Today is a very big national security news day. Here's a run down of the top stories.
Major missile strikes across Kyiv as Zelenskiy says no to surrendering the Donbass to achieve peace.
CIA Director William Burns says that while the threat of Russian nuclear weapons being used in Ukraine cannot be taken lightly, so far, the US does not seen any evidence that Moscow is preparing to do so. His comments came during a speech at Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Thursday where he also spoke about the ‘political desperation’ and military setbacks that Russian President Vladimir Putin is experiencing as his forces suffer worse than expected losses in Ukraine.
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If you’re not a Subscriber+Member, you can upgrade your access at the cipher brief website and one more note before we get to today’s report – The Cipher Brief is hosting a live web briefing next Wednesday, April 13th with Principal Deputy Director for National Intelligence Dr. Stacey Dixon, former Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research The Hon. Ellen McCarthy and former Senior CIA Officer Teresa Smetzer on Disinformation and How Spies Can Help Find Truth. Brad, you and I know that U.S. adversaries are actively driving campaigns that take a nugget of truth to build false and divisive narratives around and it’s impacting national security. We’ll be talking in this brief about how can lessons from the Intelligence Community can help guide a new path for truth.
Today’s top story: Generally Mark Milley says risk of major international conflict is on the rise as the US, G7 and EU Nations announce a new round of sanctions against Russia.
Today’s top story: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to address the UN Security Council today for the first time since the Russian invasion. We’ll have updates on what comes out of that tomorrow but his speech is expected to focus on alleged war crimes by Russian forces including the alleged massacres of civilians in areas near Kyiv. He is also likely to push for further deliveries of military hardware and sanctions against Moscow. The speech is expected to be largely a symbolic move since Russia, as a permanent member would veto any specific measures Ukraine may call for.
Today’s top story comes out of Ukraine where officials there are accusing withdrawing Russian soldiers of committing genocide after finding hundreds of killed civilians. Reporting focuses on the town of Bucha where officials say around 150 civilians were found killed and say that some of them had their hands bound and had gunshot wounds to the head in what some media reports describe as ‘extra-judicial’ executions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says these actions constitute genocide and is forming a new body to investigate Russian atrocities while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for an independent investigation into the killings. Western nations including the US, UK and Germany have condemned the killings and are expected to announce even more sanctions on Russia, while Moscow calls the allegations a ‘provocation’ by Ukraine.
Let’s get to the rest of today’s stories and remember you can always find links to our original sources and the full report in the Cipher Brief Daily newsletter. Sign up at thecipherbrief.com.
Top headlines from today’s report: CIA Director tests positive for COVID; Natural Gas still flowing to Europe; Ukraine strikes target in Russia; India in the crosshairs over relationship with Russia and China blames US & NATO for Ukraine War. Let’s get right to the full report today and remember you can always find links to our original sources in the Cipher Brief Daily newsletter. Sign up at thecipherbrief.com.