NATO Members Allow Ukraine to Use Their Weapons Inside Russia

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at NATO members lifting weapons restrictions for Ukraine, the United States and China facing off at Shangri-La, and Israel’s offensive in northern Gaza.

Firing Back

NATO foreign ministers convened in Prague on Friday to discuss Russia threatening escalation in its war against Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned alliance members on Tuesday that allowing Kyiv to launch Western-supplied weapons into Russian territory raises the risk of nuclear war. Despite these threats, major NATO powers are one by one reversing their policies in Ukraine to allow it more leeway in striking military targets inside Russia.

For months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded with his biggest Western allies to lift long-standing restrictions on donated weapons. U.S. President Joe Biden, in particular, previously insisted on limiting Ukraine’s use of U.S.-supplied weapons to avoid a direct conflict between Russia and NATO, which he referred to as “World War III.”

Yet on Friday, the Biden administration confirmed that it had authorized Kyiv to use U.S.-given weapons to hit military targets inside Russia near its border with Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, where Moscow has launched a weekslong offensive that has killed dozens of Ukrainian civilians. Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second-largest city and is located roughly 25 miles from the Russian border. Ukrainian officials have argued that Russia has made tactically significant gains around Kharkiv partly because the Biden administration has forbidden Ukrainian troops in the past from using U.S. weapons to fire across the border.

The White House’s shift in policy marks the first time that a U.S. president has allowed a limited military response on targets inside the territory of a nuclear-armed adversary. U.S. officials, however, reiterated that the use of longer-range weapons inside Russia is still banned. Washington is Kyiv’s largest arms donor.

Following the White House’s lead, Germany on Friday announced that Ukraine can also use Berlin-supplied weapons to defend against Russian attacks on the Kharkiv region launched from just over the border. The Netherlands, Finland, and Poland signaled their support for these decisions. And French President Emmanuel Macron remained adamant that “no option should be discarded” regarding sending Western troops to Ukraine, an idea that he first proposed in February. Paris is currently in discussions with Kyiv on sending French military trainers to Ukraine.

The Kremlin denounced the NATO members’ policy reversals on Friday. “Attempts to strike Russian Federation with U.S. weapons demonstrate U.S. involvement in the conflict in Ukraine,” Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Putin was vaguer in his criticism, saying on Tuesday that “constant escalation can lead to serious consequences.”

But NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg dismissed Putin’s warnings on Friday as “nothing new.” “Ukraine has the right for self-defense, we have the right to help Ukraine uphold the right for self-defense, and that does not make NATO allies a party to the conflict,” he said, adding that “Russia has escalated by invading another country.”

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What We’re Following

Trouble in paradise. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sat down with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday for the first face-to-face meeting between U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs in two years. The conversation centered on Taiwan’s security; Austin told Dong that China should not use Taiwan’s recent political transition as a pretext for coercive measures, and Dong warned Austin that the United States should not interfere in Chinese affairs against “separatist” forces. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China, and President Xi Jinping has said their reunification is “inevitable.” Despite failing to find common ground on Taipei, though, the two foes agreed to keep military-to-military communication open.

Meanwhile, the Philippines used Asia’s largest defense forum to criticize Beijing’s “illegal, coercive actions” in the South China Sea, where Philippine vessels have repeatedly clashed with China’s coast guard over the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also warned that “the continued stability of this region requires China and the United States to manage their rivalry in a responsible manner,” adding that “their contest is exacerbating flash points and has created new security dilemmas” in the Indo-Pacific.

Northern Gaza operations. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew from the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Friday after a nearly three-week-long offensive that Israel said killed “hundreds” of militants and recovered the bodies of seven hostages. Local officials estimate that the operation destroyed more than 1,000 homes and damaged key communication services. Israel said it renewed its assault on Jabalia earlier this month due to Hamas trying to rebuild military infrastructure there.

The IDF maintains its focus on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. On Friday, Israeli troops said they had reached the city’s center—just two days after Israel established “operational control” over the Philadelphi Corridor, a buffer zone along the Egypt-Gaza border that gives Israel effective authority over the enclave’s entire land boundary.

In a surprise Friday address, Biden announced that Israel has offered Hamas a “comprehensive new proposal” for a cease-fire and hostage deal that could lead to an end to the war. The deal’s first six-week phase would see Israeli troops withdraw from populated areas of Gaza; establish a “full and complete cease-fire” by both sides; and have Hamas release numerous hostages, including women and older adults, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. A second phase would allow for the return of all remaining living captives, including male soldiers, and a third phase would begin a “major reconstruction plan for Gaza,” allow Palestinians to return to their homes, and return the bodies of all killed hostages to Israel. Qatar, which has long served as a mediator in the conflict, has passed the deal to Hamas.

Presidential election. Mexicans will head to the polls on Sunday to choose the nation’s first female president. Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum of the ruling Morena party will face former Sen. Xóchitl Gálvez, who is leading an opposition coalition group.

Sheinbaum has promised to continue the policies of outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, including increasing the minimum wage, investing in massive infrastructure projects, and passing a slew of controversial constitutional reforms. Gálvez, however, has advocated for harsher crackdowns on cartel violence and stronger business protections.

Sheinbaum is currently leading in the polls, largely due to López Obrador’s high approval ratings. As many as 99 million eligible voters will also cast ballots for 128 senatorial seats and 500 representatives’ spots.

What in the World?

Which African nation went to the polls on Wednesday for a general election?

A. South Africa
B. Nigeria
C. Mozambique
D. Ethiopia

Odds and Ends

ABBA is proving that the winner truly takes it all. The Swedish pop group, which first achieved global stardom by winning the 1974 Eurovision contest with “Waterloo,” has added another accolade to its super trouper portfolio. Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf awarded the Order of the Vasa, one of Stockholm’s most prestigious knighthoods, to the four artists on Friday. This is the first time that such an honor has been gimmie, gimmie, gimmied in almost 50 years—proving that ABBA has always been dancing queen royalty.

And the Answer Is…

A. South Africa

The ruling African National Congress could lose its governing majority for the first time since the end of apartheid, FP’s Nosmot Gbadamosi writes in Africa Brief.

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