WORLD BRIEFING: May 13, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin has replaced his defense minister Sergei Shoigu with a civilian, Andrey Belousov, citing the country’s rising military spending and the need for “innovation.” Shoigu had been “relieved” of his post of Minister of Defense by presidential decree and been appointed Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday night local time. Shoigu would also become Putin’s deputy in Russia’s Military-Industrial Commission, Peskov said, while Nikolai Patrushev, the previous Secretary of the Security Council, would “transfer to another job.” Belousov, who previously served as first deputy prime minister, is a civilian. He was selected by Putin because of a need for “innovation,” Peskov said in a press call, during which he highlighted the ministry’s rising budget, saying it was approaching levels last seen during the Cold War. - CNN
Ukraine is shooting down a far smaller proportion of Russian missile attacks than it was earlier in the war. The worsening performance of Ukraine’s air defenses comes as Russia increases drone and missile attacks, and fires more harder-to-hit weapons, such as ballistic missiles. Kyiv is also running low on ammunition for the Western-supplied Patriot systems that have been its best defense against such attacks. The Wall Street Journal reports that, over the past six months, Kyiv has only managed to intercept only 46% of incoming compared to 73% of incoming from Russia compared to the previous six months
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that the besieged Palestinian territory's health system is "hours away" from collapse, after fighting has blocked fuel shipments through key crossings. "We are just hours away from the collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip due to the lack of the necessary fuel to operate generators in hospitals, ambulances, and (for vehicles to) transport staff," the ministry said in a statement. Israeli tanks, under cover of heavy fire from air and ground, have pushed further into Jabalia in northern Gaza, residents and Hamas media said, while tanks and troops crossed a key motorway on the outskirts of Rafah in the south. In Jabalia, tanks were trying to advance towards the heart of the camp, the biggest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps. Residents said tank shells were landing at the centre of the camp and that air strikes had destroyed clusters of houses. Residents and medics said several people were killed and wounded in a series of air strikes on the camp overnight. Medics said they have been unable to send teams to some of the bombed areas because of the intensity of the Israeli bombardment but they have reports of fatalities. - RTE
US Secretary of State Blinken says Israel has no “credible plan” for protecting Rafah’s civilians during a full-scale invasion, and threatens to withhold arms from Israel if it proceeds. Meanwhile, Egypt says it will formally join the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice which accuses Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention in the Gaza Strip.
Georgian police arrested 20 people as they violently dispersed a rally outside parliament early on May 13 as lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party push through the approval of a controversial "foreign agent" law seen by many as a threat to free speech and the country's drive toward the European Union. Two U.S. citizens and a Russian national reportedly were among those arrested outside parliament, although no details about their identities were immediately made public. Security forces used force to disperse protesters who had staged a nightlong protest outside parliament as lawmakers arrived to debate the bill in a third and final reading. The draft legislation has been condemned by the United States, the EU, and others as mirroring a similar Russian law. Video footage from RFE/RL shows several masked riot police officers taking turns as they severely beat a fallen protester before they apparently detain him. In another video, a man whose face is bleeding is being violently detained by numerous masked men who are beating him and tearing off his shirt. - RFE/RL
