The D Brief: Russian missiles kill 34 in Ukraine; Trump lashes out at CBS; Breakthrough in robotics?; Naval autonomy today; And a bit more.
A Russian ballistic missile attack killed nearly three dozen civilians and injured more than 115 others in northeastern Ukraine’s Sumy City early Sunday. President Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg wrote on social media that the “Palm Sunday attack by Russian forces on civilian targets in Sumy crosses any line of decency.” The Wall Street Journal called it “the deadliest missile strike on Ukraine this year” while Germany’s new chancellor Friedrich Merz called it “a serious war crime, deliberate and intended.” Trump’s response: “They [that is, Russia] made a mistake. I believe it was—look, you’re gonna ask them. This is Biden’s war. This is not my war. This is a war that was under Biden,” he told reporters on Sunday. Latest: “38 people are receiving treatment in medical facilities in Sumy following yesterday’s Russian ballistic strike—among them, 9 children,” President Volodymir Zelenskyy wrote on social media Monday. Another “11 people, including 3 children, are in critical condition,” he added. The Russians attacked more than a half dozen other Ukrainian cities overnight, injuring at least seven from drone attacks in Odessa, Zelenskky said. In just the past two weeks, “the Russian army has used nearly 2,800 aerial bombs, over 1,400 attack drones…and nearly 60 missiles of various types, including ballistic ones,” Zelenskyy said. “Only real pressure on Russia can stop this. Tangible sanctions are needed against the sectors that finance Russia’s killing machine...I thank everyone around the world who understands this and supports our defense.” Ground offensive latest: “Russian forces are in a self-perpetuating cycle, where poorly trained infantry killed or injured in failed assault attempts are replaced with similarly poorly trained infantry, who are again sent into doomed assaults,” analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War wrote Sunday, citing Russian military bloggers. “Ongoing milblogger complaints about the Russian military's conduct of the war in Ukraine reinforce ISW’s assessment that Russian tactics will degrade Russia’s manpower and materiel resources and contribute to slowing Russian advances along the frontline,” ISW added. Zelenskyy’s request for Trump: Visit Ukraine before agreeing to a ceasefire with Russia. “Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead,” the Ukrainian president pleaded on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” Sunday evening, in an interview recorded before the attack on Sumy City. “Come, look, and then let's—let's move with a plan how to finish the war,” Zelneskyy said. “You will understand with whom you have a deal. You will understand what Putin did. And we will not prepare anything. It will not be theater.” Zelenskyy was also asked how he felt when Trump called him a “dictator” in a notably rancorous meeting late February at the White House. He replied, “I believe, sadly, Russian narratives are prevailing in the U.S. How is it possible to witness our losses and our suffering, to understand what the Russians are doing, and to still believe that they are not the aggressors, that they did not start this war? This speaks to the enormous influence of Russia's information policy on America, on U.S. politics, and U.S. politicians.” Trump lashed out at CBS, suggesting the network lose its broadcast license. He took particular issue with the Zelenskyy interview as well as a later segment featuring Greenland residents, writing Sunday evening on social media, “They should lose their license! Hopefully, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as headed by its Highly Respected Chairman, Brendan Carr, will impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior. CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Related reading: “Kremlin says instant results not possible after Trump demands Ukraine progress,” Reuters reported Sunday from Moscow; And you can read about Eric Slesinger, “The Former C.I.A. Officer Capitalizing on Europe’s Military Spending Boom,” via the New York Times reporting Monday from Copenhagen (gift link). Welcome to this Monday 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 Patrick Tucker. Share your tips and feedback here. And if you’re not already subscribed, you can do that here. On this day in 2022, the Russian warship Moskva sank after a defensive attack by Ukrainian forces. Around the Defense Department ICYMI: The Pentagon terminated several high-dollar IT service contracts on Thursday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the cancellations will save $5.1 billion in “wasteful spending,” for services that could be “performed by our civilian workforce” or fulfilled with “existing procurement re
Trump’s response: “They [that is, Russia] made a mistake. I believe it was—look, you’re gonna ask them. This is Biden’s war. This is not my war. This is a war that was under Biden,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Latest: “38 people are receiving treatment in medical facilities in Sumy following yesterday’s Russian ballistic strike—among them, 9 children,” President Volodymir Zelenskyy wrote on social media Monday. Another “11 people, including 3 children, are in critical condition,” he added.
The Russians attacked more than a half dozen other Ukrainian cities overnight, injuring at least seven from drone attacks in Odessa, Zelenskky said.
In just the past two weeks, “the Russian army has used nearly 2,800 aerial bombs, over 1,400 attack drones…and nearly 60 missiles of various types, including ballistic ones,” Zelenskyy said. “Only real pressure on Russia can stop this. Tangible sanctions are needed against the sectors that finance Russia’s killing machine...I thank everyone around the world who understands this and supports our defense.”
Ground offensive latest: “Russian forces are in a self-perpetuating cycle, where poorly trained infantry killed or injured in failed assault attempts are replaced with similarly poorly trained infantry, who are again sent into doomed assaults,” analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War wrote Sunday, citing Russian military bloggers. “Ongoing milblogger complaints about the Russian military's conduct of the war in Ukraine reinforce ISW’s assessment that Russian tactics will degrade Russia’s manpower and materiel resources and contribute to slowing Russian advances along the frontline,” ISW added.
Zelenskyy’s request for Trump: Visit Ukraine before agreeing to a ceasefire with Russia. “Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead,” the Ukrainian president pleaded on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” Sunday evening, in an interview recorded before the attack on Sumy City.
“Come, look, and then let's—let's move with a plan how to finish the war,” Zelneskyy said. “You will understand with whom you have a deal. You will understand what Putin did. And we will not prepare anything. It will not be theater.”
Zelenskyy was also asked how he felt when Trump called him a “dictator” in a notably rancorous meeting late February at the White House. He replied, “I believe, sadly, Russian narratives are prevailing in the U.S. How is it possible to witness our losses and our suffering, to understand what the Russians are doing, and to still believe that they are not the aggressors, that they did not start this war? This speaks to the enormous influence of Russia's information policy on America, on U.S. politics, and U.S. politicians.”
Trump lashed out at CBS, suggesting the network lose its broadcast license. He took particular issue with the Zelenskyy interview as well as a later segment featuring Greenland residents, writing Sunday evening on social media, “They should lose their license! Hopefully, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as headed by its Highly Respected Chairman, Brendan Carr, will impose the maximum fines and punishment, which is substantial, for their unlawful and illegal behavior. CBS is out of control, at levels never seen before, and they should pay a big price for this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Related reading:
- “Kremlin says instant results not possible after Trump demands Ukraine progress,” Reuters reported Sunday from Moscow;
- And you can read about Eric Slesinger, “The Former C.I.A. Officer Capitalizing on Europe’s Military Spending Boom,” via the New York Times reporting Monday from Copenhagen (gift link).
Welcome to this Monday 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 Patrick Tucker. Share your tips and feedback here. And if you’re not already subscribed, you can do that here. On this day in 2022, the Russian warship Moskva sank after a defensive attack by Ukrainian forces.
Around the Defense Department
ICYMI: The Pentagon terminated several high-dollar IT service contracts on Thursday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the cancellations will save $5.1 billion in “wasteful spending,” for services that could be “performed by our civilian workforce” or fulfilled with “existing procurement resources.” However, that civilian IT workforce is also under threat from cuts, Lauren C. Williams reports for Defense One..
Naval autonomy is seeing its moment, with scores of contractors debuting new small, medium and large autonomous or semi-autonomous sub drones at this year’s Sea Air Space Navy conference. From Capitol Hill to the Pentagon appetite for more sea drones is rising. But big technical challenges remain, Williams reports.
Related reading:
- “Navy fires security squadron commander, top enlisted sailor,” Task & Purpose reported Friday;
- And the Navy’s CISO Alvin "Tony" Plater retired; read his parting message posted to LinkedIn Sunday, here.
Emerging tech
Could this breakthrough in robot manufacturing reshape global power? A new AI breakthrough to make factory robotics far more human-like could mean far faster production of weapons on the front lines. But more importantly, it could be a big next step in allowing the United States to change the dynamic on manufacturing to compete with China on new terms. Patrick Tucker has more.
Trump’s immigration, economic policies conflict with AI innovation goals. Trump “is rapidly eroding the engine of scientific innovation in America” and that will slow U.S. AI advancement, Matteo Wong argues in The Atlantic. The freezing and cutting of federal science grants, which support research in AI and help universities train top AI talent, combined with immigration policies that have targeted scientists are pushing tomorrow’s AI minds away from the United States.
Trump 2.0
Developing: Federal agencies are bracing for more mass firings as a Monday deadline forces more personnel shakeups across the federal government, the New York Times reports.
And Trump’s State Department is asking employees to report each other for alleged “anti-Christian bias,” Politico reported Friday. The effort extends from an executive order Trump signed to root out “anti-Christian bias” in the federal government. A task force formed from that executive order is expected to meet next week to discuss its findings.
Trendspotting: Military academies could soon be a “test case” for Trump’s education reforms, The Hill reported Sunday following the president’s crusade against diversity that purged books like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” from library shelves at the U.S. Naval Academy, West Point, and the Air Force Academy. This is because “Military schools fall under an entirely different set of laws and regulations from public ones and are under the direct control of Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth,” as The Hill writes. Read more, here.
Additional reading:
- “Employees swarm to second ‘deferred resignation’ offer, though some are receiving unexpected responses,” Government Executive’s Eric Katz reported Friday;
- And “Trump likely to propose pay freeze for federal workers in 2026,” GovExec’s Erich Wagner reported Friday as well;
- “'I cannot guarantee complete confidentiality,' VA therapists ordered to tell veterans,” NPR reported Friday;
- And “Panama opposition party accuses US of ‘camouflaged invasion’,” the Guardian reported Saturday from Panama City.
