WORLD BRIEFING: May 25, 2024

As Russian troops made gains this month near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, they deployed stronger electronic weapons and more sophisticated tools to degrade Starlink service, Ukrainian officials said. The advances pose a major threat to Ukraine, which has often managed to outmaneuver the Russian military with the help of frontline connectivity and other technology, but has been on the defensiveagainst the renewed Russian advance. The new outages appeared to be the first time the Russians have caused widespread disruptions of Starlink. If they continue to succeed, it could mark a tactical shift in the conflict, highlighting Ukraine’s vulnerability and dependence on the service provided by Mr. Musk’s company. As the United States and other governments work with SpaceX, the disruptions raise broader questions about Starlink’s reliability against a technically sophisticated adversary. Starlink works by beaming an internet connection down from satellites revolving around Earth. The signals are received on the ground by pizza-box-size terminal dishes, which then distribute the connection like a Wi-Fi router to laptops, phones and other devices nearby. Starlink has provided Ukraine with vital internet service since 2022, with soldiers relying on it to guide internet-connected drones that are used for surveillance and as weapons, among other tasks. In an interview this week, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s digital minister, said Russia’s recent attacks against Starlink appeared to use new and more advanced technology. The service previously held up remarkably well against interference on battlefields, where there has been widespread electronic warfare, radio jamming and other communication disruptions. - NYT

Other Topics of Interest

French Policy Playing Into Iranian and Russian Hands

France has not only not delivered on promises to Ukraine, it imports more Russian LNG – fueling Russia’s war machine and sends weapons needed by Ukraine to Lebanon – which go to Hezbollah.

The EU is preparing to tighten sanctions against Belarus and close a loophole that has allowed Moscow to import luxury cars and other western goods banned in Russia in response to the war in Ukraine. The bloc has already imposed several rounds of sanctions on the regime of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But restrictions on Belarus have been weaker than those on Russia, allowing the Kremlin to use its ally as a backdoor for western goods for use in the war effort as well as luxury items. The new curbs being discussed by EU member states aim “to minimise the risk of circumvention”, according to a draft seen by the Financial Times. The fresh sanctions would ban exports to and via Belarus of technology and goods that can have military uses, as well as liquefied natural gas. The EU would also stop importing diamonds from Belarus, mirroring a recent ban on stones of Russian origin. If adopted by the bloc’s 27 member states, one of the flows that would be stemmed by the sanctions would be luxury cars. Under the current system, European carmakers can still sell their high-end vehicles to Belarus but not Russia. “The folks around Lukashenko who had ties to Russia were big beneficiaries of this. They were enriching themselves . . . We also know this is how luxury goods get into Russia — through Belarus,” said Vytis Jurkonis, project director at Freedom House think-tank in Vilnius. The monthly flow of vehicles and vehicle parts from EU states to Belarus surged from $50mn in January 2022 to $268mn in January 2024. This is now the largest single component of EU-Belarus exports, largely originating from Germany and Poland. - FT

G7 finance ministers cited "progress" in finding ways to use profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, envisioning a concrete proposal to present to a leaders' summit next month. A search for creative yet legally sound solutions was top of the agenda at the two-day Group of Seven meeting in Stresa, northern Italy, which wrapped up on May 25 as Kyiv continues its urgent appeals for more funds from Western allies in its war with Russia. "We are making progress in our discussions on potential avenues to bring forward the extraordinary profits stemming from immobilized Russian sovereign assets to the benefit of Ukraine, consistent with international law and our respective legal systems," ministers said in a draft statement seen by the AFP news agency.

Kenya's President William Ruto says his peacekeeping police force is expected to arrive in Haiti to help quell growing gang violence in about three weeks.In an interview with the BBC, Mr Ruto confirmed a planning team was already in Haiti and had met local police to secure arrangements before the Kenyan troops are deployed. Mr Ruto's comments came as he concluded a three-day trip to Washington DC, the first official state visit of any African leader to the US in over 15 years. During his trip, the White House called for the swift deployment of the Kenyan-led multinational force, after a US couple was named among three missionaries killed in Haiti on Friday. "I have a team already in Haiti as I speak to you," Mr Ruto told the BBC on Friday. - BBC

A US missionary couple were among three people killed in Haiti as widespread gang violence continues to plague the country. Natalie Lloyd, 21, her 23-year-old husband David, and Jude Montis, a 20-year-old Haitian, were ambushed by gunmen as they left a church. The couple's deaths were confirmed on Facebook by Natalie's father, Missouri State Senator Ben Baker. "They were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed," he wrote. "They went to heaven together." The couple were married in 2022. Their organisation, Missions in Haiti, confirmed to US media that Mr Montis was the third victim. - BBC