President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump during a bilateral meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C. Part of the SOFREP Evening Brief roundup for Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Image grab via @SAgovnews/X)
Good evening! Wrap up your Wednesday with SOFREP’s evening brief, bringing you the key defense and global affairs updates for May 21, 2025. Here are tonight’s headlines: Trump accused South Africa of antiwhite policies. Israel besieged Gaza hospitals; World Health Organization warns of collapse. Russia downed 159 Ukrainian drones; Putin visited Kursk. US and Philippines held first joint drills in South China Sea. India killed top Maoist leader Basavaraju in major crackdown.
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Trump Confronts South Africa’s Ramaphosa Over White Farmer Killings and Land Seizure Claims
President Donald Trump forcefully challenged South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a White House meeting, accusing South Africa of targeting white farmers through violent attacks and land confiscation.
Trump played videos and cited articles to support his long-standing, widely disputed claim that a “genocide” is underway against white Afrikaner farmers.
Trump has cut all US aid to South Africa, welcomed white South African farmers as refugees, and issued an executive order accusing the country of pursuing antiwhite policies and supporting foreign adversaries like Hamas and Iran.
Despite Trump’s claims, South African officials and crime experts state there is no racial targeting; farmers of all races suffer from violent crime in the country.
Ramaphosa rejected Trump’s accusations, insisting they do not reflect government policy and that South Africa’s violent crime problem is not race-based. He aimed to repair strained US-South Africa relations, which are at their lowest point since apartheid ended in 1994.
Good evening! Wrap up your Wednesday with SOFREP’s evening brief, bringing you the key defense and global affairs updates for May 21, 2025. Here are tonight’s headlines: Trump accused South Africa of antiwhite policies. Israel besieged Gaza hospitals; World Health Organization warns of collapse. Russia downed 159 Ukrainian drones; Putin visited Kursk. US and Philippines held first joint drills in South China Sea. India killed top Maoist leader Basavaraju in major crackdown.
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Trump Confronts South Africa’s Ramaphosa Over White Farmer Killings and Land Seizure Claims
President Donald Trump forcefully challenged South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a White House meeting, accusing South Africa of targeting white farmers through violent attacks and land confiscation.
Trump played videos and cited articles to support his long-standing, widely disputed claim that a “genocide” is underway against white Afrikaner farmers.
Trump has cut all US aid to South Africa, welcomed white South African farmers as refugees, and issued an executive order accusing the country of pursuing antiwhite policies and supporting foreign adversaries like Hamas and Iran.
Despite Trump’s claims, South African officials and crime experts state there is no racial targeting; farmers of all races suffer from violent crime in the country.
Ramaphosa rejected Trump’s accusations, insisting they do not reflect government policy and that South Africa’s violent crime problem is not race-based. He aimed to repair strained US-South Africa relations, which are at their lowest point since apartheid ended in 1994.
President Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa exchange on genocide.
Q: “What will it take for you to be convinced that there’s no white genocide in South Africa?”
The contentious meeting included appearances by Elon Musk—who has echoed similar criticisms—and business figures such as Afrikaner billionaire Johann Rupert. Ramaphosa’s delegation emphasized investment opportunities and cooperation on crime reduction.
The exchange highlighted deep policy divisions, including South Africa’s genocide case against Israel and its affirmative action laws.
Despite the tense discussion, Ramaphosa later said the meeting “went very well,” and Trump hosted him for lunch afterward.
Israeli troops have encircled two of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals—al-Awda and the Indonesian hospital—effectively sealing them off from outside access, according to hospital staff and aid groups.
The siege is part of Israel’s intensifying offensive aimed at pressuring Hamas, with surrounding areas placed under evacuation orders.
Both hospitals came under fire this week. Israeli airstrikes hit the Indonesian hospital’s power and water supplies, killing at least one staff member and damaging critical infrastructure. Al-Awda was shelled on Wednesday, and Israeli drones reportedly fired into its courtyard, preventing movement and disabling ambulance access.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Gaza’s healthcare system is nearing collapse, with only 20 of 36 hospitals still partially operational. WHO has recorded nearly 700 attacks on medical facilities since the war began in October 2023.
Israeli authorities claim they target Hamas infrastructure and deny directly attacking hospitals, though they acknowledge operations near these sites.
The military provided no comment on the recent incidents at al-Awda.
“The health situation in northern Gaza is now catastrophic after the Indonesian Hospital went out of service.”
Israel deliberately hit power generators to put Gaza’s hospitals out of operation, says Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Hospital personnel report dire conditions. At al-Awda, around 47 patients, including 20 children and several pregnant women, remain alongside 140 staff. Drone fire has made movement life-threatening. At the Indonesian hospital, most patients evacuated after attacks intensified, though a small team of doctors stayed behind.
The war began after Hamas militants killed 1,200 Israelis and abducted 251. Israel’s response has left over 53,000 Palestinians dead, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel maintains its objective is to dismantle Hamas and push for the “voluntary migration” of Gaza’s population, a stance many view as forced expulsion.
Russia Says It Intercepted 159 Ukrainian Drones in Overnight Barrage
Russia’s defense ministry reported Wednesday that its forces intercepted 159 drones launched by Ukraine over a 12-hour period, targeting multiple regions including Moscow.
The drones were launched between 8:00 p.m. Tuesday and 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, with most aimed at Russian border areas.
The attack followed a two-hour call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that failed to produce a ceasefire breakthrough.
Russian officials have repeatedly promoted the false narrative that Zelensky and the Ukrainian government are illegitimate to justify Russia’s refusal to engage in good-faith negotiations with… pic.twitter.com/ecZWS3heZp
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) May 20, 2025
European officials continue to push for a truce, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of stalling to prolong its offensive.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Russia is expected to present a ceasefire proposal in the coming days, which will test its commitment to ending the three-year conflict.
Putin Visits Kursk to Project Control After Ukraine’s Border Incursion
Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to the Kursk region, according to the Kremlin on Wednesday, marking his first trip since Russian forces claimed to have repelled a surprise Ukrainian incursion into the border area last month.
The Kremlin said Putin’s visit was intended to demonstrate control after Ukraine briefly seized Russian territory—a move Kyiv maintains is ongoing in some areas.
The August 2024 Ukrainian offensive into Kursk dealt a symbolic blow to Moscow, marking the first time since World War II that Russian territory was occupied by a foreign force. While Russia announced in April that it had fully recaptured the area, Ukraine’s military said operations along the border continue, with Ukrainian troops holding a narrow stretch of land inside Russia.
Putin visits Kursk for the first time since its recapture from a Ukrainian incursion last year. (Image grab via X)
Putin toured the unfinished Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2 and met with pro-Russian volunteers. State media showed him praising their efforts as emblematic of national resilience.
The visit comes amid rising local discontent over lack of compensation for displaced families, and Putin endorsed continued financial support and the construction of a museum honoring the region’s defenders.
The visit followed Putin’s rejection of US and European ceasefire proposals. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western powers of using truce talks to rearm Ukraine. North Korea reportedly deployed up to 12,000 troops to support Russian forces in Kursk, a claim Moscow has not confirmed.
Philippine and US Coast Guards Join Military Drills in South China Sea
For the first time, the Philippine and US Coast Guards took part in joint military drills, joining broader defense exercises recently held in the contested South China Sea, according to the Philippine Armed Forces on Wednesday.
The event, called a “maritime cooperative activity,” took place off Palawan and Occidental Mindoro.
Though both coast guards have previously conducted bilateral exercises, this marks their first participation in formal military drills.
The Philippine military called it part of a “growing whole-of-nation approach to maritime cooperation.”
PH, U.S. Forces Strengthen Maritime Alliance During 6th Bilateral MCA
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) conducted the 6th Bilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA) on May 20, 2025, in the strategic waters of… pic.twitter.com/4h9uqoncYm
— Armed Forces of the Philippines (@TeamAFP) May 20, 2025
The Philippines deployed the BRP Melchora Aquino (MRRV-9702) and BRP Malapascua (MRRV-4403), while the US sent the cutter USCGC Stratton (WMSL-752). The coast guard ships operated alongside Philippine Navy and Air Force units and a US Navy P-8A Poseidon in exercises focused on communications, search and rescue, and tactical maneuvers.
General Romeo Brawner, head of the Philippine military, said the drills underscore efforts to modernize forces and strengthen partnerships in response to maritime security challenges.
China, which claims nearly all of the South China Sea, has not commented on the exercises.
Indian Forces Kill Top Maoist Leader in Major Blow to Naxalite Insurgency
Indian commandos killed Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju—the top leader of the Communist Party of India-Maoist—along with 26 other insurgents in a major operation Wednesday in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh.
Home Minister Amit Shah called it a decisive breakthrough in India’s decades-long fight against the Naxalite rebellion.
Rao, the group’s general secretary and longtime figurehead, is the highest-ranking Maoist leader ever neutralized by Indian forces.
Shah hailed the operation as historic and praised the security forces for their role.
A landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism. Today, in an operation in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, our security forces have neutralized 27 dreaded Maoists, including Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, the general secretary of CPI-Maoist, topmost leader, and the…
The Maoist insurgency, rooted in a 1967 uprising, has claimed over 12,000 lives and at one point controlled nearly a third of India with up to 20,000 fighters.
Shah also reported that 54 individuals were arrested and 84 surrendered in simultaneous operations across Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
Shah reiterated the Modi government’s goal to eliminate Naxalism by March 31, 2026.
Sources: News Agencies
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