The Kraken Intel Brief: Reporting Period: 23-26 December 2024

1. Slovakia’s Prime Minister made a surprise visit to Moscow. He went to try and secure an energy deal with Russia. Putin said he would like to, but that such a deal is impossible now. Ukraine is shutting of its pipelines — which transit Russian energy products to Europe — on 1 January.

2. President-elect Trump has suggested retaking the Panama Canal. The canal was given to Panama under the Carter administration. Trump thinks the US needs to reacquire the canal due to high costs associated with its use, and growing foreign influence in the canal’s oversight.

3. The Army has operationalized a next-generation intelligence system. The TITAN, which uses AI technology, will help with intelligence analysis on the battlefield, allowing leaders to use data from multiple domains to make rapid, efficient decisions in real-time.

4. China is going to start constructing railways in Central Asia. China will begin building the CKU railway this week. The deal has been in the works for more than 20 years and is critical to Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The news comes as Turkic fighters in Syria announced their plans to liberate Turkistan (Xinjiang) from China.