text: RUSSIA-NATO SITREP: STATE DEPT. ISSUES LEVEL 4 TRAVEL WARNING IN UKRAINEEarlier this week, the U.S. State Department issued a level 4 travel warning for Ukraine due to coronavirus and the threat of Russian military invasion. Travelers are warned to “have a contingency plan in place that does not rely on U.S. government assistance.” Additional restrictions on travel to Russian-occupied areas include threats against civil aircraft and potential unlawful detention of U.S. citizens. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said Russian military deployment continues near Ukraine’s borders. Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister is calling for Stoltenberg’s retirement, claiming the NATO leader is “unable to cope” with his responsibilities. The Biden administration is exploring providing training and material support to insurgent groups in Ukraine. The U.S. is exploring “gray zone tactics” used by insurgents around the world, particularly in conflicts with the Soviets and Russian Federation. An interagency Ukraine Task Force is exploring what U.S. weapons Ukraine will receive, separate from the javelin missiles approved for delivery. The President all but ruled out U.S. boots on the ground in Ukraine, but special operations advisers have been present since at least 2015. Russian President Putin said the West is to blame for the current security situation in Eastern Europe. “What is happening now, the tension that is developing in Europe, is their fault,” Putin said. “At every step, Russia was forced to somehow respond, at every step the situation was constantly somehow deteriorating and deteriorating, degraded and degraded…. Russia stands for equal and indivisible security throughout the Eurasian space.” Putin’s chief complaint now is the NATO missile defense system in Romania, in operation since 2016. – D.M.Indo-Pacific SITREP: CHINA SANCTIONS U.S. OFFICIALS, BLOCKS U.S. AT UNITED NATIONSChina announced sanctions on four members of the United States government’s Commission on International Religious Freedom in retaliation for penalties imposed on Chinese officials over human rights abuses in the country’s northwestern Xinjiang region. The tit-for-tat sanctions on Tuesday added to spiraling tension over Xinjiang. Washington has banned imports from the region that might be made with forced labor, while activists are calling for a boycott of February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. China has denied accusations of abuses and earlier retaliated by calling for boycotts of foreign shoe and clothing brands. The Chairwoman and three members of the commission are barred from traveling to China or entering any of its protectorates. On Monday, China, with the support of Russia, blocked a U.S. draft resolution in the UN Security Council that would have allowed for humanitarian exceptions to economic sanctions imposed on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Washington was seeking approval for exemptions in order to unfreeze Afghan financial assets blocked due to Taliban human rights abuses. China stated they did not believe in sanctions and would not approve artificially created conditions to make those restrictions acceptable. (AC: Chinese sanctions against U.S. officials were a foreseeable retaliation for the Biden administration’s sanctions last week over Beijing’s human rights record. China has never been hesitant to strike back at foreign actors who impugn its reputation or call attention to its authoritarian policies. Afghanistan is facing a humanitarian crisis due to the ruling Taliban’s human rights record, which makes foreign aid and international business transactions illegal. Meanwhile, reports continue to come out of Afghanistan detailing abductions and murders of former Afghan government and military personnel and their families by Taliban forces. Beijing will likely continue to be a hindrance to Washington’s foreign policy agenda until it feels that the Biden administration is no longer an impediment to its objectives. – M.M.)Domestic SITREP: CONGRESS TACKLES SUPPLY CHAIN PROTECTION AND RISING FOOD COSTS