Image Daily News Brief August 28, 2024 - Ukraine Briefs NATO on Status of War and more ...

 

Daily News Brief August 28, 2024

Top of the Agenda Ukraine Briefs NATO on Status of War, Hints at Plan to End It Ukraine is briefing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ambassadors today on the status of the war with Russia, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would present a plan this fall to end it to U.S. President Joe Biden and his two potential successors. Kyiv has to be in a strong position in order for the war to end in dialogue, Zelenskyy said at a news conference yesterday. He added that Ukraine’s three-week-old push into the Russian region of Kursk was part of the plan to bring an end to the conflict, which also includes economic and diplomatic elements. A Kremlin spokesperson dismissed Zelenskyy’s comments about ending the war yesterday, saying Russia would continue fighting. Moscow has launched some of its largest air barrages of the war across Ukraine this week. Meanwhile, an overnight Ukrainian drone attack set fire to an oil depot in Russia’s southern Rostov region. (Bloomberg, WaPo, Reuters)

Analysis “Ukraine has been successful in Kursk, but this has not lowered the pressure on Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine yet,” CFR Fellow Liana Fix tells The President’s Inbox podcast. “This surprise moment [in Kursk] is meant to give Ukraine back the initiative and to demonstrate that Ukraine is still able to win on the battlefield, perhaps not in Ukraine, but in Russia.”    “Ukraine believes it has shown that far from being frozen the conflict’s frontline is fluid, potentially changing the calculus of Russia and the West in any future negotiations,” the Economist writes.

Pacific Rim Cybersecurity Group Reports Chinese Hack on U.S., International Firms Researchers at cybersecurity firm Lumen assessed with “moderate confidence” that a group of Chinese hackers known as Volt Typhoon breached four U.S. internet companies and one in India. Earlier this year, Washington and allies publicly accused Volt Typhoon of being backed by the Chinese government and infiltrating critical networks, including water systems and power grids. Yesterday, the Chinese Embassy in Washington denied association with the hacker group. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is in China this week for broad discussions on the bilateral relationship. (Bloomberg, AP)   In this YouTube Short, CFR expert Rush Doshi discusses the importance of Sullivan’s China visit.  Australia: The government announced plans to cap incoming international students at universities and vocational training schools next year at one-third below last year. The move aims to address rising housing prices and crack down on “unscrupulous” migration agents, but it has drawn widespread criticism from the education sector. The new limit is still subject to legislative approval. (FT)

South and Central Asia Bangladesh Interim Government Lifts Ban on Islamist Party The government led by economist Muhammad Yunus lifted a ban that the previous Sheikh Hasina administration imposed on the Jamaat-e-Islami party over antigovernment protests that eventually led to Hasina’s downfall. The government said it did not find evidence that the party was involved in the violence. (AP, Prothom Alo)   Myanmar: The country’s military appears to be on the verge of losing the westernmost Rakhine state to rebels, a new report by the International Crisis Group said yesterday. It would be one of the army’s biggest losses of the ongoing civil war. (Bloomberg, ICG) CFR’s Center for Preventive Action has more on the latest in Myanmar’s war.

Middle East and North Africa Israel Launches Large-Scale Operation in West Bank Today’s raids and air strikes constituted one of Israel’s largest offensives in months in the West Bank. Israel’s foreign minister said the operation targeted terrorist groups. At least nine people were reported dead and another eleven injured, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. (NYT) Libya: The U.S. envoy in Libya and the head of U.S. Africa Command met yesterday with Libya’s army commander and urged “deescalation in the context of current tensions.” Those tensions refer to the standoff over leadership of Libya’s central bank, which has resulted in dwindling output from several oilfields as authorities in the east threaten to shut them all down. (U.S. Embassy in Libya, Reuters)

Sub-Saharan Africa Spain Expanding Legal Migration Program for Mauritanians, Upping Combat of Smuggling Spain will widen a program for circular migration and increase enforcement against migrant smuggling, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on a trip to Mauritania yesterday. He is on a three-day tour of Mauritania, Gambia, and Senegal with the aim of promoting investments and ensuring migration is “humane, safe, and orderly.” (AP)   This article by Kali Robinson and CFR’s Diana Roy and Sabine Baumgartner explores Europe’s migration dilemma.  Sudan: The UN World Food Program (WFP) is investigating two of its top officials in Sudan over accusations including fraud and concealing information about operations from donors, multiple unnamed sources told Reuters. The probe is deciphering whether staff attempted to hide the Sudanese army’s alleged role in blocking aid to civilians. The WFP said allegations of misconduct in Sudan were under urgent review. (Reuters)

Europe UK, Germany Say They Want to Sign Broad Economic Treaty United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been looking to bring the country closer to Germany since taking office last month, with the two countries already at work on drawing up a treaty in the next six months. At a meeting today with Starmer, German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz said the countries sought a treaty that “reflects the entire spectrum of our relations.” That includes economic, environmental, and energy issues, in addition to a defense agreement the two signed last month, the Financial Times reported. (FT) This Expert Brief by CFR Senior Fellow Sebastian Mallaby lays out Starmer’s foreign policy possibilities.

Americas Mexico’s President Says U.S., Canadian Embassy Ties Are ‘Paused’ Over Reform Comments Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he was “pausing” relations with the embassies after U.S. and Canadian diplomats spoke out against his proposed judicial reforms. It was not immediately clear what the hiatus would actually entail. Mexico’s foreign minister said relations with the two countries “on a daily level remains fluid and normal.” (NYT)               Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro promoted allies to the oil ministry, joint interior, and justice ministry as part of a cabinet shake-up for his third presidential term coming out of last month’s disputed election. New oil minister Delcy Rodríguez will also continue a role as vice president. (Bloomberg)

U.S. Campaign 2024 Federal Prosecutors File Renewed Indictment Against Trump on 2020 Election Charges The Office of Special Counsel attorney Jack Smith issued a new version of a previous indictment accusing former President Donald Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 election results. It preserved many of the original arguments but referred to actions taken outside the formal office of the presidency, reflecting a Supreme Court ruling that presidents are broadly immune for official acts. Trump called the new indictment “ridiculous” on social media and said it should be immediately dismissed. Smith said he expects to make a joint proposal with Trump’s lawyers this week on scheduling new hearings. (NYT, WaPo) The Trump campaign added former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard and former presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to its transition team should they win the election, a senior advisor said. Kennedy recently suspended his own campaign, and both have recently endorsed Trump. (CNN)

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