ZELENSKY TO G7: Former actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky knows the value of live performance, and reportedly, Ukraine’s wartime president will be stealing the show Sunday in Japan when he takes center stage with an in-person appearance at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima.
Zelensky had been scheduled to appear remotely by video link today, but multiple reports say he will attend the G-7 gathering in person to appeal for additional sanctions against Russia and more advanced weaponry ahead of Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive, which now seems likely to begin in the early summer.
The leaders of the world’s leading industrialized nations held a special session on Ukraine today and released a statement announcing further sanctions on Russia and committing to continue providing “financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support Ukraine requires for as long as it takes.”
“We underline that a just peace cannot be realized without the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops and military equipment, and this must be included in any call for peace,” said the joint declaration from the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
F-16s CLEARED FOR LANDING: Zelensky’s personal appeal comes as his wishes for F-16 fighter jets appear closer to being granted.
While the U.S. has not budged in its insistence that F-16s would provide little value added in the coming ground campaign, it is now quietly signaling it won’t stand in the way if other countries that have the Lockheed Martin jets in their air forces want to give some to Ukraine.
The U.K., the Netherlands, and Belgium have already offered to train pilots to fly the F-16s, but any transfer of the American technology from NATO nations requires U.S. approval.
“It’s not on the agenda on the G-7,” NSC spokesman John Kirby told CNN as President Joe Biden arrived in Japan yesterday. “As for specific capabilities like the F-16, that’s not a specific agenda item. Now, could it come up on the margins? I mean, who knows?”
‘A VERY BIG STEP’: Military experts and many members of Congress are convinced F-16s would be a valuable addition to Ukraine’s growing arsenal.
“I think it’s a very, very big step and it would give the Ukrainians the chance to have air cover for their counteroffensive so the Russians can’t bring an air offensive against them,” said former top NATO commander retired Gen. Wes Clark on CNN. “It would also give them the ability to use standoff weapons to strike behind Russian lines. It’s a mobile reserve force. So, when the Ukrainians move, if the Russians have a countermove, the F-16s would be the right air to ground system also to take that out.”
F-16s are also compatible with the longer-range Storm Shadow missiles recently provided by the U.K.
“I can confirm that it has been used successfully. That is the information I received from the Ukrainians. And I’m pleased that it is helping them to defend their country,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in an interview with CNN.
Wallace said Ukraine “definitely has a significant part of what it needs to start an offensive when the time is judged right” and said it will be up to Zelensky and his military commanders to make that call. “Over a year on, we’re in a position where the Ukrainians now have, in many areas, some advantages over the Russians. And should they seek to try and push them back, it is clear they could be able to do that.”
WAS THIS THE WEEK UKRAINE TURNED THE TIDE IN THE WAR WITH RUSSIA?
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HAPPENING TODAY: Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira is due back in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts, this morning to find out if he can be released on $20,000 bail or must remain locked up until his trial on espionage charges begins.
Prosecutors are arguing for the 21-year-old Airman 1st Class to remain behind bars, and in court papers, revealed that he had been caught by superiors several times prior to the arrest taking notes on classified information or viewing intelligence not related to his job.
LIMITED PRINTING AND MORE EDUCATION TOP CHANGES FOLLOWING PENTAGON LEAKS
OOPS! ‘ACCOUNTING ERROR’ COULD FREE MORE FUNDS FOR UKRAINE: One possible explanation for the Pentagon’s reluctance to send F-16s to Ukraine is that the cost of refurbishing and transferring the planes would eat up much of the remaining aid budget for the fiscal year that ends in September.
But through the discovery of an “accounting error,” the Pentagon said it actually has $3 billion more to spend than it thought due a mistake that overvalued the weapons it has sent to Ukraine so far.
The error was charging the account for the value of more expensive replacement weapons instead of the value of the weapons actually sent, the Washington Examiner’s Mike Brest reported, citing a senior defense official.
“The official used an example of the United States providing M777s to Ukraine from existing stockpiles while replacing them with a more expensive High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. The department had been using the cost of the HIMAR to calculate aid to Ukraine instead of what it actually provided, in this instance, the cheaper M777,” Brest reports.
PENTAGON ACCOUNTING ERROR OVERVALUED WEAPON SHIPMENTS TO UKRAINE BY $3 BILLION
‘EXTREMELY PROBLEMATIC’: The revelation of the “accounting error” drew a rebuke from the Republican chairmen of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees, Reps. Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Michael McCaul (R-TX).
“The revelation of a $3 billion accounting error discovered two months ago and only today shared with Congress is extremely problematic, to say the least,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.
“These funds could have been used for extra supplies and weapons for the upcoming counteroffensive, instead of rationing funds to last for the remainder of the fiscal year. The Biden Administration must make up for this precious lost time by using these funds to provide Ukraine the DPICMS [cluster munitions] and ATACMS [long-range artillery rockets] they need to fuel the counteroffensive and win the war.”
PATRIOT ‘FIXED, FULLY OPERATIONAL’: The Pentagon is providing few details about the damage to a Patriot missile battery that was damaged in Tuesday’s missile attack on Kyiv, except to say the damage was minor and that whatever was hit has been repaired.
“What I can confirm is that one Patriot system was damaged, but it has now been fixed and is fully back and operational,” said Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy spokeswoman. “For anything additional, I’d refer you to the Ukrainians.”
We still don’t know if a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile hit something or whether the damage was caused by falling debris when the missile was shot out of the sky.
UKRAINE’S DAMAGED PATRIOT MISSILE BATTERY REPAIRED FOLLOWING RUSSIAN ATTACKS
CONTEMPT AVERTED: House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) has postponed a markup session he scheduled for next Wednesday to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress for refusal to comply with a “duly issued” subpoena for refusing to provide a classified cable from U.S. diplomats in Kabul sent shortly before the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
McCaul called off the session after Blinken offered to allow him and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the top Democrat on the committee, to review the July 2021 internal dissent cable, with the names of the signatories blacked out.
“In light of this invitation, I will pause efforts to enforce the Committee’s subpoena pending my review of the documents,” McCaul said in a letter to Blinken. “Please note, however, that the subpoena remains in full force and effect, and the acceptance of this accommodation does not waive any of the Committee’s rights regarding the subpoena.”
But McCaul demanded that all members of the committee have access to the cable for review. “As chairman of the committee, I am leading these oversight efforts, but not to the exclusion of other members of the committee who are undoubtedly entitled to review the contents of the dissent cable and response. As such, I must insist on the department allowing other members to review the dissent cable and response.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Was this the week Ukraine turned the tide in the war with Russia?
Washington Examiner: Pentagon accounting error overvalued weapon shipments to Ukraine by $3 billion
Washington Examiner: Ukraine’s damaged Patriot missile battery repaired following Russian attacks
Washington Examiner: Chinese envoy meets with Ukrainian leaders urging peace
Washington Examiner: Ukraine intercepts nearly all Russian missiles in overnight barrage
Washington Examiner: Alleged Pentagon leaker ‘admonished by his superiors’ multiple times over classified document handling
Washington Examiner: Limited printing and more education top changes following Pentagon leaks
Washington Examiner: Smuggling across the US-Canada border a rising concern for some House Republicans
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Rishi Sunak’s Japan outreach is limited by his China policy
Washington Examiner: The top-line fact in the weapons to Ukraine or Taiwan debate
Washington Post: Kyiv’s War Machine Running On Fumes
New York Times: As Russia Fires Missiles At Kyiv, A Blast Derails A Freight Train In Crimea
Washington Post: U.S. officials walk back claim drone strike killed a senior al-Qaeda leader in Syria
AP: Navy Probe Prompted By Suicides Condemns Conditions At Shipyard: ‘We Let Our People Down’
Bloomberg: Air Force Starts Multibillion-Dollar Contest for New Fighter Jet
Air & Space Forces Magazine: In Secret Solicitation, Air Force Starts Bidding for NGAD to Replace F-22
Bloomberg: New Pentagon Missile Defense Radar Is Delayed and Over Budget, GAO Says
Reuters: Vietnam Rebukes China, Philippines Over South China Sea Conduct
Wall Street Journal: US to Speed Sales of Military Gear to Foreign Allies, Partners
The Guardian: China’s Ambassador To Australia Says Aukus An ‘Unnecessary’ Use Of Taxpayer Money And ‘Not A Good Idea’
Defense One: USAF Sees ‘100 Roles’ for Its Robot Wingmen—and Firms Are Lining Up to Make Them
Defense News: Satellite Image Shows WZ-8 Supersonic Drone At Chinese Base
Defense News: Debt Breach Could Damage Defense Industry, Air Force Official Says
Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-2 ‘Safety Pause’ Lifted, Flights Set to Resume Within Days
Air & Space Forces Magazine: USAF’s New ICBM Cancer Study to Examine ‘Everyone Possible’
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Now: Medals and Promotions for Airmen, Guardians Who Refer Recruits
19fortyfive.com: NATO Should Worry: Putin Is Massing His Military (Not Near or in Ukraine)
19fortyfive.com: Taiwan: One China Principle or Just a Policy?
19fortyfive.com: The U.S. Navy’s New Secret Weapon: Lasers?
19fortyfive.com: Railguns: The Ultimate Weapon The U.S. Military Can’t Build?
Military Times: Guardsmen and Reservists Who Retire Early Could Get Cheaper Health Care Under Senate Bill
The Cipher Brief: Would Iran Be Safer Without a Nuclear Weapon?
The Cipher Brief: The Perfect Tool for Scaling US Defense Investment
Forbes: Opinion: E-7 Wedgetail Successor To AWACS Is A Must-Have For The Joint Force, The Sooner The Better
The Cipher Brief: A Roadmap for Taking Your Spy Skills to the Private Sector
Calendar
FRIDAY | MAY 19
12 p.m. — Jewish Institute for National Security of America webinar: “Will He Stay or Will He Go? Turkey’s Elections and Erdogan’s Fate,” with Eric Edelman, counselor, JINSA’s Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy; Alan Makovsky, member, JINSA’s Eastern Mediterranean Policy Project; and Blaise Misztal, JINSA vice president for policy https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
TUESDAY | MAY 23
2 p.m. HVC-210 — House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe hearing: “Examining the Fiscal Year 24 State and Foreign Operations Budget Request for Europe,” with testimony from Dereck Hogan, principal deputy assistant secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, State Department; Erin Elizabeth McKee, assistant administrator, Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, U.S. Agency for International Development; and Maria Longi, coordinator, Office of the Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, State Department https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing
2 p.m. 310 Cannon — House Homeland Security Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Subcommittee hearing: “A Security Sprint: Assessing the U.S. Homeland’s Vulnerabilities to Chinese Communist Party Aggression,” with testimony from Iranga Kahangama, assistant Homeland Security secretary for cyber, infrastructure, risk, and resilience in the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans; Tyrone Durham, acting director of the Nation State Threats Center in Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis; and Jill Murphy, deputy assistant FBI director of counterintelligence https://www.youtube.com/channel
WEDNESDAY | MAY 24
9 a.m — Mara Karlin, assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities delivers keynote address to the MEI-CENTCOM Annual Conference https://mei.edu/events/third-mei-centcom-annual-conference
12 p.m. — Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in-person book event: Russia’s War & The Russian People’s Understanding of the War In Ukraine, with author Jade McGlynn, research fellow, War Studies Department, King’s College, London. RSVP: [email protected]
2 p.m. HVC-210, U.S. Capitol — House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing: “Modernizing U.S. Arms Exports and a Stronger AUKUS,” with testimony from Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis; and Assistant Defense Secretary for Strategies, Plans and Capabilities Mara Karlin https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“In light of this invitation, I will pause efforts to enforce the Committee’s subpoena pending my review of the documents. Please note, however, that the subpoena remains in full force and effect, and the acceptance of this accommodation does not waive any of the Committee’s rights regarding the subpoena.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) on lifting the threat to cite Secretary of State Antony Blinken for contempt in a dispute over access to a 2021 dissent cable signed by 23 U.S. diplomats raising concerns about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
