As Ukraine pleads for help, NATO weighs how to counter Russia’s threatening troop deployments

Blinken consulted with Stoltenberg by phone before leaving Washington, discussing the two more pressing issues, “the need for Russia to cease its aggressive military buildup along Ukraine’s borders,” and “the prospects for advancing peace in Afghanistan,” according to a State Department statement.

“I have real concerns about Russia’s actions on the borders of Ukraine. There are more Russian forces massed on those borders than at any time since 2014 when Russia first invaded,” Blinken said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. “So the question is, is Russia going to continue to act aggressively and recklessly? If it does, the president has been clear, there’ll be costs, there’ll be consequences.”

“What we’re focused on now is discussion and meeting with our allies and others who are equally concerned,” said Phil Reeker, acting assistant secretary of state, in a conference call with reporters yesterday. “What we’re focused on now is discussion and meeting with our allies and others who are equally concerned. And we’re using tools like OSCE, in Vienna also this week, to try to address those concerns and see de-escalation by Russia, in terms of not only the military threat but also this disinformation and the rhetoric that’s flowing.”

BLINKEN HEADED TO EUROPE, WHERE NATO ALLIES ‘DEEPLY CONCERNED’ BY RUSSIAN MILITARY THREATS

LAVROV: ‘THIS IS OUR COUNTRY’: Russia initially portrayed the movement of thousands of troops and heavy weapons to its border with the Donbass region of Ukraine and occupied Crimea as routine spring exercises, but has now adopted a more aggressive tone, arguing it’s nobody’s business how it deploys its forces within its own borders.

“Questions are being asked about what Russia is doing on the border with Ukraine. The answer is very simple: We live here, this is our country,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Cairo yesterday. “But the question of what the United States is doing there with its ships and troops, never ceasing to organize all kinds of NATO activities in Ukraine, thousands of kilometers away from its own territory, remains unanswered.”

Lavrov blames Ukraine for “anti-Russian and Russophobic sentiment,” which is inflaming tensions in the current standoff in the Donbass region controlled by Russian-backed separatists. “This may end badly, because in pursuit of reclaiming its ranking, the Kyiv regime may snap and take some reckless actions.”

ZELENSKY: BIDEN ‘MUST DO MORE’: Ukraine is pleading with the U.S. for more weapons and stronger backing from NATO.

During a visit to the front lines this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that while he considers the U.S. a “good friend” of Ukraine, President Joe Biden “must do more” to deter Russia and to fast track Ukraine’s membership in the NATO alliance, which has been languishing for more than a decade.

“If they [the U.S.] see Ukraine in NATO, they have to say it directly and do it. Not words,” Zelensky told CNN. Asked by correspondent Matthew Chance if that might make things worse by provoking Russia, Zelensky responded, “Maybe you are right. But what now is going on? What we do here? What do our people do here? They fight.”

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HAPPENING TODAY: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith takes part in the first of several planned events this week and next to discuss the Biden administration’s proposed $715 billion Pentagon budget for fiscal 2022.

Today’s event is sponsored by Reagan Institute and begins at 9 a.m. Smith will be discussing the CSBA-Reagan Institute report, “America’s Strategic Choices: Defense Spending in a Post-COVID-19 World,” which was released in January with retired Gen. Hawk Carlisle, president and CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association, and Mackenzie Eaglen, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

ALSO THIS MORNING: A ceremony to honor the late U.S. Capitol Police Officer William “Billy” Evans will be held at 10:30 a.m. on the east front center steps of the Capitol. Evans died in the line of duty protecting the U.S. Capitol on April 2.

President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will deliver remarks, followed by a viewing period in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for members of Congress and of the Capitol Police.

ALSO ON THE HILL: Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Marco Rubio, along with Rep. Raul Ruiz, and comedian-activist Jon Stewart will hold a news conference on the “Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act” at 12:45 p.m.

HISTORIC NOMINATION: President Joe Biden has announced he’ll nominate former Obama administration Pentagon official Christine Wormuth to be the next secretary of the Army.

Wormuth, who served as undersecretary of defense for policy, the No. 3 position at the Pentagon, will be the first woman to lead the Army as its top civilian. The Air Force has had a number of female service secretaries, including the two most recent, Barbara Barrett and Heather Wilson, while the Navy has yet to be led by a woman.

The nomination was among more than a dozen nominations announced by the White House yesterday, including:

• Christy Abizaid, to be director of National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
• Chris Inglis, to be national cyber director.
• Jennifer Easterly, to be the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
• Gil Cisneros, to be undersecretary of defense, personnel and readiness
• Susanna Blume, to be director of the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office.
• Chris Magnus, the police chief of Tucson, Arizona, to lead the Customs and Border Protection Agency.

RAVE REVIEWS: The selection of Inglis to be the inaugural national cyber director and Easterly to be the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency drew bipartisan support from congressional members of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, which recommended creation of the new post of “cyber czar.”

‘“We are pleased that President Biden has nominated our fellow Solarium Commissioner Chris Inglis to be the country’s first National Cyber Director. Creating the National Cyber Director was a key recommendation of the Commission, because we need a Senate-confirmed official within the White House to coordinate our cyber defenses,” said the joint statement by Sens. Angus King and Ben Sasse, and Reps. Mike Gallagher and Jim Langevin. “Chris was instrumental in crafting the National Cyber Director recommendation. His wealth of experience in the highest ranks of government cyber operations and policy making ensured that our proposal was grounded in the reality of today.”

AFGHANISTAN COUNTDOWN, DAY 18: As of today, there are 18 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.

With both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at NATO, you might think that the U.S. would be ready to disclose whether President Joe Biden had decided to extend the deployment of 2,500-plus U.S. troops, along with more than 5,000 NATO and partner forces.

“I can’t offer any particular announcements,” said acting Assistant Secretary of State Phil Reeker when asked about what Blinken and Austin might tell the allies. “I can assure you that, as I said before, any plans will be orderly and informed by this kind of consultation with partners and allies.”

Meanwhile, the Taliban have backed out of a U.S.-backed summit that was to start at the end of this week in Turkey. A Taliban spokesman said the group wouldn’t attend the conference because “our consultations have not ended on this topic,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

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The Rundown

Washington Examiner: Blinken headed to Europe, where NATO allies ‘deeply concerned’ by Russian military threats

Washington Examiner: Defense secretary says attack on Iranian nuclear site won’t derail talks

Washington Examiner: Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill exposes America’s weak defenses, experts say

Washington Examiner: Bipartisan bill calls for Biden to declassify intel on COVID-19 origins in China

Washington Examiner: Migrant family holding center virtually empty as Biden spends millions on hotels

AP: Pentagon Chief On Inaugural Tour Of Europe To Shore Up Defense Ties

New York Times: Israel’s Role In Iran Blast Casts A Shadow On U.S. Nuclear Talks

Yonhap: North Korea Could Have Up To 242 Nuclear Weapons By 2027 – Report

CNN: Beijing Has A Navy It Doesn’t Even Admit Exists, Experts Say. And It’s Swarming Parts Of The South China Sea

Wall Street Journal: China’s Message to America: We’re an Equal Now

Reuters: Taiwan Bolsters Navy With Unveiling Of New Amphibious Warfare Ship

Breaking Defense: DoD’s New Pushback Against Chinese Money In U.S. Defense Industry

Stars and Stripes: House Lawmakers To Question Marine Corps Commandant On Deadly Training Accident

New York Times: Pentagon Chief Orders New Review of Attack That Killed 3 Americans in Kenya

Military.com: Lawmakers Are Worried COVID-19 Did Long-Term Damage to Military Training

USNI News: French Navy Exercise Combines Ships From 5 Navies On Short Notice

Air Force Magazine: Department of the Air Force Begins Work on Second Disparity Review

Air Force Magazine: Pilot Mixed Up MQ-9 Controls in June 2020 Crash

Washington Examiner: China admits, then censors, the fact that its vaccines are poor

Forbes: Opinion: Air Power Advocates Are Attacking Army Long-Range Strike Plans. Here’s Why They’re Wrong.

Calendar

TUESDAY | APRIL 13

9 a.m. — Ronald Reagan Institute event “The Future of Defense Spending: Strategic Choices and Hard Tradeoffs,” with Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; retired Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle, president and CEO, NDIA; Thomas Mahnken, president and CEO, CSBA; Mackenzie Eaglen, resident fellow, AEI; and Roger Zakheim, director, Ronald Reagan Institute.

9 a.m. — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association virtual forum: ‘Partnering for Space Power in 2021 and Beyond: Current Issues and Approaches for Industry and Government,” with retired Air Force Gen. C. Robert Kehler, senior fellow for National Defense University; Dave Gauthier, commercial and business operations director at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; Kevin O’Connell, former director of the Commerce Department’s Office of Space Commerce. https://www.afcea.org/event/space-welcome

10:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion on “UK Integrated Review: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities for Defense and Diplomacy,” with Angus Lapsley, director for general strategy and international security at the UK Ministry of Defence; Samantha Job, director for defense and international security at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; and former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Rebecca Hersman, director of the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues. https://www.csis.org/events/conversation-uk-integrated-review

11 a.m. — Business Executives for National Security virtual discussion with Lt. Gen. Leslie C. Smith, Inspector General, Office of the Secretary of the Army. https://www.bens.org

12 p.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion with Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Fareed Yasseen on opportunities and challenges, and the outlook for U.S.-Iraq relations under the Biden administration. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event

12:45 p.m. 200 Maryland Avenue N.E. — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif.; and comedian/activist Jon Stewart hold a news conference on the “Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act,” with activist John Feal; Tom Porter, executive vice president of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; Le Roy Torres, co-founder of Burn Pits 360; Mark Jackson, board chairman of Stronghold Freedom Foundation; Missouri Army National Guard Spc. 1st Class Cindy Aman; Gina Cancelino, surviving spouse of Joseph Cancelino and a burn pits advocate; Robert Miller, professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center; and retired Army Lt. Col. Dan Brewer, former environmental officer. Livestream at https://www.facebook.com/SenKirstenGillibrand/

2 p.m. — Center for the National Interest webinar “Escalating tensions in Ukraine,” with George Beebe, vice president and director of studies at CNI; Keith Darden, associate professor at American University’s School of International Service; Melinda Haring, deputy director, Atlantic Council Eurasia Center; Michael Kofman is director of the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analysis; and Dov Zakheim, vice chairman of the board of directors, CNI. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register

7 p.m. — Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments virtual discussion: “The Future of Defense Spending: Strategic Choices and Hard Tradeoffs,”with House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash.; retired Army Gen. Hawk Carlisle, president and CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association; Mackenzie Eaglen, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; and Thomas Mahnken, CSBA president and CEO https://csbaonline.org/about/events/the-future-of-defense-spending

WEDNESDAY | APRIL 14

TBD — Joint news conference with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO Headquarters. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news

10 a.m. 216 Hart — Senate Select Committee on Intelligence annual hearing on worldwide threats, with Avril Haines, director of National Intelligence; CIA Director William Burns; FBI Director Christopher Wray; NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone; and DIA Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/hearings/worldwide-threats

10:30 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual event: “Resurrecting the First Fleet for Great Power Competition,” with former Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite; and Brent Sadler, Heritage senior research fellow. https://www.heritage.org/defense/event

11 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activity in North and South America,” with Robert Salesses, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security; Adm. Craig Faller, commander, U.S. Southern Command; and Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

1 p.m. — National Security Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies present a pre-recorded event: “Civics as a National Security Imperative,” a conversation with Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch; Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director, NSI, and Suzanne Spaulding, director of the Defending Democratic Institutions Project, CSIS. https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/civics-as-a-national-security-imperative

1 p.m. — Heritage Foundation and Ronald Reagan Institute virtual event: “Old Bullies, New Toys: Confronting Iran and North Korea,” with Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio; Roger Zakheim, director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute; David Albright, founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security; Tom Karako, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies International Security Program and director of the CSIS Missile Defense Project; Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at Heritage; Peter Brookes, senior research fellow at Heritage; and Thomas Spoehr, director of the Heritage Center for National Defense. https://www.heritage.org/missile-defense/event

4 p.m. — Institute of World Politics virtual lecture: “Fear and Insecurity: Addressing North Korean Threat Perceptions,” with Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute. https://www.iwp.edu/events/webinar-fear-and-insecurity

THURSDAY | APRIL 15

9:50 a.m. — AFC-Lieber Institute at West Point virtual event: “The Future Character of War and the Law of Armed Conflict,” with Gen. John Murray, commander, Army Futures Command. https://lieber.westpoint.edu/event

10 a.m. — Center for Global Development virtual discussion on the new U.K. Defense Security and Foreign Policy Review and other issues, with former U.K. Secretary of State for International Development Rory Stewart; and Charles Kenny, CGD senior fellow https://www.cgdev.org/event/conversation-rory-stewart

11 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activities in Europe,” with Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia; and Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, commander, U.S. European Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

11 a.m. — Georgetown University virtual discussion: “U.S.- Russia: Hitting the Guardrails?” with Anton Troianovski, chief of the New York Times Moscow Bureau; Elena Chernenko, special correspondent at the Kommersant newspaper; and Jill Dougherty, former chief and correspondent at the CNN Moscow Bureau. https://www.georgetown.edu/event/u-s-russia-hitting-the-guardrails

1 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Defense Against the Dark Arts in Space,” with Victoria Samson, Washington Office director, Secure World Foundation; Frank Rose, co-director, Brookings Institute Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology; David Edmonson, policy head, space security and advanced threats, British Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology, Observer Research Foundation; and Todd Harrison, Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/events/defense-against-dark-arts-space

4 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel hearing: “Department of Defense Inspector General and the Services Inspector Generals: Roles, Responsibilities and Opportunities for Improvement,” with Gordon Heddell, former DOD inspector general; Mandy Smithberger, director of the Center for Defense Information, Project on Government Oversight; Sean O’Donnell, acting DOD Inspector General; Lt. Gen. Leslie Smith, inspector general of the Army; Lt. Gen. Sami Said, inspector general of the Air Force; Vice Adm. Richard Snyder, Naval Inspector General; and Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi, inspector general of the Marine Corps. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

FRIDAY | APRIL 16

10 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual discussion: “U.S.-Taiwan Partnership in the Pacific Islands,” with Sandra Oudkirk, U.S. senior official for APEC and deputy assistant secretary of State for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; and Chung-kwang Tien, deputy minister of foreign affairs and chancellor of the Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan). https://www.heritage.org/asia/event/virtual-event

11 a.m. — Business Executives for National Security virtual discussion with Lt. Gen. Jody J. Daniels, chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve Command. https://www.bens.org

11:15 a.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group conference call conversation with Gen. Michael X. Garrett, commanding general, U.S. Army Forces Command. https://nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu

TUESDAY | APRIL 20

11 a.m. — Lockheed Martin Corporation releases 20210 1st quarter earnings results in a webcast https://investors.lockheedmartin.com/events

THURSDAY | APRIL 22

9:50 a.m. — U.S. Army Futures Command and the Lieber Institute for Law and Land Warfare at West Point virtual seminar: “The Future Character of War and the Law of Armed Conflict.” https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-future-character-of-war

10 a.m. — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research event “Priorities for the fiscal year 2022 defense budget,” with Rep. Adam Smith, chairman, House Armed Services Committee; and Mackenzie Eaglen, Resident Fellow, AEI. https://www.aei.org/events/a-conversation

11 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activities in Europe, with Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, commander, U.S. European Command. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

4 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “Department of Defense Inspector General and the Services Inspector Generals: Roles, Responsibilities and Opportunities for Improvement,” with Gordon Heddell, former inspector general of the Department of Defense; Mandy Smithberger, director of the Center for Defense Information Project on Government Oversight; Sean O’Donnell, acting/inspector general of the Department of Defense; Lt. Gen. Leslie Smith, inspector general of the Army; Lt. Gen. Sami Said, iInspector general of the Air Force; Vice Adm. Richard Snyder, inspector general of the Navy; and Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi, inspector general of the Marine Corps. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings