Editor’s note: There will be no Daily Brief on Monday, September 4, for Labor Day. |
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Kyiv’s Counteroffensive Advances in Eastern Ukraine |
Days after retaking the southern village of Robotyne, Ukrainian forces have pushed east (NYT) toward the village of Verbove, where they are expected to confront Russian defensive lines that could impede the advance of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Its stated goal is Melitopol, a city forty-five miles (seventy-two kilometers) further south that is considered the gateway to Crimea.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his stance that there will not be “sustainable peace” (Al Jazeera) until Russia reverts to its pre-2014 borders, which would cede control of Crimea back to Ukraine. In recent weeks, Ukraine has ramped up missile strikes on the region and escalated its drone attacks inside Russia, intensifying debate (NYT) about how the war could end.
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“The move toward Verbove is notable because it shows that Ukraine is confident enough in its hold on Robotyne that it believes its troops can try to press forward,” the New York Times’ Constant Méheut, Marc Santora, and Eric Schmitt write. “A big concern for Ukrainian commanders now is whether they will have enough combat power left to exploit breaches in the formidable Russian minefields and other defenses, and then widen those holes in the lines as they continue to push south toward their ultimate goal.”
“Domestic political constraints will keep any Ukrainian leader from formally agreeing to give up all legal claim to Crimea,” CFR expert Stephen Sestanovich writes. “The challenge for Ukraine’s leaders will be finding a way to harness these powerful sentiments to obtain an outcome that looks like victory but stops short of the country’s maximalist aims.”
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Chinese Reforms Target Property Sector, Currency |
Chinese authorities today announced measures (FT) aimed at boosting China’s currency, the renminbi, and shoring up confidence in the struggling property sector. The People’s Bank of China said financial institutions will be required to hold less foreign currency. Meanwhile, municipal authorities in Beijing and Shanghai lowered mortgage rates for some homebuyers.
Japan: The average temperature this summer was the country’s hottest (AFP) since the national weather agency began keeping such records in 1898, the agency said.
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Nine Soldiers Killed in Pakistan Suicide Bombing |
An additional twenty people were wounded after a motorcyclist attacked a security convoy (RFE/RL) in the country’s restive northwest. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mongolia: Pope Francis arrived in the capital (NYT), Ulaanbaatar, today to begin a four-day trip. It is the first papal visit to the majority-Buddhist country.
This episode of the Why It Matters podcast looks at the power of the pope. |
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Middle East and North Africa |
Libya Rejects Normalization With Israel |
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said his country will not seek to normalize relations (Times of Israel) with Israel and instead voiced support for the Palestinian national movement. His comments come days after reports of a secret meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers spurred protests in Libya.
Jerusalem/Papua New Guinea: Papua New Guinea will become the fifth country to open an embassy (Reuters) in Jerusalem, joining only the United States, Kosovo, Guatemala, and Honduras in conducting formal diplomatic relations with Israel from that city.
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CFR’s Robert McMahon and Shannon K. O’Neil discuss the ASEAN summit, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s last year in office, new COVID-19 variants, and more. |
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The African Union (AU) regional bloc announced the suspension (Reuters) one day after Gabonese military leaders ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba. General Brice Oligui Nguema, the coup’s leader and the former head of the presidential guard, will be sworn in as president next week. Gabon’s coup is the eighth to strike Central and West Africa since 2020.
DRC: Soldiers killed almost fifty people (AFP) on Wednesday while disrupting a protest against UN peacekeepers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
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Dutch Export Controls on Chipmaking Tools Take Effect |
The regulations restrict (Nikkei) the export to China of tools needed to make advanced computing chips. Only the Netherlands and Japan, which implemented its own export controls last month, produce the tools needed to make China’s most advanced chip.
Sweden/Turkey: Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said he remains hopeful (Reuters) that Turkey will ratify Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) when Turkish lawmakers reconvene in October, as the countries’ leaders agreed in July.
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Record Number of Migrant Families Cross U.S.-Mexico Border |
American border authorities arrested at least ninety-one thousand migrants who attempted to cross the southern U.S. border as part of a family group in August, the Washington Post reported. The number exceeds the May 2019 record of 84,486. Ecuador: At least fifty prison guards and seven police officers have been taken hostage (BBC) in the country’s jails, officials said.
CFR expert Will Freeman unpacks the surge in crime and violence in Ecuador.
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Interest to Resume on Student Loans |
Interest on federal student loan payments resumes accruing today after a three-year hiatus. When payments restart on October 1, borrowers will pay the same interest rates (ABC) they were charged before the pandemic-induced pause.
This Backgrounder examines how student loan debt affects the U.S. economy.
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This Associated Press investigation finds that employers repeatedly minimized claims of sexual abuse against women working at a major U.S. research base in Antarctica. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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