Biden Approves Kyiv’s Use of U.S.-Provided Missiles to Strike Inside Russia, and Other Headlines of the Day

Welcome to the Daily News Brief, CFR’s flagship morning newsletter summarizing the top global news and analysis of the day. Today’s edition was written by Catherine Osborn and edited by Mariel Ferragamo, with support from Clara Fong.

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Top of the Agenda

Reports: Biden Approves Kyiv’s Use of U.S.-Provided Missiles to Strike Inside Russia

The Joe Biden administration shifted its stance on Ukrainian use of its long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to allow Kyiv to use them to target certain sites inside Russia, unnamed senior U.S. officials told multiple news outlets. Ukraine celebrated the decision that it has long sought in response to Russia’s invasion, while a Kremlin spokesperson said the move marked a “new situation in terms of U.S. involvement in this conflict.” Russia carried out one of its heaviest air bombardments across Ukraine of the entire war over the weekend, causing widespread blackouts and killing at least eleven people. 

The deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia affected Washington’s change in stance, U.S. officials said anonymously. While Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor Jon Finer did not confirm the reports of Washington’s decision, he said today that battlefield circumstances shape U.S. policy decisions, and in recent days and weeks those include “a significant Russian escalation that involves the deployment of a foreign country’s forces on its own territory.” (WaPo, NYT, CNN, WSJ)

Analysis

“No one imagines that long-range missile strikes alone would win the war, but they could be an important part of Ukrainian campaign plans by degrading Russian manpower and equipment before it arrives in Ukraine,” writes CFR Senior Fellow Max Boot in a recent Expert Brief. “It is high time for the United States to grant Ukraine the permission it seeks without being paralyzed by fear of Russian retaliation. After all, Ukraine is already striking deep inside Russia with its drones.”

“The policy shift appears to be part of a Biden administration push to give what it can to Ukraine before [it leaves office on] January 20. The decision comes a week after the administration opted to allow American defense contractors into Ukraine for the first time to help fix Western weaponry and aircraft, including the American Patriot missile defense system and the F-16 jet fighter,” the Wall Street Journal’s Gordon Lubold and Alexander Ward write. 

“Ukrainians themselves are ready to end the war—but from a position of strength,” the Public Interest Journalism Lab’s Nataliya Gumenyuk writes for Foreign Affairs. “If Trump does try to talk to Putin, Ukraine will need to be in the strongest position possible on the battlefield.”  

More on:

Daily News Brief

This CFR Special Initiative looks at the many facets of how to secure Ukraine’s future.

Americas

G20 Leaders Talk Fate of Multilateralism at Brazil Summit

The annual summit of Group of Twenty (G20) heads of state begins today in Rio de Janeiro. An early draft of the summit communiqué reportedly voices support for multilateralism, but the meeting is already showing multilateralism’s fragility. Argentina, under President Javier Milei, has tried to block some points in the communiqué that had already been agreed on, including language about taxing billionaires. Biden is joining the summit after a trip to the Amazon Rainforest, the first by a sitting U.S. president, where he pledged new financing for forest protection. (Bloomberg, NYT)

This YouTube Short with Douglas Rediker explores whether multilateralism is shifting into “many-lateralism.” 

Venezuela: Authorities released 225 people who were jailed after Venezuela’s disputed presidential election in July, the country’s attorney general said. He said they were freed based on new evidence gathered by prosecutors. Over 1,800 were jailed following the vote, local rights group Foro Penal estimated. (Reuters) 

Pacific Rim

U.S., Philippines Sign Deal to Share Classified Military Information

The agreement finalized today will allow the countries to share classified defense information in real time. It does not require them to share information deemed sensitive. (Philippine Star)

U.S./Australia/Japan: Australia hosted a trilateral defense ministers’ meeting with officials from the United States and Japan for the first time yesterday; the countries agreed to increase joint military training and surveillance operations. (AFP)

CFR’s Natalie Caloca outlines Australia’s growing defense role in the Indo-Pacific. 

South and Central Asia

India Announces First Hypersonic Missile Test

India joins a small group of countries including the United States, China, and Russia that have tested such a weapon; the defense minister said it was launched from an island off of India’s east coast on Saturday. (Times of India)

India: The domestically based conglomerate Tata Electronics agreed to buy a majority stake in an iPhone plant in India run by Taiwanese firm Petragon, two unnamed sources told Reuters. Tata’s expansion of activity in the iPhone manufacturing chain comes as Apple seeks to diversify its own supply chain beyond China. (Reuters)

Mohamed A. El-Erian and CFR expert A. Michael Spence look at how India’s economic development is gaining steam.

Middle East and North Africa

Israeli Strike in Central Beirut Kills Hezbollah Spokesperson

The rare strike in central Beirut killed Mohammed Afif on Sunday, Hezbollah said. Four people were killed in the strike, Lebanon’s health ministry said. It came as senior Lebanese officials were reviewing a proposal for a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel. (CNN, WaPo)

Israel: An Israeli judge unsealed part of a probe yesterday of leaked Israeli military intelligence on the war in the Gaza Strip; in the ruling, the judge said the leak was meant to reduce pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a hostage release deal. An Israeli military officer transferred the information to an aide in Netanyahu’s office, who leaked it to German media, the judge wrote. The prime minister’s office denies leaking. (NYT)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Gabon Voters Approve New Constitution With Presidential Term Limit

Under the constitution approved by a 92 percent landslide in a referendum yesterday, presidents can only hold two terms but the lengths of those terms will rise from five to seven years. It also stipulates that family members cannot succeed a president, and will abolish the prime minister office. (DW, AP, AFP, Reuters)

India/Nigeria: The countries will increase cooperation in maritime security and counterterrorism work, they agreed during a state visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Nigeria. He was the first Indian leader to visit Nigeria in seventeen years. (Reuters)

Europe

Report: UK Government Floats Paying Kurdistan, Turkey, Vietnam for Migration Enforcement

The United Kingdom (UK) government is in talks with authorities in Iraq’s semiautonomous region of Kurdistan, Turkey, and Vietnam to stymie irregular migration by curbing departures, the Sunday Times reported. Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not deny talks on the matter were underway but said that he would not discuss details. (The Guardian, Sunday Times) 

In this article, Kali Robinson and CFR’s Sabine Baumgartner and Diana Roy depict the European migration dilemma. 

United States

Trump Taps Oil Executive, Big Tech Critic As Cabinet Nominees

President-Elect Donald Trump nominated oil and gas fracking company executive Chris Wright as head of the Department of Energy; for Federal Communications Commission chair, he put forward current Commissioner Brendan Carr, who has criticized what he calls the “censorship cartel” of big tech firms. (Bloomberg, WaPo)

The President’s Inbox podcast gets into what lies ahead in staffing a new Trump administration. 

COP29

UN’s Guterres Calls on G20 to Rescue Stalled Climate Talks

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the G20 summit he was “concerned” by the pace of progress at UN climate talks in Baku and called on G20 nations to give them a boost. To that end, negotiators at the G20 were considering a statement that would encourage the widening of a group of countries that should be responsible for contributing climate finance for poorer ones, Reuters reported. (Climate Home News, Reuters)