The D Brief: Russia pounds Ukraine; Germany sends troops abroad; Pentagon’s retention pricetag; Still no CNO; And a bit more.
After three nights of “record-breaking” Russian missile and drone strikes in Ukraine, Poland’s military chief is visiting the Pentagon. Minister of Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and his team dropped by shortly before 10 a.m. ET for talks behind closed doors with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Over the weekend, Russia’s military “launched three of its largest strike packages against Ukraine over the last three days,” the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War reported in its latest daily analysis of Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion, which has been ongoing for nearly 1,200 consecutive days.
Kyiv: “Over 900 attack drones launched against Ukraine in just three days, along with ballistic and cruise missiles,” President Volodymir Zelenskyy said in a video posted to social media Monday. More than a dozen people were killed in the attacks, and at least 60 were wounded across 13 regions of Ukraine. “There is no military logic in this, but it is a clear political choice of Russia—the choice to keep waging war.”
“America’s silence, and the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin,” Zelenskyy said, adding, “The world may go on vacation, but the war continues, despite weekends and weekdays. This cannot be ignored.”
Trump reax: “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” the U.S. president, who has long praised the Russian autocrat, wrote on social media. “He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.”
Trump also lashed out at Zelenskyy: “Everything out of his mouth causes problems, I don’t like it, and it better stop.”
Expert reax: “Russia may be increasing strikes against Ukraine as part of a cognitive warfare effort to weaken Ukrainian resolve and to undermine Western support for Ukraine,” ISW wrote in its Monday analysis. That effort “is rooted in fear and the acknowledgement that Russia’s only real hope in defeating Ukraine is by isolating Ukraine from its allies.” Read more, here.
New: Germany’s new chancellor just lifted distance restrictions on weapons given to Ukraine—including long-range missiles from the UK, France, and the U.S., which could free up Kyiv to strike deeper inside Russia than before, the Associated Press reported Monday.
Worth noting: Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his “government has said it will no longer provide full details of the weapons it is supplying to Ukraine…citing the need for ‘strategic ambiguity,’” AP reports.
ICYMI, a new milestone for Berlin: Germany just “deployed a permanent military brigade beyond its borders [to Lithuania] for the first time since the end of World War II,” though it won’t be fully ready for another two and a half years, NBC News reported Friday.
About the brigade: It comprises “a heavy combat unit of some 4,800 soldiers, hundreds of civilian staff, and 2,000 vehicles, including tanks. It will be headquartered in Rudninkai near Vilnius and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2027.” Continue reading, here.
Developing: The U.S. is poised to sell Estonia 800 Javelin missiles for about $300 million. The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency has details.
By the way: Eight of the Pentagon’s 11 arms sales packages announced in May have gone to countries in Europe. That includes 1,400 Small Diameter Bombs for Poland, whose deputy prime minister and defense chief is visiting the Defense Department today.
New: The European Union just greenlit a 150 billion-euro ($170.7 billion) arms fund, Reuters reports from Brussels, describing it as “the final legal step in setting up the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) scheme, using joint EU borrowing to give loans to European countries for joint defence projects.”
Related reading: “Europe’s defence companies scramble for workers as business booms,” Reuters reported separately from Europe on Tuesday.
Welcome to this Tuesday edition of The D Brief, a newsletter dedicated to developments affecting the future of U.S. national security, brought to you by Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston. Share your tips and feedback here. And if you’re not already subscribed, you can do that here. On this day in 1958, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II flew for the first time; it would remain in service for the U.S. until 1996.
Around the Defense Department
The Pentagon spent more than $3 billion on recruiting and retention bonuses in the past three years, the Associated Press reported on Sunday. “The financial incentives to reenlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines increased dramatically from 2022 through last year, with the Navy vastly outspending the others, according to funding totals provided by the services. The overall amount of recruiting bonuses also rose steadily, fueled by significant jumps in spending by the Army and Marine Corps.”
Money well spent? “Coupled with an array of new programs, an increased number of recruiters and adjustments to enlistment requirements, the additional incentives have helped the services bounce back from the shortfalls. All but the Navy met their recruiting targets last year and all are expected to do so this year.” Read on, here.
It’s been three months since Hegseth sacked the Navy’s top officer without explanation and without replacement. “The Navy has never gone this long without a fully empowered chief of naval operations. Former officials and analysts say the consequences of that are stacking up by the day.” Breaking Defense’s Justin Katz and Valerie Insinna break them down, here.
Additional reading:
Trump 2.0
White House dismissed scores of National Security Council staff on Friday, part of an effort to radically shrink the coordination body, Axios reported on Friday. The cuts were ordered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also serving as Trump’s national security advisor after the dismissal of Signalgate principal Michael Waltz.
“The NSC is the ultimate Deep State. It’s Marco vs. the Deep State. We’re gutting the Deep State,” one official said of the move, which aims to roughly halve the 350-member Council staff. Read on, here, and the Washington Post has its own reporting.
Legality status check: Actions and orders from the Trump administration have violated U.S. laws so frequently that more than 170 rulings from judges have at least temporarily paused some of Trump’s initiatives, the New York Times reported Friday.
Additional reading:
Jesus Christ is King
