View Online

Defense &
National Security

Ukrainian troops receive US training in Germany

The U.S. has begun training Ukrainian soldiers in Germany on howitzer artillery systems and radars.

We’ll talk about the training. Plus, we’ll break down a new report detailing increases in warrantless surveillance abroad.

This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Jordan Williams. A friend forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.

US trains Ukrainian troops on howitzers

The U.S. has started to train Ukrainian troops on howitzer artillery systems and radars at U.S. military installations in Germany, the Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Friday.

The logistics: The U.S. is training 100 more Ukrainians on howitzer artillery systems in Europe in a five-day course, according to the Pentagon.

Washington has said it will send 90 howitzers total to the embattled country as part of two security assistance packages announced this month that are worth $800 million each.

Another 15 Ukrainians are being trained on radars for about a week. The troops will then return to Ukraine to train their fellow soldiers on how to use the systems.

Other options to train Ukraine: Kirby noted that Germany is one of “roughly three” sites being used by the U.S. to train Ukrainians outside of their country, but he would not say where the other sites were.

In addition, the U.S. is considering the option of doing virtual training with Ukrainians on some defense equipment, Kirby said.

Read the story here.

Warrantless surveillance abroad increases

Court-approved warrants for domestic surveillance declined for the fourth straight year and warrantless surveillance of foreigners reached an all-time high, according to new figures provided by the intelligence community.

The data, released annually by the Office for the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), breaks down queries of spy agencies’ use of various surveillance privileges.

The numbers: In 2021, courts approved warrants for wiretaps or physical searches against 376 targets under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a drop from the 451 served last year. The bulk, 309, were directed at those on U.S. soil who are neither citizens nor permanent residents.

But there was a significant uptick in warrantless searches under Section 702 of FISA, which permits intelligence agencies to surveil foreigners outside the U.S. who use U.S.-based products like Google without first getting a court’s approval.

In 2021, there were 232,432 targets under Section 702, surpassing the previous high of just shy of 205,000 in 2019.

Wyden rips ‘alarming’ searches: In a statement on the report, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said that for anyone outside of the U.S., the number of warrantless searches is “either highly alarming or entirely meaningless.”

“Somewhere in all that over-counting are real numbers of FBI searches, for content and for noncontent — numbers that Congress and the American people need before Section 702 is reauthorized. The FBI must also be transparent about the particular circumstances in which it conducted a staggering 1.9 million additional queries in 2021,” he said.

“Finally, the public deserves to know whether the FBI has fully addressed the extensive abuses of its 702 search authorities that have been documented for years. Baseline transparency is essential if the federal government wants to hold such sweeping surveillance powers.”

The point against warrantless searches: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the broad searches violate constitutional protections against unwarranted searches and seizures.

“FBI agents are collecting and then searching through Americans’ international emails, text messages and other communications on an enormous scale—all without a warrant. Today’s report sheds light on the extent of these unconstitutional ‘backdoor searches,’ and underscores the urgency of the problem,” Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project, said in a statement.

“It’s past time for Congress to step in to protect Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights.”

Read more here.

Marine vet killed fighting alongside Ukrainians

An American citizen and former Marine was killed earlier this week while fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in Ukraine, CNN reported Friday.

Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, was killed Monday in Ukraine, his mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN. He was working for a private military contractor that had sent him to the country, she said.

About Cancel: Cabrera said her son was a corrections officer in Tennessee when he signed up to work for the private military contracting company shortly before the war in Ukraine began on Feb. 24. The company was looking for contractors to fight in Ukraine, she said.

“He wanted to go over because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for, and he wanted to be a part of it to contain it there so it didn’t come here, and that maybe our American soldiers wouldn’t have to be involved in it,” Cabrera told CNN.

Cancel flew to Poland on March 12, crossed into Ukraine sometime over March 12 and 13, and joined a group of men who were from “all different countries,” his mother said.

Biden mourns Cancel: At an event with inspectors general, Biden mourned Cancel’s death.

“It’s very sad. He left a little baby behind,” Biden told reporters on Friday afternoon.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki offered condolences to Cancel’s family earlier Friday but also reiterated the administration’s advice that Americans should not travel to Ukraine for any reason.

Don’t go to Ukraine: The U.S. has repeatedly urged Americans to not travel to Ukraine.

Both the State Department and the Pentagon reiterated that message on Friday amid Cancel’s death.

A State Department spokesperson reiterated this plea in a statement, saying “we once again reiterate U.S. citizens should not travel to Ukraine due to the active armed conflict and the singling out of U.S. citizens in Ukraine by Russian government security officials, and that U.S. citizens in Ukraine should depart immediately if it is safe to do so using any commercial or other privately available ground transportation options.”

ON TAP FOR MONDAY

The Atlantic Council will host a discussion on “Priorities for the NATO Summit and security in Europe” at 9 a.m.
The Hudson Institute will host a virtual event entitled “Should the US Overhaul its Defense Strategy?” at 12 p.m.
The Brookings Institution will hold an event on “The Future of American Airpower” at 1 p.m.
Federal Computer Week and SolarWinds will host a discussion on “How Serious is the Cybersecurity Threat Posed by the Current Geopolitical Climate?” at 2 p.m.