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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 8th, 2025: Ukrainian Troops Invade Russia Again & Trump Announces High-Stakes Nuclear Talks With Iran
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Mike Baker
It's Tuesday, the 8th of April. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, as diplomatic talks over the war in Ukraine stall, Kiev launches a fresh invasion into Russian territory. And Moscow, well, they're preparing for a new spring offensive. Later in the show, a surprising update regarding Iran as President Trump says that the U. S. Is now engaging in direct talks with the Islamic regime over their nuclear program with a major meeting said to be taking place this Saturday in Oman. Or it might actually just be a meeting about perhaps having a meeting to maybe talk about the possibility of direct talks. We'll sort through all the various mixed messages. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We'll begin in Eastern Europe, where Ukrainian forces are back on the offensive, launching a fresh incursion into Russian territory. On Monday, President Zelensky publicly confirmed for the first time that Ukrainian troops are fighting in Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, engaging in active operations aimed at stifling Moscow's attack capabilities. Now, Zelensky emphasized that the primary goal is not to seize large swaths of Russian territory like they did with their invasion of the Kursk region back in August of 2024, but to protect Ukrainian towns and settlements in the regions of Sumy and Kharkiv, which face regular aerial bombardments from Russian forces that are stationed near their border. According to a report from euronews. The latest incursion is also designed to split Russia's attention, easing pressure on other parts of the war's front lines, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region. Zelensky said, quote, we continue to carry out active operations in the border areas on enemy territory, and that is absolutely just. War must return to where it came from, end quote. While the activity is only just coming to light it, an assessment from the Institute for the Study of War suggests Ukrainian forces first crossed the border into Belgorod in mid to late March after being all but completely dislodged from the Kursk region following a Russian counteroffensive earlier that month. But details of the operation remain scarce. It's not clear how many Ukrainian troops are taking part in the Belgorod incursion or how long Kyiv plans to maintain a presence there. Kremlin officials have also confirmed the limited invasion, saying that Ukrainian forces are attempting to, quote, wedge themselves into the western part of the Belgorod region. They accused Kiev of attempting to, quote, create a negative background amid the ongoing diplomatic talks between the US And Russia. That, of course, implies that Putin is actually interested in ending his military adventurism, which doesn't, frankly, appear to be the case. Moscow, which has been stalling diplomatic talks with the US by continually upping their demands for concessions from Ukraine, appears to be preparing for a major military operation. According to a report from Euromaidan Press, Russia is massing some 30,000 troops in the Donbass in preparation for an offensive push in the region by the end of the month. Now, if the estimates of Russian troops proved to be accurate, Moscow would have a 3 to 1 numerical advantage over Ukrainian forces currently defending that sector. Analysts speculate that Russia seeks to seize the entirety of the Donetsk region in an attempt to further strengthen their negotiating hand in the ongoing US Brokered talks to end the war. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to think that Putin's not all that interested in ending the war. As we've been tracking on the pdb, those talks began to deteriorate last week after Russia's deputy foreign minister pushed back on President Trump's peace proposals, saying that Moscow cannot accept the current terms as they fail to address Russia's long term strategic concerns and objectives, one of those objectives apparently being the complete ownership of Ukraine. The comments came just two days after President Trump said he is getting increasingly, quote, pissed off by the Kremlin's attempts to stall negotiations and will consider imposing new sanctions on Russia's oil trade within the next month if he feels Moscow is actively seeking to undermine his efforts. But for now, it appears the Trump administration still thinks diplomacy can win the day. Late last week, the US Hosted Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, a top adviser to Putin, in hopes of getting negotiations back on track. On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a new round of talks between the US And Russia are slated to take place in Istanbul on the 10th of April, oh, just in time for Putin's spring offensive. All right, coming up next, an update on Iran. As President Trump says the US Is now engaging in direct talks with the Islamic regime over their nuclear program. Or are they? I'll have those details when we come back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Well, let's take a look at the economy, shall we? Well, what do we got? We got tariff wars. We have those. We've got some recession fears and we still got some of that stubborn inflation. So it's no wonder that gold has been routinely hitting all time highs in volatile markets. Like now. Don't sit on the sidelines with your head in the sand. Don't just sit there hoping that things will get better. Take control and safeguard your savings. It's why so many Americans today are turning to Birch Gold Group. 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It's why I'm so excited to be working with Don Mastrangello and the team over at Jacked Up Fitness. Their commercial grade Power Rack Pro has everything you need for a full body workout at home. Seriously, it's an amazing setup. The cable crossover system with integrated 200 pound weight stacks and the Smith machine, well, it allows you to do hundreds of exercises. Basically anything and everything you can do at the gym, you can do at home. And look, if you're new to strength training, their Get Jacked up program offers complete video workouts. Just press, play and follow along. My Power Rack Pro just arrived at the house this week and our three teenage boys and I are ready to hit it hard. Look, my boys are like all sons. I think they want their title shot. But I'm telling you, with the Power Rack Pro at home, I think I can hold them off for a bit longer. Getting into a consistent home fitness routine is easy with jacked up fitness. And at the end of the day, there is nothing more important than your health. Go to getjackedup.com and sign up for free access to the program. When you're ready to order your power rack pro, save 10% with my promo code Baker. That's B A K E R just like you imagine. Come on. Look, no more excuses. Go to getjackedup.com did you know that.
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Mike Baker
Today.
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Josh Hammer
Bull in a China shop. Donald Trump came in to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. but with his bold reform and rejuvenation agenda comes so many legal questions nationwide. Injunctions, are they constitutional? What, what's the deal with birthright citizenship? What about the administrative state? Can he actually clean the deep state and end the politicization of the federal bureaucracy? I'm Josh Hammer, host of America on Trial with Josh Hammer. Subscribe to America on Trial with Josh Hammer for your daily updates on all of these questions and more.
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Mike Baker
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. President Trump surprised the international community on Monday by confirming that the US Is engaged in direct talks with Iran with what he described as a quote, very big meeting set for Saturday in Oman. As we discussed on the PDB this morning, speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in the Oval Office, Trump announced that the talks will continue with high level participation. The President told reporters, quote, we'll see what can happen, end quote. Until now, details of the discussions remained opaque. Honestly, I, I just wanted to work the word opaque into this episode. But according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Axios, we've now learned that the US Delegation will reportedly be led by Trump's Middle east envoy, Steve Witkoff. On the Iranian side, Foreign Minister Abbasaraghi is expected to take the lead, though interestingly, the Iranian regime insists that the negotiations will remain indirect and mediated by Omani officials. That version of events, of course, directly contradicts the White House's framing. An Iranian state linked outlet reported Tuesday that Omani intermediaries will shuttle messages between the parties, an arrangement that Tehran appears to prefer to maintain a plausible distance from any overt diplomatic thaw. So the US Says there'll be direct talks, while Iran says that the talks will be indirect and conducted through Omani mediators. Looks like I get another chance to throw the word opaque into this episode. American officials have confirmed to Axios that Washington is prepared for face to face engagement, which of course is not the same as saying that the two sides will engage in direct discussions on Saturday. So let's have a show of hands over who's confused at this point. One senior American official described the current situation as little more than, quote, a negotiation about the format of the negotiations. That, of course, underscores the depth of mistrust that persists between the two nations. Mistrust that dates back to Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the Obama era nuclear agreement back in 2018. Still, the stakes are enormous. Trump warned that, quote, if the talks aren't successful with Iran, I think Iran is going to be in great danger. Hinting at military action and reaffirming his administration's hard red line that Tehran will never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. As we've tracked here on the pdb, this latest diplomatic push began last month when Trump dispatched a formal letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing direct talks and offering Tehran a two month window to come to the table. Khamenei, who had previously dismissed Trump's gestures as theatrics, responded in late March. Since then, all Oman has reportedly acted as an intermediary, ferrying messages between the capitals. Meanwhile, fault lines are beginning to emerge inside the U.S. administration. President Trump, Witkoff and Vice President J.D. vance reportedly view diplomacy as viable and are optimistic that a deal is within reach. In a March interview with Tucker Carlson, Witkoff said there was, quote, a real possibility of implementing a verification program to ensure that Iran halts any nuclear weapons development. But others remain unconvinced. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Mark Rubio, both long standing Iran hawks have signaled deep skepticism, favoring a harder line that keeps a military option firmly on the table. Saturday's meeting in Oman could mark a watershed. Well, depending on what the format, structure or nature of the talks might be. Direct, indirect? Well, we don't know. A breakthrough could signal the most serious engagement between Washington and Tehran since the collapse of the 2015 deal. But if the talks, in whatever format or structure they may occur, collapse, well, the US And Iran may well find themselves much closer to military conflict. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon bulletin for Tuesday 8th April. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the firsttv.com and to listen to the show ad free. Well, it's simple. Become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com See? It's that simple. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.