Overnight Defense & National Security — Presented by AM General — US worried China may help Russia

by Ellen Mitchell - 03/14/22 7:48 PM ET

It’s Monday, welcome to Overnight Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. Subscribe here: digital-release.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.

Hours after Russia reportedly asked China for military aid to help in its attack on Ukraine, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan raised concerns about Beijing’s alignment with Moscow during a lengthy meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials.

We’ll break down what was discussed in the meeting, including the warnings the U.S. gave to China, plus an update on Russia’s movements in Ukraine, where the Pentagon chief will travel to this week and the man heading the Biden administration’s info war with Russia.

For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. Write me with tips at emitchell@digital-release.thehill.com.

Let’s get to it

Sullivan addresses Russia concerns
White House national security adviser J. Sullivan speaks during a press briefing

U.S. and Chinese officials met for seven hours in Rome on Monday for a discussion that addressed in part Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a senior Biden administration official said.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan warned China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, that China could face consequences for supporting Russia, the official said.

The meeting, described by Biden administration officials as intense and candid, followed reports that Russia has sought military and economic support from China amid the Ukraine invasion. The senior administration official declined to directly address those reports.

Deep concerns: “We do have deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia at this time, and the national security adviser was direct about those concerns and the potential implications and consequences of certain actions,” the Biden administration official told reporters during a briefing following the meeting.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sullivan communicated that China would face “significant consequences” if the country provides Russia with military or other support that “violates sanctions or supports the war effort.” But she declined to offer specific information about those consequences, saying they would be coordinated with U.S. allies.

Timing: The senior administration official said Monday that the date for the meeting between Sullivan and Yang had been planned before Russia invaded Ukraine almost three weeks ago. It nevertheless came at a timely and pressing moment, with the U.S. trying to keep international pressure on Russia for attacking Ukraine.

A White House readout of the call said that the engagement touched on a “range of issues” and that there was “substantial discussion” about the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.

Waiting, watching: The readout said Sullivan and Yang “underscored the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and China.”

Biden administration officials said they would be watching China’s actions closely as they pertain to Russia and its invasion of Ukraine.

Read the full story here.

A MESSAGE FROM AM GENERAL

Ukraine targets Kremlin’s supply efforts

Nearly all Russian advances in Ukraine remain stalled due in part to “creative” strikes from the Ukrainians limiting the ability of Kremlin forces to resupply, a senior U.S. defense official said Monday.

The Ukrainians “have effectively struck at the Russian logistics and sustainment capabilities,” the official told reporters.

“As we’ve said all along, they’ve been quite creative here. They’re not simply going after combat capability — tanks and armored vehicles and shooting down aircraft. Although they’re doing all that, they are also deliberately trying to impede and prevent the Russians’ ability to sustain themselves.”

No real change: The official also said “almost all of Russia’s advances remain stalled” on the ground in Ukraine, with forces moving toward Kyiv showing no “appreciable change in their progress over the weekend.”

Russian forces have made far less progress in Ukraine than was initially expected thanks to a fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces, poor logistical planning and difficulties with sustainment.

That struggle has been on display with a miles-long column of Russian vehicles outside of Kyiv that has barely moved over the course of two weeks.

Elsewhere: Attacks on the cities of Chernihiv and Kharkiv also remain stalled thanks to the strong Ukrainian resistance, but Chernihiv is now isolated, and Kharkiv has seen an increase in long-range fire missile strikes.

In the south, Ukraine continues to defend Mariupol, though the port city remains isolated and under heavy bombardment.

A new development: One new development is that the Russians have sent 50 to 60 vehicles towards the town of Izyum in western Ukraine. The assumption is the Kremlin is trying to “prevent the flow westward of any Ukrainian armed forces that would be in the eastern part of the country, prevent them from coming to the assistance of other Ukrainian defenders near Kyiv,” according to the official.

Looking to the skies: The skies over Ukraine, meanwhile, are still contested, and the Russians have not achieved air superiority over all of Ukraine despite having more aircraft available than the smaller nation, according to the official.

“The main takeaway is that the Russians for all their inventory and for all the munitions that they have available to them and to their aircraft, they have still not achieved air superiority over the skies of Ukraine.”

Read the full story here.

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A MESSAGE FROM AM GENERAL

Austin to visit Europe as conflict continues

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Europe this week to participate in the NATO Defense Ministerial and make a number of stops in the alliance’s eastern flank, the Pentagon’s top spokesman said Monday.

Austin will first travel to Brussels on Tuesday, where he will talk with NATO allies “about all the things we’re doing as an alliance to bolster and support our deterrence capabilities on the Eastern flank,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters.

From there he will travel to Slovakia and Bulgaria to meet with “senior civilian and military leaders.”

An add on: The Pentagon had previously announced Austin’s trip to Brussels and Slovakia, but the stop in Bulgaria is new. The extra location extends Austin’s trip by another day, Kirby said.

Read more here.

CIA head leads fight against Putin’s info war

W. Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, speaks to the Senate Intelligence Committee during a hearing examining worldwide threats on Thursday, March 10, 2022.

As Russia began amassing troops on Ukraine’s border late last year, CIA Director William Burns was ready.

A career ambassador, Burns spent two tours at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and is one of the Biden administration’s foremost experts on Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.

President Biden in November quietly dispatched the former U.S. ambassador to Russia to try to negotiate with the Kremlin and warn them of consequences should they move forward into Ukraine.

Eventually, Burns was one of the central figures in the unusual decision by the administration to proactively declassify and release intelligence on Russian “false flag” operations in Ukraine as a way to disrupt Putin’s messaging and endgame.

“The fact that the administration sent him to Moscow was the right call. That’s who I would send,” said Daniel Fried, former ambassador to Poland and distinguished fellow with the Atlantic Council.

A new approach: Atop the CIA, Burns helms a vast bureaucracy whose work is supposed to be kept secret — under usual circumstances.

But the Biden administration, principally Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, decided to take a novel and risky approach as Russia escalated threats to Ukraine, one that the administration believes has paid off in disrupting Putin’s war plans.

Read the full story here.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

The German Marshall Fund of the United States will discuss “War in Ukraine: Implications for Japan and Security in Asia,” at 8 a.m.
The Veterans Affairs Department will hold an “Advisory Committee on Disability Compensation,” at 9 a.m.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on “Posture of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Africa Command,” — with Africom commander Gen. Stephen Townsend and Centcom head Gen. Frank McKenzie, at 9:30 a.m.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies will host a discussion on “The Future of the U.S.-UK Intelligence Alliance,” at 10 a.m.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on “Combatting Authoritarianism: U.S. Tools and Responses,” at 10 a.m.
The German Marshall Fund of the United States will host a virtual discussion on “Russia’s Southern Game: NATO’s Southern Flank after the Ukraine Invasion,” at 10 a.m.
The Intelligence and National Security Alliance will hear from Navy Vice Adm. Robert Sharp, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, at 1:30 p.m.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville will speak at a Hudson Institute virtual discussion on “The U.S. Army in the Indo-Pacific Region,” at 2 p.m.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies will host a discussion on “Aiding Ukraine: How the U.S. can give Ukrainians the means to fight,” with Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) at 5:15 p.m.