Daily on Defense 🇺🇸 — NATO leaders converge on Washington ahead of Vilnius summit, as Ukraine presses for membership commitment
SUNAK MEETS BIDEN: After a day of meeting with U.S. congressional leaders and throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game in Washington’s smoke-filled air, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets in the Oval Office with President Joe Biden this morning for wide-ranging talks that will include discussions of Ukraine’s future with NATO.
SUNAK: 'UKRAINE’S RIGHTFUL PLACE IS IN NATO': In an interview with CNBC last week, Sunak said, “I agree with the NATO secretary-general, Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO” and that the alliance needs to “send a very strong signal to Vladimir Putin that we’re not going anywhere.” Zelensky told the newspaper he does not expect Ukraine to join while the war is raging but wants security guarantees for now and a firm promise it will be admitted to the alliance in the future.
HAPPENING TODAY: ZELENSKY IN KHERSON: This morning, Zelensky traveled to the southern city of Kherson, one of the areas hardest hit by the massive flooding resulting from the destruction of the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power plant on the Dnipro River Monday, which he blamed on Russian “terrorism” and labeled “ecocide.”
HOIST ON THEIR OWN PETARD: Assuming that Russia was responsible for blowing up the dam — which it adamantly denies and the U.S. has not confirmed — the move backfired spectacularly from a purely military perspective, according to the ISW. The assessment, written by Can Kasapoğlu, a senior fellow at Hudson, suggested the current advances by mechanized Ukrainian forces are likely probing operations looking for weak spots that are a prelude to the big push.
“I know the difference between a genius and a war criminal. And I know who needs to win in the war in Ukraine. And it's the people fighting for their freedom and fighting to restore their national sovereignty,” Pence said. “It's not our war, but freedom is our fight. And we need to give the people of Ukraine the ability to fight and defend their freedom.”
The Biden administration is reportedly reconsidering the move in light of the burden Alabama’s restrictive abortion laws would have on troops required to be based there. Washington Examiner: McConnell not backing down on debt limit deal defense spending: 'It’s a serious problem'Washington Examiner: Ukrainian prosecutor general calls explosion at dam ‘ecocide’ and launches war crimes inquiryWashington Examiner: Former Pentagon official created toxic work environment, inspector general findsWashington Post: Defending ‘Every Inch’ Of NATO Terrain A Work In ProgressABC : Retired Australian F/A-18 Hornet jets a step closer to joining Ukraine's war...
8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion:"Why Taiwan Matters," with Sen. Dan Sullivan ; and Victor Cha, CSIS Korea chairman https://www.csis.org/events/why-taiwan-matters
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