Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Russia warning against foreign troops in Ukraine, Thailand’s new prime minister, and potential war crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Putin’s Warning for Europe
Any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine, particularly while its conflict with Russia is ongoing, will be considered “legitimate targets,” Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday.
Kyiv and its European allies maintain that security guarantees are vital to protect Ukraine and the rest of the continent from future Russian aggression. They have made it a point to include promises of a peacekeeping framework in past cease-fire and peace deal talks, and on Thursday, 26 countries pledged to commit troops to such a postwar “reassurance force.”
“This force does not seek to wage any war on Russia,” French President Emmanuel Macron said, adding that these troops would not serve on the front lines but would have a presence on the ground, at sea, and in the air. U.S. President Donald Trump has previously said that Washington will not put boots on the ground in Ukraine but may provide other forms of support, such as airpower, to a future peacekeeping operation.
However, on Friday, Putin dismissed the idea of a peacekeeping or security force, saying “no one should doubt” that Moscow will comply with the terms of a future peace agreement. “And if decisions are reached that lead to peace, to long-term peace,” he added, “then I simply do not see any sense in their presence on the territory of Ukraine, full stop.”
Putin also said that under current conditions, it would be “practically impossible” for him to reach an agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in face-to-face talks, though Putin said that he was open to such a meeting if it is held in Moscow rather than a third-party country. However, that option is a nonstarter for Ukraine. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, at least seven nations have offered to host a meeting between the two warring leaders: Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, the Vatican, and three Persian Gulf nations. Trump has also suggested that he would help mediate negotiations.
“Putin continues to mess around with everyone by making knowingly unacceptable proposals,” Sybiha wrote on X on Wednesday. “Only increased pressure can force Russia to finally get serious about [the] peace process.”
But recent developments in U.S. military pledges may be sending mixed messages to Moscow about that pressure. On Wednesday, Trump told Polish President Karol Nawrocki that the White House could increase its troop presence in Poland, which neighbors Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. At the same time, though, U.S. Defense Department officials reportedly informed European diplomats last week that the United States will no longer fund some security assistance programs that train and equip militaries in Eastern European countries that border Russia; funds already approved will be available through September 2026.
The funding cut aligns with Trump’s push to force Europe to pay more for its own security. In June, the White House led an initiative to increase NATO’s minimum defense spending target to 5 percent of each nation’s GDP. However, Trump has repeatedly said that the United States should not have to abide by the same standards as its NATO counterparts, and last week, the alliance released data showing that only three of its 32 members will reach an intermediary 3.5 percent pledge this year.
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What We’re Following
Filling a power vacuum. Thai lawmakers voted on Friday to make Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, the country’s next prime minister. Anutin won 311 votes—far surpassing the required 247-vote majority in the 492-seat House of Representatives. Now just requiring King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s formal appointment, Anutin and his government are expected to take office in just a few days.
Anutin fills the vacuum left by ousted Thai Prime Minister (and former ally) Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whom the country’s Constitutional Court removed from office late last month after ruling that she had violated the country’s ethics code by taking a deferential tone during a June phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
Anutin led the push against Paetongtarn, pulling his Bhumjaithai Party from her ruling coalition to destabilize her grip on power. Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai Party sought on Tuesday to dissolve parliament and call for snap elections in a last-minute attempt to remain in control, but its request was denied. Pheu Thai’s candidate, Chaikasem Nitisiri, received only 152 votes.
Possible war crimes. All sides in the devastating conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have committed abuses since fighting erupted late last year, the United Nations human rights office announced on Friday. According to the agency’s fact-finding mission, Congolese forces, Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, and other armed groups have committed serious human rights violations in eastern Congo that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“The atrocities described in this report are horrific,” U.N. human rights commissioner Volker Türk said, citing evidence of summary executions, torture, sexual violence, and the taking of hostages. Although the U.N. has warned of such abuses before—including in an August report that recorded more than 17,000 people treated for sexual violence in the province of North Kivu from January to May 2024—this is the first time that a U.N. report has issued such a damning condemnation since the war began.
Earlier this year, M23 and the Congolese military signed a declaration of principles to begin negotiating a peace deal in August. Both sides missed that deadline.
War Department. Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Friday rebranding the Defense Department as the War Department. Although the U.S. president cannot formally change the name without an act of Congress, the Trump administration is pursuing the switch as part of its wider effort to make the U.S. military appear more fearsome on the world stage.
“Words matter,” Defense Secretary (soon to be War Secretary) Pete Hegseth said on Thursday. “Titles matter. Cultures matter. And George Washington founded the War Department.” The department was renamed in 1949 as part of a broader reorganization of the military following the end of World War II.
Still, the “bigger question is whether this obsession with appearances will harm the military’s capabilities in the process,” FP’s John Haltiwanger and Rishi Iyengar reported in Situation Report last week. If the name change officially goes through, redoing signage, stationary, and logos could cost billions of taxpayer dollars.
What in the World?
U.S. forces struck a vessel in the Caribbean on Tuesday, killing 11 people. What did the Trump administration claim the boat’s passengers were doing?
A. Trafficking illegal narcotics
B. Trafficking assault weapons
C. Spying on Guyanese oil-drilling operations
D. Jamming U.S. naval radar systems
Odds and Ends
Iranian diplomats looking to purchase everyday necessities such as toilet paper and Tide Pods in bulk while visiting New York City for the U.N. General Assembly later this month may soon be barred from doing so. The Trump administration is reportedly considering barring Iranian officials from shopping at big, member-only wholesale stores, such as Costco and Sam’s Club, without first receiving permission from the U.S. State Department, as part of the administration’s tightening sanctions on Tehran. The memo, seen by The Associated Press, also mulled potentially expanding such restrictions to all foreign diplomats based in the United States.
And the Answer Is…
A. Trafficking illegal narcotics
The strike violated traditional procedures in verifying and seizing the contents of a ship, raising questions about the real purpose of the U.S. operation, Christopher Sabatini writes.
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The post Putin: Foreign Troops in Ukraine Would Be ‘Legitimate Targets’ appeared first on Foreign Policy.
