SOFREP Evening Brief: NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim Arrives at International Space Station, Kremlin Rules Out Near-Term Nuclear Treaty Talks with US

Good Evening! Here’s your Tuesday evening update for April 8, 2025, on key developments in defense and global affairs. Russia has ruled out peace treaty talks with Japan and signaled no interest in new nuclear arms negotiations with the US. Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed at least 25 Palestinians. At the same time, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and two Russian cosmonauts have arrived at the International Space Station for an eight-month mission. These updates reflect ongoing shifts in global security and military operations.

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Israeli Strikes Kill 25 in Gaza as Supreme Court Reviews Netanyahu Security Chief Dismissal

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza overnight and into Tuesday killed at least 25 Palestinians, including eight children and five women, according to Palestinian medics.

Major strikes hit residential homes in Deir al-Balah and Beit Lahiya, killing multiple families, while a separate blast northwest of Gaza City killed four people, one of whom was engaged to be married.

The Israeli military stated it was targeting militants, blaming Hamas for civilian casualties due to its operations in densely populated areas.

The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 50,000 since the war began in October 2023, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

🇮🇱 Israeli strikes on Sunday killed at least 32 people in 🇵🇸 Gaza, including over a dozen women and children, local health officials said.

Later that night, Israel ordered evacuations in Deir al-Balah after the largest projectile barrage since fighting resumed. pic.twitter.com/wSprmysJtT

— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) April 7, 2025

Meanwhile, Israel’s Supreme Court is reviewing eight legal challenges to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dismissal of internal security chief Ronen Bar.

The move has sparked accusations of a conflict of interest, as Bar’s agency is investigating links between Netanyahu’s office and Qatar. Critics claim Netanyahu sought political loyalty from an apolitical agency.

In related developments, Israeli forces shot and killed Amana Yacoub, a 30-year-old Palestinian woman in the West Bank, after she allegedly threw rocks and attempted a stabbing at a junction near an Israeli settlement.

No Israeli soldiers were harmed.

Additionally, Palestinian photojournalist Ahmed Mansour died of burns sustained in an Israeli strike targeting a media tent near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

The military claimed the target was a Hamas militant posing as a journalist. The strike also killed two others and injured five more reporters.

NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim Arrives at International Space Station with Russian Crew

Former Navy SEAL and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky successfully arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday aboard a Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft.

The mission launched on schedule from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and docked with the ISS just over three hours later.

The trio will spend approximately eight months aboard the station.

.@JonnyKimUSA → @Space_Station @NASA_Astronauts Jonny Kim is now on his way to the International Space Station on his first spaceflight! The trio is scheduled to dock to the orbiting laboratory a few hours later this morning at 5:04 a.m. ET. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/YVnFI3SYP8

— NASA’s Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) April 8, 2025

NASA confirmed Kim will conduct scientific experiments and technology demonstrations aimed at supporting future space exploration and providing practical benefits on Earth.

Kim, a Los Angeles native, serves as a US Navy lieutenant commander and is a dual-designated naval aviator and flight surgeon. He joins a multinational crew already aboard the ISS, including NASA astronauts Don Pettit, Anne McClain, and Nichole Ayers; JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi; and Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Kirill Peskov.

Kremlin Rules Out Near-Term Nuclear Treaty Talks with US

Senior Kremlin officials said Tuesday that talks on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US are unlikely in the near future, citing a lack of trust between Washington and Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the current climate makes it “very difficult” to even imagine initiating negotiations to replace the New START treaty, which is set to expire in February 2026.

Peskov added that restoring the trust necessary for such high-level discussions would require political will, suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump could revive talks if both were committed to doing so.

The Kremlin said that it was very hard to imagine the start of negotiations with the United States on a new nuclear arms reduction treaty given that mutual trust with Washington had still not been fully restored.https://t.co/snCIAB6pr1

— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) April 8, 2025

The statement follows the collapse of several Cold War-era arms control agreements and the rapid growth of China’s nuclear arsenal. Russia and the US together hold approximately 88 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev echoed the grim outlook, warning that more countries are likely to acquire nuclear weapons in the coming years. He blamed the West for escalating global tensions by backing Ukraine in what he described as a proxy war, pushing the world toward a potential World War Three scenario.

Tensions between Russia and the West remain at Cold War-era levels, with the war in Ukraine drawing parallels to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In 2022, the US privately warned Moscow against using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, according to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Bill Burns.

South Korea to Hold Snap Presidential Election on June 3 Following Yoon’s Removal

South Korea will hold a snap presidential election on June 3 to replace President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted last week after imposing martial law in late 2024.

Acting President Han Duck-soo made the announcement following the Constitutional Court’s unanimous ruling to remove Yoon from office. South Korean law requires a new election within 60 days of a presidential impeachment. The winner will serve a full five-year term.

The race is expected to be a two-way contest between Yoon’s conservative People Power Party and the liberal Democratic Party, which currently controls the National Assembly.

South Korea’s government has approved June 3 as the date for a snap presidential election, following the removal from office of Yoon Suk Yeol last week over his short-lived declaration of martial law https://t.co/xNjBRRecau

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 8, 2025

The People Power Party faces internal fractures and low public confidence following Yoon’s controversial deployment of troops to Seoul, a move that stirred memories of past military rule. Some party members opposed Yoon’s actions and backed his impeachment, deepening rifts within the conservative bloc.

The Democratic Party is widely expected to nominate its leader, Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 election. Lee, seen as a populist reformer by supporters and a polarizing figure by critics, faces multiple criminal trials. If elected, those proceedings would be halted due to presidential immunity.

Roughly 10 conservatives are expected to compete for the People Power Party nomination. Key figures include Labor Minister Kim Moon Soo and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo—both pro-Yoon—as well as former party leader Han Dong-hoon, senior lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. Yoon, now facing a rebellion charge and potentially more, is expected to support loyalists in the race.

Observers say swing voters, particularly moderates and younger South Koreans, will likely determine the outcome. Analysts caution that the People Power Party must prioritize electability over internal loyalty to compete with Lee’s well-established candidacy.

Kremlin Shuts Door on WWII Peace Treaty Talks with Japan Over Sanctions, Territorial Dispute

The Kremlin announced Tuesday that Russia sees no grounds to resume negotiations with Japan over a formal World War Two peace treaty, citing Tokyo’s alignment with Western sanctions against Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there are currently “no contacts” with Japanese authorities and dismissed Tokyo’s reported continued commitment to signing a treaty and reclaiming disputed islands. He criticized Japan for “rushing to fully join” hostile actions, including economic sanctions, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia and Japan have never formally ended their WWII hostilities due to a long-standing territorial dispute over four islands north of Hokkaido.

Soviet forces seized the islands—known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Kurils—at the close of the war, and they have remained under Russian control since.

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office claimed that Japan’s Northern Territories Issue Association advocates for Tokyo’s claim over the Kuril Islands.https://t.co/jOKsY22GUY

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) April 7, 2025

Peskov stated that under the current conditions, any negotiations on a peace treaty are “hardly possible.”

And Finally…Today Would Have Been Chris Kyle’s 51st Birthday

Chris Kyle was born on April 8th, 1974, in Odessa, Texas. He would have been 51 years old today. Chris is remembered as a kind-hearted, loving father and husband and a talented Navy SEAL sniper.