The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 28th, 2025: Putin Announces Ceasefire In Ukraine & Pakistan Warns Of Imminent Indian Military Incursion

Episode Date: April 28, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  First, following a pivotal meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral at the Vatican, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a temporary, three-day ceasefire in Ukraine. But the international community remains highly skeptical of his motives. Later in the show—an update on the brewing conflict between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, as their forces continue to trade cross-border gunfire, and leaders in Islamabad bolster their military defenses, warning of an imminent Indian military incursion into their territory. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250. Plus, for a limited time enjoy 5% off on almost everything site-wide excluding subscriptions and B-stock. Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're a QuickBooks customer looking to grow your business without the growing pains, you need the Intuit ERP. Upgrade to Intuit Enterprise Suite in a matter of hours. It's the AI Native ERP from the makers of QuickBooks. Learn more at Intuit.com slash ERP. It's Monday, the 28th of April. Look at that. We are almost into May.

Welcome to the BDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right. Let's get briefed. First, following a pivot. meeting between Ukrainian President Zelensky and U.S. President Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral at the Vatican, Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised a temporary three-day ceasefire

and reiterated his claimed readiness to make a peace deal. We'll have those details. Later in the show, an update on the brewing conflict between nuclear-armed neighbors, India, and Pakistan, as their forces continue to trade cross-border gunfire, and leaders in Islamabad bolster their military defenses, warning of an imminent military incursion by the Indian military into Pakistani territory. All right, today's afternoon spotlight. As President Trump's patience wears thin over Moscow's reluctance to advance peace talks, Russian President Putin is offering what at first glance appears to be a small olive branch. It's very small, though one that comes with significant,

strings attached. On Monday, the Kremlin said that Putin has ordered a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine to commence on the morning of 8th May, right? May 8th, and run through the 11th of May. Now, that's coinciding with celebrations to mark the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. It's according to the BBC. A spokesman for the Kremlin said Putin declared the ceasefire based on, quote, humanitarian considerations. Obviously, an odd choice of words, given Russia's deadly strike last week on a Kiev apartment block that left a dozen civilians dead. Oh, not to mention that Putin started this three-year war with his full invasion of Ukraine, but, okay, suddenly, he would like to be known as a humanitarian.

In announcing the planned pause in fighting, the Kremlin reiterated their claimed readiness to negotiate a settlement to the war, the one that addressed what they call, quote, the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis. That, of course, is the same thing they've said in the past. Now, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov later added that any deal must include international recognition of Russia's control of Crimea, along with the four Ukrainian regions currently under Russian military occupation, terms that are essentially non-starters for leaders in Kiev and to the vast majority of EU nations. The Kremlin added that they expect Kiv to reciprocate

the temporary ceasefire and that they'll respond forcefully to any violations. It marks the second time in two weeks that Putin has promised a short-term pause in fighting following the 30-hour supposed truce over Easter. That pause was marked by hundreds of violations, though both sides still reported a brief dip in hostilities. The international response to Putin's latest offer was tepid at best, as leaders remain highly skeptical of his motives, and frankly, I'm just happy I was able to finally use the word tepid in the PDB. Ukraine's foreign minister said, quote, if Russia truly wants peace, it must ceasefire immediately. He noted that Ukraine has repeatedly agreed to a full 30-day ceasefire to facilitate negotiations and called on Russia to do the same.

Echoing that sentiment, an official at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council questioned why Putin was only offering a three-day pause. He told the Kiev Independent, quote, anything that is not a comprehensive ceasefire is Russian manipulation for informational and military purposes, an attempt to hide its intent to continue the war, end quote. The White House was similarly skeptical with Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, saying both countries needed to come to the table to negotiate their way out of the conflict. Leavitt also stated Putin's offer falls well short of President Trump's expectations, saying, quote, the president has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire first

to stop the killing, to stop the bloodshed. Putin's proposal comes on the heels of. of a pivotal meeting over the weekend between Zelensky and Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral at the Vatican. As we covered earlier on the PDB, both sides called the 15-minute discussion productive and constructive, though the details remain unclear. Shortly after their talk, Trump also issued a rare rebuke of Putin, expressing open skepticism about the Russian strongman's commitment to peace. Trump said, quote, there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles and to civilian areas, cities, and towns over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn't

want to stop the war. He's just tapping me along and has to be dealt with differently, end quote. It was a marked departure from Trump's typically deferential approach to Putin, with Trump floating the possibility of new pressure tactics on Moscow, such as banking and secondary sanctions. The diplomatic movement comes at a critical juncture for U.S.-led efforts to end the Russian-Ukraine war, Last week, Ukraine forcefully pushed back on a U.S. proposal to formally cede Crimea and their eastern territory to Russia and to permanently shut the door on Ukraine's NATO aspirations. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently threatened to walk away from peace talks entirely if leaders in Kiev are not willing to compromise on these points.

So these points being give up Crimea, give up 20 plus percent of the rest of your country, and never joined NATO. Yeah, I can't imagine why the Ukrainians aren't excited about giving in to Putin's demands. On Monday, however, when asked if Zelensky was ready to give up Crimea, President Trump said, quote, I think so, according to a report from NBC News. Trump also expressed optimism over the weekend that Moscow and Kiev were, quote, very close to a deal after special envoy Steve Whitkoff met again with Putin on Friday. But whether Putin's latest ceasefire offer will be in enough to placate Trump and keep the peace process alive is unclear. On Sunday, Secretary Rubio said the U.S. would likely make a decision this week on whether they'll continue to try to broker a settlement.

Rubio said, quote, we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in. End quote. Coming up next, ties between nuclear-armed neighbors, India and Pakistan, continue to deteriorate, as leaders in Islamabad, warn of an imminent Indian military incursion into their territory. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Well, temperatures are warming up, and I suspect you pulled the cover off the grill, because it's grilling season, and I'm about to tell you where to get the finest beef to throw on the grill. I'm talking about a classic American business. It's generations of family raising high-quality beef in the great state of Texas. And of course, you probably know I'm talking about Triedails

beef. Now, Tri-Tales is in some corporate meat factory. It's a fifth generation, Texas ranch, where cattle are pasture-raised, grain-finished, and raise the right way. They handle the beef on-site and ship it directly to your door. There's no middleman. There's no mystery here. All their beef is sourced to match the genetics and care they've built their herd on, ensuring consistent marbling, tenderness, and rich flavor in every cut. As we say, small batch, big flavor. You can taste a difference the moment it hits the grill. Now, whether it's a ribby, a filet, or a New York strip, it's the kind of beef that brings people together. USDA prime and choice, hand-packed, and ready for your table. And right now, they've got a special offer just for PDB listeners. Go to trybeef.com

slash PDB and get two free flat iron steaks with your first box over $250. That's tribeef.com slash PDB. Support real ranchers and eat like you mean it. Mike Baker here. Well, by now I'm sure you know all about the tariffs and the trade wars, and I'm sure that you know that all that's pretty much thrown the global economy into some chaos. Potential widespread inflation, tied to massive supply chain disruptions, well, it's weighing heavily on all of us. But I'm here to tell you that there is a silver and also a gold lining that I think some people have missed. What I mean by that is President Trump specifically exempted gold and silver bullion from the sweeping tariffs. And while these new policies are triggering significant financial chaos, the administration preserved your

ability to diversify into precious metals. If you're concerned about your savings, I encourage you to have a free consultation with a birch gold precious metals specialist. It's very simple. The first step is just to text PDB to 989-89-898 and receive your free no-obligation information kit on gold. Learn how to hold gold and silver in a tax-sheltered account. Birch Gold will help you convert an existing IRA or a 401k into a gold IRA for no money out of pocket. Find out why so many Americans trust Birch Gold to protect their savings with gold. With an A-plus rating with the Better Business Bureau and thousands of thankful customers, just text PDB to the number 989-89-898. Again, text PDB to 989-89-8-8-8-8 to claim your free information kit right now.

The Unravel Tour across North America with special guests. Get tickets Thursday, May 7th at Olivia Rodrigo.com. This episode is brought to you by Redfin. You're listening to a podcast, which means you're probably multitasking. Maybe even scrolling home listings on Redfin, saving homes without expecting to get them. But Redfin isn't just built for endless browsing. It's built to help you find and own a home.

with agents who close twice as many deals. When you find the one, you've got a real shot at getting it. Get started at redfin.com. Own the dream. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. In escalating tensions between the two nuclear armed neighbors, Pakistan's defense minister warned today that an Indian military incursion was imminent following last week's deadly terror attack in the disputed region of Kashmir.

The warning follows the deadliest civilian assault in India. administered Kashmir in a quarter of a century, an attack that left 26 tourists dead and triggered outrage across Hindu-majority India, with calls for retribution against Muslim-majority Pakistan. New Delhi wasted no time in pointing fingers, accusing Islamabad of backing militants and fueling cross-border terrorism. Pakistan, for its part, flatly denied the allegations and demanded a neutral investigation. Speaking from his office in Islamabad, Pakistan's defenseman said Reuters that Pakistan had reinforced its military presence along the de facto border and made, quote, strategic decisions to brace for a potential Indian strike. An attack he warned was, quote, imminent now.

He declined to provide specific evidence for his claim. The defense minister also issued a chilling reminder. Pakistan would consider deploying its nuclear arsenal if faced with a, quote, direct threat to our existence, end quote. Meanwhile, the situation, on the ground continued to deteriorate. India and Pakistan traded gunfire for a fourth consecutive night along the 460-mile line of control, that's the heavily fortified frontier that slices through the heart of Kashmir. The Indian Army claimed it was responding to, quote, unprovoked small arms fire from Pakistani posts around midnight Sunday. No casualties were reported, and Pakistan's military has yet to comment on the latest exchange. At the same time, India ramped

up nationwide military exercises, though defense officials insisted that some drills had been planned prior to the terror attack. In Kashmir, the security crackdown has been swift and sweeping. Police detained roughly 500 people for questioning and searched nearly 1,000 houses in an ongoing hunt for the gunmen, that's according to local officials. But the narrative only grew murkier over the weekend. The Resistance Front, or TRF, the Islamist terror group that initially claimed responsibility for the attack, abruptly reversed course on Sunday, alleging that its earlier admission was the result of a cyber attack orchestrated by Indian intelligence. New Delhi dismissed the claim as disinformation. The United States, caught between

its strategic ties to India and its broader regional interests, reacted carefully. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce over the weekend stated that Washington was, quote, monitoring developments closely and was in contact with both New Delhi and Islamabad at multiple levels. Bruce emphasized that the U.S., quote, stands with India and strongly condemns a terrorist attack, reflecting the deepening partnership between Washington and New Delhi, part of America's broader Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China's growing influence. China, a longtime ally of Pakistan, weighed in two, backing Islamabad's call for an independent investigation and urging both sides to exercise restraint. Beijing also welcomed efforts to de-escalate tensions.

And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Monday, the 28th of April. If you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirstTV.com. Now, as you've probably seen from all the full-page ads in many of the swankier glossy magazines, if you want to listen to the show ad-free, well, just become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting pdb premium.com. It's that simple. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed.

Stay safe. Stay cool. Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment.

Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three-month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com.