Breaking: Jake Sullivan traveled in secret to Kyiv in a trip aimed at reaffirming U.S. support for the beleaguered ally despite an impasse in Congress over U.S. funding. “We are confident we will get this done, we will get this aid to Ukraine," Sullivan said Sullivan arrived in Kyiv as the country’s forces are on their back foot having retreated from the eastern city of Avdiivka and facing Russian advances across the front lines. “You should believe in the United States,” Sullivan said

Scoop: A secret assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency casts doubts about Israel’s prospects for success if it mounts a significant escalation against Hezbollah, saying IDF resources will be spread too thin given the war in Gaza, per sources. 🧵 The assessment has bolstered concerns among some in the Biden administration who are wary of comments from senior Israeli officials that Israel will need to expand military operations against Hezbollah

scoop: Russia has begun firing ballistic missiles into Ukraine that were provided by North Korea, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive U.S. intelligence. The North Korean projectiles were short-range ballistic missiles that Moscow fired in late December and early January. The deployment indicates North Korea's growing support for Moscow’s war effort washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

US State Department calls out Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir for "inflammatory and irresponsible" rhetoric "advocating for the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza." In a reference to Netanyahu, the statement says "We have been told repeatedly and consistently by the Government of Israel, including by the Prime Minister, that such statements do not reflect the policy of the Israeli government. They should stop immediately."

NEW: U.S. officials concede that the United States is not conducting real-time assessments of Israel’s adherence to the laws of war 🧵 Despite that, the United States has flooded Israel with weapons since Oct. 7, transferring at least 15k bombs, including 2k pound bunker buster bombs.

New deep dive from @yabutaleb7 and I on how the Biden administration has handled intense internal disagreements during the course of the Hamas-Israel War 🧵 A day after Biden publicly cast doubt about Palestinian casualty numbers provided by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, a move many saw as effectively downplaying the level of suffering in Gaza, he expressed regret to a private meeting of Muslim Americans:

With Israel's ground offensive under way, it's worth considering how the Biden admin went from cheerleaders for the offensive to skeptics: On the week of Oct 7, many senior officials privately supported a massive response, viewing it as necessary to deter Iran and Hezbollah... But as days went by and Israelis briefed Washington on their plans, U.S. officials became increasingly concerned that a ground assault would turn into an open-ended quagmire...

New: Israeli officials have made several specific requests to Washington, including a replenishment of Iron Dome interceptors, small diameter bombs, ammunition rounds and heightened cooperation on intel related to potential military activities in southern Lebanon, per sources The Biden administration is also expected to add money for the Israeli government in a funding request to Congress on top of a request for new funding for Ukraine. Unclear how Congress will view the new money requests for Israel/Ukraine amid turbulent House GOP politics

Scoop: Zelensky, in private meetings with top military aides, has plotted bold attacks inside Russia, according to communications intercepted by U.S. spies. The leaks reveal a more aggressive side of Zelensky. W/ @ikhurshudyan washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/… Zelensky has discussed occupying Russian villages to gain leverage over Moscow, bombing a pipeline that transfers Russian oil to Hungary, a NATO member, and privately pining for long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia’s borders, per leaked documents

Scoop: A long-awaited report by the US intel community concludes ‘Havana Syndrome’ was not caused by an energy weapon or foreign adversary, shattering a widespread theory that a secret device debilitated scores of spies & diplomats. By @shaneharris & me washingtonpost.com/national-secur… The report caps a years-long effort by the intelligence community to explain why US personnel experienced what they described as strange and painful acoustic sensations

Blinken arrives in Turkey to observe earthquake relief efforts, arriving in Incirlik Air Base We flew in a helicopter from Incerlik to outside or Antakya. The devastation from the quake was heartbreaking

MUNICH, Germany -- The top U.S. and Chinese diplomats met today, weeks after Beijing's balloon incursion spurred @SecBlinken to cancel his trip to Beijing The meeting occurred on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. The viewpoint of China is looming large at the traditionally Eurocentric conference given the surprise announcement that Xi Jinping is planning to deliver a “peace speech” on Ukraine

The West is struggling to find the ammunition Ukraine needs to fight Russia because of decades of wishful thinking in Europe, says @ABaerbock: “We didn't have stockpiles of ammunition for a war like this because we thought that war would be over in Europe" Her acknowledgement follows a warning from @jensstoltenberg earlier this week that Ukraine is using up ammunition far faster than its allies can provide it.

SCOOP: CIA Director Bill Burns makes secret trip to Ukraine to brief Zelensky on U.S. intelligence related to Russia’s upcoming military moves. The high-level visit comes at a critical juncture in the war washingtonpost.com/national-secur… Top of mind for Ukraine side was durability of U.S. support following GOP takeover of the House. Burns emphasized the urgency of the moment on the battlefield and acknowledged that at some point assistance would be harder to come by, per sources

big news for font freaks: Times New Roman is being phased out at the State Department & replaced by Calibri. Secretary Blinken sent a cable to all embassies today directing staff not to send him any more papers with Times New Roman. Subject: "The Times (New Roman) are a-Changin" I have been informed this is not the result of some aesthetic opposition to serifs on the part of Blinken (even though serifs and by extension Times New Roman are increasingly out of fashion) thecut.com/2018/12/fashio…

New: Following months of investigation, there is no conclusive evidence that Russia is behind the Nord Stream sabotage, according to 24 diplomatic and intelligence officials in nine different countries interviewed in recent weeks washingtonpost.com/national-secur… World leaders were quick to blame Moscow for blowing up the pipelines but the absence of evidence has some Western officials now doubting the Kremlin was responsible for the attack

SCOOP: U.S. intelligence officials have compiled a classified report detailing extensive efforts to manipulate the American political system by the United Arab Emirates, long considered a close and trusted partner. washingtonpost.com/national-secur… The document was compiled by the National Intelligence Council and briefed to top U.S. policymakers in recent weeks to guide their decision-making related to the Middle East.

Interesting development: The nuclear inspectors trying to get to the plant have been held up by Ukraine's military for "three hours," says IAEA spokesman. "Grossi has personally negotiated with Ukrainian military authorities to be able to proceed." .@rafaelmgrossi "remains determined that this important mission reaches the ZNPP today."

Russia has agreed to let IAEA experts arrive first in Ukraine’s capital before visiting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, says Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba in an interview today.

That was a key hurdle in negotiations. Visit expected imminently. The Russians are insisting that Russian media be present, Kuleba says.
“The Russians want to send Russian media to the power plant to welcome the the delegation and to stage a propaganda show,” he said. “I’m sure they are doing a lot of cleaning in all senses of the word.”

KYIV -- In remarks beside Zelensky, Boris Johnson took a hard line against offering concessions to Putin in order to end the devastating conflict saying “you can’t negotiate with a bear when it’s eating your leg.” At home, Johnson’s bold visit may draw guffaws as an expensive vanity project for an outgoing PM seeking to rehabilitate his scandal-prone image.

When asked by a reporter if he wishes he were as popular in Britain as he was in Ukraine, Johnson simply said “yes.”

coincidentally, I ran into @chefjoseandres on the streets of Kyiv this week, taking a phone call on a dark patch of the sidewalk with a cigar in hand. I asked him what he was up to & he said he was heading to Bucha tomorrow to look at one of his food distribution centers I joined him on the trip to the Kyiv suburb, which remains scarred from the horrendous fighting and atrocities that occurred there but has also recovered dramatically. The streets were clean of debris and burnt-out cars, though signs of what transpired were abundant