June 12, Monday, 2023

1. NATO has begun its largest air deployment exercise since its establishment in 1949 in an apparent show of its deterrence capabilities. The military exercise began at a base in northern Germany and elsewhere on Monday, with 250 fighter and other aircraft and 10,000 personnel from 25 NATO and other countries participating. Senior officers of Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force are scheduled to take part as observers, making them the only participants from Asia.
2. The Ukrainian military has been pressing ahead with a major counteroffensive. Large-scaled military operations appeared to be under way on at least three fronts—around Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk, western Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia in the country’s south. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that a counteroffensive aimed at retaking Russian-occupied territory is in progress.
3. A new report estimates China’s nuclear arsenal has grown by 60 warheads – the largest year-on-year increase in the world. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released its findings on Monday. The report says China’s inventory reached 410 that month as part of a significant expansion.