Washington Reinforces Ukraine’s Air Defenses

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the latest U.S. efforts to boost Ukraine’s air defenses, extreme heat in Saudi Arabia, and Namibia’s landmark ruling.

New Boost

The United States will bolster Ukraine’s air defenses by sending Kyiv hundreds of rerouted air defense munitions originally slated for other countries, the White House announced on Thursday. The boost comes as Russia has pummeled the country’s energy sector, with intensified attacks on Ukrainian power plants and other critical infrastructure.

The decision was “difficult but necessary,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, and “demonstrates our commitment to supporting our partners when they’re in existential danger.” Impacted countries would receive their shipments on a delayed timeline, he said, without naming any governments. Deliveries to Taiwan and Israel will remain unchanged.

“The broader message here to Russia is clear: If you think you’re going to be able to outlast Ukraine and if you think you’re going to be able to outlast those of us who are supporting Ukraine, you’re just flat-out wrong,” Kirby said. “We’re going to make sure that we give Ukraine the critical air defense capabilities they need now and into the future.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has for months pleaded for more air defense systems as Russia has escalated its attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector, launching waves of missile and drone strikes that have decimated the country’s electricity generation capacity. Just this week, Kyiv said Moscow launched nine missiles and 27 drones at Ukrainian power plants—marking the seventh major assault on the country’s energy infrastructure in the last three months.

“For Ukraine’s leaders, the renewed Russian strikes pose a threat to the country’s already strained ability to sustain years of unremitting bombing assaults, social and economic disruption, and the increased mobilization of service members,” FP’s Keith Johnson wrote last week. “The new campaign has redoubled Ukraine’s desperation to bolster its air defenses in order to protect what’s left of its energy system.”

Additional support may be on the way soon. After Russia and North Korea signed a defense pact on Wednesday, South Korea said on Thursday that it was mulling arming Ukraine—prompting sharp threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin. “If South Korea supplies weapons to Ukraine, it will not like the answer,” he said on Thursday. “I hope they won’t do it. It would be a big mistake.”

Today’s Most Read

• NATO’s New Leader Was Planning This the Whole Time by Caroline de Gruyter
• What a War Between Israel and Hezbollah Might Look Like by Amy Mackinnon
• What the United States Can Learn From China by Stephen M. Walt

What We’re Following

Deadly heat. Hundreds of people are believed to have died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage as extreme heat sweeps Saudi Arabia, with temperatures surging past 125 degrees. While precise death toll estimates vary, the Wall Street Journal reported that more than 1,170 people died.

Last year was the hottest year ever logged, and 2024 is already on track to shatter that record, as climate change drives hotter and more frequent heat waves. Across the world, extreme temperatures are also scorching India, where a heat wave has killed more than 100 people in the last three months and a half months, according to authorities. Around 40,000 more are believed to have suffered from heatstroke.

NATO’s leadership race. Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is positioned to become the next chief of NATO, after the only other contender—Romanian President Klaus Iohannis—pulled out of the race on Thursday. Rutte will be taking the reins of NATO at a critical juncture, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stretches into its third year and the alliance grapples with a potential second Trump term in the United States.

Rutte has led the Netherlands since 2010. In Foreign Policy’s profile of the Dutch leader, Caroline de Gruyter, the Europe correspondent for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, describes Rutte as a “very controlled person” and a “man of habits.” “Rutte is never off duty,” one Dutch diplomat told de Gruyter, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He is always on the phone, convincing somebody about something.”

Namibia’s historic decision. In a landmark ruling, Namibia’s High Court voted on Friday to overturn colonial-era legislation that criminalized sex between men. While rarely used for convictions, the very existence of the legislation fueled discrimination against LGBTQ communities and created a climate of fear, activists said. The Namibian government has a 21-day window to appeal the decision.

Activists and human rights advocates hailed the decision as a major triumph for the country’s LGBTQ community. “It’s a great day for Namibia,” Friedel Dausab, the Namibian activist who brought the case, told Reuters. “It won’t be a crime to love anymore.”

What in the World?

Hungary on Tuesday unveiled the motto for its upcoming presidency of the European Union, which is set to begin next month. What is Hungary’s mantra for the bloc?

(A) Hungary Above All

(B) Europe for Europeans

(C) Make Europe Great Again

(D) A United Europe

Odds and Ends

Officials in Nevada have been befuddled by a towering metal monolith that appeared, apparently out of nowhere, in a remote mountain range in the state. Similarly mysterious monoliths have been found in Utah, Romania, and California—with no clue to their source. “We see a lot of weird things when people go hiking like not being prepared for the weather, not bringing enough water,” the Las Vegas police department posted on X. “But check this out!”

And the Answer Is…

(C) Make Europe Great Again

Populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s leadership role follows significant gains for right-wing parties in the recent European Parliament elections. In It’s Debatable, FP’s Emma Ashford and Matthew Kroenig discuss whether these groups are here to stay.

To take the rest of FP’s weekly international news quiz, click here, or sign up to be alerted when a new one is published.