Drones Damage Moscow

At least eight drones targeted Moscow early Tuesday, according to the Russian authorities, the first attack to hit civilian areas in the Russian capital and a potent sign that the war is increasingly reaching the heart of Russia, as the NYT reports.

IAEA Safeguards for Zaporizhzhia

Tuesday, Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, presented the U.N. Security Council with the agency’s monitoring plan: a set of safeguards meant to avoid an accident at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, as The Washington Post reports.

China Rebuffs Pentagon Chief

China has rebuffed a U.S. request for a meeting between their defense chiefs on the sidelines of an annual security forum in Singapore this weekend, showing the limits of a tentative rapprochement between the two rival powers, as the WSJ reports.

Executive Education

Renewing the U.S. Innovation System is a one-day executive course for insights on ongoing efforts to renew the U.S. innovation system, including the CHIPS and Science Act and its implications for business and policy decisions. This course will provide industry leaders, diplomats, and policymakers with an understanding of the pillars of the U.S. innovation ecosystem, the challenges it faces, and often instructive new initiatives of allies and competitors.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “The Recap,” “Data Unpacked,” “Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

700

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that the military organization will send 700 more troops to northern Kosovo to help quell violent protests after clashes with ethnic Serbs.

Source: AP

Critical Quote

“The U.S. is clear about the reason why China-U.S. military dialogue faces difficulties. The U.S. should earnestly respect China’s sovereignty, security and interest concerns, immediately correct wrong practice, show sincerity and create necessary atmosphere and conditions for dialogue and communication between Chinese and U.S. militaries.”

—Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning

iDeas Lab

Shifting Competition explores how low adversary capabilities and low alliance cohesion might affect the U.S. extended deterrence mission in the next 10 years.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: John Wessels/Getty Images.) A boy looks on at the burned out cars of Matar Ba, Chief of Staff to the President of Senegal Macky Sall, in Dakar on May 30, 2023.

This Town Tomorrow

Earlier, at 9:00 a.m., Brookings discusses policy pathways for bridging Africa’s digital skills gap to compete in an increasingly interconnected global economy.

At 9:30 a.m., the Atlantic Council hosts a conversation on transatlantic relations with Turkey following the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections.

And, at 2:00 p.m., the Wilson Center examines Russia’s great power ambitions and cyberdiplomacy.

Video

Today, the CSIS International Security Program hosted a conversation with Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research Brett Holmgren, on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

Host Kathleen McInnis sits down with Ambassador Donald Steinberg, former U.S. Ambassador to Angola for a conversation on his role in the 1994 Angola Peace Accords and how the decision to exclude women ultimately led to the failure of the peace process.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

I’ve heard Deadheads say over the past few years that the performances by Dead and Company have been “too slow,” meaning that the band hasn’t played with the high energy that often characterized the Grateful Dead. My kids, who now love the band, have asked me why the music is so slow in comparison.

The answer is that Bob Weir wanted to slow the tempo of the band’s performances down because he believes it will more readily transport the words and music of The Grateful Dead into the current and future generations. Despite my kids’ questions and others’ concerns, Weir’s strategy has worked. Dead & Company are on their final tour and performing before sold out audiences everywhere they go. What’s more, the streaming and on demand video of their concerts are first rate and accessible through Nugs.net. The online performances aren’t cheap, they run about $35 a pop. I bought the Los Angeles Forum show from May 20th and it is incredible.

Even though the music is being performed slower, the musicianship of the band is simply awesome, they are playing with precision and vigor, and the sound and video quality are world class. As I’ve watched and listened to some of these shows (you can listen with your subscription to Nugs.net or purchase the audio), I’ve taken note of how majestic these performances are. There are a bunch of free previews available on YouTube but you need to scroll though the ads and interviews to get to the actual free preview of the band performing. On this clip, move the bar to 14 minutes in and you will get a sense of what’s happening on Dead & Company’s final tour.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Paige Montfort, Claire Dannenbaum, and Ava Rose.