Good morning. Here’s your Daily Situational Awareness for Thursday, 14 April 2022. You can receive this daily briefing by signing up at https://forwardobserver.com/daily-sa
TODAY’S BRIEFING:
- Russia loses flagship ‘Moskva’ in Black Sea
- Iran set to receive $7 billion in frozen assets
- DHS reportedly stops undersea cable attack
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SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
RUSSIA LOSES FLAGSHIP ‘MOSKVA’ IN BLACK SEA: Russia reportedly evacuated the crew of its guided missile cruiser, the ‘Moskva,’ after a fire broke out on board and detonated its magazine. Ukraine claims its fighters struck the vessel with Neptune anti-ship missiles, while Pentagon Press Secretary Kirby wouldn’t confirm details beyond assessing there was an explosion. (Analyst Comment: Russia’s loss of this flagship vessel in the Black Sea is an important psychological victory for the Ukrainian military. It’s also likely to provoke Russia to increase the intensity of its reorganized assault on eastern Ukraine to avenge this embarrassment. – D.M.)
IRAN SET TO RECEIVE $7 BILLION IN FROZEN ASSETS: Iran’s Foreign Ministry recently announced it expected $7 billion in frozen assets to be released to its control in the coming weeks as part of the Biden administration’s negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal. Iranian officials have criticized the U.S. for its intransigence in completing the negotiations in Vienna and have themselves stated they believe the negotiations to be finished. There were no announcements from Iranian officials on the fate of three South Korean citizens being detained in Iran, although earlier media reports stated that an exchange of those prisoners could be in the works. (AC: While Iran believes they’ve reached the end of the negotiations, the U.S. is still vacillating on removing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps from its list of state-sponsored terrorism list and has yet to make statements that would confirm the conclusion of the negotiations. – M.M.)
DHS REPORTEDLY STOPS UNDERSEA CABLE ATTACK: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated they were able to disrupt a cyberattack on critical undersea cable infrastructure in Hawaii. The cable is used for telecommunications and cell phone connectivity. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) stated the hacker was able to access a private company’s critical information but was stopped before the attack could be initiated. HSI stated the intention behind the attack could simply be ransomware or have a broader strategic mission due to the cable’s critical link to Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. (AC: DHS is highlighting this event as a key example for public-private partnership in the cyber domain. The federal government sees private industry as a critical vulnerability against cyber threats, and this example reinforces the federal government’s belief. – D.F.)
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