Defense & National Security — Washington ups the pressure on Moscow

by Ellen Mitchell - 04/06/22 8:23 PM ET

Less than 24 hours after revealing it’s sending another $100 million military aid package to Ukraine, the Biden administration announced a wave of new sanctions targeting Russia’s two largest banks and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters, among others.

We’ll break down the penalties and give an update on what’s in the latest defense package to Kyiv.

This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.

New wave of sanctions for Russia

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a wave of new sanctions targeting Russia’s two largest banks, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters, the wife and daughter of Russia’s top diplomat and blacklisted members of Russia’s Security Council.

A senior administration official said the measures are being imposed in alignment with allies in the Group of Seven nations and the European Union and are in response to “the sickening brutality” recently discovered in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha following the retreat of Russian forces.

What prompted the penalties?: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of committing genocide, while the U.S. and other international leaders have said the images of civilians discovered bound, shot at close range, piled in cellars and left for dead on the street likely amount to war crimes.

The senior administration official said the U.S. and allies are “intensifying the most severe sanctions ever levied on a major economy” and that the result is to send Russia “into economic and financial and technological isolation.” The official added the country will “go back to Soviet-style living standards from the 1980s.”

A carveout: The administration allowed a carveout for energy, given the EU’s dependence on Russian oil and gas, but said it is working with allied nations to reduce such imports.

The most severe action: The measures announced Wednesday impose full blocking sanctions on Russia’s largest state-owned bank, Sberbank, and its largest private bank, Alfa Bank, freezing any assets “touching” the U.S. financial system and prohibiting Americans from doing business with them.

“Any transaction, in any currency with a U.S. person or U.S. institution is prohibited,” the official said of the full blocking sanctions, targeting Russian efforts to receive payment in currencies other than the U.S. dollar to undercut sanctions.

“This is the most severe action we can take in terms of financial measures,” the official said.

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US TO SEND ANOTHER $100M IN LETHAL AID TO UKRAINE

The U.S. is sending up to $100 million in additional military aid to Ukraine.

The State Department and Pentagon announced the military funding in statements Tuesday evening. The money will go toward Javelin anti-armor systems, according to Pentagon press secretary John Kirby.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he authorized an immediate drawdown to address Ukraine’s need for more anti-armor systems. Drawdowns allow the president to help countries during emergencies without needing approval from a legislative authority or budgetary appropriations, according to a Defense Department handbook.

The sixth round: Tuesday night’s drawdown marks the sixth such allocation the U.S. has made for Ukraine since August, according to Blinken. The U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $1.7 billion since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in late February.

“The world has been shocked and appalled by the atrocities committed by Russia’s forces in Bucha and across Ukraine. Ukraine’s forces bravely continue to defend their country and their freedom, and the United States, along with our Allies and partners, stand steadfast in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Blinken said in a statement.

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US trains Ukrainian troops on Switchblade drones

A small number of Ukrainian soldiers already in the United States have been trained on how to use Switchblade tactical drones as the U.S. military sends more of the vehicle-destroying weapons to the ex-Soviet country, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson said Wednesday.

The “very small number” of Ukrainian soldiers, who have been in the U.S. since last fall for military training, were taught to use the drone with the expectation that they would soon return to their country to train others on the equipment, press secretary John Kirby told reporters.

“We took the opportunity — having them still in the country — to give them a couple of days’ worth of training on the Switchblade so that they can go back — and they will be going back soon, back home — to train others in the Ukrainian military,” Kirby said.

More drones: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed a day prior that Switchblades are being sent to Ukraine as part of a $300 million lethal aid package announced by the Pentagon on Friday. He did not say how many, though multiple outlets have reported that 10 of the drones will be delivered.

Bloomberg reported that those Switchblades would be a newer, more advanced “series 600” version of the drones, which weigh about 50 pounds, can fly more than 24 miles, stay aloft for 40 minutes and are equipped with a heavier warhead that can damage tanks.

Kirby on Wednesday would not say whether the Switchblade-600 would be sent to Ukraine.

Already sent: The White House has already sent 100 of the drones as part of an $800 million weapons package announced last month, but those Switchblades were the “series 300” versions. That variant weighs less than five pounds, can fly about six miles, hover over a target for about 15 minutes and is designed to attack personnel and light vehicles.

House Dems concerned over looming Iran deal

House Democrats expressed concerns on Wednesday about a looming Iran nuclear deal as efforts by the Biden administration to revive the Obama-era agreement are underway.

In a statement and a press conference, 18 lawmakers raised everything from concerns about the negotiations to outright opposition to reviving the 2015 deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, that exchanged sanctions relief for limits to Iran’s nuclear program.

“We understand that while the recent negotiations have not concluded, we feel that we can’t stay quiet about the unacceptable and deeply troubling turn that these results have reportedly taken,” Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) told reporters.

The background: Former President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement in 2018, arguing that it was not preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, after which Iran largely stopped complying with the deal.

President Biden committed on the campaign trail to reviving the deal, and Iran has been at the negotiating table with other world powers in Vienna over the past year to come to a new agreement.

But lawmakers have been skeptical about reviving the agreement, with senators on the left and the right raising concerns last month that the Biden administration wasn’t being completely transparent about the state of negotiations.

Dems’ concerns: Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), who opposed the deal in 2015, said she was again concerned by public information becoming available about the negotiations.

“Any new agreement with Iran must be based on the situation that is on the ground today, not the one from seven years ago,” Meng said. “This means an agreement that is comprehensive and addresses the full range of threats that Iran poses to the region, including its nuclear program, ballistic missile program and its funding of terrorism.”

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ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will brief media at the conclusion of the second in-person meeting of NATO foreign ministers at 1:30 a.m. at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels
The National Defense Industrial Association will hold a cyber event: “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” with Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.); and defense officials at 8:30 a.m.
David Trachtenberg, the vice president, National Institute for Public Policy, will speak at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense Forum event at 9 a.m.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies will hold a virtual talk on North Korea’s latest missile threat, with Sydney Seiler, national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council, at 9 a.m.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies will hold a virtual discussion on “Commercial Wireless Networks and National Defense: Emerging Requirements, Challenges, and Opportunities,” at 9:30 a.m.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Defense Department’s “Posture in Review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2023 and the Future Years Defense Program,” at 9:30 a.m.
The Atlantic Council will host a virtual discussion on “Managing strategic competition to avoid a U.S.-China war,” with former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, at 2:30 p.m