Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Resigns in Largest Government Reshuffle Since War Broke Out |
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was among the some half a dozen senior Ukrainian officials who submitted their resignations in the largest cabinet shake-up since Russia invaded more than two years ago. Another swath of cabinet members could still resign later today, the New York Times reported, but experts do not expect the personnel changes to lead to major policy shifts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the wave of resignations aims to “give new strength” to Ukraine’s institutions and that this autumn will be an “extremely important” period for the country. Zelenskyy has said he will present a “victory plan” during an upcoming visit to the United States. A list of replacement ministers could be presented as soon as tomorrow.
The governance shake-up comes as Ukraine holds on to a portion of Russia’s Kursk region and as Russia continues a week of heavy aerial attacks. Russian strikes in the city of Poltava killed at least fifty-one people yesterday, while overnight strikes on the western city of Lviv killed at least seven. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said today that it was adjusting its nuclear doctrine over U.S. and Western actions to support Ukraine during the war. (FT, NYT, WaPo, Reuters)
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“The urgent measures taken now to stabilize the Ukrainian situation and to bolster deterrence along the Russia-[North Atlantic Treaty Organization] frontier should flow into a broader effort to anchor Ukraine in the West and build a capable European pillar inside NATO based on a larger [European Union] role in the continent’s security,” CFR Fellow Thomas Graham writes in a new report for the Center for Preventive Action.
“However it ends, the Kursk offensive needs to provide the impetus for Ukraine and its partners to get on the same page,” the Carnegie Endowment’s Michael Kofman and Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Rob Lee write for Foreign Affairs. |
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U.S. Prosecutors Charge Former Aide to New York Governors for Aiding China |
The Justice Department unsealed an indictment yesterday which charges Linda Sun, a former aide to two New York governors, and her husband with acting to secretly help Chinese officials. The two charged pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say Sun’s actions included blocking representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to the governor’s office and changing official statements about certain issues. A spokesperson for New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Sun’s employment was terminated in early 2023 after evidence of misconduct and Hochul’s office has been cooperating with investigators. (NYT, WaPo)
U.S./China: Top U.S. climate envoy John Podesta begins three days of talks in Beijing today, where he’s expected to focus on emissions cuts and funding for the green transition in developing countries. (Bloomberg)
This timeline traces U.S.-China relations since 1949.
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India’s Modi Makes Bilateral Visits to Brunei, Singapore |
The two-day trip is part of India’s “Act East” policy to bolster ties with countries in Southeast Asia and includes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first-ever bilateral visit to Brunei and first visit to Singapore since 2018. It comes shortly after the swearing-in of Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. (PTI)
Bangladesh/Myanmar: Around eight thousand Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh in recent months due to violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, a Bangladeshi official said. Bangladesh’s de facto foreign minister said the government will hold a cabinet meeting this week to discuss the arrivals given the country’s strained capacity to take them in. (Reuters)
At this CFR webinar, experts discuss the decades-long pattern of violence against Rohingyas and other religious minorities.
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Middle East and North Africa |
U.S. Prosecutors Charge Hamas Leaders With Terrorism for October 7 Attack |
Yahya Sinwar, a leading architect of last October’s strike, and five other Hamas leaders were charged with terrorism and other offenses in an indictment unsealed yesterday. The charges were originally filed in February. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that they “will not be our last” actions to target Hamas’s operations. Three of those charged have been killed in recent months. (NPR)
This Backgrounder by Kali Robinson maps out Hamas’s leadership structure.
U.S./Iraq: A joint U.S.-Iraqi counterterrorism operation in western Iraq last week was one of the largest such missions in the country in recent years, with more than two hundred troops from both countries participating over two days, unnamed U.S. and Iraqi officials told the New York Times. U.S. Central Command said the operation, which was targeting a senior commander overseeing self-declared Islamic State operations in Europe and the Middle East, killed at least fourteen Islamic State fighters. Central Command said in July that the number of attacks claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria was on track to double this year from the last one. (NYT)
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China Touts Investments in Africa at Beijing Summit |
Chinese President Xi Jinping signed deals including an initial agreement to revitalize an old railway between Tanzania and Zambia while the countries’ leaders are in Beijing for this week’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Chinese state media reported. It is the first summit of its kind in the city since 2018 and comes as Chinese lending to Africa has fallen in scale since then. (Reuters, CNN)
Uganda: Main opposition leader Bobi Wine was shot in the leg in an interaction with police yesterday, his party said. He received medical treatment and did not immediately appear to be in life-threatening condition, his international lawyer said. Wine’s party called the incident an escalation of a government intimidation campaign against him; police said they intervened to stop a street procession and are investigating the matter. (NYT)
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At Least Twelve Dead After Boat Carrying Migrants Sinks in English Channel |
The boat capsized off the coast of northern France, Paris’s interior minister said. The British charity Refugee Council said that heightened policing on the French coast has led to increasingly dangerous crossings and called for Britain’s government to expand safe routes for those seeking refuge. (WaPo)
This article by Kali Robinson and CFR’s Sabine Baumgartner and Diana Roy explores Europe’s migration dilemma.
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Beijing Opens Anti-Dumping Probe Into Canadian Canola |
China’s commerce ministry announced it was launching the investigation following Canada’s move last week to put a 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicle imports and a 25 percent tariff on Chinese aluminum and steel. Canada’s agriculture minister called the move “deeply concerning” and said that Canada plays by global trade rules. (Reuters, CBC)
Mexico: A majority of Supreme Court judges voted to join a strike in protest of a judicial overhaul advancing through Congress. It includes measures such as the popular election of judges; its main text passed the lower legislative house early this morning. Thousands of judicial workers have stopped working to protest the proposal. (BBC, Bloomberg)
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Trump Reverts on Marijuana Stance, Backing Legalization in Florida |
Former President Donald Trump voiced his support for a Florida ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in a podcast interview released yesterday, a shift from his previous position on the issue. He said the state should make laws to manage the transition “responsibly.” (Bloomberg)
For Think Global Health, Brooke Worster draws on lessons from big tobacco for the cannabis industry to avoid.
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