Nemat, director of the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit; Bashir Safi, former senior adviser to the Afghan National Security Council; Mariam Safi, co-director of the Afghanistan Mechanism for Inclusive Peace; Obaid Ali, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network; and Sahar Halaimzai, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/whose-voices-count
9:50 a.m. — A Institute for Defense and Government Advancement virtual Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems Summit, with Navy Rear Adm. John Fuller, deputy director for force protection, Joint Chiefs of Staff. https://www.idga.org/events
3 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studiesvirtual book discussion on This is How They Tell Me the World Ends, with author Nicole Perlroth, New York Times cybersecurity reporter. https://www.csis.org/events/how-they-tell-me-world-ends
FRIDAY | APRIL 2
8:30 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies “Space Power Forum” event with Maj. Gen. Leah Lauderback, director of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, U.S. Space Force; and retired Maj. Gen. Larry Stutzriem, director of research at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org
9:50 a.m. — Institute for Defense and Government Advancement virtual Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems Summit, with Spanish Brig. Gen. Enrique Silvela Diaz-Criado, commander of the Spanish Army Air Defense Command. https://www.idga.org/events
MONDAY | APRIL 5
2:30 p.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group conference call conversation with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday. https://nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu/
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We should avail ourselves of the best possible talent in our population, regardless of gender identity. We would be rendering ourselves less fit to the task if we excluded from our ranks people who meet our standards and who have the skills and devotion to serve us in uniform.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, on the restoration of the right of transgender troops to serve openly in the U.S. military.
