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It's Thursday, the 7th of May. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, Russia may not be running out of soldiers, but new reporting suggests it could be running short on willing soldiers as desertions ris and the Kremlin digs deeper to sustain its war effort in Ukraine. Later in the show, American forces open fire on an Iranian linked vessel accused of violating the US Naval blockade as tensions in the Gulf continue to simmer, despite what's reported as ongoing negotiations for a deal. Plus, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Ukraine says Russia shattered a ceasefire proposed by Kyiv just hours after it began, with fresh strikes reported across the front line. And in today's back of the brief, a new report finds violent attacks targeting Jewish Americans surged to record levels in 2025. But first, today's PDB. We begin with a growing manpower problem inside the Russian military. The country isn't running out of soldiers, but it may be having a serious morale problem. New reporting suggests desertions are mounting inside Russia's military ranks even as Moscow continues to push fresh troops into the fight in Ukraine. And the way the Kremlin is filling those ranks is starting to raise some serious questions about just how sustainable this war effort really is. According to our report from Al Jazeera, some recruits say they were misled into signing military contracts, believing they were taking on support roles, only to find themselves assigned to combat positions. As an example, one 24 year old Russian said he thought he'd signed up for a security job at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Well, that sounds rather benign and safe. Instead, though, he says he was turned into a drone operator for the army. Independent Russian outlet Mediazona reports that more than 20,000 Russian servicemen have been prosecuted for refusing to fight, with hundreds of new cases moving through military courts each month. Meanwhile, a UN official estimated that at least 50,000 Russian soldiers have deserted since the start of the full scale invasion. Now, despite the desertions and morale issues, Russian forces are still conducting offensive operations along multiple fronts, so the military isn't on the verge of collapsing. What it does suggest is that maintaining troop levels is becoming more difficult and more complicated for the Kremlin because the way Moscow is filling its manpower pipeline has evolved over time. Early in the war, the Kremlin leaned heavily on volunteers and patriotic messaging. Then came the large scale recruitment of prisoners. Many of them promised pardons in exchange for frontline service. Now, according to multiple reports, that pool has Expanded further, economic migrants, university students and even men awaiting trial are being drawn into the system, often with the promise of high salaries or reduced legal consequences. And in some cases, as we mentioned, recruits say they were misled about the nature of the jobs that they were signing up for. So what we're seeing here is a shift in how Russia is filling its ranks. Moscow can still generate manpower, but the makeup of that force is changing. A military built on motivated volunteers operates very differently from one that increasingly relies on financial incentives or legal pressure, or in some cases, outright deception. Over time, it will impact the morale and cohesion and reliability, especially in a grinding attritional war like the one we're seeing in Ukraine. And to be clear, this isn't a one sided issue. Ukrainian forces are also dealing with rising desertions, with estimates suggesting well over 100,000 troops have gone absent at various points. Many cite fatigue or long deployments without rotation or forced mobilization, showing just how much strain this war is putting on both sides. Coming up next, U.S. forces fire on an Iranian linked ship accused of violating the naval blockade, while Ukraine says Russia broke a ceasefire almost as soon as it began. Honestly, if you can't trust Putin, what's this world coming to? I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take just a moment to talk about security, specifically your online security look. In a world of data breaches and online scams, keeping your personal life private, well, it feels like a full time job. And if you're like me, privacy protecting your identity and keeping your family safe online is incredibly important. So that's where Delete Me comes in. Delete Me does the heavy lifting. 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