July 18: E-Stories
InUkraine CombatSitRep BehindLines Russia-China InEurope InOtherNews
Catching up…
For a general view of news from various geopolitical threatres, Scott’s EA Worldview is always superb.
Let’s get going…
Stories we’re following…Ukraine's air defense shot down 36 Shahed-type drones overnight out of 64 launched by Russia, including decoys. The main axis of attack was Dnipropetrovsk region. EW units also suppressed 5 imitator drones.
Zarina Zabrisky: A twist on Russia’s “human safari” in Kherson: Russian drones drop plastic bottles filled with incendiary liquid, TNT-laced wires, and igniters. They explode on impact and set homes on fire. No running water. People leave water canisters outside. This is forced displacement.
Russian double-tap attack injures 5, including emergency workers, in Nikopol. Russian first-person-view (FPV) drones initially struck a cargo truck, causing a fire and injuring two civilians. Soon after, as emergency workers were working on site, another Russian drone targeted the scene, injuring three emergency workers, the State Emergency Service said.
Russia drops 500-kg bomb on shopping center in Donetsk Oblast — killing 2, injuring 28. Russian forces dropped a 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) aerial bomb on a shopping center in Donetsk Oblast, killing at least two people and injuring 27 others, regional officials reported July 16.
Zelensky unveils new cabinet nominees in major government reshuffle. "Today, I have already signed documents to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine regarding Denys Shmyhal as the new defense minister," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
ISW: Ukrainians under Russian occupation:
Russian occupation officials are increasing pressure on residents of occupied areas to re-register subscriber identity module (SIM) cards using Russian documents in an effort to expedite passportization process and exercise greater control over communication networks in occupied Ukraine.
Russian occupation authorities are installing “Russkiy Mir” satellite dishes in occupied Ukraine in order to consolidate control over the information space and isolate occupied territories from all but pro-Russian news sources. Oblast-level offshoots of the Russian Time of Heroes program are installing Russian veterans of the war in Ukraine as local occupation administrators.
Russia continues efforts to implement pro-Russian patriotic and nationalistic curricula in schools in occupied Ukraine as a means of Russifying Ukrainian children and youth.
Combat SituationISW: Ukrainian forces recently advanced in northern Sumy Oblast. Russian forces recently advanced in northern Kharkiv Oblast and near Borova, Lyman, and Novopavlivka.
Russian forces conducted a large series of missile and drone strikes against Ukraine overnight on July 15 to 16, heavily targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
“Ukrainian and South Korean sources have been warning about Russia’s increasing reliance on North Korean shells for a while, and it is indicative of how Russia’s allies are propping up this war effort,” ISW Russia Analyst Angelica Evans, told the New York Post..
Russia has told international regulators that it will consider European satellites it suspects of helping the Ukrainian military a legitimate target. It has long been jamming their signals, but has now effectively refused to even discuss the issue.
Russia will not respond to complaints from European countries using navigation and broadcasting satellites for both civilian and military purposes, in particular, to support Ukraine. Russia considers them to have lost the right to protest if it jams signals from such satellites, the specialized publication Space Intel Report reports . According to it, this is stated in the materials that the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation submitted to the current quarterly meeting of the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
The Schekinoazot factory, in the Tula region, appears to have been set on fire. It produces methanol for the fuel of Russian missiles and aviation, and for various other military explosives.
Ukraine's use of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) has accelerated in recent months, a development experts say could help ease pressure on infantry as Kyiv struggles with ongoing recruitment problems and losses.
US-founded extremist group claims killing of Ukrainian security service colonel in Kyiv. In a statement, the local affiliate — known as White Phoenix — praised its "comrades" for the July 10 killing of the colonel. Sources in the counter-terrorism field consider the group's claim credible, the Guardian reported.
A Ukrainian flag has appeared in Pokrovs'ke on the occupied Kinburn Spit, prompting Russian claims of a special forces incursion. It’s still unclear whether this is a symbolic 'flag drop' or part of a larger effort to secure a permanent foothold. Notably, FIRMS data shows multiple fire detections in the area over the past 24 hours.
Russia may launch a large-scale summer offensive in the coming days or weeks, CNN reports. Ukrainian sources estimate up to 160,000 Russian troops have been massed along the front line.
Behind the LinesPatriot missiles bound for Ukraine already being shipped, Trump says. "They're already being shipped," U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters when asked about Patriot missiles and other weaponry. "And in all cases, the United States gets paid back in full."
Preparations are fully under way for delivery of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, Nato’s most senior commander in Europe, Gen Alexus Grynkewich, confirmed, as he warned that Russia is and will remain a threat to the alliance in Europe even if a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine is found.
“I’m not going to reveal to the Russians or anyone else the exact numbers of weapons that we’re transferring or when those will happen, but what I will say is that preparations are under way.
We’re working very closely with the Germans on the Patriot transfer, and the guidance that I’ve been given has been to move out as quickly as possible.
So we’re doing that. And then we’re also looking at other capabilities and what those needs are, and working on proposals for our political leadership.”
He said that Patriot systems already in Europe can be quickly moved to Ukraine, and later backfilled from the production line in the US.
At the Starmer-Merz press conference yesterday, Chancellor Merz has announced that Ukraine will soon receive long-range weapons systems developed jointly by Ukrainian and German defense companies. A new phase of industrial cooperation aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s firepower.
Grynkewich also stressed the urgency of Nato stepping up more broadly, as he warned about the prospect of multiple conflicts happening at the same time, including a war in Europe and a war in the Pacific.
“Those of you who listen to our great secretary general, Mark Rutte, have heard him say that the thing [China’s] Xi is probably going to do before he decides to go across the Taiwan Strait is give his friend Putin a call and ask him to help.
That, to me, means that both of these things could happen together, but we’re going to need every bit of kit and equipment and munitions that we can in order to meet that.
And we’ve all heard the year 2027, that’s just two years away, when we think that Xi could be ready to make his move, and that phone call to Putin might come.
So time is of the essence.”
After rejecting ceasefire, Russia calls on West to 'pressure' Ukraine toward negotiations. "Many statements have been made, many words of disappointment have been spoken, but we want to hope that pressure is being exerted on the Ukrainian side," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia may use the deployment of 50 Laotian military engineers to Kursk Oblast to symbolize growing international support for its war in Ukraine.
Russia is offering to mediate potential future North Korean–South Korean talks in order to repair its reputation with Indo-Pacific partners, but such talks are unlikely in the near-to-medium term.
Russia is discussing media cooperation with the PRC in a continuing effort to coordinate messaging on key interest areas and to increase the reach of Russia’s propaganda.
Russia should not wait for attacks from NATO, but strike first, said Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev in an interview with TASS. He noted that "in the blood" of the West "still 'wanders' not only treachery, but also a sick idea of its own superiority." "We must behave accordingly. Respond in full. And if necessary, we can also launch preventive strikes," Medvedev said.
In his opinion, “for Western elites, an independent, strong Russia has always been a historical anomaly” and “a refutation of their ‘civilizational superiority’”, so they “try time and again to ‘get even’ and take revenge”. “And what is happening today is a proxy war, but in fact it is a full-fledged war (launches of Western missiles, information from satellites, etc.), sanctions packages, loud statements about the militarization of Europe are another attempt to destroy the ‘historical anomaly’ hated by the West,” Medvedev noted.
Decode39: Five individuals believed to be members of the pro-Russian hacker group NoName057 — responsible for multiple cyberattacks across Italy and Europe — have been identified and searched as part of “Operation Eastwood,” led by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office and coordinated by the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate.
The investigation was conducted simultaneously in Italy, Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, France, and Spain.
Active since March 2022, NoName057 has conducted thousands of cyberattacks targeting transportation systems, banks, healthcare providers, and telecommunications networks.
The group operates through a layered infrastructure: a command-and-control hub based in Russia, intermediary servers used to mask traffic, and thousands of volunteer-operated devices.
US State Department fires Russia and Ukraine analysts in recent layoffs, NYT reports. It remains unclear how many analysts of the department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) were fired, and the arm retains employees who specialize in Russia and Ukraine, the NYT reported.
Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special representative, praised Ukraine as a leader in the current era of warfare after visiting defense facilities, including drone production sites. “Incredible innovation, especially in UAVs. In this new form of war, they’re ahead. Their pace of innovation and adaptability is impressive,” he wrote.
The New York Post: in a long interview with Zelenskyy, in which he says that he talked with Trump about a “mega deal” involving battlefield-tested Ukrainian drones and US weapons. Zelenskyy argued that the US needed to step up its drone readiness learning from Ukraine’s experiences acquired during the fight against the Russian invasion.
The United States has introduced a new drone system called LUCAS (Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System), positioned as an affordable and functional analogue to Iranian Shahed-136, as reported by Defence Blog. LUCAS is classified as a reliable and cost-effective drone, suitable for use in challenging conditions with minimal logistical needs. It features an open architecture that allows for the integration of various types of payloads – from reconnaissance to strike missions and communications support.
India is confident it will be able to meet its oil needs from alternative sources if supplies from Russia are hit by secondary sanctions, Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said.
US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to impose sanctions on buyers of Russian exports if Moscow does not reach a ceasefire with Kiev within 50 days.
India will be able to cope with any problems associated with imports from Russia by seeking supplies from other countries, Reuters quotes Puri as saying. The minister noted the emergence of many new suppliers in the market, such as Guyana, as well as the available supply from existing manufacturers, including Brazil and Canada.
Meanwhile in Russia & China…Russian authorities call for urgent tax increase to save national budget. Moscow needs to urgently raise more money as shrinking oil and gas revenues and a worsening economic outlook continue to strain the federal budget, a senior Russian lawmaker warned on July 16.
The Kvant plant, one of the key suppliers of TVs for Russian brands, has not paid salaries to employees since December 2024. The total debt to staff has reached 61 million rubles. Non-payment of salaries became the basis for initiating a criminal case under Part 2 of Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (non-payment of wages for more than two months, committed out of selfish interest by the manager), reports the Zelenograd Infoportal, citing the city prosecutor's office.
More than 2,100 Vinlab liquor stores have been closed for the past few days due to an "unprecedented" hacker attack, the Novabev Group holding company , which owns the chain, reported . The stores closed on Monday, July 14, and the retailer's website and app stopped working at the same time. Customers began complaining that they could not pick up their ordered drinks at points of sale and parcels from parcel terminals. Customers who placed online orders are being offered an extension of the storage period for their purchases by calling the hotline.
The Insider: Meet the Kremlin propagandists who vacation in Europe despite demonizing the West on air
At work inside Russia, they decry Western “decay,” denounce the “rampant Russophobia” of the democratic world, and harp on the supposed “irrelevance” of European leaders in the arena of global affairs. However, before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many of Vladimir Putin’s officially Europhobic information warriors frequented vacation spots in France, Italy, and Spain, and even after Feb. 24, 2022, at least 70 of them have not been targeted by EU sanctions, allowing them to freely travel to Europe. In fact, many still own property in NATO member states.
France: Anatoly Kuzichev, co-host of the talk show Vremya Pokazhet (lit. “Time Will Tell”) on Kremlin-controlled Perviy Kanal (lit. “Channel One”), has made frequent visits to Paris in recent years. Travel records suggest that he also enjoys Amsterdam, Barcelona, Venice, and even the United States. [a list of 16 individuals follows]
Spain: Mikhail Demin heads TPO Red Media, a Gazprom-Media subsidiary that produces content for NTV and TNT. However, when offered the choice, Demin seems to prefer spending his time — and investing his money — far away from Russia. [a list of 12 individuals follows]
Italy: The head of the Gazprom-Media holding, Alexander Zharov, is no stranger to Italy. The former chief of Roskomnadzor, Russia’s internet censorship agency, now prefers to spend time with his family in Rome, Naples, and Pisa, according to travel records reviewed by The Insider. Zharov is far from alone in his love for Italy. The country is also a favored destination for:
Ernest Mackevičius, lead anchor on VGTRK's Vesti
Ilya Krivitsky, CEO of Krasny Kvadrat media group
Lyudmila Brodskaya, director of TV programming at NTV
Marina Belova, deputy CEO of Channel Five
Arkady Vodakhov, executive producer at TNT
Anna Gorshkova, head of planning & production Ch-1 news programming
Igor Kozhevin, deputy CEO of VGTRK
Sergey Kosinsky, deputy CEO of the Gazprom-Media holding
Marina Razumova, deputy CEO of Gazprom-Media Entertainment Television
Evgeny Rozhkov, news anchor at Rossiya-1
Vladimir Chernyshev, adviser at NTV’s news division
Konstantin Pridybaylo, RT correspondent
Arina Sharapova, TV host and public figure
Marianna Maksimovskaya, CEO of VK Video
Newsweek: China has announced that it will conduct joint military training with Serbia, one of Russia's major allies in Europe, later this month as Beijing expands its foreign military cooperation.
Serbia—which is not a member of the European Union—has maintained close ties with both Russia and China, with President Aleksandar Vučić describing China as "Serbia's most precious friend."
The training is part of the growing military cooperation between the countries. The East Asian power provided air defense systems to the Balkan nation to help protect its airspace, raising concerns in the United States about Serbia's path toward European integration.
In addition to rapidly building up its capabilities, the Chinese military has strengthened its relations with foreign counterparts through bilateral activities. From mid-April to early May, the Chinese and Egyptian air forces conducted joint training in the North African country.
Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, said on Monday that China would host the Peace Guardian-2025 joint training in Hebei Province—near the capital city of Beijing—in the second half of July, involving Chinese and Serbian army special forces.
"This will be the first joint training between Chinese and Serbian militaries," the Chinese military official said, adding that the bilateral activity would help strengthen the combat capabilities of participating troops and deepen cooperation between the two armed forces.
Critical Threats: Iran may be prioritizing deeper strategic ties with China over its current partnership with Russia, though the extent of China’s willingness to support Iran remains unclear.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasir Zadeh met with his Chinese counterpart on June 26 during a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Beijing, reportedly to discuss potential military purchases, including J-10 fighter jets and advanced AWACS systems.
Araghchi delivered a speech at the SCO meeting in which he proposed initiatives to strengthen regional cooperation, including creating a permanent security mechanism, a center to counter sanctions, and a regional security forum to address shared threats.
Iran has also signaled that China could play the role of mediator in potential future nuclear negotiations.
The Cipher Brief: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed that the chip giant will increase its supply of H20 artificial intelligence chips to China — a shift after the U.S. imposed export controls on the chip in April as part of efforts to limit Beijing’s access to the most advanced AI technologies.
The H20 is the best Nvidia chip it can legally offer to China, offering less computing power than other chips but retaining compatibility with Nvidia’s software tools. With Beijing regaining access to H20s, Nvidia will find itself supporting both U.S. and Chinese AI ambitions — even as the two fiercely compete for AI dominance.
Speaking at an event in Beijing, Huang said, “I hope to get more advanced chips into China,” emphasizing that access to the Chinese market is key for U.S. tech firms to remain competitive. The profit boost from sales to China probably helps too. “Today H20 is still incredibly good, but in coming years, whatever we are allowed to sell to China we will do so,” he added.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday that the planned resumption of H20 sales to China is part of broader negotiations on rare earths. Beijing dominates the rare earth industry which poses significant risk to U.S. national security and Beijing has imposed export restrictions in retaliation for U.S. tech controls.
National Security Journal: China Is Firing Missiles at ‘Aircraft Carriers’ in the Desert. In a remote corner of its Xinjiang desert, China has constructed full-scale, movable mock-ups of US Navy warships, including a Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
-These “desert warships” serve as high-fidelity targets for testing China’s “carrier-killer” anti-ship ballistic missiles, such as the DF-21D and DF-26.
-This extensive and sophisticated target range is a key part of China’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy and sends a clear and menacing signal to the United States: Beijing is actively practicing how to destroy America’s most powerful naval assets.
Reuters: China-linked hackers target Taiwan's chip industry with increasing attacks, researchers say. While hacking to steal data and information about the industry is not new, there is an increase in sustained hacking campaigns from several China-aligned hacking groups, researchers with cybersecurity firm Proofpoint said in a new analysis. “We’ve seen entities that we hadn’t ever seen being targeted in the past being targeted,” said Mark Kelly, a threat researcher focused on Chinese-related threats at Proofpoint.
Illegitimate PM Kobakhidze says the GD will address the Constitutional Court to declare all 4 major democratic coalitions unconstitutional. Participation in the local elections won't save Lelo and Gakharia, according to him, as they are still foreign spies and "collective UNM."
Slovak PM Robert Fico vows to keep blocking the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia unless he gets guarantees on the bloc’s plan to cut off Russian gas by 2028.
Hungary has banned entry to three Ukrainian generals, accusing them of involvement in forced mobilization and the death of an ethnic Hungarian in Zakarpattia. The officials targeted include top figures from Ukraine’s Ground Forces Command, Western Command, and the MoD's mobilization office, FM Péter Szijjártó announced.
In Europe…EU Council: Russian hybrid threats: EU lists nine individuals and six entities responsible for destabilizing actions in the EU and Ukraine.
RTRS, its Director General and the Director of the Department for Coordinating the Development of Communications Infrastructure in the New Territories. RTRS plays a key role in effectively replacing existing Ukrainian broadcasting systems in the occupied regions with a network that broadcasts Russian-approved content aimed at suppressing dissent, aligning the local population with Russian policies, and delegitimizing Ukrainian governance in the occupied territories.
The 841st Separate Electronic Warfare Center and two senior members of its staff overseeing operations in the Kaliningrad region. GNSS signal disruptions in several European countries have been linked to electronic warfare activities conducted by Kaliningrad
BRICS Journalists Association (BJA), the Foundation to Battle Injustice (R-FBI), and the Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE). BJA and R-FBI were created by Yevgeny Prigozhin and have been involved in numerous FIMI operations against France and Ukraine, including a campaign accusing French soldiers of kidnapping children from Niger after the 2023 military coup.
a GRU agent , several propagandists , as well as Yevgeny Shevchenko and his web company Tigerweb . The latter has spread pro-Russian content targeting several Western countries, including France.
restrictive measures against Nathalie Yamb , a social media influencer and outspoken supporter of Russia, who has adopted Moscow's language, specifically targeting France and the West with the aim of excluding them from the African continent.
Overall, EU restrictive measures in light of Russia's destabilizing activities now apply to 47 individuals and 15 entities . The designated individuals are subject to an asset freeze and the provision of funds or economic resources, directly or indirectly, to them or for their benefit is prohibited . The individuals will also be subject to a travel ban preventing them from entering or transiting through EU territory.
Poland has summoned a representative of the Russian embassy following a strike by Shahed drones on a Polish company’s facility in the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, as reported by the press service of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The summons occurred on 16 July, after UAVs struck a facility in Vinnytsia owned by Barlinek Group, which produces floor coverings.
The Polish Foreign Affairs Ministry: "Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland informed a representative of the Russian embassy that the attack on the Barlinek factory in Vinnytsia, which is a Polish business and is exclusively engaged in civilian production, is a violation of international law."
Starmer hosts Germany's Merz for post-Brexit bilateral treaty signing. Keir Starmer will welcome Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, to Downing Street on Thursday to sign a new bilateral treaty that promises tighter action on smuggling gangs, expanded defence exports and closer industrial ties between the UK and Germany.
The treaty includes a German commitment to make it illegal to facilitate unauthorised migration to the UK, closing off a key supply route used by smugglers operating from German territory.
UK officials say the new law, expected to be passed by the end of the year, will give police and prosecutors the tools to target warehouses and logistical hubs used to store small boats and engines linked to Channel crossings.
Britain to lower voting age: The British government said on Thursday it planned to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections in a major overhaul of the country's democratic system.
Venture Global will supply 2 million metric tons a year of liquefied natural gas to Italian state-controlled energy group Eni, the two companies said on Wednesday. The deal is Eni's first long-term contract for LNG coming from the United States after Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni told President Donald Trump in April that Rome would increase imports of U.S. LNG as a way to improve trade relations with North America.
Reuters: Denmark aims to host world’s most powerful quantum computer. The Novo Nordisk Foundation and Denmark's state-owned credit fund said on Thursday they will invest in what they say will be the world's most powerful quantum computer, aiming to revolutionize areas such as drug discovery and materials science. Quantum computing holds the promise of carrying out calculations that would take today's systems millions of years and could unlock discoveries in medicine, chemistry and many other fields where near-infinite seas of possible combinations of molecules confound classical computers.
Alison Mutler: Young Romanians rapped for chanting communist leader Ceausescu’s name at beach festival
Young Romanians who enthusiastically chanted the name of communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu at a beach festival at a popular hip hop influencer in a scene reminiscent of the communist era have been rapped for trivializing communism.
The incident at the ‘Beach, Please’ popular music festival was slammed on Saturday by a government institute tasked with educating Romanians about the horrors of the communist regime which said “it reflects how much the cult of( late dictator) Ceausescu has spread in society, even in an apparently innocent form.”
The reaction came after dozens of youngsters were filmed shouting “Ceausescu, Ceausescu!”in an echo of rallies that the late communist leader regularly held to keep his personality cult alive. He and his wife Elena were executed in the 1989 revolution for “crimes against the Romanian people’.
In a video that went viral, festival goers can be seen chanting “Ceausescu, Ceausescu!’ at Romanian influencer Selly who walking toward the stage at the time. Selly’s followers often call him ‘the dictator’ or “Ceausescu’ on social media.
But the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes called it “a deeply worrying gesture…and an expression of the trivialization of evil,” it added.
“This behavior clearly shows how much a false memory has been spread and perpetuated, and the responsibility for this situation lies with those who have chosen to hide or deny the historical truth,” the institute said.
In other news…NYT: Israel launched airstrikes on Damascus yesterday, damaging a compound housing the Defense Ministry and hitting an area near the presidential palace, according to the Israeli military and Syrian authorities.
The strikes followed days of deadly clashes involving Syrian government forces in the southern region of Sweida, the heartland of the country’s Druse minority, whom Israel has pledged to protect. Israel threatened to escalate attacks on Syrian government forces unless they withdrew from Sweida.
Shortly after the Israeli airstrikes, Syrian authorities announced that a cease-fire had been reached in Sweida with local leaders. Later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. had worked with all parties involved in the clashes to “bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight.”
Context: Israel has two driving reasons for intervening in southern Syria. First, to prevent Iran-backed militias or hostile Islamist militants from entrenching themselves near the Israeli border. Second, to assuage the concerns of Israel’s own Druse minority, which has a close relationship with the Israeli government.
NYT: Nearly 20,000 Afghans have been crossing from Iran to Afghanistan every day, driven out by targeted crackdowns and xenophobia. Since January, more than 1.4 million have fled or been deported, according to the U.N. It’s one of the worst displacement crises of the past decade.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney is moving to block steel imports from China and other countries now subject to U.S. tariffs in order to keep them from overwhelming the Canadian market.
Reuters: The United States is very close to a trade deal with India, while an agreement could possibly be reached with Europe as well, but it is too soon to say whether a deal can be agreed with Canada, President Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Real America's Voice.
CNN: Senate sends Trump’s DOGE cuts package to the House as deadline to pass it closes in. President Donald Trump is one step closer to having Congress officially sign off on a slice of his Department of Government Efficiency’s spending cuts after Senate Republicans agreed in the early hours of Thursday morning to cancel $9 billion in funding to foreign aid and public broadcasting.