Internal affairs
Ukraine, Russia, Venezuela, China, the US, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Myanmar.
Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
UKRAINE. RUSSIA. Negotiations encounter resistance from inside and out.
VENEZUELA. Trump conflates his Caribbean objectives.
CHINA. UNITED STATES. Beijing extends its regional dominance.
AFGHANISTAN. PAKISTAN. Islamabad redirects its proxy war with Delhi.
MYANMAR. The junta outlasts its critics ahead of bogus elections.
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UKRAINE. RUSSIA. Chain refraction
Negotiations encounter resistance from inside and out.
Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to discuss a peace plan with Donald Trump after officials said they agreed to its “essence”. Trump said Steve Witkoff would meet with Vladimir Putin and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll with Ukraine.
INTELLIGENCE. Trump, Zelensky and Putin are getting nearer to an agreement, driving oil prices lower, but officials (and Europe) are still maximising positions. That’s their job, but the inherent tensions are spilling into the open, with mysterious transcripts between Witkoff and the Kremlin published overnight by Bloomberg and allegations of impropriety made against Jared Kushner, who has reappeared in talks, despite having no formal US government role.
FOR BUSINESS. The policy dispute within Washington is nothing compared to that within Kyiv, where the feud between national security and anti-corruption officials dominates non-war headlines. Deep disagreement exists even in Moscow, whether in the alleged Witkoff transcripts, or the pro-Kremlin media debate on whether Putin should even be negotiating. Some of this is fabricated, again for negotiating reasons, but it also suggests haste and vulnerability.
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VENEZUELA. Tip of the sphere
Trump conflates his Caribbean objectives.
Joint Chiefs chair Dan Caine met Trinidad’s leadership as Pete Hegseth said he would visit the Dominican Republic Wednesday. Deployments under Operation Southern Spear increased with reports a third of the US Navy was in theatre.
INTELLIGENCE. Precise deployment data is hard to obtain using open sources.