ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - June 19, 2024

ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - June 19, 2024

ZeroFox physical security experts collect, curate, and analyze information derived from open and proprietary sources for comprehensive context of the circumstances surrounding global events. Here is today’s daily roundup of major developments.

Brief Highlights

• Attempted Assassination on Exiled Kazakh Journalist in Ukraine
• U.S., U.K. Reportedly Conduct at least 10 Airstrikes in Yemen
• Chinese Vessel and Philippines Supply Ship Collide in South China Sea

Attempted Assassination on Exiled Kazakh Journalist in Ukraine

Kazakh opposition journalist Aidos Sadikov was shot by an unknown assailant in Kyiv in a suspected assassination attempt. Emergency services transported Sadikov to the hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Sadikov's wife insists Kazakh President Kassym Jomart-Tokayev was behind the assassination attempt. Sadikov was an active member of Kazakh politics in the early- to mid-2010s, heading the Aktobe regional branch of the opposition Nationwide Social Democratic Party. In 2014, he and his wife moved to Kyiv after facing pressure in Kazakhstan, where Ukraine granted them refugee status.

U.S., U.K. Reportedly Conduct at least 10 Airstrikes in Yemen

Yemeni sources reported that American and British warplanes carried out at least six airstrikes on Hodeida International Airport and four on Kamaran Island in the Red Sea. It is believed to be the first instance of such strikes on Kamaran, which reportedly hosts some Houthi missile launch and radar sites. The action follows the evacuation of two different merchant vessels in the Red Sea that were disabled by Houthi attacks over the weekend.

Chinese Vessel and Philippines Supply Ship Collide in South China Sea

An Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ship was blocked by the Chinese coast guard when it was carrying out a resupply mission to an outpost on the disputed island of Second Thomas Shoal, resulting in a collision. The collision caused a Philippine soldier severe injuries and damage to the Philippine vessels. This is the first incident since the Chinese coast guard began enforcing a policy on June 15 to detain foreigners for up to 60 days if they were found to have “illegally entered China’s territorial waters and the adjacent waters." The law renewed a reference to 2021 legislation that says the Chinese coast guard can fire upon foreign ships if necessary, but at least three governments, including Vietnam, the Philippines, and Taiwan, with claims to the South China Sea, refused to recognize the law. China almost claims the entire South China Sea as its territory, whereas the Philippines has competing claims. Both China and the Philippines exchanged accusations of dangerous maneuvers, and the Philippines filed a complaint with the United Nations (UN) about its extended sovereign rights in the disputed South China Sea.