It’s Thursday! 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.
Russia has launched an extensive invasion of Ukraine, sending its military forces into the country on multiple fronts. We’ll break down the day’s developments, plus a group of Air Force officers filing a lawsuit against the service over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
For The Hill, I’m Jordan Williams. Write to me with tips at jwilliams@digital-release.thehill.com.
Let’s get to it.
Russia launches military incursion in Ukraine
Early Thursday morning local time, Russian President Vladimir announced a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine, just days after recognizing the independence of two rebel regions in the Donbass.
Putin’s rationale: In a meeting with Russian business leaders, Putin claimed the military operation was a “forced measure” due to Western “intransigence” over security concerns.
“I was surprised that didn’t move a millimeter on any issue,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “They have left us no chance to act differently.”
The beginning of an attack: Russia began its attack on Ukraine with missile launches around 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday. More than 100 Russian-launched missiles of various types were used in the “initial onslaught,” with short-range ballistic missiles being the primary weapon, a senior defense official told reporters.
The Kremlin fired medium range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles, and sea-launch missiles from the Black Sea.
In addition, Moscow used approximately 75 fixed-wing heavy and medium bombers “as a part of this initial onslaught,” with targets primarily focused on Ukraine’s military and air defenses including barracks, ammunition warehouses” and nearly 10 airfields.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine from three sides which the official described as “three main axes of assault”: one from the south, “from Crimea to a city named Kherson;” one from north central Ukraine to the south, “from Belarus to Kyiv;” and a third from the northeast of Ukraine to the south, from Belarus toward Kharkiv.
The official said the heaviest fighting has been observed in Kharkiv, with fighting also around the airport in Kyiv.
Biden’s new sanctions: In remarks from the East Room, President Biden said the U.S. would impose sanctions on Russian banks holding $1 trillion combined in assets.
The Treasury Department said in a release that the administration would impose sanctions on VTB and Sberbank, cutting them off from processing payments through the U.S. financial system.
The Biden administration is also imposing sanctions on three other Russian financial institutions: Otkritie, Novikom and Sovcom.
The sanctions also target 10 Russian individuals, including those close to Putin and elites working in the financial sector, according to the Treasury Department.
The export controls will restrict Russia’s ability to import sensitive U.S. technology — like semiconductors, lasers, and sensors — and particularly target Russia’s defense, aviation, and maritime sectors, according to a White House fact sheet. Biden said that the restrictions, coupled with actions by European allies, would cut off more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports.
US military movement: The U.S. moved six fighter jets to Estonia, Lithuania, and Romania to help with NATO’s air policing mission in the Baltic region. These jets are part of the forces that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin repositioned to the region on Monday.
Later on Thursday, Biden announced that he’s sending 7,000 troops to Germany after NATO activated its defense plans at the request of Gen. Todd Wolters — who heads U.S. European Commands.
The troops are comprised of armored brigade combat team with associated capabilities and enablers. The troops are expected to depart in the coming days.
A military official also told The Hill that U.S. troops have helped set up temporary safe havens in Poland and Romania for Ukrainian evacuees.
Check out today’s coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict:
- Find live coverage of the conflict here
- Biden says US will sanction Russian banks, impose export controls
- Biden sends 7,000 troops to Germany
- Congress to receive in-person, classified briefing next week on Ukraine
Air Force officers sue over vaccine mandate
A group of Air Force officers is suing the service in an Ohio federal court after being denied religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The lawsuit, which names Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall as a defendant, alleges that the service employs a double standard when approving exemption requests that favors medical and administrative exemptions.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the mandate unconstitutional, and bar the Air Force from taking “enforcement/punitive action” against them while the case is underway.
The claims: The plaintiffs, which include a group of officers and reservists, all say they spoke with a military chaplain to verify the sincerity of their beliefs, but they were still denied.
Some of them also say they had natural immunity from previous infections with COVID-19.
“The granting of more than one thousand medical and administrative exemptions belies any assertion that vaccination is mission-critical and that no exemptions can be granted,” reads the complaint.
How many exemptions? Active-duty service members had until Nov. 2 to be vaccinated, while Air National Guard and Reservists were given until Dec. 31.
The Air Force first said on Feb. 8 that it granted nine service members religious exemptions from the vaccine mandate. According to data released Tuesday, the service has approved 13 religious exemptions from the vaccine requirement.
Religious exemptions across the services: Across the military, the services receive thousands of requests for religious exemptions but have only approved a small number.
The Marine Corps which was the first service grant religious exemptions to the mandate in mid-January, disclosed on Thursday that it has granted six out of over 3,600 requests it has received.
The Navy has also said it conditionally granted one religious accommodation for a member of its Individual Ready Reserve, but that person will have to be vaccinated before returning to active service.
The Army has yet to grant any religious accommodations.
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TAIWAN REPORTS CHINESE AIRCRAFT IN DEFENSE ZONE
Taiwan’s defense ministry on Thursday said that nine Chinese aircraft had entered its air defense identification zone, just hours after Russia had launched an invasion into Ukraine.
The ministry said that the mission involved eight J-16 sorties and one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft.
What Taiwan did: The ministry also released the flight paths of the aircraft and said they flew over an area to the northeast of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands, Reuters reported.
In response, Taiwanese fighters were deployed to warn the Chinese aircraft and air defense missiles were scrambled to “monitor the activities,” the ministry said, according to the newswire.
Is Taiwan the next Ukraine? This comes just a day after China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday said Taiwan is “not Ukraine” and has always been a part of China amid Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s call for increased vigilance of military activities in response to the crisis in Ukraine.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying dismissed the concerns of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said there might be worldwide consequences, including for Taiwan, if Western nations failed to support Ukraine’s independence, according to Reuters.
“Taiwan is not Ukraine,” Hua said while speaking in Beijing. “Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact.”
ON TAP FOR TOMORROW
- Washington Technology will host an event on “Doing Business with the Army” at 8:15 a.m.
- The Wilson Center will host a conversation with Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Murat Mercen on the Ukraine crisis at 9 a.m.
WHAT WE’RE READING
- Ukraine poses test for fractured GOP
- The Hill Opinion: America can still stop Putin from swallowing all of Ukraine
- The Hill Opinion: Putin vs. the West: Six steps to help Ukraine prepare for a wider war
- The Hill Opinion: The West needs containment 2.0
That’s it for today! Check out The Hill’s defense and national security pages for the latest coverage. See you Friday.
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