The D Brief: Kyiv’s new weapons; Russia continues bombardment; China’s blockade; Old-school soldiers vs. tech; And a bit more.
Russia launched another 90-plus missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight, with 81 of those coming as Iranian-designed “Shahed” drones and nine others spanning cruise and ballistic missile varieties, according to Ukraine’s military.
Sixty of the drones and five of the cruise missiles were allegedly shot down before hitting their targets, Ukraine said.
Four people inside Ukraine were killed from the Russian strikes and 16 others were wounded, President Volodymir Zelenskyy said on social media. “We will undoubtedly respond to Russia for this and all other attacks. Crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished,” he said.
Russia launched more than 100 missiles and drones at Ukraine on Monday in what Zelenskyy called “one of the largest attacks” of the war so far.
New: U.S.-provided F-16 jets helped shoot down some of those objects, the president said Tuesday. “We thank our partners for providing us with the F-16s,” he said, adding, “Of course, this is not enough, we don’t have many of them, and we still need to train pilots.”
“Ukraine is preparing its own response—weapons of its own production,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov wrote obliquely on Facebook Monday after the Russian strikes.
Also new: Zelenskyy says Ukraine has successfully tested its first-ever domestic-made ballistic missile. “It may be too early to talk about it but I want to share it with you,” the president said at a public event in Kyiv Tuesday. According to the Kyiv Independent, Zelenskyy congratulated the Ukrainian Defense Industry, “but did not provide any further details on the weaponry.”
And Ukraine announced a new long-range missile-drone combo called “Palianytsia” on Saturday. It’s “named after a type of Ukrainian bread and a word so notoriously difficult to pronounce correctly that it was used to unmask suspected spies early in the war,” the Associated Press reported Monday. The weapon’s range and inventory status, however, is unknown.
Background: “Unlike Israel, Ukraine is not allowed by the Biden administration to use American weapons to go after the launch sites and airfields, and so its cities burn this morning amid power outages,” Yaroslav Trofimov of the Wall Street Journal wrote on social media Monday. That includes the Biden administration’s prohibition on using U.S.-provided long-range ATACMS missiles. Officials on both sides of the Atlantic worry that the Kremlin could overreact, spreading conflict further into Europe or elsewhere.
What’s going on: The U.S. only allows strikes inside Russia using U.S.-provided HIMARS equipped with the shorter-ranged GMLRS rocket. That means Ukraine can only attack “20 out of the 250 objects it could strike with ATACMS,” analysts at the Institute for the Study of War wrote in their Saturday assessment (emphasis added). “Only 17 of these 250 objects are airfields,” and they’re likely vulnerable to strike via those ATACMS, the five ISW analysts said.
Developing: Ukraine has “a list of long-range targets in Russia” it wants permission to attack, and officials could seek that permission this week, Politico reported Monday—ahead of a visit to Washington by Umerov and top Zelenskyy advisor Andriy Yermak.
Second opinion: “It’s long past time for the White House to let Ukraine take the gloves off with ATACMS,” think tanker John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, told The D Brief. Although “Russia has already moved most of its aircraft to air bases beyond their range,” Hardie said, “Ukraine could still use its Western missiles to strike high-value logistics, command-and-control, and air defense targets in Russia.”
Knock-on effects? Such a decision from Washington “could also lead London and Paris to greenlight Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missile strikes inside Russia,” he mused. But even if that doesn’t happen, “Washington should act now, while this capability can still be useful to Ukraine’s Kursk offensive,” he said.
We forgot to mention Monday that the Defense Department announced a relatively small military aid package to Ukraine on Friday. That one included counter-drone gear, various artillery rounds, anti-tank weapons, humvee “ambulances,” and more.
Related reading: “Lockheed aims to churn out dozens of F-16 pilots per year at new training center,” Defense One’s Audrey Decker reported Monday.
Welcome to this Tuesday edition of The D Brief, brought to you by Ben Watson with Bradley Peniston. Share your newsletter tips, reading recommendations, or feedback here. And if you’re not already subscribed, you can do that here. On this day in 1896, a conflict sometimes referred to as “the shortest war in world history” occurred at Zanzibar Island, in contemporary Tanzania, pitting the colonial British against the Sultanate of Zanzibar for about 45 minutes before the Brits emerged victorious.
China used 40 vessels to block a Philippine navy resupply mission—with ice cream—in the South China Sea on Monday, officials in Manila said on social media, with illustrating photos.
Involved: Six Chinese Coast Guard vessels, three Chinese navy warships, and 31 vessels in Beijing’s so-called “Maritime Militia.”
“We urge the China Coast Guard to abide with the international law and stop deploying maritime forces that could undermine mutual respect, a universally recognized foundation for responsible and friendly relations among Coast Guards,” a Philippine navy spokesman said.
Developing: The U.S. Navy escorting Philippine ships “is an entirely reasonable option within our Mutual Defense Treaty,” said U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Adm. Samuel Paparo, speaking Tuesday in Manila. However, such an outcome would have to occur “within the context of consultations” between Washington and Manila, he said. Reuters has more.
ICYMI: The U.S. military sent two B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to Australia last week. Here’s an image of one landing at a base in Queensland.
At least three U.S. internet service providers were infiltrated this summer by Chinese government-backed hackers, the Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing a new report from Lumen Technologies. “The unusually aggressive and sophisticated attacks include access to at least two major providers with millions of customers as well as to several smaller providers, people familiar with the separate campaigns said.”
And lastly: Old-school soldiers prove they can still beat tech-heavy troops. Deep in the Louisiana woods, the U.S. Army’s “Ghost” unit showed that doing the basics well can still turn the tide. Over the course of a dusk-to-dawn raid earlier this month, Defense One’s Sam Skove watched as the Army’s opposition force “Ghost” reconnaissance unit outfoxed a 101st Airborne brigade time after time. Read his report from the field, here.
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