The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | December 4th, 2023: Internal Divisions Grow in Ukraine & Maduro Claims Guyana For Venezuela

Episode Date: December 4, 2023

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     The mayor of Kyiv has lashed out at Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s leadership, warning the country is becoming increasingly autocratic under his tenure. It's the latest sign of the growing discontent within the Ukrainian government as the war drags on. A territorial dispute in South America is heating up after Venezuela approved a referendum on Sunday claiming sovereignty over a large swathe of their oil-rich neighbor Guyana. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Let's get briefed. The mayor of Kiev has lashed out at Ukraine President Zelensky's leadership, warning that the country is becoming increasingly autocratic under his tenure. Now, it's the latest sign of the growing discontent within the Ukrainian government as the war drags on. We'll also discuss the situation in Venezuela. where voters have claimed ownership over a large swath of oil-rich neighbor Guyana, escalating a long-standing territorial dispute in the region. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Political fissures are beginning to show inside Ukraine as the country heads towards its second full year of war.

Vitali Klichko, the mayor of Kiev and former heavyweight boxing champion, threw a brutal jab at President Zelensky in a recent interview, warning that Ukraine is sliding towards authoritarianism under his leadership. In the interview with German out-led der Spiegel, Klitschko said Zelensky has become increasingly isolated and autocratic as criticism of his leadership mounts. Now, Klizko told the outmet, quote, At some point, we will no longer be any different from Russia,

where everything depends on the whim of one man. He also lashed out at what he called Zelensky's failures at the outset of the war, claiming the country was largely leaderless during the chaos of Putin's invasion. He argued it was local officials who were responsible for repelling the initial invasion and added that Zelensky's lack of preparedness almost cost the country Kiev. Echoing the controversial comments of Ukraine's military commander-in-chief Valerie Zillusioni, Klitschko said Zelensky's leadership has led to a stalemate in the war with Russia. Now, it's worth noting that Glitschko is a major political rival of Zelensky.

The pair have engaged in several public feuds and have not spoken face-to-face since the Russian invasion, despite having offices within minutes of each other in Kiev. Still, Zelensky has been facing escalating criticism, both from within his borders and from Western allies, for his alleged targeting of political rivals and decision to postpone next year's presidential election. He took flack in March of 2022 for suspending 11 political parties in Ukraine that reportedly have ties with Russia, including opposition platform for life, Ukraine's largest opposition party. Ekliko, who's been mayor of Kiev since 2014, said that regional mayors and governors in Ukraine are the only truly independent institutions that remain, and that Zelensky is exerting great

pressure on them. We should note that a Swiss intelligence report from July also said Zelensky was targeting Klegko for political elimination and for quote showing authoritarian traits. There's also growing concern around press freedoms in Ukraine following attempts by Zelensky's government to exert greater control over media outlets. According to a report by the Kiev Independent, Zeletsky has attempted to exert pressure on publication owners and popular political talk shows, demanding favorable coverage and in some cases threatening publications and individual journalists with criminal prosecution. At the start of the year, Zelensky signed into law a controversial bill that empowers his government to shut down any outlet not officially registered with the government as media

without the need for a court order. The move was condemned by the European Federation of Journalists who called the legislation, quote, worthy of the worst authoritarian regimes. Now, the growing rebukes of Zelensky's leadership highlight the tightrope his administration is walking as they attempt to balance their war effort with their ambitions to become a part of the broader European community. Frankly, with the U.S. and the EU currently debating

the future of Ukraine funding within their respective institutions, now is not the time for Zelensky to have internal, disputes or to show allies anything other than a united government focused on the war with Russia and strengthening democratic processes within his country. All right, coming up after the break, a territorial dispute in South America is heating up after Venezuela approved a referendum on Sunday, claiming ownership over a large swath of their oil-rich neighbor, Guyana. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. I want to follow up on a story that we first brought to you this morning.

Venezuelans voted on a referendum on Sunday to claim sovereignty over a large portion of neighboring country Guyana, specifically the oil-rich territory called a ski ball. Well, the results are in, and according to the country's National Electoral Council, Venezuelans overwhelmingly voted in favor of the referendum, with more than supposedly 95% sent voting to establish a new Venezuelan state in the Ski-Bull. However, there are already indications that the vote may have been less than honest and transparent, shocking. Despite the government's claim of massive participation, totaling over 10.5 million votes, on-the-ground witnesses, and a tour by the Associated Press in Caracas suggest otherwise. Some voting centers saw lines of about 30 people, while others had no waiting lines, and that's a stark contrast to the typical

bustling Venezuelan elections which see massive lines at polling locations. According to the referendum, Venezuela would now grant the population of Esquibo, Venezuelan citizenship, as well as identity cards, and incorporate that region into the map of Venezuelan territory. As we noted in this morning's PDB, the Venezuelan claim over the Eskibo region is rooted in historical boundaries from Spanish colonial times, and the area constitutes two-thirds of Guiana's landmass and houses about one-sixth of its population. But importantly, the Eskibo region is rich in natural resources, including mineral deposits. A recent discovery of oil in the region by Exxon has also turned Guiana into one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world. And that oil

discovery, well, that has likely fueled Maduro's land grab. Many people view this referendum as a pretext for a territorial acquisition, and the Guyanese people are understandably nervous. The country's president, Muhammad Irfan Ali, has assured his nation that its borders will remain intact and the advised calm in the coming days. Now, how exactly the Maduro regime plans on implementing the results of their vote remains unclear. Venezuelan military officials have announced plans to build an airstrip in the Skibo as a logistical support point for the region's development. And this move has attracted attention from the World Court, which has warned Caracas against any attempts to annex the territory.

We'll keep an eye on this for you. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Monday for December. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.