‘THE NIGHT IS DARK AND FULL OF TERRORS’: For the third night in a row, Ukraine — and in particular Kyiv — was pummeled with hundreds of Russian drones and missiles, sending residents of the capital city scrambling in their pajamas for the shelter of subway tunnels, while apartment buildings and other civilian targets were set ablaze by the blitz above them.
In social media posts, Kyiv residents described their daily anguish and trauma, which evoked the famous leitmotif from the HBO classic Game of Thrones: “The night is dark and full of terrors.”
“Hello from night of hellfire in Kyiv — the likes of which I don’t think I’ve witnessed in three years of reporting from here,” said JP Lindsley, an American who has been posting a war journal since the beginning of the war. “I have been in this Russian war upon lovely Ukraine every single minute, including at the front, and I’ve never experienced a hellish night such as this in Kyiv — not even last weeks.”
“In Kyiv, it’s just freaking Vietnam,” said a post from an account called Ukraine Front Line. “After our awesome drones hit a factory in the swamps that makes thermobaric warheads, the enemy decided to show they’ve got tons of them. And so, they launched Shaheds with thermobaric warheads that fly super low. On purpose. To cause as much destruction and civilian casualties as possible. Just freaking despicable scum.”
Many posts focused on the death of a 1-year-old toddler, targeted in a playpen by a Russian FPV drone in Kherson, killing him and wounding his grandmother in an area with no military targets.
“It’s 3:52am, I am sheltering from the barrage of russian drones, and I can’t stop thinking of a small boy, whose life russians cut short today,” posted Olena Halushka. “Ukraine is defending from a pure evil. How can anyone calling themselves Christians stand with these child murderers?”
Many Ukrainians believe the death of the child was the result of Russian drone operators using defenseless civilians as “target practice.”
“Another disgusting crime by the criminal Russian drone operators participating in the ‘Human safari,’” said one poster. “The Russians are using Kherson to train drone operators. Encouraged by their commanders, the Russians are DELIBERATELY using civilians, civilian infrastructure, and pets as target practice. They love to target the elderly and dogs especially.”
PHOTOS SHOW RUSSIA’S LATEST LARGE MISSILE AND DRONE ATTACK ON KYIV
ZELENSKY: ‘A CLEAR ESCALATION OF TERROR’: In this week from hell, Russia has managed to steadily increase the number of attacks, setting new records each day for carnage across the country.
“Last night, Russia launched a massive combined strike that lasted nearly 10 hours. 18 missiles, including ballistic ones, and around 400 attack drones were used — nearly 200 of them were “shaheds,’” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X. “The main target of the attack was Kyiv and the region. Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kirovohrad, and Kharkiv regions also came under fire. Sadly, two people were reported killed in Kyiv — my condolences to their families and loved ones. As of now, we know of 16 people injured.”
“This is a clear escalation of terror by Russia — hundreds of ‘shaheds’ every night, constant strikes, and massive attacks on Ukrainian cities. This demands that we speed things up. Sanctions must be imposed faster, and pressure on Russia must be strong enough that they truly feel the consequences of their terror. There’s a need for quicker action from our partners in investing in weapons production and advancing technology.”
TRUMP: ‘IT’S A SHAME THAT WE HAVE TO SPEND SO MUCH MONEY.’ Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is still mulling over Ukraine’s desperate pleas for more air defenses and whether to impose further sanctions aimed at making it harder for Russia to sell oil. Ukraine’s homegrown “interceptor drone” program has been very effective against the Iranian-designed Shahed drones, but it needs more Patriot missiles to shoot down Russia’s hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.
“They would like it. They’ve asked for it. They’re very rare indeed, you know, because a lot of systems have been sent to Ukraine,” Trump said yesterday of Ukraine’s request for more Patriot systems. “We’re going to have to take a look at it. It’s very expensive, very expensive system.”
Trump never misses a chance to repeat his unprovable, counterfactual narrative that he would have been able to keep Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading in 2022 had he been president at the time. “It’s a shame that we have to spend so much money on a war that would’ve never happened if I were president. That’s a terrible, terrible war over there. And truly a shame. It’s very sad,” Trump said at a White House meeting with African leaders.
Tuesday night, CNN aired an audio recording of remarks candidate Trump made in 2024 in a private conversation, which could be the basis for his repeated claims. The audio was obtained by the authors of a new book, 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America. In the recording, Trump boasts about how he threatened both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Here’s a transcript of the audio clip:
With Putin, I said, ‘if you go in to Ukraine, I’m gonna bomb the sh*t out of Moscow. I’m telling you I have no choice.’ So he goes like ‘I don’t believe you.’ He said — he said ‘no way’ and I said ‘way.’ And then he goes like ‘I don’t believe you.’ But the truth is he believed me 10%. And I told you this, he believed me 10%. Then I’m with President Xi of China. But I said the same thing to them. I said, you know, ‘if you go into Taiwan, I’m gonna bomb the s*** out of Beijing.’ He thought I was crazy, he said ‘Beijing? You’re gonna bomb Beijing?’ I said, ‘I have no choice. I got to bomb you. We’re gonna bomb Beijing.’
EDITORIAL: CHINA’S CYNICISM ON UKRAINE EXPOSED
Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.
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HAPPENING TODAY: CALLS FOR HEGSETH’S HEAD GROW LOUDER: If we know anything about President Trump, he has little use for people who embarrass him. At the same time, he is hesitant to fire anyone in response to criticism from Democrats.
But the calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to resign or be fired are coming from some prominent Republicans these days, including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), whose vote helped put Hegseth over the top in a close confirmation process.
Tillis, who is not running for reelection, says he doesn’t regret that vote based on the information he had at the time, but told CNN yesterday, he wouldn’t vote for him again. “Now, with the passing of time, I think it’s clear he is out of his depth as a manager of a large complex organization,” Tillis told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I mean, this whole idea of having a pause in Ukraine defensive arms, that’s just amateurish. I mean, that’s from somebody who doesn’t understand large organization dynamics.”
“I don’t regret the decision I made back then based on the facts as I knew them, but today, I am beginning to wonder if maybe Armed Services was a little bit generous with respect to their assessment of his capabilities as a manager of the world’s largest, most complex and arguably consequential organization.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a retired Air Force one-star general, is also not running for reelection after locking horns with Trump over Ukraine. Bacon called for Hegseth to resign after the so-called Signalgate scandal, and has renewed the call after the Ukraine screwup.
“The Signalgate, it wasn’t handled well. The secretary should have taken responsibility, admitted he made a mistake, but instead he doubled down, blamed the journalist, and then denied there was a problem with putting sets of data on an unclassified system,” Bacon told NBC’s Ryan Nobles.
“I called for his resignation or being fired then, and I feel the same way now,” Bacon said. “When he makes the decision to not send weapons to Ukraine that was appropriated by Congress, signed by the previous president, and he didn’t even notify President Trump or seek his approval — it embarrassed the president. He had to address this to a world stage, why these weapons were shut off, and he didn’t know.”
“So yes, the secretary of defense should have shown better judgment,” Bacon said.
On CNN, retired Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson said Trump needs to fire Hegseth immediately. “For him not to inform the national security adviser, the president, Gen. Keith Kellogg, special envoy to Ukraine, I mean, to not let any of these people know that he was making a major decision, a unilateral decision, to suspend military aid to country like Ukraine that absolutely needs it, to me, it just shows the incredible dysfunction and the fact of the matter that Pete Hegseth is totally unqualified for this job.”
“He is not capable of running the largest organization in the world, and he should be fired. And for us to continue to make excuses for this guy, and the president should not allow him to stay in office any longer,” Anderson said.
TRUMP: ‘I WOULD KNOW IF A DECISION WAS MADE’: On Tuesday, President Trump professed ignorance about any pause in weapons deliveries to Ukraine. When questioned about who ordered the freeze, he replied, “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”
Yesterday, Trump still had no good answer and responded to follow-up questions with a dissembling discourse that implied the whole thing never happened. Here’s the full exchange:
Q: Sir, yesterday, you said that you were not sure who ordered the munitions halted to Ukraine. Have you since been able to figure that out?
TRUMP: Well, I haven’t thought about it because we’re looking at Ukraine right now and munitions. But I — I have no — I have not gone into it.
Q: What does it say that such a big decision could be made inside your government without you knowing?
TRUMP: I would know if a decision was made. I will know. I’ll be the first to know. In fact, most likely, I’d give the order, but I haven’t done that yet.
PENTAGON PUSHES BACK ON REPORTS IT LEFT WHITE HOUSE IN THE DARK ON SUSPENDED UKRAINE AID
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Pentagon pushes back on reports it left White House in the dark on suspended Ukraine aid
Washington Examiner: Russian foreign minister to visit North Korea as Trump turns on Putin
Washington Examiner: Tom Rogan Opinion: Why the Kremlin has delegated its Trump rebukes to state media
Washington Examiner: Netanyahu denies rift with Trump over Gaza, says two are in ‘full coordination’
Washington Examiner: US imposes sanctions on ‘biased and malicious’ UN Palestinian rapporteur
Washington Examiner: Houthis attack second ship in Red Sea this week, killing three
Washington Examiner: ‘Mosquitoes size of elephants’: Detainees complain about ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ conditions
Washington Examiner: Trump administration removes terrorist designation from Syrian leader’s group after lifting sanctions
Washington Examiner: Editorial: China’s cynicism on Ukraine exposed
Washington Examiner: Tom Rogan Opinion: UFO reporting is caught between excess sensationalism and excess skepticism
AP: Italy opens Ukraine rebuilding conference as doubts of US defense help remain
AP: Rescuers search for missing crew from Red Sea attack as US alleges Yemen rebels ‘kidnapped’ them
Militarycom: Lawmakers Want Anti-Drone Systems at US Defense Facilities
DefenseScoop: Marine Corps Requests More Funding for Collaborative Combat Aircraft Development
Breaking Defense: UK Closes in on Build of First E-7 Wedgetail, Keeps Faith in Program Amid US Air Force Cancellation
AP: Japan Starts Deploying Osprey Fleet at a New Base with an Eye on China
Air Force Times: DARPA Ends Cargo Seaplane Program, Eyes New Uses for Tech
The Aviationist: USAF Test Pilot School Introduces A-29C Super Tucano
Wall Street Journal: A Syrian Death Factory Gives Up Its Secrets
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Force Opposes Cut to Commerce’s Space Traffic Management Program
The War Zone: B-1B to Finally Get New External Pylons Drastically Expanding Missile Carriage Potential
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Works to Modernize Aging B-52 Simulators
Air & Space Forces Magazine: DARPA Picks Bell Textron for New Runway-less Drone X-Plane
Air & Space Forces Magazine: T-7 Completes Climate Tests as Air Force Pushes to Field New Trainer
THE CALENDAR:
THURSDAY | JULY 10
7 a.m. — International Institute for Strategic Studies virtual book discussion: Evaluating Japan’s New Grand Strategy,” with author Robert Ward, IISS Japan chair https://www.iiss.org/events/
1 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “Why U.S. Leadership Matters in Europe,” with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani Sadriu https://www.hudson.org/events/president-kosovo
1:30 p.m. — Air and Space Forces Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: “Efforts to prepare Space Training and Readiness Command Guardians for the warfighting domain of space,” with Maj. Gen. Timothy Sejba, commander, Space Training and Readiness Command; and Chief Master Sgt. Karmann-Monique Pogue, senior enlisted leader for space training and readiness at STARCOM https://afa-org.zoom.us/webinar/register
3 p.m. — Washington Institute for Near East Policy virtual forum: “Pursuing Israel-Syria Detente Post-Assad,” with Rime Allaf, former associate fellow at Chatham House and author of It Started in Damascus: How the Long Syrian Revolution Reshaped Our World; Ehud Yaari, WINEP international fellow; Aaron Zelin, WINEP senior fellow; and Andrew Tabler, WINEP senior fellow and former director for Syria at the National Security Council https://washingtoninstitute-org.zoom.us/webinar/register
3 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American Enterprise Institute discussion: “National Security vs. Economic Gain: A Debate on US-China Export Policy,” with David Feith, adjunct senior fellow, Center for a New American Security; Aaron Ginn, CEO, Hydra Host; Derek Scissors, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute; and moderator Chris Miller, nonresident senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute https://www.aei.org/events/national-security-vs-economic-gain
