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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 15th, 2025: Ukraine Delivers Major Blow To Russian Economy & White House Expands Federal Takeover Of DC
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Mike Baker
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Unknown Caller
They will be just about.
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Mike Baker
It'S Friday the 15th of August. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First up, Ukraine is hitting the Putin regime where it hurts most, mounting a punishing campaign against Russia's oil industry that has disrupted an estimated 22% of Moscow's total refining capacity since the beginning of August. Now, if anything will get Putin's attention and possibly force him to make a deal, it will be the targeting and damaging of his energy industry. We'll have those details later in the show. The political war over Washington, D.C. intensifies. On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi named the head of the U.S. drug Enforcement Administration as the Capitol's, quote, emergency police commissioner, expanding the Trump administration's federal takeover of the district's law enforcement. DC's Attorney General is pushing back, filing a lawsuit on Friday challenging the president's crackdown on crime. It's a strange but not unexpected look for the progressive Democrat D.C. attorney General arguing against the federal government's efforts to combat crime. First, today's afternoon spotlight. Kiev is turning the pressure up on Moscow with a series of destructive strikes on the Putin regime's number one source of wartime revenue. And that, of course, would be oil. Since the beginning of August, the Ukrainian forces have launched near daily drone attacks against Russia's refineries and hydrocarbon distribution centers as part of an effort to show the Kremlin that it is vulnerable in its own territory, particularly ahead of President Trump's summit today with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The drone strikes have been coordinated by Ukraine's Defense Ministry and security service and have managed to hit targets more than 1,000 miles inside Russian territory. That's according to a report from the Spanish language newspaper El Pais. The results have been significant, undermining the cornerstone of Russia's economy. The campaign began on the night of August 1st with near simultaneous strikes across three Russian provinces that hit two refineries and a fuel depot some 600 miles from Ukraine's borders. Two days later, Kyiv struck again, hitting the largest refinery in Sochi, near the coast of the Black Sea. Then, on the night of August 7, Ukrainian drones set ablaze one of Russia's key oil refineries near the village of Afifsky. Black smoke billowed into the sky for hours near the plant, which is responsible for producing some six and a quarter million tons of oil per year. Kyiv then set their sights on an even more ambitious target, a refinery in the Komi Republic owned by the Russian state energy giant Lukoil. The plant, which is located more than 1200 miles from Ukraine's borders, was struck on August 10 in an attack that set a record for the furthest Ukrainian drone assault on Russian energy interests since the war began. That same night, Ukrainian drones also swarmed the largest Rosnev refineries in Saratov, halting production completely for at least two days. That's according to anonymous Russian sources who spoke with Bloomberg. Finally, on Wednesday and Thursday, just ahead of Putin's face to face with Trump in Alaska, Kiev delivered their most crippling blow yet, hitting Lukoil's refinery in the Russian city of Volgograd, sparking a number of powerful fires. That refinery processes more than 15 million metric tons of oil every year. That amounts to approximately 5.6% of Russia's total refining capacity. That's according to the Kyiv Independent. In addition to being a cornerstone of Moscow's foreign oil trade, the refinery also produces diesel gasoline and aviation fuel, critical for Russian military logistics. Officials in Kyiv have been relatively quiet about the August campaign against Russia's energy interests, but the results largely speak for themselves. According to Ukraine's center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, the fires and explosions triggered by Ukraine's drones have knocked out an estimated 22% of the country's total refining capacity. It's a staggering blow, frankly, to Moscow's largest source of wartime revenue. As a reminder, Russia still remains one of the world's largest oil producers, with oil and natural gas exports accounting for roughly a quarter of their entire federal budget. Meanwhile, economic headwinds and a U.S. tariff squeeze on one of Moscow's key oil buyers are further damaging their energy sector. As we discussed last week on the pdb, over the past few months, Russian exports of both crude and refined products have fallen to their lowest seasonal levels in five years. A recent report from the International Energy Agency said the slump raises serious doubts about Russia's ability to sustain long term production capacity should the war continue. And last week, President Trump signed an executive order hitting India with an additional 25% tariff over its ongoing purchases of Russian oil, raising the country's total tariff rate to 50%. India is Moscow's second largest oil customer, after China, and their purchases have helped Moscow bypass existing sanctions and sustain their oil industry, propping up, of course, Putin's relatively fragile economy. China could face a similar fate, meaning with these secondary tariffs. Though due to ongoing trade negotiations with the communist regime, the Trump administration has yet to impose a secondary tariff on their oil purchases from Russia. But the threat is there. All right, up next, officials in Washington, D.C. move to sue the Trump administration, challenging their federal takeover of the city's police department. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, you've heard me talk about Jacked Up Fitness, a great company and and their amazing all in one home gym. It's a complete game changer when it comes to home fitness. And now, well, I've got some more exciting news from Don and his terrific team over at Jacked Up Fitness. Look, they know that many people are short on time and short on money, but still want to get fit, right? So now you can start your fitness journey for under $60 and in just six minutes each day. And for those of you of a certain age, well, here's a blast from the past, introducing the all new Shake Weight by Jacked up Fitness. Now, 15 years ago, the original Shake Weight shook the world, right? You probably remember that. The fitness legend returns now, bigger, better and built to perform. 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Piers Morgan
I'm Piers Morgan, the host of the Piers Morgan Uncensored podcast. We do big interviews and we do big debates about whatever's getting people talking. We make news, we make noise and we make a little bit of trouble too. Come and see what all the fuss is about. You can listen to Piers Morgan Uncensored on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Electronic Payments Coalition Spokesperson
D.C. politicians want to enact harmful credit card mandates that could take away your cash back and rewards points. Perks that stretch your budget and make life a little easier. Losing these benefits means less money for your family's everyday essentials like gas and groceries. The perks you rely on could disappear, leaving you with higher costs and fewer options. Tell Congress to guard your card and oppose the Durbin Marshall credit card mandates.
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Electronic Payments Coalition Announcer
Paid for by electronic Payments Coalition.
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Mike Baker
Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. The Trump administration is tightening its grip over Washington, DC's law enforcement, setting up a major legal showdown. Late Thursday evening, U.S. attorney General Pam Bondi expanded the White House's federal takeover of the District's law enforcement, naming Terry Cole, the head of the U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the dea, as the, quote, emergency police commissioner of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department. The mpd, everything's got an acronym. The directive grants Cole, quote, all the powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia chief of Police and mandates that MPD's existing leadership must receive approval from Cole before issuing any new orders. That's according to a report From Reuters. Bondi's directive also rescinded several of the D.C. police Department's standing orders, including one issued by Police Chief Pamela Smith on Thursday, allowing law enforcement to share limited information with immigration agencies regarding migrants residing in the city. But Smith also instituted a policy limiting federal inquiries into immigration status and preventing arrests based solely on federal immigration warrants. Bondi argued that those orders were contradictory and still allowed the District to enforce sanctuary city policies. Bondi told Fox News On Thursday, quote, D.C. will not remain a sanctuary city actively shielding criminal aliens, end quote. As a reminder, Trump launched a highly controversial anti crime crackdown in Washington on Monday, federalizing the D.C. police and ordering the deployment of some 800 National Guard troops to the city. Trump's executive order invoked section 740 of the district's Home Rule act, which allows a president to federalize the D.C. police in, quote, emergency situations and for up to 30 days before his actions must be reviewed by Congress under federal orders. Authorities have since established checkpoints across the city and have so far carried out at least 45 arrests, including nearly 30 people who were living in the country illegally. D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser has been moving cautiously, cooperating with federal agents, but disputing the White House's assertion that crime in the city has become rampant. But Thursday's move by Bondi appeared to be a bridge too far for Bowser and other leaders in the District. Bowser decried Bonnie's directive as, quote, unlawful, saying, quote, there's no statute that conveys the District's personnel authority to a federal official, end quote. On Friday, D.C. attorney General Brian Schwab filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that the Trump administration has far exceeded the authority granted him in DC's Home Rule Act. Specifically, Schwab is seeking a temporary restraining order to block Bondi's directive, putting DEA head Terry Cole in charge of the local police department. Schwab accused the White House of attempting, quote, a hostile takeover of the mpd, saying, quote, the administration is abusing its limited temporary authority under the Home Rule act, infringing on the District's right to self governance and putting the safety of D.C. residents and visitors at risk. The irony there is is pretty good. The administration's unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000Americans who call D.C. home. He said, end quote. Well, you know what? Crime and the D.C. government's failure to deal with it seriously and effectively, that can also be considered an affront to the dignity of D.C. residents. The DOJ has not yet commented on the lawsuit but it promises to further escalate, of course, tensions between the city's leadership and the Trump administration. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon bulletin for Friday the 15th of August. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me@pdbfirsttv.com and remember to tune in to the first TV this evening. Friday evening, as with every Friday at 10:00pm for our latest episode of the extended weekend show, the PDB Situation Report. You can also catch it and past episodes on our juggernaut of a YouTube channel. You can find that by going to YouTube, of course, at President's Daily Brief and on podcast platforms all over podcast land. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.