In 9th air attack this month, Russia launches 30 missiles, 29 shot down
Jamie McIntyre
29 OF 30 SHOT DOWN: There was some damage in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv this morning from falling debris, but no reported casualties, as the city’s missile shield held against an onslaught of 30 Russian cruise missiles that hit across the country in waves between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
As was the case with an attack earlier this week, Ukraine said the missiles were fired from air, sea, and land, and the country claimed all but one were intercepted by Western-supplied air defenses.
“Forces and anti-air defense equipment of the Air Force, in cooperation with other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, destroyed 29 winged missiles,” said Ukraine’s General Staff on its Facebook page. “Of strategic aviation aircraft: two Tu-160 and eight Tu-95 launched 22 winged missiles. Of the ships in the Black Sea — six winged caliber rockets. As well as two winged missiles “Iskander-K” from the ground-operative-tactical rocket complexes.”
Several areas besides Kyiv were targeted, including Bakhmut, Kherson, and Odesa, the Ukrainian military said. And in Odesa, one missile got through, killing one person and wounding two others, according to the Associated Press.
‘EVERYTHING IS FINE WITH THE PATRIOT’: Ukraine broke its silence over reports that one of the two Patriot missile batteries supplied by the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands was damaged in Tuesday’s attack.
U.S. defense officials, speaking on background, said a Patriot system protecting Kyiv was damaged by an indirect hit but was “still operational,” and critically, the sophisticated phased array radar was not hit.
“Everything is fine with the Patriot,” Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said in a text message to the Washington Post.
Russia claimed it had destroyed the billion-dollar system with one of its hypersonic Kinzhal air-launched missiles, but in an ominous sign, three Russian academics who work on hypersonic missile technology have been arrested over the past year, according to some of their colleagues.
In an open letter published Monday, the scientists said the three experts on hypersonic technology have been charged with treason for “speaking at conferences abroad, publishing articles in popular magazines and participating in international projects.”
THE F-16 DEBATE THAT WON’T GO AWAY: Belgium is the latest country offering to train Ukrainian pilots to fly American-made F-16 fighter jets, as pressure builds on the U.S. to end its opposition to providing the modern warplanes to Ukraine at this time.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo was quoted in the Belgian newspaper De Morgen as saying, “During the summit in The Hague earlier this month, the issue of the F-16s was also discussed during the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Prime Minister. We have said that we cannot supply aircraft, but we can train pilots.”
The Pentagon maintains that at this stage of the war, F-16s would be of little use, for the same reason that Russia’s air force has been largely neutralized. Ukrainian and Russian air defenses are so robust it’s not possible to gain air superiority.
“Right now, the skies on both sides are just absolutely lethal,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the Senate Appropriations Committee this week. “So, anytime that you put any meaningful number of aircraft in the sky, one or the other is going to shoot it down.”
On Monday, Zelensky was promised by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that the United Kingdom would train pilots and seek to secure the Lockheed Martin F-16s from other countries.
“We spoke about the Jets, were important topic for us,” Zelensky said after meeting with Sunak outside London. “In the closest time, you will hear some, I think, important decisions, but we have to work a little bit more on it.”
Ukraine argues it could use the F-16s to shoot down Russian planes that fire air-launched missiles from the safety of Russian airspace.
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HAPPENING TODAY: President Joe Biden is in Hiroshima for the Group of Seven summit, and he met today (this evening Japan time) with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The main event begins over the weekend, but tomorrow, Kishida is scheduled to host the world leaders at the Hiroshima Peace Park and take them to tour the A-bomb museum, which marks the site of the world’s first atomic attack at the end of World War II.
PENTAGON’S NO. 3 MOVING ON: After surviving an intense confirmation process to become the undersecretary of defense for policy, Colin Kahl has announced that he will step down from his position in mid-July after the NATO summit in Vilnius.
“Since his appointment, Dr. Kahl has been a trusted adviser and a resolute leader in our mission to safeguard American interests, both inside the Pentagon and across the interagency,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a statement. “His strategic insights, deep understanding of international relations, and staunch commitment to strengthening our national defense have been crucial in shaping our policies, seizing geopolitical opportunities, and tackling a range of challenges around the world.”
Kahl is returning to his position as a tenured professor at Stanford University, reported Politico, which said Kahl’s agreement with Stanford was for a two-year leave of absence.
Kahl’s appointment was opposed by Republicans in the Senate who grilled him during his confirmation hearing about past tweets critical of former President Donald Trump specifically, and GOP policies in particular.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) welcomed the news of Kahl’s departure, tweeting, “This is a good day for America.”
“Finding a replacement for Kahl could pose a problem, given Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) hold on DOD nominations,” reported Washington Examiner defense reporter Mike Brest. “The senator is preventing the nominees due to his belief that a Pentagon policy paying for the travel expenses of service members, or their loved ones, traveling out-of-state for an abortion violates the Hyde Amendment, which blocks federal funds from being used for most abortions.”
Sasha Baker, the deputy undersecretary for policy, is expected to fill what’s considered the No. 3 position in an acting capacity.
TOP PENTAGON POLICYMAKER COLIN KAHL TO LEAVE POST THIS SUMMER
ROGERS: JUST STOP IT: In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared he was suspending Russia’s participation in the 2010 New START treaty and ending the sharing of data about its nuclear forces required by the agreement.
But the Biden administration has remained in compliance with the treaty’s terms, which Mike Rogers (R-AL), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, calls “idiotic.”
“It’s foolish to believe that continuing to send data to Russia on U.S. nuclear forces will somehow convince Putin to comply with a treaty he effectively abandoned. All the Biden administration is doing is sharing sensitive U.S. national security data with an adversary – while receiving nothing in return,” Rogers said in a press release.
“Sharing data on our nuclear forces with Russia is idiotic and puts our national security at risk,” he said. “The administration must impose costs on Russia for its noncompliance and take prudent steps to prepare for the possibility of continued Russian arms control violations.”
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The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Russia agrees to extend Ukraine grain deal for two months, Erdogan announces
Washington Examiner: Ukraine and Russia to host ‘African leaders peace mission’ separately
Washington Examiner: Former US Army Special Forces soldier killed by Russian artillery in Bakhmut
Washington Examiner: Motives unknown for deadly attack on US convoy in Nigeria, Blinken says
Washington Examiner: Top Pentagon policymaker Colin Kahl to leave post this summer
Washington Examiner: Russian fighter jet detected, tracked near Alaska, NORAD says
Washington Examiner: National Archives says presidents and lawmakers have mishandled classified documents for years
Washington Examiner: Rubio COVID-19 report traces pandemic origins and Wuhan lab leak hypothesis
Washington Examiner: State Department will let McCaul look at Kabul cable after Blinken contempt threat
Washington Examiner: Illegal border encounters rose sharply to 275,448 in final month of Title 42
Washington Examiner: Opinion: How far will Macron go to be China’s voice at G-7 summit?
New York Times: Small Advance Kindles Hopes For Kyiv Forces
Wall Street Journal: Ukraine Hits Enemy Supplies Ahead of Broader Campaign
Bloomberg: North Korea Is About To Launch Its First Spy Satellite
Reuters: Russia Says Hypersonic Missile Scientists Face ‘Very Serious’ Treason Accusations
AP: Russia orders arrest of prominent producer, director who criticized Ukraine war
AP: Europe OKs plan to tally cost of Moscow’s war in Ukraine with eye toward future reparations
The War Zone: Belgium Ready to Train Ukrainian Pilots to Fly F-16s
Politico: Pressure Campaign on Biden to Send F-16s to Ukraine Goes into Overdrive
Defense News: Pentagon Seeks Authority To Transfer Nuclear Submarines To Australia
Washington Post: Leak suspect shared classified secrets with foreign nationals, prosecutors say
Washington Post: Marine is first active-duty military member convicted in Jan. 6 riot
AP: US Navy commander: No real change in Russian military’s conduct toward Western warships in east Med
Air Force Times: Why Gen. Allvin Is the Frontrunner to Become Air Force Chief of Staff
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Rolls-Royce Tests New B-52 Engines, Nacelles Before Early 2024 Critical Design Review
Air & Space Forces Magazine: USAF Looks to Fill Intelligence Gaps from Space
Defense One: US Will Use AI to Track Orbiting Objects, Space Command Says
Space News: Space Force Official: Lack of Communication with China Increases Risk of Mishaps in Orbit
OilPrice.com: Is The U.S. Preparing To Punish OPEC?
Breaking Defense: Lawmaker Calls for ‘Joint Autonomy Office’ in DOD’s CDAO to Coordinate Tech Adoption
AP: ‘Clock has hit midnight’: China loans pushing world’s poorest countries to brink of collapse
The Cipher Brief: Ukraine and Beyond Through the Lens of US Military Intelligence
The Cipher Brief: The President Must Move Swiftly to Nominate a New National Cyber Director
The Cipher Brief: The World of Missile Defense is Changing Rapidly
Calendar
THURSDAY | MAY 18
9 a.m. HVC-210, U.S. Capitol — House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific Subcommittee hearing: “Standing United Against the People’s Republic of China’s Economic Aggression and Predatory Practices,” with testimony from David Feith, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for New American Security; Alon Raphael, CEO of FemtoMetrix; Matthew Reynolds, fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’s Economics Program; and Derek Scissors, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/standing-united
9 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “What Can the World Expect from Ukraine’s Counteroffensive?” with retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, former supreme NATO commander; former Ukrainian Minister of Defense Andriy Zagorodnyuk, chairman of the Center for Defense Strategies; Andrea Kendall-Taylor, director of the Center for a New American Security’s Transatlantic Security Program; David Kramer, executive director of the George W. Bush Institute; and Vladimir Milov, vice president of international advocacy at the Free Russia Foundation https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/what-can-the-world-expect
9 a.m. — Atlantic Council and Applied Intuition two-day NEXUS 23 Symposium: “The Intersection of Defense, National Security, and Autonomy,” with Ellen Lord, former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment; and Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/nexus-23
10 a.m. — Foundation for Defense of Democracies virtual and in-person event: “Turkey’s Elections: A Contested and Uncertain Outcome,” with Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars at the Council on Foreign Relations; Howard Eissenstat, associate professor of Middle East history at St. Lawrence University; Sibel Oktay, associate professor and former director of the School of Politics and International Affairs at the University of Illinois, Springfield; and Sinan Ciddi, non-resident senior fellow at FDD and associate professor of national security studies at Marine Corps University https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/05/18/turkeys-elections
10:30 a.m. 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Government Executive Media Group two-day Cyber Summit, with David McKeown, Defense Department deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity; David Forbes, director of cyber physical defense at Booz Allen Hamilton https://events.govexec.com/cyber-summit-2023
11 a.m. — Nuclear Threat Initiative virtual book discussion: Inheriting the Bomb: The Collapse of the USSR and the Nuclear Disarmament of Ukraine, with author Mariana Budjeryn, senior research associate at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center’s Project on Managing the Atom https://www.nti.org/events/nti-seminar-inheriting-the-bomb
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
POSTPONED: 10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee full committee markup of H.R. 2670, the “National Defense Authorization Act for FY2024” http://www.armedservices.house.gov
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
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]
QUOTE OF THE DAY “Everything is fine with the Patriot.” Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat in a text message to the Washington Post Wednesday.