| RUBIO: 'THERE IS NO MILITARY SOLUTION': Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Saudi Arabia for face-to-face talks with a delegation consisting of Ukraine's foreign minister, defense minister, and national security adviser to determine what concessions Ukraine is willing to make to end the three-year war with Russia. Rubio told reporters en route to Jeddah that Ukraine must utter no magic words, but he is looking for signs that Ukraine is ready to make painful concessions to achieve a lasting peace deal. "I mean, right now, we're really in listening mode," Rubio said. "We have to understand the Ukrainian position and just have a general idea of what concessions they'd be willing to make, because you're not going to get a ceasefire and an end to this war unless both sides make concessions." "We're not going to be sitting in a room drawing lines on a map, but just get a general sense of what concessions are in the realm of the possible for them and what they would need in return, and then find out what the Russian position is in that regard," Rubio said. "At some point soon, obviously, we'll have to go back and establish a process by which we can determine what the Russian positions are in this regard and see how far apart we are," he said. But it is clear the U.S. believes Ukraine has no choice but to accept that Russia will end up with a large chunk of Ukrainian territory. "There is no military solution to this situation," Rubio said. "The Russians can't conquer all of Ukraine, and obviously, it'll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014." "We have to leave here with a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things, to end this conflict or at least pause it in some way, shape, or form," he said. "The only solution to this war is diplomacy." UKRAINE'S OPENING BID: The Ukrainian delegation has indicated it will propose a first step involving a ceasefire along the lines suggested by President Volodymyr Zelensky in his letter of contrition to President Donald Trump that he posted to X after the disastrous Feb. 28 Oval Office meeting. "My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts," Zelensky wrote. "We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky — ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same." So far, Russia's public position is that only Ukraine's total surrender will end the war. However, Rubio was asked if Ukraine's proposal might be enough to end the U.S. suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing. "I'm not saying that alone is enough, but it's the kind of concession you would need to see in order to end this conflict. I mean, ideally, you could just reach a truce and end the whole conflict, but it probably could begin with some cessation of hostilities of some form or fashion," he told reporters on his plane. "I think all the notion of the pause in aid broadly is something I hope we can resolve. Obviously, I think what happens [Tuesday] will be key to that." Rubio said Ukraine is being given "defensive" intelligence. "They have the ability to defend themselves," and added that the U.S. is not assisting Russia. "I can assure you this: We will not be providing military aid to the Russians." Zelensky was also in Saudi Arabia Monday, meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but he did not cross paths with Rubio. "The president emphasized that Ukraine seeks to achieve peace as soon as possible and is committed to constructive dialogue," Zelensky's office said. MOSCOW UNDER ATTACK: Just hours before the preliminary negotiations about to begin in Jeddah, Ukraine, in an act of bravado, launched its largest drone attack of the war against Russia, targeting hundreds of sites in Russia, as well as its capital, Moscow. "Defense forces continue to take all measures to undermine the military-economic potential of Russian occupiers and force Russia to end its armed aggression against Ukraine," the Ukrainian General Staff posted on Facebook, indicating the primary targets were oil refineries and logistics nodes. "Defense forces continue to take all measures to undermine the military-economic potential of Russian occupiers and force Russia to end its armed aggression against Ukraine." The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have primarily blunted the attack by shooting down 337 Ukrainian drones over 10 Russian regions. "Most of the drones — 126 of them — were shot down over the Kursk region across the border from Ukraine, parts of which Kyiv's forces control, and 91 were shot down over the Moscow region, according to a statement by Russia's Defense Ministry," as reported by the Associated Press. "Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over 70 drones targeted the Russian capital and were shot down as they were flying toward it." CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre's Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn't work, shoot us an email and we'll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE HAPPENING TODAY: Facing a midnight deadline on Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown, House Republicans will attempt to pass a stopgap bill that would maintain funding through the end of the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, while boosting defense spending by $6 billion and cutting nondefense programs by $13 billion. Democrats appear united in their opposition, which means it will take almost every Republican to vote yes, including some who in the past have refused to support funding the government by continuing resolution instead of an actual budget or are unhappy there are not more cuts in the 99-page bill. "The CR will pass," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) assured reporters as he walked down the halls of Congress, "I don’t think it’s going to get blocked." "What makes you so confident?" asked CNN's Manu Raju. "Because no one wants to shut the government down, and we are governing, doing the responsible thing as Republicans." "We’ll see. It’s close. The vote’s close," Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said last night on CNN. "I haven’t decided yet. It’s one of those things that I’ll think about tonight, and I’ll pray about it, and I’ll figure out what to do. I have some questions, though, that remain to be answered." "The idea that somehow Democrats have the responsibility to pass a CR where we don't have any input on is ridiculous. You run around bragging about this big mandate. Put on your mandate pants and pass whatever you want to do," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) taunted Republicans yesterday. "You probably will have the votes because even the so-called 'principled conservatives' who don't like CRs, I think they are suffering from Victoria Spartz syndrome where on Monday they are a hard no, and on Tuesday they are a hard yes." Burchett, one of the possible “no” votes, admitted he expected to hear from President Trump last night. "I’m sure when he sees this, or someone tells him that I’m on here, I’ll probably get a call." After Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced he would vote against the measure "unless I get a lobotomy," Trump posted on Truth Social he would “lead the charge” to vote Massie out of office. JOHNSON FACES UNITY TEST ON SPENDING DEAL AS DEMOCRATS PROMISE NOT TO HELP GOP THE OTHER VANCE: RUSSIA 'NOT OUR ALLIES, NEVER WILL BE': It turns out Vice President J.D Vance has a cousin, who was also a Marine, but unlike the vice president, has been to the front lines in Ukraine, fighting for three years as part of the elite Da Vinci Wolves Battalion. Nate Vance says he's tried to contact his cousin to share his unique perspective, but he hasn't heard back yet. "I can’t, in all fairness to J.D., say that he received that message and then ignored it," Nate said in an appearance on CNN last night. "I don’t know that he got it. But I did reach out." What would he have told his more famous cousin? "I think if you try to deal with Russia through an American lens, it will come back to bite you," Vance told CNN's Erin Burnett. "I’ve personally witnessed them shooting their own troops." "So these people, as a policy, will eat their own. So they will not hesitate to eat an American president or an American vice president. They don’t care what we think. They’re not our allies, and they never will be, not at least for a generation," Vance said, arguing it's in America's long-term interests to support Ukraine. "Russia has spent the last three years kind of beefing up their military industrial complex, and if you lift those sanctions, you’re going to see a massive influx of funds into that military industrial complex, and they’re going to build a war machine out of it," he said. "Right now, they’re at the weakest they will ever be. As soon as the ceasefire starts, they will immediately start to get stronger and continue to get stronger every day thereafter." "An imperialistic, aggressive, modernized military Russia, who has learned their lessons about modern combat, is problematic for our future," he said. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER THE RUNDOWN: Washington Examiner: Cracks appear between Trump and Israel in ceasefire negotiations Washington Examiner: Musk calls Mark Kelly a 'traitor' after visit to Ukraine Washington Examiner: Elon Musk claims cyberattack on X had IP addresses originating from Ukraine Washington Examiner: Trudeau successor Mark Carney is parliamentary outsider itching to take on Trump Washington Examiner: Trump DHS debuts phone app for illegal immigrants to self-deport Washington Examiner: Court-martial convenes for convicted Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira Washington Examiner: Judge blocks Trump administration attempt to deport pro-Palestinian Columbia protester Washington Examiner: NORAD warns of 'excessive' increase in pilots violating airspace over Trump's Mar-a-Lago Washington Examiner: Democrats introduce CR amendment to ensure Trump appropriates funds Washington Examiner: Gabbard revokes security clearances for Bragg, Blinken, and other Biden officials Washington Examiner: Democratic senators to introduce bill to rehire veterans laid off by DOGE Washington Examiner: Opinion: Protect Jewish civil rights and the First Amendment at Columbia AP: Greenland votes in key election as Trump wants to take control of the strategic island Wall Street Journal: US, China Discuss a Trump-Xi Summit for June AP: Deterrence among the key questions as army chiefs from 30-plus countries talk about a Ukraine force New York Times: Russian Forces Depleted and Stalling on Eastern Front, Ukraine Says AP: Elon Musk claims X being targeted in 'massive cyberattack' as service goes down The Aviationist: The F-35 'Kill Switch': Separating Myth from Reality Reuters: Kurdish-Led SDF Agrees to Integrate Into Syrian State Institutions, Presidency Says The War Zone: Secretive AIM-260 Air-To-Air Missile Live-Fire Testing Surged Last Year with Navy Help Reuters: Tanker Hired by US Military Ablaze off UK After Hit by Container Ship C4ISRNet: Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Aims for More AI Resources in 2025 Air & Space Forces Magazine: As First F-35 Block 4 Updates Start to Roll Out, Block 5 List Is Taking Shape Aviation Week: U.S. Air Force Office Pitches Engine Investment for Mid-Market Airliner Defense News: Sikorsky Proves out 'Rotor Blown Wing' Drone Stars and Stripes: Marines Expand F-35B's Presence in Japan, Marking New Phase for Fighter Operations Air & Space Forces Magazine: Florida Air National Guard Starts Stealth Upgrade with First F-35s Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-52s Practice Bombing Missions in Estonia, Finland, and Italy as Busy Bomber Task Force Continues Foreign Affairs: Opinion: America's Eroding Airpower: Washington Must Upgrade Its Fleet of Planes, Drones, and Missiles THE CALENDAR: TUESDAY | MARCH 11 9:30 a.m. G-50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “Stabilizing the Military Health System to Prepare for Large-Scale Combat Operations,” with testimony from Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Douglas Robb, former director of the Defense Health Agency; retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, former Joint Staff surgeon; and Air Force Reserve Col. Jeremy Cannon, professor of surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania http://www.armed-services.senate.gov 10 a.m. — House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee hearing: "The State of U.S. Shipbuilding," with testimony from Brett Seidle, assistant secretary of the navy for research, development and acquisition; Eric Labs, senior analyst for naval forces and weapons, Congressional Budget Office; Shelby Oakley, director, contracting and national security acquisitions, Government Accountability Office; and Ronald O'Rourke, naval affairs analyst, Congressional Research Service https://armedservices.house.gov/calendar/ 10:20 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual discussion: “Shaping the Future: The U.S.-Republic of Korea Relationship in 2025 and Beyond,” with Joon Kyung Choi, South Korean special presidential envoy and ambassador for investment and industrial cooperation; Derrick Morgan, executive vice president of Heritage; Anthony Kim, Heritage research fellow; Brent Sadler, senior research fellow at the Heritage Center for National Security; and Jack Spencer, Heritage senior research fellow for energy and environmental policy https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/event/shaping-the-future-the-us-republic-korea 10:30 a.m. 2362-A Rayburn — House Appropriations Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing: “Innovative Techniques in Military Construction,” with testimony from Dave Morrow, director of military programs at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Keith Hamilton, chief engineer, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command; Thomas Healy, CEO, Hyliion Incorporated; and Brent Richardson, principal research scientist of energy, infrastructure and environment at the Center for Naval Analysis http://appropriations.house.gov 11 a.m. 601 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Washington Space Business Roundtable discussion with Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein https://wsbr.org/ 2 p.m. 2200 Rayburn —House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe hearing: ""Arms Control, International Security, and U.S. Assistance to Europe: Review and Reforms for the State Department," with testimony from Yleem Poblete, PhD, former assistant secretary, State Department Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance; Daniel Kochis, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; and James O'Brien, former assistant secretary, State Department Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/arms-control 2 p.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace discussion: “Strategic Deterrence in the Information Age: Why China’s Approach is Different,” with Mallory Stewart, former assistant secretary of state for arms control, deterrence, and stability; Pranay Vaddi, senior nuclear fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Tong Zhao, senior fellow at Carnegie China; and Fiona Cunningham, nonresident scholar at the CEIP Nuclear Policy Program https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/02/strategic-deterrence 2 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “U.S.-India Relations in the Trump 2.0 Era: Challenges, Opportunities, and the Road Ahead,” with Ashley Tellis, chair on strategic affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Aparna Pande, Hudson research fellow on India and South Asia https://www.hudson.org/events/motwani-jadeja-us-india-dialogue WEDNESDAY | MARCH 12 10 a.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual discussion: “From Special Relationship to Strategic Partnership: The Future of U.S.-Israel Relations,” with House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL); Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; and Ilan Berman, senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council https://www.heritage.org/middle-east/event 12 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual discussion: “A New Approach to America’s Role in the World,” with House Armed Services ranking member Adam Smith (D-WA); and Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute https://quincyinst.org/events/a-new-approach-to-americas-role-in-the-world/ 12 p.m. — Cato Institute discussion: "The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong's Greatest Dissident, and China's Most Feared Critic," with Mark Clifford, author and president, Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation; Sebastien Lai, son of Jimmy Lai; Mark Simon, former group director, Next Digital Companies; and Ian Vasquez, vice president for international studies, Cato Institute https://www.cato.org/events/troublemaker 2 p.m. 1333 H St. NW — Center for American Progress discussion: “Congressional Response to Trump’s National Security Chaos,” with House Armed Services ranking member Adam Smith (D-WA) https://www.americanprogress.org/events/congressional-response-to-trump 3 p.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “The role of the Panama Canal in a new era of U.S.-Panama ties,” with Ricaurte Vasquez Morales, administrator of the Panama Canal Authority https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/the-role-of-the-panama-canal THURSDAY | MARCH 13 9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “War in Ukraine and Lessons for Asia,” with former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, director of the Hoover Institution’s Institute for International Studies; Victor Cha, CSIS Korea chair; Mark Lippert, CSIS Korea chair; and Andy Lim, CSIS Korea chair https://www.csis.org/events/war-ukraine-and-lessons-asia-capital-cable-108 11 a.m. — Wilson Center Global Europe Program virtual discussion: “Germany’s Election Aftermath: Implications for Foreign Policy,” with Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute of Berlin; Christoph von Marschall, chief diplomatic correspondent at Der Tagesspiegel; and Robin Quinville, director of the WWC Global Europe Program https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/germanys-election-aftermath 2 p.m. — Defense One virtual discussion: “State of Defense 2025: Navy and Marines,” with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin; Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George; Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman; and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith https://events.defenseone.com/state-of-defense | | | | "We were the leader of the free world, but it appears to many leaders and people all over, to include Republicans in Nebraska, that this administration is walking away from that legacy that was built by Ike Eisenhower and all these presidents, and really a capstone of Ronald Reagan, peace through strength, and building these close alliances. And we are undermining that legacy right now." | | Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), in an appearance on CNN Monday morning |
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