NEW RUSSIAN THREATS AND THE SILENT SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP Ben Wallace, the U.K. defense secretary, made a secretive trip to Washington on Tuesday, to discuss with the Biden administration Ukrainian matters that his deputy described as " beyond belief ." That appears to be code for Moscow's nuclear threats and capabilities, and what now amounts to a Russian effort to destroy Ukraine's electricity network. Nearly a third of Ukraine's power stations have been destroyed in the past week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, leaving more than 1100 towns and villages without power. Then there's Iran arming and training Russian forces in the use of its drones and a new promise of missile systems . Iran's intervention will produce a new round of European Union sanctions at an EU leaders summit Thursday (more on that scoop in Brussels Playbook ). But official readouts of Wallace's meetings at the White House and Pentagon — such as this one with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan — illuminated nothing about further U.S. and U.K. action. We know all about what Estonia thinks , and that the potential next Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy thinks Ukraine can't get blank checks in 2023 — but not about what the members of the special relationship are doing. THE GREAT BRITISH KISS OFF It's the lack of communication around Wallace's visit that is most noticeable — a sign of disinterest and dismay from senior Biden administration officials at the other half of their "special relationship" with Britain. Yes, President Biden turned up to farewell the Queen — she was actually special. Everything since underscores the feeling in the Biden administration that the new British Cabinet is seen as decidedly unspecial. Very few had any opinion to share about Truss at all when Global Insider previewed her Conservative leadership election win — and what was shared was hardly glowing. Biden knocked Trussonomics over the weekend , and U.S. officials think London's approach to Brexit is deluded. The unspoken mood music amounts to: how can you have a special relationship with a person who doesn't listen and who has a single digit approval rating. It's easier just to wait. Wallace stepped into that vacuum on Tuesday: Welcome proof that some parts of the British government remain stable, yet not worthy of public praise and announcements. What 3 percent target? Downing Street's September commitment to lift defense spending to 3 percent of GDP is already "on the table" for reassessment as the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt takes the reins of the government. Junior ministers insist the defense commitment is safe , but that's hard to believe given the depth of the budget hole Hunt needs to fill. What Prime Minister? If it seems unusual that Hunt rather than Truss is running the show in London now, think of it in terms of two recent American examples of Treasury Secretaries doing heavy policy lifting for their president: Hank Paulson as the global finance crisis descended in 2008, and Steve Mnuchin for large chunks of former President Donald Trump's term in office. A new U-Turn: Truss is now " completely committed " to keeping welfare payment increases tied to inflation, she told parliament today during an intense grilling. That marks her 10th policy flip-flop in the last two weeks. Truss' appointment of Hunt has brought her some breathing space. But there's no escaping the prime minister's approval rating is now down to 9 percent and 10 percent in two new polls. More than half of her own Conservative party base now says she should resign. Put another way No. 1: Richard Nixon had higher support from Republicans in 1974 than Truss does from Conservatives now, and by some measures Democrats gave Nixon higher levels of support in 1974 than Conservatives give to Truss now. Put another way No. 2: A senior Tory told London Playbook Tuesday night: "Every single MP I've spoken to basically says she's got to go, apart from fanatics and the careerists." The colorful language didn't end there, they added the view that "we're all in a loony bin and he [Hunt] is a psychiatrist, giving out the medication that's keeping us going." RUSSIA AND UKRAINE Russian President Vladimir Putin is today due to hold a video meeting of his security council — including a special report from Dmitry Medvedev, state-controlled Sputnik News reported . This would be the third meeting of the council in 2022. Speculation is rife on Russian Telegram channels about what news may come of the meeting, from additional mobilizations to nuclear threats and fears about a declaration of martial law. LATEST FALSE FLAG: General Sergei Surovikin, the new commander of Russian forces invading Ukraine, said Tuesday night that Ukraine was preparing a missile attack on a critical dam . Russian forces are evacuating Ukrainians from Kherson — cover for yet more forced relocations of civilians and a military retreat from the city. ELON MUSK — PUTIN'S MESSAGE CARRIER: That's the latest warning from Fiona Hill in an interview with POLITICO's Maura Reynolds. BELARUS DEFAULT: The World Bank has deemed all of its Belarus loans non-performing after the government fell more than six months behind with $68.4 million in payments out of a debt portfolio of $967 million. War effects: Belarus doesn't have any allies with access to credit, making it even more dependent on Russia. FRENCH-GERMAN COOPERATION SEIZES UP French President Emmanuel Macron plans to postpone a joint Cabinet meeting between his government and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's top officials scheduled for next Wednesday. More from POLITICO's Clea Caulcutt . The summit was set for the Château de Fontainebleau, former home of French kings, which would have been Scholz's first such summit. The event should have been the venue for a joint declaration focused on energy and military cooperation. What Germany wants: a gas pipeline in the Pyrenees, to diversify German gas supply What France wants : Increased investment in nuclear energy and renewables. What they both want: New-generation fighter planes and tanks to increase military autonomy in the face of Russian aggression. IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL IS DEAD: It almost goes without saying, but senior EU officials are saying it anyway to POLITICO: Brussels can't stop Tehran from sending weapons to Russia — but they now openly recognize that the nuclear deal with Iran (known as the JCPOA) has failed. "Sincerely, the JCPOA does not count anymore," one senior official told Brussels Playbook. "We have gotten used to the idea that this will not move forward." SCHOOLGIRL BEATEN TO DEATH FOR REFUSING TO PRAISE REGIME: Another schoolgirl, Asra Panahi, has reportedly been killed by the Iranian security services . Panahi was beaten in her classroom at the Shahed girls high school in Ardabil for refusing to sing an anthem that praises Iran's supreme leader when her school was raided last week. IRANIAN ROCK CLIMBER RETRACTION: Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi has returned to Tehran and said her veil had fallen by mistake while competing in a competition in South Korea. She was widely assumed to have expressed support for protests in Iran. "Apologizing for the worries that I caused … currently, according to the predetermined schedule I am returning to Iran with the team," she said in an Instagram post. BBC reported that Rekabi was interviewed by state media on arrival in Tehran this morning, warning that her recent comments were "what she had to say to maintain the safety of herself and her family. Iranian authorities have a long track-record of threats and forced confessions." XI'S CORONATION President Xi Jinping is waiting until Saturday to be ordained as the party's lifetime paramount leader. WHAT POLITICO IS WATCHING FOR: Who's going to replace Li Keqiang as premier? It would be seen as a compromise decision if current party No. 4 Wang Yang takes his place because he isn't from Xi's faction of the Party. If Li Qiang , the Shanghai boss, gets the premiership on the other hand, that would be a strong signal of Xi's power consolidation. Another option is to elevate vice-premier Hu Chunhua, a politburo member. CHINA DELAYS ECONOMIC STATISTICS: Data on China's third quarter GDP growth was not released as planned on Tuesday — a last-minute decision taken by China's national statistics agency on Monday. THE MANCUNIAN CANDIDATES: The Chinese diplomats who attacked a democracy supporter in Manchester on Sunday are Zheng Xiyuan, Gao Lianjia, Chen Wei and Fan Yingjie . In parliament yesterday, MPs named Zheng as the man filmed tearing protesters' posters and pulling the hair of a protester dragged inside the consulate perimeter, The Times reported . CANADA'S MINISTER FOR PLEASE REMAIN CALM: That's Ottawa Playbook's new label for Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who's fresh from a major foreign policy speech in D.C. and seemingly dipping her toes in every policy pool these days. ECONOMY — TAX COMPETITIVENESS INDEX: The nonpartisan Tax Foundation has released its International Tax Competitiveness Index , which it bills as a "a comprehensive comparison of developed countries' tax codes." Factors such as ease of compliance matter a lot, the foundation argues: It's not simply a case of countries with the lowest tax rates topping in the index. CONGRESS MEETS WORLD MIDTERMS FORECAST — RACES TILT TOWARD GOP: Steve Shepard , POLITICO's senior campaigns and elections editor, has just posted his latest election forecast , and 10 of 12 toss-up House races are moving toward Republicans. — Florida continues to slip away from Democrats: "Four House races are moving toward Republicans, driven by two main factors: Gov. Ron DeSantis' strength at the top of the ticket, and the GOP's continued improvement among Latino voters," Steve writes. — Democrat bright spots: Governorships in Massachusetts and Maryland are poised to flip to them. Alaska's lone House seat is now rated as 'lean Democratic' and FiveThirtyEight found a meaningful shift in Sen. Raphael Warnock's (D-Ga.) polling.
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