Zelensky concedes counteroffensive failed but insists that’s no reason to surrender
Jamie McIntyre
ZELENSKY: ‘WE DID NOT ACHIEVE THE DESIRED RESULTS’: In a wide-ranging interview with the Associated Press, conducted Thursday in the war-ravaged northeastern Ukrainian town of Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky offered a sobering assessment of the shortcomings of Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive against Russian forces, while remaining resolute about the need to keep fighting.
“We wanted faster results. From that perspective, unfortunately, we did not achieve the desired results. And this is a fact,” Zelensky said. “We are losing people, I’m not satisfied. We didn’t get all the weapons we wanted; I can’t be satisfied, but I also can’t complain too much.”
“There is not enough power to achieve the desired results faster. But this does not mean that we should give up, that we have to surrender,” Zelensky said. “We are confident in our actions. We fight for what is ours.”
Zelensky said the onset of winter marks “a new phase of war,” and he’s bracing for another campaign by Russia to target its energy infrastructure to inflict more misery on Ukraine’s civilian population. “That is why a winter war is difficult,” he said.
ISRAEL-GAZA WAR DIVERTING ATTENTION: Zelensky remains concerned that having achieved incremental territorial gains despite tens of billions in Western aid, support for Ukraine is flagging, especially with the upheaval in the Middle East, where Israel’s war to wipe out Hamas has resumed after a short pause to free some, but not all of the hostages abducted by Hamas.
“We already can see the consequences of the international community shifting (attention) because of the tragedy in the Middle East,” Zelensky said. “Only the blind don’t recognize this.” Ukraine is running low on ammunition, and approval of future aid by the U.S. Congress remains in doubt.
Ukrainians understand “that we also need to fight for attention for the full-scale war,” Zelensky said. “We must not allow people to forget about the war here.”
US PUBLIC OPINION: While some recent polls suggest the American public is growing weary of supporting Ukraine, a new survey by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation shows that a strong, bipartisan majority still supports Ukraine.
The poll of 2,500 Americans conducted over ten days in late October and early November found that “Americans are unsure who is winning but remain broadly supportive of Ukraine,” according to the bipartisan firms conducting the poll.
In response to a question about whether a Ukrainian victory is important to America, 76% said it’s important, with 48% saying it’s very important. As for funding, 59% support military aid to Ukraine, while 30% are opposed.
“Support for military aid is highest among those over 65 years of age (70% support), the college-educated (66% support), and Biden supporters (79% support). Among Trump supporters, 44% support and 47% oppose,” the pollsters reported.
The poll found that 34% of respondents believe Ukraine is winning the war, while 31% say Russia is; 23% say neither, and 12% say they do not know.
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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
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HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Santa Clara County, California, today for meetings with Australian Defense and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps to discuss the Australia-U.K.-U.S. security partnership known as AUKUS. The meeting will take place on the campus of DOD’s Defense Innovation Unit at Moffett Field.
Tomorrow, Austin is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the 2023 Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley.
GAZA WAR RESUMES: Israeli warplanes were on the attack again today in the Gaza Strip after each side blamed the other for the failure to extend a weeklong truce to allow more hostages to be traded for Palestinian prisoners.
More than 100 Israelis and other foreign nationals were freed over the past week, but about 140 hostages remain in Gaza, mostly men, but some women and children who may be held by other groups in Gaza.
The U.S. and Qatar, which has served as a mediator along with Egypt, are pursuing efforts to reinstate the ceasefire.
“We share the elation, the relief, of the families from more than a dozen countries, including the United States, who’ve been reunited with their loved ones. And yet, there are scores of families here in Israel, the United States, and around the world whose loved ones continue to be held captive and who are desperate to get them home safely,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Tel Aviv yesterday. “We will not stop working until we get every hostage back home with their families and loved ones.”
BLINKEN MEETS WITH ISRAELI LEADERS AND ABBAS WITH ATTENTION TOWARD NEXT STEPS
IRAN: STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM: The latest State Department Country Reports on Terrorism, which covers the year 2022, continues to list Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism, as it has since 1984.
The report does not address Iran’s possible role in the brutal October terrorist attack by Hamas against Israeli civilians but notes its continued support for terrorist activity, including support for Hezbollah, U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist groups in the West Bank and Gaza, and other terrorist groups throughout the Middle East.
“Iran used the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to provide support to terrorist organizations, provide cover for associated covert operations, and create instability in the region,” the report detailed. “The IRGC-QF is Iran’s primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorist activity abroad … Iran also used regional militant and proxy groups to provide deniability, in an attempt to shield it from accountability for its destabilizing policies.”
“In Yemen, Iran has provided a wide range of weapons, training, advanced equipment such as UAS, and other support to Houthi militants, who engaged in attacks against regional targets in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” the report noted, prompting Jonathan Schanzer, a senior vice president of research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, to post on X, “In other words, Houthis cited in the report as evidence of terror support but are not designated.”
THE DRUMBEAT FOR TARGETING IRAN
FREEZE THE $6B IN IRANIAN FUNDS: In a bipartisan 307-119 vote, with 90 Democrats joining Republicans, the House has passed a bill that would force the Biden administration to permanently freeze $6 billion in Iranian funds it freed up in return for the release of five Americans unjustly imprisoned in Iran.
“I am relieved that Americans held hostage by Iran are safely at home. They have been through a terrible ordeal and should never have been imprisoned in the first place,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and sponsor of the measure. “But as part of this deal, the administration dropped charges against five Iranian criminals charged with endangering our national security, including by aiding Iran’s nuclear program. And at Iran’s request, the administration waived sanctions on $6 billion dollars of Iranian funds which had been frozen in South Korea,”
“Under this deal, Iran is getting access to 1.2 billion dollars per blue passport, per American citizen. It is obvious that this agreement incentivizes more hostage-taking,” McCaul said on the House floor before the vote. “The administration is claiming that this money can only be used for humanitarian purchases, like food and medicine. But Iran has a long history of sanction evasion and money laundering, [which] means we cannot truly know where the funds end up or how they will be used.”
The Biden administration says the funds belonged to Iran under a policy instituted during the Trump administration designed to allow U.S. allies, such as South Korea, to buy oil from Iran, so long as the payment went into an escrow fund for humanitarian purposes.
In an appearance on Fox News Monday, NSC spokesman John Kirby said President Joe Biden has no regrets about the deal.
“We got five Americans back home with their families, where they belong. Those kinds of decisions are always tough for any commander in chief to make,” Kirby told Fox’s Martha MacCallum.
“That money cannot be touched by the regime. It can only be used for vending… through approved contractors, humanitarian assistance. The regime never touches that money,” Kirby said. “And none of it, even as you and I are speaking, none of it has been touched.”
TUBERVILLE’S NEW ANTI-WOKE STRATEGY: For months, it’s been about the Pentagon’s policy that pays for troops and their families stationed in states with abortion bans to travel for reproductive care, now Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) one-man crusade is about admirals and generals he considers too woke.
Tuberville now says he will not be lifting his hold on every nominee but instead will keep enforcing holds on Biden nominees he deems “woke,” according to reporting from the Washington Examiner’s Samantha-Jo Roth and Emily Jacobs.
“Now, we’re working towards getting, which I’ve been very much for getting the promotions over with, we need to get them promoted,” Tuberville said, speaking with reporters on Thursday afternoon. “We are going through all the people that are up for promotion. We will promote people in the very near future. I don’t know how many people at one time. I’d like to get it done here in the next week or so.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is still hoping to get enough Republican votes for a temporary rules change to override all of Tuberville’s holds before the Christmas break in a few weeks.
“I saw today that Senator Schumer says he’s going ahead with the resolution. I don’t think he’s got the votes,” Tuberville said. “So we’ll talk again today and probably Tuesday on the resolution.”
“I’ve involved all my colleagues, we’ve had real good discussions about this, about the proper way to do this because we do want to stand up for life and the taxpayers not having anything to do with abortion, and get these people that need to be promoted, promoted,” he said.
TUBERVILLE SOFTENS ON MILITARY HOLDS AND WILL PIVOT TO ‘WOKE’ BIDEN NOMINEES
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Senate border deal negotiators say they’re ‘stuck’ amid asylum and parole disputes
Washington Examiner: Tuberville softens on military holds and will pivot to ‘woke’ Biden nominees
Washington Examiner: Israeli hostage who defiantly stared down captors gave Hamas an ultimatum
Washington Examiner: Blinken meets with Israeli leaders and Abbas with attention toward next steps
Washington Examiner: The drumbeat for targeting Iran
Washington Examiner: Opinion: The enemy of the Palestinian people
Washington Examiner: Federal judge blocks Montana TikTok ban from taking effect
Washington Examiner: Shellenberger tells weaponization subcommittee US and UK turned ‘psychological operations’ against Americans
Washington Examiner: US reveals date of first moon return in 51 years — with one key difference
Washington Examiner: Opinion: The UAE shows its duplicity with China kowtowing and COP28 oil deals
Washington Examiner: Henry Kissinger, 1923-2023
AP: Warplanes hit targets in Gaza as Israel resumes offensive, warning of attacks to come in south
New York Times: Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago
New York Times: U.S. Urges Israel To Protect Civilians When War Restarts
Reuters: Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Calls For Fortifications In Key Frontline Areas
Fox News: Pentagon Confirms 74th Attack On U.S. Troops In Middle East Since Oct. 17
Military.com: Slowed Recruiting, Delayed Change of Station Moves: Joint Chiefs Chairman Warns Against Yearlong Stopgap Budget
AP: Philippines Opens A Coast Guard Surveillance Base In The South China Sea To Watch Chinese Vessels
The Hill: How Foreign Wars Are Distracting The U.S. From Its Biggest Threat
Washington Times: Facebook Takes Down Thousands Of Chinese Accounts Targeting U.S. Elections And Politics
Military Times: Extremism Stand-Down Checked a Box with No Lasting Result, Critics Say
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Pentagon: 8 Airmen Still Missing After Japan Osprey Crash
AP: Japan Suspends Its Osprey Flights after the Fatal Crash of a US Air Force Aircraft
Air & Space Forces Magazine: New Schedule for Sentinel Coming Soon, Says ICBM Modernization Boss
Breaking Defense: DIU Eyeing Feb-Aug 2025 to Field First Replicator Systems, Wants Industry Input
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Latest KC-46 Lot Contract Award Leaves Only Three More to Go
Air & Space Forces Magazine: S. Korea Spy Satellite to Lift Off at Vandenberg Days After N. Korea Launches One
DefenseScoop: Pentagon’s UAP Investigation Chief to Depart Dec. 1
The War Zone: No, This Is Not a Secret UFO Crash Retrieval
Business Insider: Satellite Photos Show US Work on ACE Airfield at Tinian in the Pacific
Inside Defense: IG: Air Force Not Properly Preventing, Managing B-52 Spare Parts Shortages
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Guardsmen Keep Aging F-15Cs Flying With Spare Parts Made In-House
Breaking Defense: Deploy the Precision Strike Missile to the Middle East
The National Interest: Mike Pompeo: What Made Henry Kissinger Truly Special
The Cipher Brief: A Look Inside Hamas’s Weapons Arsenal
The Cipher Brief: China Needs to Pick Up the Phone as Trust Deficit Still Looms Large
The Cipher Brief: Audits Show the Pentagon’s Numbers Aren’t Completely Adding Up
Calendar
FRIDAY | DECEMBER 1
9 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “U.S. National Security and Ukraine,” with Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE); Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA); Tamar Jacoby, director of the Progressive Policy Institute’s New Ukraine Project; John Walters, president and CEO of the Hudson Institute; and Luke Coffey, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute https://www.hudson.org/events/us-national-security-ukraine
10:15 a.m. EST Simi Valley, California — Reagan National Defense Forum with members of Congress, senior leadership of the Department of Defense, former officials, scholars, defense industry leaders, and members of the press https://rndf2023virtual.rsvpify.com
11 a.m. — Washington Post Live virtual book discussion: Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to the Present with co-author and former CIA Director retired Army Gen. David Petraeus https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live
11 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Japan’s Foreign Policy in 2024,” with Yuki Tatsumi, director of the Stimson Center’s Japan Program; and Victor Cha, CSIS Korea chairman https://www.csis.org/events/impossible-state-live-podcast
SATURDAY | DECEMBER 2
10:15 a.m. EST Simi Valley, California — Reagan National Defense Forum with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin; Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.; and Shannon Bream of Fox News Sunday https://rndf2023virtual.rsvpify.com
TUESDAY | DECEMBER 5
9:30 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group breakfast conversation with Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security affairs. RSVP: Thom Shanker at [email protected]
10 a.m. 226 Dirksen — Senate Judiciary Committee hearing: “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” with testimony from FBI Director Christopher Wray http://judiciary.senate.gov
2 p.m. HVC-210, U.S. Capitol — House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee hearing: “The Sahel in Crisis: Examining U.S. Policy Options,” with testimony from Molly Phee, assistant secretary of state for African affairs; Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs; and Robert Jenkins, assistant to the administrator in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization http://foreignaffairs.house.gov
WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 6
2 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Cyber, Information Technology, and Innovation Subcommittee hearing: “Back to the Future” https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/citi-hearing-back-future
3 p.m. 222 Russell — Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee hearing: “The status of Defense Department recruiting efforts and plans for FY2024” https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/
12 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army “Noon Report” webinar: “U.S. Army’s role in 1980s U.N. peacekeeping operations in the Middle East, with retired Col. L. Scott Lingamfelter, author of Yanks in Blue Berets: American UN Peacekeepers in the Middle East https://www.ausa.org/events/noon-report-yanks-blue-berets
THURSDAY | DECEMBER 7
8 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group breakfast conversation with Benedetta Berti, head of NATO policy planning in the office of the NATO Secretary-General. RSVP: Thom Shanker at [email protected]
9 a.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing: “Regional Missile Defense Assets — Assessing COCOM and Allied Demand for Capabilities,” with testimony from John Hill, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and missile defense policy; Army Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, director of the Department of the Army’s Management Office (DAMO)-Fires and Joint Capabilities (G-3/5/7); Navy Rear Adm. Douglas Williams, acting director of the Missile Defense Agency; and Army Brig. Gen. Clair Gill, deputy director for regional operations and force management for the Joint Staff J-3 https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/str-hearing-regional-missile-defense
FRIDAY | DECEMBER 8
11 a.m. 789 Massachusetts Ave., NW— American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in-person and virtual discussion: “American Democracy and a Fragile World Order,” with John M. Owen IV, author of The Ecology of Nations: American Democracy in a Fragile World Order; and Colin Dueck, Nonresident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute https://www.aei.org/events/discussing-american-democracy
SATURDAY | DECEMBER 9
3 p.m. and 7 p.m. — The U.S. Air Force Band, The U.S. Air Force Concert Band, and Singing Sergeants present a free-to-the-public holiday concert series, “Season of Hope” at DAR Constitution Hall, with the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir, the Alexandria School of Highland Dance, and a special visitor from the North Pole. Tickets: https://usafband.ticketleap.com
SUNDAY | DECEMBER 10
3 p.m. — The U.S. Air Force Band, The U.S. Air Force Concert Band, and Singing Sergeants present a free-to-the-public holiday concert series, “Season of Hope” at DAR Constitution Hall, with the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir, the Alexandria School of Highland Dance, and a special visitor from the North Pole. Tickets: https://usafband.ticketleap.com
TUESDAY | DECEMBER 12
9 a.m. Orlando, Florida — Day one of the Space Force Association’s inaugural Spacepower Conference, with Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations; Gen. James Dickinson, commander, U.S. Space Command; Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander, Space Operations Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado; Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, deputy chief of space operations, strategy, plans, programs, and requirements, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander, Space Systems Command; Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, military deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration; and others https://attendspacepower.com
9:30 a.m. 14th and F Sts. NW — Arms Control Association and Embassy of Kazakhstan in Washington discussion: “Reinforcing the Beleaguered Nuclear Nonproliferation and Arms Control System,” with Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Kazakhstan ambassador to the U.S.; Thomas Countryman, chairman of the board of directors of the Arms Control Association; Amb. Elayne White Gomez, president of the negotiating conference for the 2017 Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons; Nomsa Ndongwe, research fellow, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies; and Daryl Kimball, executive director, Arms Control Association https://www.armscontrol.org/events
2 p.m. — Defense Priorities Foundation virtual discussion: “What: Rocks, reefs, and resolve? Examining the purpose of U.S. policy in the South China Sea,” with Lyle Goldstein, director, Asia Engagement, Defense Priorities; Shuxian Luo, assistant professor, Asian Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security; and moderator Benjamin Friedman, policy director, Defense Priorities https://southchinasea.splashthat.com
WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 13
9 a.m. Orlando, Florida — Day two of the Space Force Association inaugural Spacepower Conference, with Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations; Gen. James Dickinson, commander, U.S. Space Command; Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander, Space Operations Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado; Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, deputy Chief of Space Operations, Strategy, Plans, Programs, and Requirements, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander, Space Systems Command; Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, military deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration; and others https://attendspacepower.com/
9 a.m. — Counter Extremism Project webinar: “Houthi Procurement and Terror Finance — The Yemeni Arm of Iran’s Proxy Forces,” with Ari Heistein, author, CEP report series, Yemen specialist and defense technology professional; Raz Zimmt, research fellow, Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies; and moderator Hans-Jakob Schindler, CEP senior director https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
QUOTE OF THE DAY “There’s one thing … that we have in common, is neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), in Thursday night’s debate with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) on Fox.