Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a cabinet reshuffle in Ukraine, Germany and the United Kingdom signing a major defense treaty, and Israeli involvement in Syria’s sectarian clashes.
New PM in Town
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed a new prime minister on Thursday in a cabinet reshuffle aimed at boosting domestic weapons production and prioritizing diplomatic relations with the United States. However, some Ukrainians argue that the announcement does not signal a marked shift in Zelensky’s war ambitions or tactics, as it largely rotates cabinet ministers already in power instead of introducing new faces.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a cabinet reshuffle in Ukraine, Germany and the United Kingdom signing a major defense treaty, and Israeli involvement in Syria’s sectarian clashes.
New PM in Town
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed a new prime minister on Thursday in a cabinet reshuffle aimed at boosting domestic weapons production and prioritizing diplomatic relations with the United States. However, some Ukrainians argue that the announcement does not signal a marked shift in Zelensky’s war ambitions or tactics, as it largely rotates cabinet ministers already in power instead of introducing new faces.
“We don’t understand the motivation behind this government shake-up,” said opposition lawmaker Mykola Kniazhytskyi of the European Solidarity party.
Former Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko will replace Denys Shmyhal as prime minister, becoming the second woman to hold the position in Kyiv’s history and the first new head of government since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The 39-year-old Svyrydenko gained international recognition in recent months by negotiating the U.S.-Ukraine critical minerals deal, which granted Washington access to Ukrainian rare earths and other natural resources as well as established a jointly managed reconstruction fund for Kyiv.
Alongside promoting Svyrydenko, Zelensky nominated Olga Stefanishyna to become Ukraine’s next ambassador to the United States after the country’s previous representative, Oksana Markarova, angered Republicans last September by having Zelensky visit a weapons factory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania alongside only Democrats.
These moves signal Zelensky’s continued efforts to woo U.S. President Donald Trump in order to secure long-term security guarantees, including weapons shipments. Although U.S. and Ukrainian leaders have not always seen eye to eye, Zelensky maintains that U.S. military support remains one of the most effective ways to counter Russian aggression.
Earlier this week, Trump endorsed a plan to have European allies buy billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. military equipment, including Patriot air defense systems, to send to Ukraine. And on Thursday, top NATO commander Gen. Alexus Grynkewich confirmed that preparations were underway to quickly transfer the missile systems to Kyiv.
Still, Zelensky’s cabinet reshuffle demonstrates that Ukraine is also prioritizing efforts to increase its defense production capabilities at home.
“We all want peace as soon as possible,” Zelensky told the Ukrainian parliament on Thursday. “At the same time, we all see how difficult it is to maintain sufficient global support, and how many other wars and crises are flaring up around the world, truly scattering global efforts. Therefore, Ukraine needs more of its own strength.”
To ramp up domestic weapons production, Shmyhal, the former prime minister, will become the new defense minister, replacing Rustem Umerov. Shmyhal is expected to work closely with Svyrydenko, who has vowed to make domestic production efforts a top concern of her time in office.
“Our priorities for the first six months are clear: reliable supply for the army, expansion of domestic weapons production, and boosting the technological strength of our defense forces,” Svyrydenko posted on social media on Thursday.
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Landmark defense deal. Germany and the United Kingdom inked a landmark defense treaty on Thursday that includes mutual defense promises and efforts to better coordinate on security matters, including collective European defense and nuclear issues. Berlin does not possess its own nuclear weapons (though it hosts U.S. nuclear weapons within its territory), but it is the third-largest supplier of military hardware to Ukraine and has agreed to increase military spending to 3.5 percent of its GDP by 2029. Thursday’s agreement builds off a deal signed last October that paved the way for joint German-U.K. military exercises and the development of sophisticated weapons.
This is the first time that Germany and the United Kingdom have clinched a new treaty since the end of World War II, and it comes as Berlin is preparing for its most ambitious rearmament since the end of the Cold War. Experts suggest that this renewed cooperation likely comes in response to the emergence of new priorities and concerns for both countries, particularly Russia’s ongoing security threats to the continent as well as the United States’ shift to an “America First” foreign policy.
“We want to work together more closely, particularly after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union” in 2020, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. “It is overdue for us to conclude such a treaty with each other.”
Thursday’s agreement also provides greater collaboration on energy development, economic growth, and migration concerns, and it enables easier travel between the two countries, including by allowing British passport-holders to use Germany’s automated passport control system (known as e-gates) when crossing the border.
Who protects the Druze? Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel on Thursday of trying to fracture the country’s tenuous stability by launching strikes at military and government targets in Damascus. Israel maintains that its actions—conducted on Wednesday, just hours before Syria’s security forces and leaders of the Druze religious minority agreed to a cease-fire deal to end days of deadly clashes—were taken to protect the Druze. (Israel also has a sizable Druze population.) However, Sharaa vowed on Thursday to protect the Druze community, adding to a Syrian Foreign Ministry statement on Wednesday that demanded that Israel respect the nation’s sovereignty.
Sharaa’s comments were his most direct condemnation of Israel since he led a rebel offensive last December to oust longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad. And they come as Israel is seeking to improve relations with its Arab neighbors, including Syria. Earlier this month, the United States mediated talks between Damascus and Israel to push Syria to join the Abraham Accords, which established diplomatic relations between Israel and four Arab countries.
Normalizing relations with Arab states is a key goal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader is battling internal fissures within his ruling coalition, and experts suggest that he is hoping that such a normalization deal could buy him much-needed political support.
Flash flooding in Pakistan. Heavy monsoon rains killed at least 63 people and injured around 290 others across the eastern Pakistani province of Punjab in just 24 hours, local officials said on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to nearly 180 people since the deadly weather began in late June. Authorities have issued evacuation orders for several urban centers—including areas in the cities of Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Jhelum—due to flash flooding. And the risk of landslides has prompted Islamabad to warn tourists away from traveling to the affected areas.
Extreme rainfall is common for Pakistan. In 2022, devastating flooding submerged a third of the country, affecting 33 million people and causing roughly $40 billion in damages. But this year’s monsoon season is proving to be detrimental for locals. Punjab has recorded 82 percent more rainfall this month compared to the same period last July, and weather experts have warned of more rain to come.
Odds and Ends
With a spare $30.5 million, you too can own a dinosaur. A New York City-based fine arts broker sold a rare young dinosaur skeleton to one lucky bidder on Wednesday, making the skeleton of the extinct predator known as Ceratosaurus nasicornis the third-most expensive dinosaur ever sold at auction. At more than 6 feet tall and nearly 11 feet long, the late Jurassic-period discovery is expected to be loaned to an institution. If you don’t have enough pocket change for that, though, then maybe you’ll have better luck bidding for a 54-pound chunk of Mars, which sold for a little more than $5 million.
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