Today’s Headlines and Commentary

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Russian missiles struck Kyiv on Thursday for the first time in weeks. Ukrainian officials said Russian forces launched missiles from the Black Sea, which hit Ukrainian forces in Liutizh, a Kyiv suburb. Fifteen people were injured, including five civilians. One person was also wounded in a separate attack on Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.

President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone for over two hours on Thursday. They reportedly discussed the growing tensions between the United States and China about Taiwan as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the coronavirus pandemic, and the economy. The call came amid threats of a“forceful response” by Chinese officials  to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan.

A U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier entered the South China Sea for a scheduled operation. The move comes as U.S.-Chinese relations become increasingly fraught over Pelosi’s potential trip to Taiwan. In response, a Chinese official said that “it is clear from this for everyone to see who is the biggest threat to the South China Sea and the Asian region's peace and stability.”

North Korea is prepared to use its nuclear weapons against the United States and South Korea in a potential war, according to leader Kim Jong Un. He warned that in the event of military conflict, North Korean nuclear weapons would “wipe out” members of the South Korean forces. Kim made the statement during a speech on the 69th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War.

Hundreds of demonstrators stormed the Iraqi parliament on Wednesday. The demonstrators—many of whom are followers of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr—were protesting in opposition to the nomination of a candidate for prime minister by Iran-backed parties.

Russia will remain involved with the International Space Station (ISS) until they build a separate station, reports Reuters.It will be at least six years until this happens, according to U.S. officials who were notified of Russia’s plans. Yuri Borisov, head of the Russian space agency, previously made comments that Russia would pull out of the ISS by 2024.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of the Lawfare Podcast in which David Priess sat down with Juliette Kayyem and Jonathan Wackrow to discuss the Jan. 6 secret service text crisis, and more.

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Madison Urban, and Cody Wilson argued that new Florida and Texas content moderation laws could leave platforms without tools to combat extremism in social media spaces.

Irina Manta and Cassandra Burke Robertson argued that the Fourteenth Amendment applies to all those born within U.S. territories in light of a cert petition on the issue currently before the Supreme Court.

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of Rational Security in which Scott R. Anderson, Quinta Jurecic, and Alan Rozenshtein sat down with Benjamin Wittes to discuss the House select committee’s final hearing in its series, HIMARS rocket system use in Ukraine, and the Steve Bannon contempt trial.

Jurecic, Natalie K. Orpett, Peter Strzok, and Wittes outlined eight standards to measure the Justice Department’s investigation of Jan. 6 going forward.

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