WORLD BRIEFING: July 15, 2024
Donald Trump’s instinct for showmanship kicked in immediately after a moment of absolute terror. The Secret Service was urging him to flee after a shooter’s bullet missed his head and clipped his ear. But Trump, with blood streaking across his face, wasn’t going to let the moment go to waste. He thrust his hand through the agents swarming around him and pumped his fist, exhorting the mass of fans at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday to “fight.” It was a flash of horror turned into pure Trumpian spectacle — one that was played in an endless loop on television and across social media, serving to bring together his base and Republican leaders in support. Billionaires like Bill Ackman and Elon Musk came off the sidelines to publicly endorse his bid for reelection in the 2024 contest against President Joe Biden. Undecided voters could be swayed, too. “Those images showing a defiant Donald Trump with blood on his face and his fist in the air are better advertising than anything money can buy,” said Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. “This has got to help Donald Trump at least for a while with independents — because overwhelmingly most Republicans and Democrats decided a long time ago.” In the aftermath of Saturday’s attack, the odds increased of Trump winning a second term, according to PredictIt data. - Bloomberg
Ukraine, now armed with American-made precision missiles, is for the first time capable of reaching every corner of Crimea — and the missiles are increasingly flying in both directions. It is a new strategic push as Kyiv seeks to raise the cost for Russian occupation forces that have long used the peninsula as a base of operations just off Ukraine’s southern coast. While it is unlikely to have much effect on the front line, Ukraine’s campaign with the long-range version of the Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, appears meant to force the Kremlin to make difficult choices about where to deploy some of its most valuable air defenses to protect critical military infrastructure. At the NATO summit in Washington this past week, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said the Crimean campaign would have limited effect as long as Moscow can move its bombers to the safety of air bases deep in Russia. He pressed the Biden administration to lift restrictions so Kyiv can extend its strikes deep into Russia. Since the arrival of the ATACMS this spring, the Ukrainian military has claimed to have destroyed or damaged at least 15 Russian long-range air defense systems in Crimea. Among those are the powerful S-300 and S-400 batteries, Moscow’s version of the American Patriot air defense system. - NYT
Novorossiisk Mayor Andrei Kravchenko has announced a state of emergency in the southern Russian port city due to forest fires engulfing the outskirts of several villages and threatening others in the Krasnodar region. Authorities have already evacuated hundreds of residents, with more leaving through mountainous terrain where the firefighters' operational center said fire had burned more than 50 hectares and was continuing to spread. "Coastal rescuers in boats are ready to provide the necessary assistance in evacuating people by sea," the Novorossiisk mayor said via Telegram. Hundreds of firefighters and at least two helicopters are battling the blaze - RFE/RL
As the Euro 2024 tournament drew to a close, Spain and England played a tight match before the Spanish emerged victorious. Tens of thousands of football fans flocked to the Berlin fan mile in front of the iconic Brandenburg Gate on Sunday for the final Euro 2024 match. The gloves came off for both teams after a tense first half, when the score was 0-0. England managed to equalise the score to 1-1 after Spain scored their first goal just a couple of minutes into the second half, before getting their next goal just a few minutes before the end. The atmosphere was markedly more wild as England scored their single goal with fans lighting flares and setting off fireworks, compared to the milder Spanish reaction for both of their goals - Euronews
This summer, Kyiv will finally get the F-16 fighter jets it’s been insisting it needs to repel Russia — but in far fewer numbers than it had hoped. The move to send warplanes — a much hyped element of this week’s NATO summit in Washington — has been bedeviled by delays, questions around spare parts, and a language barrier between Ukrainian pilots and their foreign trainers, according to people familiar with the matter. Planners also worry that the country doesn’t have enough runways — and those it does have are vulnerable to Russian attacks. The result is that Ukraine may be able to field a squadron of F-16s, anything from 15 to 24 jets, well short of the 300 its leaders have called for, according to one of the people. Another said Kyiv expects to get six F-16s this summer and up to 20 by the end of the year. The challenges have been so severe that they’ve raised doubts about the wisdom of sending the jets to Ukraine and whether doing so now amounts to a very costly show of support to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. In the months since pilots began training, including 12 in the US, the battlefield has changed, with both sides relying on cheap drones and Russia bolstering its air defenses - Bloomberg
And from ‘News from Ukraine’ penned by Bohdan Chomiak..
Ukraine is not getting F-16s because it has not laid the physical groundwork in Ukraine to receive and operate F16s. The first proposal to provide construction and engineering aid to Ukraine to enable basing F-16s was made in February 2023 and was not accepted because the implementing companies were not Ukrainian and did not report to the Office of the President. Seventeen months later Ukraine continues to complain it’s not getting F-16s.
