| | | | |  | | By Robbie Gramer and Eric Bazail-Eimil | |  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy quickly issued his own condemnation of the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life. | Luca Bruno/AP | With help from Daniel Lippman Subscribe here | Email Robbie | Email Eric Some of Ukraine’s strongest supporters fear the potential fallout of having Kyiv falsely linked to this weekend’s assassination attempt against former President DONALD TRUMP. The Ukrainian government has swiftly denied any links with a suspected gunman who was accused of attempting to assassinate Trump on Sunday. The details surrounding the latest assassination attempt, however, contain all the ingredients for a disinformation powder keg that Russia could try to exploit, current and former U.S. officials and other security experts say. Some fear anti-Ukraine factions will seize on the actions and social media posts of the alleged would-be assassin, RYAN WESLEY ROUTH, to muddy the waters of his links to the Ukrainian government. “Routh’s self-declared connections to and support of Ukraine are exaggerated, and need to be seen within the wider picture of a man who is clearly unwell and delusional,” said SHELBY MAGID, an expert on U.S.-Ukraine relations at the Atlantic Council think tank. “Unfortunately for Ukraine, the combination of Routh’s own exaggeration and Russian propaganda is dangerous.” Routh sought to reinvent himself as a freedom fighter for Ukraine after a series of run-ins with U.S. law enforcement, traveling to Ukraine in 2022 with a plan to help fight against Russian forces and voicing support for Ukraine in dozens of social media posts that year. Ukraine’s military said today that it rejected offers by Routh to aid their war effort and characterized his past offers of support as “delusional.” And Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY quickly issued his own condemnation of the attempt on Trump’s life. But the Kremlin, never one to let a crisis go to waste, was quick to spin the news and fan the flames of a conspiracy. “I wonder what would happen if it turned out that the failed new Trump shooter Routh, who recruited mercenaries for the Ukrainian army, was himself hired by the neo-nazi regime in Kiev for this assassination attempt?” DMITRY MEDVEDEV, deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council and one of the country’s loudest provocateurs, claimed on X. It’s unclear whether this narrative will gain any traction beyond the bubble of Russia’s disinformation sphere, however. Experts stressed to NatSec Daily that while Routh’s views on the war and time in Ukraine are ripe for a disinformation campaign, they’re more immediately worried about what the attempted assassination says about the extent to which political violence has entered the 2024 campaign cycle, with the second attempt on Trump’s life in just two months. “This is worrying for a whole host of reasons for us here in the U.S., though I don’t think the U.S.-Ukraine relationship is so fragile that disinfo on this would move the needle,” said JIM TOWNSEND, a former Pentagon official now affiliated with the Center for a New American Security think tank. The overriding fear among national security experts is that the second Trump assassination attempt could trigger more election violence ahead of hotly contested presidential elections. Washington’s closest allies and partners abroad are issuing their own condemnation of the assassination attempt, though they didn’t explicitly voice their concern about whether it would lead to more violence. “Political violence must never undermine the American people's right to freely and democratically choose their path,” said Israeli Foreign Minister ISRAEL KATZ. On the campaign trail, Vice President KAMALA HARRIS has a similar warning. “We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence,” she said in a statement.
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Today’s battlespace has no room for miscommunication. At Lockheed Martin, we’re building the strongest communication network possible, no matter where the battle lines are drawn. Defense tech you can count on when every second counts. Learn more. | | | | | LTG’S SHARP WORDS: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD issued a sharp call today for Israel to reform its internal policies for avoiding strikes against aid operators in conflict zones. Speaking at a Security Council briefing in New York today, Thomas-Greenfield said “there is no basis – absolutely none – for its forces to be opening fire on clearly marked U.N. vehicles, as recently occurred on numerous occasions.” Those comments come days after Israeli troops encircled and fired on a convoy of U.N. vehicles in Gaza. “The IDF is a professional military and knows well how to ensure that incidents such as these do not happen,” she continued, demanding “fundamental changes in the way the IDF operates.” The comments are a particularly pointed rebuke from a U.S. official. Typically, the Biden administration has refrained from directly calling on Israel to make large-scale changes to its internal policies, even as they have condemned strikes and attacks that have killed or injured aid workers in the territory. Thomas-Greenfield’s comments come as a cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas remains elusive and Israel continues strikes against civilian targets in the Gaza Strip, regularly killing aid workers and provoking international outcry in the process. STOLTY’S NOT SWEATING: Add outgoing NATO Secretary-General JENS STOLTENBERG to the list of Western leaders shrugging at Russian threats. In an interview with Foreign Policy’s RAVI AGRAWAL today, the NATO chief rejected Russian leader VLADIMIR PUTIN’s arguments that reducing restrictions on Ukraine’s use of donated weapons would constitute an expansion in the conflict. “We have the right to support Ukraine without becoming a party to the conflict,” Stoltenberg said. He added that Iran and North Korea are providing material support to Russia and “we don't regard Iran or North Korea party to the conflict. So this is not correct when President Putin says that we will become party to the conflict.” The Norwegian diplomat, who will step down from his post in October, also defended the alliance’s approach to Ukraine’s membership, noting that not every member state in the alliance is ready to welcome Kyiv in. “There cannot be an invitation for Ukraine until we have all allies agree. It requires consensus, and we don't have that yet,” he said. Stoltenberg said, however, that Ukraine is integrating rapidly into NATO operations and continues to make progress towards membership. IRAN’S MISSILE MESSAGES: Iranian President MASOUD PEZESHKIAN denied providing Yemen’s Houthi missiles with the weapons used to strike central Israel over the weekend, per Reuters’ PARISA HAFEZI and ELWELY ELWELLY. In a televised press conference, Pezeshkian also defended Tehran’s missile programs, saying Iran needs the deterrence they provide and cannot abandon missile development so long as Israel is able to "drop missiles on Gaza every day." IT’S MONDAY. Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily! This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at rgramer@politico.com and ebazail@politico.com, and follow Robbie and Eric on X @RobbieGramer and @ebazaileimil. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @PhelimKine, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco, @reporterjoe, and @JGedeon1
| | | |   | | | | | TIKTOK’S DAY IN COURT: Embattled social-media juggernaut TikTok and its parent company Bytedance faced off against the Department of Justice today in federal court, as the social media platform and its allies challenge a law that could see the popular app banned in the United States. As our own CHRISTINE MUI previewed this morning, the panel of three judges is seen as favorable to the government. And she adds that even after Monday’s arguments, it will likely still be difficult to predict the outcome of the case, as the government’s security claims are supported by classified document submissions from the Department of Justice that won’t be discussed in open court. The case comes as both the Harris and Trump campaigns have embraced posting on TikTok and the platform has only gained reach during the election, defying early predictions that the bill, which would require the app to be sold to an American owner or risk a ban on U.S. app stores, would quash the app.
| | | FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY – POPPING RUSSIA’S BALLOONING HELIUM INDUSTRY: Two senators and more than a dozen House members from both parties have written letters to the Biden administration asking it to sanction the import and distribution of helium from Russia to try to slow the growth of the country’s efforts to become a global helium supplier, our own DANIEL LIPPMAN writes in. The European Union recently sanctioned Russia’s helium sector, arguing that it was using the revenue from helium sales to fund its war effort in Ukraine. The Congressmembers want the U.S. to follow suit and curb Russia’s efforts to develop a market for the critical gas, which is used to make everything from semiconductors to MRI machines and military equipment. The letter from the House members was addressed to Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN, Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN and Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO while the Senate letter went to President Biden. “Russia hopes to gain a foothold in a growing global helium market and will likely be able to do so unless the United States and our allies curb their nefarious campaign with appropriate sanctions,” Pennsylvania Democratic Sens. BOB CASEY and JOHN FETTERMAN wrote in their letter. “Preventing access to the most developed helium market will serve as an early indication that the global market does not welcome Russia’s war financing efforts or its other destabilizing activities around the globe.” A Treasury Department spokesperson declined to comment. Spokespeople from the NSC and the departments of State and Commerce didn’t respond to requests for comment.
| | | | WASHINGTON’S SANCTIONS MONDAY: Policymakers in Washington issued two packages of sanctions to start the week. As our own JOHN SAKELLARIADIS reports (for Pros!), the Treasury Department unveiled a new round of sanctions against entities and individuals tied to the Intellexa Consortium, a shadowy European spyware vendor that manufactures Predator mobile surveillance technology. Treasury says that the company has abetted human rights abuses, allowing governments to spy on journalists, dissidents and opposition leaders around the world. Meanwhile, the State Department announced new sanctions against Georgian government officials and members of an extremist group involved in the passage of a controversial foreign agent law and the suppression of massive protests in the Caucasus country. In a statement, State Department spokesperson MATTHEW MILLER said that the visa restrictions and personal sanctions released today reflect Washington’s concern “about human rights abuses and anti-democratic actions in Georgia.” Miller added that “we will continue to consider additional actions in response.”
| | — LESLIE SHEDD, communications director and senior adviser for Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will leave the committee on Oct. 1. EMILY CASSIL, who has served as Rep. MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas)’s personal office communications director, takes over as the committee’s communications director today. — STEPHANIE SUTTON will serve as acting assistant secretary for the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, NatSec Daily has learned. Sutton previously served as chief of staff to former Undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs LIZ ALLEN and chief of staff in the Bureau of International Information Programs. — The National Counterterrorism Center is celebrating its 20th anniversary. NCTC acting director BRETT HOLMGREN said today that the agency, created in 2004 to unify counterterrorism efforts in the U.S. government following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, is modernizing its efforts to keep Americans safe by exploring the use of artificial intelligence technologies and upgrading watchlisting and vetting tools.
| | — EVA HARTOG, POLITICO: When freedom means exile: Inside the Russian prisoner swap — HAGAI EL-AD, The New York Times: One issue on which Israeli extremists are mainstream — Le Monde: Syria's youth is tempted to leave
| | — Henry L. Stimson Center, 9 a.m.: Strategy, security, and diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific — Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, 10 a.m.: Ensuring a trustworthy government: Examining the national security risks of replacing nonpartisan civil servants with political appointees — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, 10 a.m.: A discussion on "key aspects of the international relations and policy of South Africa's new Government of National Unity" — Arms Control Association, 10 a.m.: Disarmament summits to reduce nuclear dangers — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 11:30 a.m.: Russia’s war against Ukraine: Where are we headed? — National Endowment for Democracy, 2:30 p.m.: Set them free: Recognizing VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA and prisoners of the Kremlin — Brookings Institution's Center for Asia Policy Studies, 3 p.m.: Alliances and partnerships in Asia and the 2024 U.S. elections Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who should also be prevented from gaining too much influence in the global helium market. Thanks to our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, an effective steward of global helium reserves.
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When threats come from anywhere, you have to be able to communicate everywhere. Lockheed Martin’s cross-domain connectivity is key to keeping every mission on track. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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