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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Alexander Ward , Matt Berg and Lawrence Ukenye | | 
A Ukrainian tank drives past a former Russian checkpoint in Izium, Ukraine, on Sept. 16, 2022. | Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo | With help from Paul McLeary and Daniel Lippman Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt NatSec Daily has two treats in store for you this Friday: A list of Ukraine’s latest weapons requests circulating in Washington, D.C., and a slide deck used at today’s extraordinary meeting of 30 nations to curb Russia’s military rearmament . Let’s start with an updated “priority items” list, which we obtained Thursday night. Eight months into the war, Ukraine is asking for: — 300 Main battle tanks
— 1,000 BMP armored personnel carriers
— 30 Multiple Launch Rocket System
— 250 155mm artillery systems
— 500 anti-tank guided missiles
— 1,000 man-portable air-defense systems
— 72 short-range air defense systems
— 20 AN/TPQ-36, AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder radar
— 40 AN/TPQ-48, AN/TPQ-49 light counterfire radar Our understanding is that Ukrainian officials circulated this list among their American counterparts very recently. That said, there are tons of lists flying around town, though we’re reliably told this one is the most current. Neither the National Security Council, State Department nor Pentagon chose to comment. Reuters’ MIKE STONE and HUMEYRA PAMUK report that the next weapons package for Ukraine, this one valued at around $725 million, will include munitions and vehicles but not air defenses. As our own PAUL McLEARY noted, the U.S. seems to be leaving the air-defense transfers to European nations while Washington focuses on sending artillery. “We announced that we are sending missiles for an air-defense system that has been provided by an ally, and that was to signal to [Russian President VLADIMIR] PUTIN that the only thing he achieves by doing these attacks on civilian infrastructure and on completely innocent citizens is that we are stepping up our efforts to help Ukraine,” KAJSA OLLONGREN, the defense minister for the Netherlands, told Paul. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury, Commerce and intelligence officials are discussing with allies how to deprive Russia’s military of crucial weapons and components. We can’t link to or publish the slides from the meeting that we obtained, but we can write about them (Evil laughter). The slide deck, titled “Sanctions and Export Control Eroding Moscow’s War Effort,” notes that Russia has lost “over 6,000 pieces of equipment” since the start of the war. Furthermore, Russia’s forces are “expending munitions at an unsustainable rate,” the deck says, though it doesn’t detail how the U.S. knows that. The presentation also lauds the impact of export controls on Russia’s military, namely that Moscow is relying on “contraband chips” and “lower-quality imports” from countries like China. The Kremlin is now suffering a “critical shortage of bearings undermining production of tanks, aircraft, submarines, and other military systems” while the Russian defense industry is “short of supplies and components … for marine diesel engines, helicopter and aircraft engine parts, tank fire control systems.” Allied nations should remain vigilant, says the U.S.-produced slide deck, since Russian intelligence services have been “tasked to illicitly acquire Western technology and parts.”
| | | | 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 . | | | | | | | | FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY –– ‘IT’S GO TIME IN THE PACIFIC’: Reps. SETH MOULTON (D-Mass.) and MIKE WALTZ (R-Fla.), two members of the House Armed Services Committee, warn that time is running out for the U.S. to prepare itself and allies for a possible war with China. “It’s go time in the Pacific,” said Moulton, who like Waltz and Rep. KAI KAHELE (D-Hawaii) just returned from a small CODEL to the Philippines, Guam and Taiwan. But the lawmakers, speaking to NatSec Daily about their trip, expressed fear that the Pentagon isn’t meeting the regional challenge quickly enough. “Everyone in the Pacific is worried about the time,” Moulton said. The three House members spent more than a week meeting with American troops and foreign officials, including Taiwanese President TSAI ING-WEN. Their goal was to answer three key questions: Are U.S. strategic plans being operationalized on the ground?; are those plans workable during wartime?; and are preparations for that war translating into deterrence? Waltz said that “in general, we’re moving in the right direction.” The Taiwanese got a “wake up call” from the invasion of Ukraine and China’s crackdown on Hong Kong while the politics in the Philippines are “encouraging.” But some issues remain, namely that the military reforms of allies are slow-going and the administration is slow-walking some needed changes. For example, there are “basic improvements to facilities in Guam that are being held up by yearslong environmental reviews,” Moulton said. The problem isn’t top-level DoD officials, the lawmakers said, but rather the mid-level bureaucrats who are on a peacetime footing at a moment of crisis. “The intelligence community is blinking red,” Waltz said. Both men noted their visit to the American Military Cemetery in the Philippines , where the largest number of military dead during World War II — 16,859 — are laid to rest alongside a tablet with the names of 36,286 missing troops. It brought home to Waltz and Moulton the sense of the stakes of the China challenge and the imperative of deterring a war from starting. “We don’t want to repeat fighting like that,” Moulton said. MUSK ASKS FOR HELP: ELON MUSK sent a letter to the Pentagon last month explaining that SpaceX can’t afford to continue providing its Starlink satellite services to Ukraine, asking the department to foot the bill instead, our own WILHELMINE PREUSSEN reports . Starlink has been a vital resource for Ukraine’s military, providing cell phone and internet connection for forces as the country’s networks have been demolished since the war began. But the 20,000 satellite units deployed have cost SpaceX a pretty penny: $80 million, with costs expected to rise to more than $100 million by the end of the year, Musk tweeted. Two weeks ago, Ukrainian diplomat ANDRIY MELNYK told Musk to “fuck off” after the Tesla billionaire tweeted a proposal to end the war by having Ukraine cede land to Russia. When a Kyiv Post journalist tweeted about the incident in relation to the Starlink news, the Tesla billionaire quipped that the comment caused him to pull services from Ukraine. “We’re just following his recommendation,” Musk tweeted , with an added shrugging emoji. The comment could not have prompted his decision, though, since Musk sent the letter to Pentagon officials in September, before Melnyk’s tweet. Deputy Pentagon press secretary SABRINA SINGH repeatedly declined to confirm that DoD and SpaceX are in touch on the payment issue, but did say the Defense Department was “in conversation” with the company. PUTIN DEFENDS CALL UPS: Around 16,000 draftees are “fulfilling combat tasks” in Ukraine, Putin said Friday in Kazakhstan, a statement clearly designed to counter mounting criticism of his military call ups. The partial mobilization he announced in September will be over in two weeks, he continued, noting there will be “additional military training” for some of the 220,000 conscripts. The war wasn’t a mistake, he further asserted, saying his “actions were timely and right.” Putin has come under fire as news of recruits dying on the front lines have permeated through Russia’s information blockade. “One Russian military blogger, who goes by the name Grey Zone and claims to be linked to the Russian mercenary community, said that the mobilization continues to be chaotic and that no lessons had been learned from the initial wave of criticism,” the New York Times’ IVAN NECHEPURENKO reports. DRINKS WITH NATSEC DAILY: At the end of every long, hard week, we like to highlight how a prominent member of Washington’s national security scene prefers to unwind with a drink. Today, we’re featuring LESLIE SHEDD, the communications director for Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “When it gets cold out, I love a glass of red wine — Vennstone Pinot Noir is my usual go to,” Shedd told NatSec Daily, noting she likes all Pinots. “When it’s warmer, I always get a Tito’s and water with a lemon. My friends call it the Gulag punch — I think the lemon is what makes it a ‘punch’ in the Gulag.” Shedd doesn’t want to be judged for this, but her favorite place to unwind with these drinks is at her apartment. “My apartment has a really great patio overlooking the whole city. So I just have friends come over for happy hour,” she said. Cheers, Leslie! 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 mberg@politico.com , and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @mattberg33 . While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi , @woodruffbets , @politicoryan , @PhelimKine , @BryanDBender , @laraseligman , @connorobrienNH , @paulmcleary , @leehudson , @AndrewDesiderio , @magmill95 , @ericgeller , @johnnysaks130 and @Lawrence_Ukenye .
| | 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. | | | | | | DÉJÀ VU, AGAIN: This one might sound familiar, since North Korean missile tests have been mentioned in six of our last seven newsletters. But they just don’t stop coming. North Korea launched a ballistic missile and hundreds of artillery shells toward the sea on Friday, The Associated Press’ HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG report . It marks the country’s 15th missile test since Sept. 25. Tensions continue rising as North Korean dictator KIM JONG UN stokes fears of conflict, telling state media on Thursday that his nuclear weapons are ready for “actual war.” Hours after his unsettling comment, North Korean military aircrafts flew along the South Korean border, causing Seoul military officials to deploy their own fighter jets in response. RUSSIA NUCLEAR DRILLS: Upcoming Russia nuclear drills will challenge NATO’s ability to spot a difference between exercises and the real thing, Reuters’ PHIL STEWART reported Thursday . The exercises are typically scheduled for this time of the year, but NATO officials have vowed to monitor the drills closely in light of recent threats from Russian officials and state media about the use of a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. “While Russia probably believes this exercise will help it project power, particularly in light of recent events, we know that Russian nuclear units train extensively at this time of year,” National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY said at a Thursday press briefing. Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN said Thursday in Brussels that he doesn’t believe the Kremlin has made any moves that suggest Putin has decided to use nuclear weapons. U.S. SENDS DART TO HAITI: The U.S. Agency for International Development is sending a disaster response team to Haiti, the Miami Herald’s MICHAEL WILNER and JACQUELINE CHARLES report. The Disaster Assistance Response Team, known as a DART, is “assessing needs and working closely with the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince, humanitarian partners and the Haitian people to determine how to deliver assistance to the most vulnerable,” a U.S. official told the Herald. Gang violence has erupted in the country, threatening the livelihood of Haitians and the stability of the government. The U.S. sent a high-level delegation this week to assess what aid the U.S. could provide Haiti.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY . | | | | | | | | STATE LEGISLATURE TARGETED: A Chinese-linked cyberespionage group attacked a state Legislature’s network in July, marking the first time the group has targeted the U.S. in years, Cyberscoop’s AJ VICENS reports . The group, referred to as Budworm in an analysis published by Symantec Threat Hunter Team on Thursday, targeted “a number of strategically significant targets” around the world in the past six months, including the state Legislature — which was not identified. A Symantec Threat Hunter Team analyst wouldn’t share more details on the case other than that the attack was on a network “which presumably both legislators and employees had access to,” according to Cyberscoop. It wasn’t immediately known whether the attack involved data theft or had other effects.
| | | ‘KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL’: Army Secretary CHRISTINE WORMUTH on Friday urged military leaders to “stand up for women,” wading into a controversy involving Fox News’ TUCKER CARLSON and retiring Maj. Gen. PATRICK DONAHOE, Matt reports . “There has been confusion on an issue where there should be none. So let me be clear: I expect @USArmy leaders to stand up for women—and all Soldiers—who are unduly attacked or disrespected,” Wormuth tweeted. In a second tweet, Wormuth provided guidance on how to do that: “Use good judgment online. Keep it professional.” The message came several days after Wormuth told an audience at an Army conference that leaders need to stay out of politics and “out of the culture wars.” Last month, the Army Times reported that Donahoe’s retirement had been put on hold over his social media sparring with Carlson and others, and that he may be punished. Task & Purpose then reported that the Army had determined Donahoe’s actions had brought “negative publicity” to the service through his actions.
| | | REPEAL 2002 AUMF: Two senators are pressing for their bill repealing the 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force passed ahead of the measure's 20th anniversary on Sunday. “Congress is abdicating its responsibility to provide oversight over military action and leaving these war authorizations subject to abuse,” Sens. TIM KAINE (D-Va.) and TODD YOUNG (R-Ind.) said in a joint statement. They want their bill to come for a vote during debate on the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. Lawmakers mulled including the proposal in this year’s NDAA after Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER pledged to roll back the war power last year. The bill was supposed to be in last year’s defense legislation but got scrapped at the last minute. This year’s must-pass defense legislation will be debated in November and December.
| | | NEW ‘TANK MAN’: A one-person protest Thursday in Beijing calling for the removal of leader XI JINPING and the end of stringent Covid-19 measures has been met with resistance from the Chinese government, which has sought to stymie the protests’ spread online and stifle dissent, The Washington Post’s CHRISTIAN SHEPHERD reports . Banners hung from a bridge in Beijing listed the protester’s demands in red handwritten characters: “We want to eat, not do coronavirus tests; reform, not the Cultural Revolution. We want freedom, not lockdowns; elections, not rulers. We want dignity, not lies. Be citizens, not enslaved people.” Another banner called for the removal of Xi, a “dictator and national traitor.” Pictures and videos of the demonstration were widely shared online, but Chinese censors have been racing to restrict further spread. On Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, hashtags including “Beijing” and “Sitong Bridge” have been blocked, The Post’s DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI and CLAIRE FU report . Terms including “courage,” “warrior” and “Beijing banner” also appeared to be blocked.
| | | |   | | | | | | — U.K. Finance Minister KWASI KWARTENG was fired from her post by Prime Minister LIZ TRUSS. The move came after Kwarteng presented the country’s largest tax cuts in five decades. JEREMY HUNT, a member of parliament who previously served as foreign secretary from 2018 to 2019, will fill the vacancy . — Kurdish politician ABDUL LATIF RASHID was elected as Iraq’s new president on Thursday, CNN’s CELINE ALKHALDI, MOHAMMED TAWFEEQ and AQEEL NAJIM report . The vote by parliament ends a yearlong stalemate that led to bloodshed earlier in the year. — MOHAMMED SHIA AL-SUDANI was named as prime minister by Rashid, CNN reports . He previously served as the Human Rights Minister of Iraq in the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister NOURI AL-MALIKI from 2010 to 2014. — SCOTT CULLINANE has become a member of the board of trustees of the Eurasia Foundation. He is the executive director of the U.S.-Europe Alliance and a fellow at the National Security Institute.
| | | — JUDE BLANCHETTE, Foreign Affairs: Party of One: The CCP Congress and Xi Jinping’s Quest to Control China — DANIEL B. BAER, Foreign Policy: The Thaw on Russia’s Periphery Has Already Started — ANNA NEMTSOVA, The Atlantic: One Ukrainian City in the Way of Putin’s New Total War
| | | — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 10 a.m.: “Looking Ahead: U.S. and Lithuania's Strategic Cooperation.” — The Potomac Officers Club, 10:30 a.m.: “8th Annual Intel Summitt 2022” — The Heritage Foundation, 12 p.m.: “Cyber Persistence: A New Paradigm for Cyberspace Strategy and Policy” — The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2 p.m.: Russian Information Warfare: A Conversation With Dr. BILYANA LILLY — United States Institute of Peace, 2 p.m.: “Delivering Justice for Syria: Assessing the Progress of the IIIM” — The Institute of World Politics, 4 p.m.: “A View of the Ukraine War You Haven’t Heard” Have a natsec-centric event coming up? Transitioning to a new defense-adjacent or foreign policy-focused gig? Shoot me an email at award@politico.com to be featured in the next edition of the newsletter. Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, whose top “priority item” is firing all of us. And we thank producer Mallory Culhane for helping us get NatSec Daily out the door.
| | 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. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
