Ukraine relying on deep airstrikes as its counteroffensive proceeds cautiously on ground
Jamie McIntyre
ANOTHER VILLAGE FREED: The Ukraine counteroffensive, now 100 days long, continues to make slow, albeit steady, progress in its goal of advancing far enough in the east and south to sever the land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, thereby cutting off Russian troops from their vital supply lines. Today, Ukraine’s General Staff announced what it called “partial success in the area of Klishchievka.”
“During the assault operations had success and mastered the Andriivka of the Donetsk region, causing the enemy significant losses in manpower and equipment,” the General Staff said on its Facebook page. The village of Andriivka is about six miles south of the destroyed city of Bakhmut, where Ukraine is trying to surround Russian forces and keep them tied down so they can’t reinforce troops in the south.
Meanwhile, Ukraine said its increasingly sophisticated air campaign is degrading key Russian defenses, reporting yesterday that a Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile complex of launchers and radars northwest of Sevastopol, in occupied Crimea, was destroyed with drones and two Neptune cruise missiles.
“The destruction of the occupiers’ air defense system on the land of our Crimea — it is a very significant achievement,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “Well done!”
“The strike suggests that Russian forces were unprepared to intercept missiles with the system or were unable to do so,” the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment, noting the attack was the second on the Russian S-400 air defense system in Crimea in three weeks. “The second Ukrainian strike on a significant Russian air defense system in recent weeks indicates that such tactical failures may reflect a wider systemic issue with Russian air defenses in occupied Crimea.”
ZELENSKY PRAISES STRIKE ON RUSSIAN AIR DEFENSE AS ‘SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT’
‘CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE’ AT SEVASTOPOL: Meanwhile, British intelligence suggests that Wednesday’s attack on the main base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has likely put the Sevastopol shipyard out of commission for months.
The Ukrainian attack, which employed drones and British Storm Shadow missiles, hit the amphibious landing ship Minsk and the Kilo-class submarine Rostov-na-Donu, which were both in dry dock for repairs.
“Despite the Russian Ministry of Defense downplaying the damage to the vessels, open-source evidence indicates the Minsk has almost certainly been functionally destroyed, while the Rostov has likely suffered catastrophic damage,” the U.K. said in its latest social media intelligence update. “Any effort to return the submarine to service is likely to take many years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. There is a realistic possibility that the complex task of removing the wreckage from the dry docks will place them out of use for many months.”
The damage to the dock infrastructure will make maintenance of the Black Sea Fleet “a significant challenge,” the U.K. said, adding that the lost submarine is one of four cruise missile capable submarines that has played a major role in striking Ukraine.
ZELENSKY COMING TO US: Zelensky is expected to attend next week’s United Nations General Assembly on Thursday and have a one-on-one visit with President Joe Biden at the White House.
It would be Zelensky’s second wartime visit to Washington and comes as Biden is requesting $24 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine in a supplemental appropriation from Congress.
In December of last year, Zelensky delivered an address to a joint meeting of Congress, making an impassioned plea for continued support. But as war reaches the year-and-a-half mark, support for continued military assistance is weakening among some members of the hard-line faction of the House Republicans, who are calling for further Ukraine assistance to be stripped from any supplemental or temporary funding measures.
A YEAR AND A HALF IN, THE WAR IN UKRAINE IS AT A CROSSROADS
Good Friday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Conrad Hoyt. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE
Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what’s going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!
HAPPENING TODAY: The Pentagon marks National POW/MIA Recognition Day with a 10 a.m. ceremony on its River Parade Field. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks is the keynote speaker for the ceremonies, which will be livestreamed on the Pentagon’s website.
At 4 p.m., the Navy Memorial in downtown Washington will mark the day with a ceremony at the Navy Memorial Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue.
ALSO TODAY: National security adviser Jake Sullivan is scheduled to join press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at today’s 1 p.m. White House briefing, and Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) has called a news conference for 1 p.m. to discuss the defense appropriations bill.
McCARTHY’S FRUSTRATION: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is having a tough time appeasing his unruly hard-line members in his effort to get passage of a short-term continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown in just two weeks.
Behind closed doors yesterday, McCarthy essentially dared his fellow Republicans to carry out their threat to make a “motion to vacate” to remove him from his leadership post, reportedly telling his antagonists to “file the f***ing motion.”
Asked by a reporter on his way to the private meeting what was going on with the “funding mess,” McCarthy replied, “Yeah, I don’t understand how members, they have no complaint about the DOD bill. But they don’t want to pass it. I got a small group of members who don’t want to vote for CR, don’t want to vote for individual bills, and don’t want to vote for an omni. I’m not quite sure what they want.”
After the meeting, MCarthy told reporters, “Threats don’t matter. … I don’t walk away from a battle. I knew changing Washington would not be easy. … If it takes a fight, I will have a fight.”
McCarthy has made conflicting promises over the top line for the fiscal 2024 budget and is now caught in the middle, said Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), a moderate member of the House Freedom Caucus.
“Kevin has made promises to different parts of the conference. He has promised to get, to be speaker, one number, a low number. Then he entered negotiations with President Biden and agreed to a higher number,” Buck told CNN. “And now he’s stuck because he’s got part of the conference that expects a lower number and part of the conference expects a higher number, and he’s not going to get there with a Republican vote.”
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS AMID INTRA-HOUSE GOP SPATS OVER SPENDING LEVELS
MUSK FACES SCRUTINY OVER STARLINK ACCESS: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk keeps digging a deeper hole as he attempts to justify his denial of Starlink internet access to Ukraine as Kyiv attempts to regain control of Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Musk didn’t do himself any favors when he weighed in Tuesday at the All-In Summit 2023 when he suggested that Taiwan is “an integral part of China” and noted China’s policy to “reunite” with Taiwan, placing blame on the United States for “stopp[ing] any sort of reunification effort” in the East China Sea.
Yesterday, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Musk’s admission that he refused internet access to Ukraine last September, thwarting an attack on Russian ships in Crimea, raises “serious national security liability issues.”
“Neither Elon Musk, nor any private citizen, can have the last word when it comes to U.S. national security,” Reed said in a statement. “We’ve got to look at the broader satellite markets and the role of government outsourcing, the outsized role Mr. Musk and his company have taken on here, and the Pentagon’s actions and contractual arrangements.”
“The committee is aggressively probing this issue from every angle and will continue to engage with the Department to ensure U.S. national security interests are protected,” Reed said.
TAIWAN SHOOTS BACK AT MUSK WITH FIERY RESPONSE TO COMMENTS ON CHINA
INDUSTRY WATCH: Northrop Grumman said the Navy has certified that its MQ-4C Triton uncrewed aircraft has achieved initial operating capability.
“MQ-4C Triton is the U.S. Navy’s only uncrewed, high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft performing persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting,” the company said in a statement. “With an operating altitude greater than 50,000 feet and endurance of 24 hours, Triton provides continuous communications relay to keep a distributed Navy connected, while ensuring commanders are operating off a common operational picture.”
The company said it delivered five Triton drones to the Navy and that they have been used in the Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility since 2020.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: A year and a half in, the war in Ukraine is at a crossroads
Washington Examiner: Zelensky praises strike on Russian air defense as ‘significant achievement’
Washington Examiner: Vladimir Putin accepts Kim Jong Un’s offer of North Korean visit
Washington Examiner: US vows to retaliate against Russia’s expulsion of two diplomats from Moscow
Washington Examiner: Musk calls Taiwan a ‘part of China’ and blames US for blocking ‘reunification effort
Washington Examiner: Taiwan shoots back at Musk with fiery response to comments on China
Washington Examiner: Taiwan rebuffs China’s desire for high-speed rail line across strait
Washington Examiner: House GOP demands full sanctions for Huawei over chip in new phone
Washington Examiner: Tuberville military hold will ‘take years to recover’ from, Biden’s Navy pick says
Washington Examiner: Troy Nehls to add amendments to DHS spending bill to stop the ‘Left’s woke agenda’
Washington Examiner: Biden administration ‘wants Afghanistan to go away,’ former US ambassador says
Washington Examiner: Opinion: How Kim Jong Un’s Russia trip illustrates his security paranoia
Washington Examiner: Opinion: China sends US message with Venezuela strategic partnership
Washington Examiner: Review: ‘We May Dominate the World’ shows what the US can learn from its deep ties with Latin America
AP: North Korea’s Kim gets a close look at Russian fighter jets as his tour narrows its focus to weapons
Washington Post: China’s Defense Minister Under Investigation For Corruption
Fox News: Chinese Shipbuilding Capacity Over 200 Times Greater Than U.S., Navy Intelligence Says
Military.com: Odds of Shutdown and Missed Paychecks for Troops Grow Amid Chaos in the House
Air Force Times: Entire Air Force to Miss Recruiting Goal, the First Failure Since 1999
Navy Times: Navy Will Miss Recruiting Goals By 7,000 Sailors This Year
Military Times: Senators Press Pentagon on New Medical System’s Recruiting Impact
New York Times: Ukraine Intensifies Attacks On Russia In Crimea And Black Sea
CNBC: Air Force Chief Sounds Off on Musk’s Ukraine Decision, Tensions with China and the Future of War
Defense One: With Eye Toward Russia and China, NORTHCOM Concludes Special Mission in the Arctic
USNI News: Franchetti: Columbia Program Meeting Contracted Delivery Schedule
Defense News: AUKUS Agreement Requires Submarine Production Boost, Franchetti Says
Bloomberg: US Army Faces Facts:Its Hypersonic Weapon To Miss a Deadline
Breaking Defense: F-35 Performance-Based Logistics Deal Slips to 2024: Lockheed CFO
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Russian Air Force Trades Efficacy for Survival Over Ukraine, USAFE Boss Says
AP: NASA says more science and less stigma are needed to understand UFOs
DefenseScoop: Pentagon Soliciting Industry for Adapter and Software to Convert Remotely Piloted Drones into Autonomous Systems
BBC: Rogue Russian Pilot Tried to Shoot Down RAF Aircraft in 2022
Space News: DOD Submits Congressionally Mandated Space Policy Report
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Force Looks to ‘Build Upon Momentum’ to Solidify Its Unique Culture
Air & Space Forces Magazine: First EC-37 Delivered for Testing; CCAs Will Complement It
19fortyfive.com: Putin’s Blind Spot: Why is Russia’s Best-Defended City Unable to Stop Drone Attacks from Ukraine?
19fortyfive.com: Opinion: Five Reasons Navy Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carriers Will Play A Key Role In A War With China
The Cipher Brief: When is Our 9/11 Moment With China?
The Cipher Brief: The Argument for Adopting a Reagan Strategy in Ukraine
19fortyfive.com: Opinion: General Brown: Too Political to Become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Forbes: The Army’s Most Important Warfighting Tool Isn’t A Weapon, It’s A Network
Calendar
FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 15
9 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “Ukraine, the West, and the World: Breaking Point or Transformational Moment?” https://www.brookings.edu/events/ukraine-the-west-and-the-world
9:30 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group conversation with Mieke Eoyang, deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy. RSVP: Thom Shanker [email protected]
11 a.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual fireside chat of CNAS report: “‘Production is Deterrence’: Investing in Precision-Guided Munitions to Meet Peer Challengers,” with William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, and moderator Stacie Pettyjohn, senior fellow and director of the CNAS Defense Program https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-fireside-chat-the-honorable-dr-william-laplante
MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 18
10 a.m. — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research virtual discussion:: “Assessing the Past Year of Defending Taiwan,” with Michael Beckley, nonresident senior fellow, AEI; Dan Blumenthal, senior fellow, AEI; Mackenzie Eaglen, senior fellow, AEI; and Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies, AEI https://www.aei.org/events/assessing-the-past-year-of-defending-taiwan
1 p.m. — Defense Priorities virtual discussion:: “Unraveling the GWOT (Global War on Terror) in Africa,” with Elizabeth Shackelford, senior fellow, Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs; Tricia Bacon, associate professor, American University; William Walldorf, associate professor, Wake Forest University, and visiting fellow, Defense Priorities; and moderator Jessica Trisko Darden, associate professor, Virginia Commonwealth University https://unravelingthegwotinafrica.splashthat.com/
TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 19
TBA New York, New York — President Joe Biden addresses the 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly
8:30 a.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research virtual and in-person discussion: “The Future of Defense for the U.K. and Its Allies,” with U.K. Shadow Defense Secretary John Healey; Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN); and Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow, AEI https://www.aei.org/events/the-future-of-defense-for-the-uk-and-its-allies
10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Association of the U.S. Army and Center for Strategic and International Studies “Landpower Dialogue,” with Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Gen. Randy George, Army vice chief of staff https://www.csis.org/events/landpower-dialogue-conversation
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments Zoom webinar: “Webinar: The Future of the Russian Military and How It Reforms,” with CSBA’s Katherine Kjellström Elgin and Eric Edelman https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register
10:35 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “Defense Cooperation with Taiwan,” with testimony from Ely Ratner, assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, and Mira Resnick, deputy assistant secretary of state for regional security http://www.armedservices.house.gov
3 p.m. 1310 Longworth — House Administration Committee hearing: “Oversight of United States Capitol Security: Assessing Security Failures on January 6, 2021” https://cha.house.gov/hearings
WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 20
7:20 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia — Association of the U.S. Army “Coffee Series” discussion:: with Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command https://ausa.my.site.com/OnlineCommunity/s/community-event
10 a.m. 1152 15th St, NW — Center for a New American Security virtual mission brief: “Gaining the Asymmetric Advantage: Emerging Technology and the AUKUS Pillar 2 Promise,” with Tanya Monro AC (Companion of the Order), Australia’s chief defense scientist, and Becca Wasser, senior fellow, CNAS Defense Program https://www.cnas.org/events/mission-brief-gaining-the-asymmetric-advantage
12 p.m. — Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments webinar discussion: of a a new report: “Evaluate Like We Operate: Why the Department of Defense Should Evaluate Weapons Systems as Networked Force Packages, Not Individual Platforms,” with Travis Sharp, senior fellow and director of CSBA defense budget studies; Tyler Hacker, CSBA research fellow; and Thomas Mahnken, CSBA president and CEO https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register
12:30 p.m. 601 13th St. NW — Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in-person event: “From Kyiv to AUKUS: The vital partnership between the U.S. & UK,” with Rear Adm. Tim Woods, the U.K.’s new defense attache https://www.addevent.com/event
THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 21
12 p.m. — National Security Institute at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University book discussion: of Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World, with author Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Axios China reporter, and Jessica Jones, deputy executive director, National Security Institute https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/book-event-beijing-rules
QUOTE OF THE DAY “File the f***ing motion.” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) telling Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and other members of the hard-line flank to stop threatening to remove him as speaker