Russian authorities imposed new restrictions this week on the messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram, underscoring the Kremlin’s fear that opposition actors within the country could use the platforms to undermine Mr. Putin’s hold on power.

Russian government media and internet regulator Roskomnadzor said in a statement that the new restrictions are justified on grounds that “foreign messengers Telegram and WhatsApp have become the main voice services used to deceive and extort money, and to involve Russian citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities.” The Associated Press reports that the statement also alleged that “repeated requests to take countermeasures have been ignored by the owners of the messengers.”

Al Jazeera reports that a WhatsApp spokesperson responded with a statement that the encrypted messaging app “defies government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication, which is why Russia is trying to block it from over 100 million Russian people.”

Telegram told Agence France-Presse that it “actively combats misuse of its platform, including calls for sabotage or violence, as well as fraud,” and removes “millions of pieces of harmful content every day.”

Mr. Trump is taking an aggressive stance ahead of his high-stakes summit with Mr. Putin by threatening “very serious consequences” if Russia doesn’t move toward ending its war in Ukraine. However, the Russian president has a long history of toying with peace deals.

Mr. Putin has weathered waves of economic sanctions and tough talk from world leaders since the Ukraine conflict began in 2014 and Russia’s all-out invasion in 2022. And, Mr. Trump didn’t elaborate Wednesday on what punishments he had in mind for Russia if Mr. Putin doesn’t budge at Friday’s summit.

Mr. Trump views the meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, as a crucial first step. Still, he said he needs to see a genuine commitment to peace from Mr. Putin before arranging a follow-up meeting to hash out a ceasefire deal. If the summit goes well, Mr. Trump said, a second meeting that would include himself, Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy should begin “almost immediately.” 

Pro-Russian hackers took control of a Norwegian hydroelectric dam in a cyberattack earlier this year, according to the Norwegian Police Security Service, which said this week that the incident occurred on April 7, when hackers penetrated systems tied to the Bremanger dam in western Norway.

The hackers opened the floodgates, releasing more than 132 gallons of water per second for four hours before the attack was noticed and halted. The PTS said the attack constituted a change in strategy for Russian-linked hackers. “The aim of this type of operation is to influence and to cause fear and chaos among the general population,” head of PST Beate Gangas said Wednesday. “Our Russian neighbor has become more dangerous.”

She added that PST has recorded an increase in Russian intelligence operations in Norway, asserting that “Russian intelligence services spend significant resources identifying, cultivating and recruiting contacts in Norway.”

Communist founder Vladimir Lenin once said: “The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.” That appears to be taking place in the Trump administration with the recent loosening of restrictions on selling advanced artificial intelligence microchips to China.

Mr. Trump’s former White House deputy national security adviser, Matthew Pottinger, warned in a recent article — co-authored with Liz Tobin and published in The Free Press — that the decision to lift restrictions on Nvidia selling its H20 AI chips to China will help Beijing defeat the U.S. in the high-technology race to develop the technology.

National Security Correspondent Bill Gertz offers a deep dive, examining how Mr. Trump reversed his policies on limiting Nvidia chips after CEO Jensen Huang successfully persuaded Mr. Trump to lift the ban on H20 chips that China urgently needs to make its AI more effective.

General Motors is collaborating with a Chinese military company that supplies batteries used in People’s Liberation Army submarines, according to Rep. John Moolenaar, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr. Moolenaar took to social media this week to highlight GM’s partnership with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL, writing that it is “disappointing to not only its customers and employees, but also to the American people who supported the company during its financial crisis.” 

“American auto companies need to build secure, resilient supply chains that are not dependent on our nation’s largest adversary,” the congressman wrote on X. He did not did not elaborate on CATL’s role in supplying batteries to Chinese submarines.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported in 2022 that China planned to upgrade its conventional submarines with lithium-ion batteries, which could significantly increase the underwater fleet’s combat and survival capabilities.

• Aug. 15 — Taliban Rule and Regional Realignments Four Years On, Stimson Center

• Aug. 15 — Deterrence Dynamics in the Asia-Pacific: An Australian Perspective with Christine Leah, National Institute for Deterrence Studies

• Aug. 19 — Counterterrorism and U.S. Strategy with Sebastian Gorka, Hudson Institute

• Aug. 20 — The Future of U.S.-Australia Critical Minerals Cooperation, Center for Strategic & International Studies

• Aug. 20 — Using AI to Understand Disaster Risks: New Tools, Shifting Frontiers, Chronic Challenges, Stimson Center

• Aug. 26 — The Future of Naval Aviation: A Conversation with Vice Adm. Daniel L. Cheever and Lt. Gen. Bradford J. Gering, Center for Strategic & International Studies