Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the latest in the Ukraine-Russia war, Israeli airstrikes on Yemen, and the ASEAN-GCC-China summit in Malaysia.
“We’re Going to Find Out”
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is holding off on placing new sanctions on Moscow in order to preserve the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations. Instead, he told reporters at the White House that he would give it “about two weeks” to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about ending the war or just stringing the United States along.
“We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not, and if he is, we’ll respond a little bit differently,” Trump said.
Though Trump has often sided with Russia and accused Ukraine of prolonging the war, he has grown more critical of Putin in recent days in the face of stalemated peace talks and Moscow’s continued attacks on Ukraine.
Russia launched a brutal drone barrage against Ukraine over the weekend, striking a series of cities and killing at least 12 people on Sunday night alone. The onslaught appeared to anger Trump. Putin is “playing with fire!” Trump wrote on social media on Tuesday, warning that “really bad things” would have happened to Russia if it weren’t for him. Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister and a key Putin ally who is now the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, fired back, writing on X that the “one REALLY BAD thing” is a third world war. “I hope Trump understands this!” he added.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, announced that Germany would step up its support for Ukraine by increasing funding for weapons production and supplying Kyiv with more German military equipment. The deal, announced by the German Defense Ministry, is roughly valued at $5.7 billion and is aimed to boost Ukraine’s war efforts, particularly in the face of weakening U.S. commitment to NATO and European security.
“Germany is one of the global leaders in supporting Ukraine and defending the rules-based international order,” said Zelensky on social media, thanking Germany for its support. “Preserving the rules means preserving normal life for people.”
And Kyiv remains in the fight. Russian air defenses destroyed or intercepted over 100 Ukrainian drones across at least five different Russian regions, including dozens that were heading for Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
The Kremlin on Wednesday proposed holding a second round of direct negotiations with Kyiv in Istanbul on June 2; Ukraine has yet to respond.
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What We’re Following
Israel strikes Yemen airport. The Israeli military on Wednesday launched airstrikes on Yemen’s Sanaa International Airport, a day after Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the country fired two projectiles toward Israel. According to Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, the attack struck Houthi “terror targets” at the airport and destroyed the last remaining aircraft operated by the country’s national airline. An Israeli airstrike targeted the same airport earlier this month, killing at least three people, causing extensive infrastructure damage, and disrupting flights for more than a week.
Wednesday’s strikes are the latest in a recent wave of tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and the Houthis, with the latter having launched hundreds of attacks targeting Israel and the Red Sea since October 2023. In the last two weeks alone, the rebel group has launched at least seven missiles and several drones at Israel. Earlier this month, the Houthis launched a ballistic missile that struck near Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
“Whoever harms us, we harm them,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday in a statement on X. “But, as I have said more than once: The Houthis are only the symptom. The main driving force behind them is Iran, which is responsible for the aggression emanating from Yemen,” Netanyahu added.
Visa interviews paused. The U.S. State Department on Tuesday ordered its embassies around the world to temporarily suspend scheduling new visa interviews for foreign students, as it prepares to expand its vetting process—including social media screening—for all international applicants. The plan could delay visa processing and financially hit U.S. universities that rely heavily on foreign students for revenue.
A cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the order applies to new appointments for student visa applicants and exchange visitors (who are applying for F, M, and J visas) and would last until “further guidance.” Already-scheduled appointments will still go ahead. The move comes amid Trump’s wider crackdown on student protests, higher education, and immigration. The White House has accused some U.S. universities of fueling antisemitism and threatening national security by allowing pro-Palestinian activism on campus and has consequently frozen federal funding worth millions of dollars for universities, revoked more than 1,000 visas, and threatened to deport students.
In April, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it will increase social media scrutiny for existing visa and green card holders as well as any foreigners seeking to enter the country; the department said that it would flag people who have demonstrated “support” for “violent antisemitic ideologies” including organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or the Houthis.
ASEAN turns to Beijing. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held its inaugural summit with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and China on Tuesday, in a bid to boost trade and economic cooperation amid an increasingly volatile global economy reeling from steep U.S. tariffs. The meeting, which took place in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, included leaders of the GCC, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
“I am confident that ASEAN, the GCC, and China can draw upon our unique attributes and shape a future that is more connected, more resilient, and more prosperous,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in his opening remarks on Tuesday. Southeast Asia has been hit particularly hard by Trump’s tariffs; six ASEAN members, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, will face tariffs between 32 percent and 49 percent unless they are able to negotiate a trade deal with Washington before July.
Though ASEAN has typically rejected choosing sides between China and the United States, the ongoing trade rivalry between the two giants might push the bloc, like many other global south countries, closer to Beijing. “Today, against a volatile international landscape and sluggish global growth, the establishment of the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit creates a platform for exchanges and a mechanism for cooperation,” Li said.
Odds and Ends
Nepali Sherpa Kami Rita has shattered his own world record for the most climbs to the summit of Mount Everest. The renowned 55-year-old climber, who is also known as “Everest Man,” scaled the world’s highest mountain for the 31st time on Tuesday, reaching heights of more than 29,000 feet above sea level. Kami Rita first ascended Mount Everest in 1994 and has summited the mountain nearly every year since. —Christina Lu
The post Trump Holds Off on New Russia Sanctions appeared first on Foreign Policy.
