Good morning, and welcome to the Global Situation Report for Monday, 24 June 2024.
- Global Rollup
- Russia is vowing retaliation against the U.S. after saying there is “no doubt” over U.S. involvement in a recent attack on civilians in Sevastopol, Crimea. The 23 June attack, launched by Ukraine, killed four and wounded 150 and involved munitions from the U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). The Russians also accused the U.S. of providing targeting data based on satellite and drone reconnaissance. The attack occurred on the Day of the Holy Trinity, a Russian Orthodox holiday.
- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that he would not activate the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States over the 17 June incident. After much public backlash, Marcos delivered a speech declaring, “Our calm and peaceful disposition should not be mistaken for acquiescence.” (The MDT remains unlikely to be activated by either side unless a Filipino sailor dies. – J.V.)
- U.S. State Department officials in Taiwan discussed involving Taiwan in international forums such as the United Nations, World Health Organization, and International Civil Aviation Organization. (This is treating Taiwan as an independent nation, one of China’s red lines. Continuing down this path while the ruling party of Taiwan continues to assert it is already independent is likely to provoke China into military action against Taiwan. – J.V.)
THAT’S A WRAP: This does it for today’s edition. Thank you for reading. If you know folks who would also like to receive this email, would you please forward it to them? We appreciate you spreading the word. – M.S.