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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Alexander Ward and Quint Forgey | | 
A damaged gas mask lies on the pavement at a Russian position that was overran by Ukrainian forces, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 31, 2022. | Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo | With help from Lee Hudson Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Quint The United States has been quietly granting Ukraine’s request for protective equipment against a possible chemical weapons attack from Russia, four administration officials told NatSec Daily. The U.S. and its Western allies fear Russian President Vladimir Putin will order the use of chemical weapons to break Ukraine’s stiff resistance. In turn, the Kremlin has leveled baseless accusations against the U.S. and Ukraine about bioweapons and chemical attacks, leading U.S. officials to fear Russia is plotting a false flag operation. Meanwhile, the U.S. is rushing to provide Ukrainian civilians with gas masks, hazmat suits and other materials, though Kyiv could decide to send this protective gear to its military. How much has already been sent — or the U.S. plans to send in total — remains unclear. “The U.S. Government is providing the Government of Ukraine with life-saving equipment and supplies that could be deployed in the event of Russian use of chemical and biological weapons against Ukraine,” a spokesperson for the National Security Council confirmed to NatSec Daily in a statement. “This assistance does not compromise our domestic preparedness.” The process to get personal protective equipment, known as PPE, to Ukraine is a classic interagency tangle. The Department of Health and Human Services is providing the equipment, with two officials saying some of it is coming from the Strategic National Stockpile. The U.S. Agency for International Development, whose Administrator SAMANTHA POWER traveled to Poland in February, then sends the assistance through existing supply lines into Ukraine and reimburses HHS for the equipment. As USAID is involved, the PPE technically must be for civilian — not military — use. The intended destination for the materials is Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, which made the request for assistance of the U.S. and its allies. Whether the Ministry then provides the PPE to Ukraine’s military is a local decision. The Pentagon also stands ready to assist, one official said, but its role in the process remains unclear. You can read Alex’s full story here.
| | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | | SITUATION REPORT: We will only cite official sources. As always, take all figures, assessments and statements with a healthy dose of skepticism. War in Ukraine: — Since the war began on Feb. 24, Russia has lost around 17,700 personnel, 625 tanks, 1,751 armored combat vehicles, 316 artillery systems, 96 multiple-launch rocket systems, 135 warplanes, 143 helicopters, seven ships and 85 drones. ( Ukrainian Ministry of Defense) — “The Russian federation continues to conduct full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine. The withdrawal of separate units from the territory of Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts continues, as well as the regrouping of enemy troops, presumably to create strike groups in the Slobozhansky and Donetsk directions.” ( Ukrainian Ministry of Defense) — “The city of Melitopol is temporarily controlled by the military and the enemy's Rosguard. The Russian enemy continues to place artillery systems among the residential quarters, from which it fires in the Zaporizhzhia direction.” ( Ukrainian Ministry of Defense) — “The Russian occupying forces are regrouping and are likely to focus on an offensive operation in the Eastern Operational Zone.” ( Ukrainian Ministry of Defense) — “Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka to the south of Chernihiv and located along one of the main supply routes between the city and Kyiv. Ukraine has also continued to make successful but limited counter attacks to the east and north east of Kyiv. Both Chernihiv and Kyiv have been subjected to continued air and missile strikes despite Russian claims of reducing activity in these areas.” ( U.K. Ministry of Defense)
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A map showing Russian Forces positions as of April 1 is pictured. | Janes | Global Response: — Germany: Berlin has approved delivery of 56 Cold War-era East German army combat tanks to Ukraine. Headlines: — The Wall Street Journal: “Russian Strategy in Ukraine Shifts After Setbacks, and a Lengthy War Looms” — The Washington Post: “ A Belarusian battalion fights in Ukraine ‘for both countries’ freedom’” — The New York Times: “Shaken at First, Many Russians Now Rally Behind Putin’s Invasion” REPORT SUGGESTS PUTIN HAS THYROID CANCER: Proekt, the independent Russian media outlet, released a new investigation into VLADIMIR PUTIN’s health on Friday, reporting that the Russian president “is now accompanied by a huge team of doctors” that includes a thyroid cancer surgeon. Putin’s “most frequent companions” are ENT specialist ALEXEY SHCHEGLOV and fellow otolaryngologist IGOR ESAKOV, as well as surgeon YEVGENY SELIVANOV — who specialized in oncology and wrote his dissertation on thyroid cancer. Over a four-year timespan, Shcheglov flew to Putin’s Sochi residence 59 times and stayed with him for 282 days, while Selivanov flew to the Russian leader’s side 35 times and stayed with him for 166 days. Proekt also reports that Putin has shown “interest in alternative medicine” and developed a fondness for so-called “antler baths” — which involve bathing in the blood extracted from the antlers of deer whose soft horns are not yet ossified. (NatSec Daily wasn’t able to immediately confirm the efficacy of such treatments, but that’s what the weekend is for.) Proekt’s report comes as U.S. officials have been increasingly candid about their negative assessments of Putin’s health and mental well-being, potentially as a wartime psyop tactic intended to destabilize Russia’s leadership. President JOE BIDEN on Thursday said Putin “seems to be self-isolating” and has possibly “fired or put under house arrest some of his advisers.” UKRAINE STAYS SILENT ON BELGOROD STRIKE: Ukrainian Foreign Minister DMYTRO KULEBA said at a news briefing Friday that he could “neither confirm nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved” in an airstrike on a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod because he did not “possess all the military information,” per Reuters, nor did he say anything about the explosion at the depot earlier this week. Moscow alleged Kyiv was behind the strike, leveling the first accusation of a Ukrainian attack on Russian soil since the start of the invasion. Video footage of the purported attack showed what appeared to be several missiles being fired from low altitude, followed by an explosion. Kremlin spokesperson DMITRY PESKOV said Putin had been briefed on the strike, and that it “cannot be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for continuing” peace talks with Ukrainian negotiators. Regional governor VYACHESLAV GLADKOV said two Ukrainian Mi-24 Hind helicopters struck the Belgorod facility, causing a blaze that injured two workers. But Russian oil firm Rosneft said no one was hurt in the fire. ZELENSKYY FIRES TWO GENERALS: Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY said in an overnight address that he stripped two generals of their rank, calling the pair of officers “traitors,” per The Wall Street Journal’s ROBERT WALL. The generals were SERHIY KRYVORUCHKO, a southern-region security chief who’d led Ukraine’s security service office in the Kherson region, and Brig. Gen. ANDRIY NAUMOV , the former head of internal security at the Security Service of Ukraine, who’s believed to have fled the country shortly before the invasion began. “I do not have time to deal with all the traitors. But gradually they will all be punished,” Zelenskyy said in his address. He also said Ukrainian officials assess that Russian forces “are moving away from the areas where we are beating them to focus on others that are very important. On those where it can be difficult for us.” RUSSIA ACCUSED OF SEIZING HUMANITARIAN AID: IRYNA VERESHCHUK, the Ukrainian minister of reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, reported that Russian forces on Thursday confiscated 14 tons of humanitarian aid from buses bound for Melitopol in southeastern Ukraine, per CNN’s NATHAN HODGE and HIRA HUMAYUN . Vereshchuk said the Russians took food and medication that was loaded on 12 buses, and that the invaders also blocked 45 buses headed to the southeastern port city of Berdiansk en route to war-torn Mariupol. “This is the price for the agreed corridors and for the Red Cross’ guarantees that the corridors will be provided and working,” Vereshchuk said. “We are negotiating for the buses to be returned and for the Melitopol residents tomorrow to evacuate using these buses.” The Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ukraine tweeted Friday that it “tried to facilitate a safe passage” out of Mariupol, but was forced to return to Zaporizhzhia “after conditions made it impossible to proceed.” The ICRC said it would “try again” Saturday.
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Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | IT’S FRIDAY. WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and qforgey@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @QuintForgey. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @BryanDBender, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @AndrewDesiderio and @JGedeon1.
| | | CHINA CYBERATTACKED UKRAINE? There's a bit of controversy over whether China cyberattacked Ukraine in the lead-up to the invasion. Intelligence memos reviewed by The Times’ MAXIM TUCKER show China launched a massive cyberattack on Ukraine’s military and nuclear facilities before Russia invaded. “More than 600 websites belonging to the defence ministry in Kyiv and other institutions suffered thousands of hacking attempts which were co-ordinated by the Chinese government, according to Ukraine’s security service, the SBU,” Tucker reported. “The spy agency revealed that, in an apparent sign of complicity in the invasion, Chinese attacks started before the end of the Winter Olympics and peaked on February 23, the day before Russian troops and tanks crossed the border.” But the Ukrainian intelligence service denies it has such information, casting doubts on the memos the Times says it obtained. Some experts have already said that China was conducting routine espionage and not necessarily helping Russia in cyberspace. Either way, the Biden administration has been warning Beijing not to assist Moscow with military equipment or financial assistance. It's possible cyberattacks are on the list, too. U.S. BROKERS RELEASE OF BROTHERS HELD BY TALIBAN: The State Department confirmed Friday that U.S. citizen SAFIULLAH RAUF and lawful permanent resident ANEES KHALIL, who are brothers, have been released from detention in Afghanistan and are now in Qatar en route to America. CNN’s JAKE TAPPER first reported that the Biden administration had secured the release of Rauf, a 27-year-old Afghan American Naval reservist who was doing humanitarian work in Kabul and had been held in Taliban captivity since last December. Khalil, a green card holder, also was taken into custody by the Taliban. “We are grateful for the efforts of all those who worked to secure their release, but more work remains,” State Department spokesperson NED PRICE said in a statement. "Unjustly holding Americans captive is always unacceptable, and we will not stop until every American who is being unjustly held against their will is able to hug their families once again.” THE WRATH OF KHAN: Pakistani Prime Minister IMRAN KHAN vowed not to resign even though an imminent no-confidence vote may force him from office. He blamed the U.S. for his predicament in a video address to the nation Thursday, per The Associated Press’ KATHY GANNON. “I will fight until the last ball,” said Khan, a former cricket star turned politician. Claiming that Washington had conspired with the Pakistani opposition against him, Khan also said the U.S. wants “me, personally, gone … and everything would be forgiven.” The no-confidence vote against Khan is expected to take place Sunday, after a session of parliament scheduled to debate the matter was abruptly adjourned Thursday without any explanation. A series of defections seem to have given Khan’s political opponents the 172 votes needed in the 342-seat house to oust him.
| | | RUSSIA SEEKS ‘SPLINTERNET’ TO TAMP DOWN DISSENT: Taking Twitter offline in Russia earlier this month demonstrated Moscow’s progress in creating a “splinternet,” writes Wired’s CHRIS STOKEL-WALKER — a move that would “effectively detach the country from the rest of the world’s internet infrastructure” and allow the government to more severely restrict critical speech across the country. Although Russia likely wants to mimic China — which has successfully separated itself from the rest of the digital world at great financial expense — “I don’t think Russia has invested that kind of energy in engineering resources to replicate” Beijing’s so-called Great Firewall, said DOUG MADORY of Kentik, a San Francisco-based internet monitoring company. Still, Stokel-Walker reports that Russia “has been trying to develop its own sovereign technology capabilities” — including through its 2015 national security strategy and 2019 introduction of the RuNet, a sovereign internet disconnected from the rest of the world. The most recent Kremlin attempt to remove citizens' access to Twitter has remained successful for roughly a month already. But Russian government Twitter accounts are still active, and Twitter has taken steps to limit the Kremlin’s propaganda on its platform.
| | | |   | | | | | | MARINES WANT EXTRA $3.5 BILLION IN PENTAGON BUDGET: The Marine Corps is seeking a half dozen more F-35 fighter jets, additional aerial tankers and extra helicopters that weren’t included in the fiscal 2023 Pentagon budget request, reports our own CONNOR O’BRIEN (for Pros!). In all, the Corps’ unfunded priorities list outlines just under $3.5 billion in programs that didn’t make the cut for the budget. The list is an annual practice by the military services. Congress typically uses the lists — which highlight top programs they would spend extra money on — to make changes to the Pentagon budget. O’Brien also obtained the Navy’s unfunded priorities list, which totals $4 billion in programs such as six extra carrier-based F-35 fighter jets, two more E-2D Hawkeye aircraft and extra missiles. In its budget request, released Monday, the White House asked Congress for $813 billion in national defense funding — including $773 billion for the Pentagon, or $30 billion more than approved by Congress for this year. CORPS D'ETAT: More than two dozen retired Marine Corps generals have launched a multipronged pressure campaign to persuade Congress to halt the largest overhaul the service has seen in decades, our own PAUL McLEARY and LEE HUDSON reported. The group is a high-powered roster of bold-faced Marine names and includes every living former commandant. And all of them are bristling at different aspects of the deeply transformational changes introduced by Commandant Gen. DAVID BERGER in 2020, which aims to make the Corps lighter, faster and more capable of doing everything from electronic warfare to sinking ships at sea. The group of retired generals includes former Defense Secretary JIM MATTIS, former Joint Chiefs Chair JOE DUNFORD and JOHN KELLY, a former Homeland Security chief and White House chief of staff. “This is not a fragmented effort, this is a collective of 30 some generals … including six or seven of the most senior, most credible Marines that I've ever worked with,” said FRANK HOFFMAN , distinguished research fellow at the National Defense University and a retired Marine officer.
| | | RUSSIAN CRYPTOCURRENCY TRANSPARENCY ACT: The top two leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee — Chair GREGORY MEEKS (D-N.Y.) and ranking member MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas) — introduced the Russia Cryptocurrency Act Thursday evening, a measure which would give Congress more oversight of the State Department’s use of cryptocurrency to pay out rewards for information. Beyond that, the bipartisan legislation authorizes State to appoint a director of digital currency security, orders a report on how blockchain could support humanitarian assistance and also requires another document on how digital currencies could affect Western sanctions on Russia. “While the rise of digital assets like cryptocurrencies promise innovative financial opportunity, digital assets could be ripe for abuse as Russia seeks to evade the unprecedented sanctions the United States has imposed for Vladmir [sic] Putin’s brutal war of choice on Ukraine. This legislation will provide greater oversight over the State Department’s rewards program, helping ensure these hard-to-trace funds are not falling in the hands of bad actors,” Meeks said in a statement.
| | | RISCH: DON’T DELIST IRGC: Sen. JIM RISCH (R-Idaho), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says America’s Middle Eastern allies don’t want the U.S. to take Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps off a terrorism blacklist. “As our partners confirm, the IRGC is the long-standing leader of Iranian efforts to fuel terrorism across the region. The IRGC actively supports terror proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Bahrain, and Yemen, has conducted numerous attacks against U.S. troops and diplomats, routinely attacks our Gulf and Israeli partners, and threatens tens of thousands of Americans across the Middle East. In addition to the IRGC’s terrorism in the Middle East, the group is plotting active assassination attempts against former U.S. officials and has been implicated in plots to kidnap Americans on U.S. soil,” he said in a statement. Risch concluded: “President Biden should heed the warnings from our partners on the front lines of Iran’s terrorist activity and abandon this ill-advised concession to the Iranian regime.” Taking the IRGC off the State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organizations list is one of the final sticking points delaying America’s return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Critics argue that delisting the Iranian military branch will embolden and enrichen it. Proponents of the move note the group will still be heavily sanctioned even if it’s taken off.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | | — ALEX GUITTARD has been appointed by Moonshot to lead the company’s defense and national security portfolio. He is a former Foreign Service Officer in the State Department and a non-resident fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. — PAT SHANAHAN , who previously served as acting Defense secretary in the Trump administration, was appointed as a new member of CAE’s board of directors. CAE is a Canadian company with offices in the U.S. that provides aircraft training and simulation services. — YASMIN TADJDEH is joining Northrop Grumman’s communications team. She most recently was a senior editor at National Defense.
| | | — YASMINE FAROUK and ANDREW LEBER, Foreign Affairs: “America and Saudi Arabia Are Stuck With Each Other” — HASAN ALI, Time: “ Pakistan’s Leader Imran Khan Faces a No-Confidence Vote. The Result Might Be Felt Much Further Afield” — JOSH ROGIN, The Washington Post: “Opinion: Inside the Biden administration’s effort to pull India away from Russia”
| | | — The Atlantic Council, 9 a.m.: “Looking North: Conference on Security in the Arctic — with SHARON BURKE, EDWARD FERGUSON, MATTHEW KROENIG, TORLEIV OPLAND, ULF SVERDRUP and more” — The Atlantic Council, 10:30 a.m.: “Orienting European Security: The EU Strategic Compass and EU-U.S. Defense Cooperation — with CHARLES FRIES, DAMIR MARUSIC and MOLLY MONTGOMERY” — The Heritage Foundation, 11 a.m.: “Confronting Today’s Reality of Totalitarian States, Deterrents, and Dependency — with NILE GARDINER and IAIN DUNCAN SMITH” — The American Bar Association, 12 p.m.: “Update on Afghanistan: Discussion of Legal Developments, Operational Challenges, and Compliance Best Practices — with JOHN BOSCARIOL, JAMES BRETT, BRAD BROOKS-RUBIN, WILLIAM GRIFFIN, GUL BEGUM HAYDAR and more” — The National Press Club, 6 p.m.: “‘Bring Them Home’ Film Screening and Directors Discussion — with MARTINE POWERS, JASON REZAIAN, RAY WHITEHOUSE and KATE WOODSOME”
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | Have a natsec-centric event coming up? Transitioning to a new defense-adjacent or foreign policy-focused gig? Shoot us an email at award@politico.com or qforgey@politico.com to be featured in the next edition of the newsletter. And thanks to our editor, Ben Pauker, who swears by antler-blood baths. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
