The President's Daily Brief
December 6th, 2024: Ukraine Opens Talks With Trump To End War, Hezbollah Joins Syrian Civil War, & Moscow's Billion-Dollar Money-Laundering Network
Fri, 06 Dec 2024
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: First, senior members of the incoming Trump administration have begun holding high level talks with leaders from Kyiv, seeking to narrow large differences in their visions for how to bring the war in Ukraine to a close ahead of Trump’s return to the White House in January. Later in the show, Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants have declared their intention to fight against rebel insurgents in Syria on behalf of the Assad regime, as Israel warns that the regime’s defenses are at risk of collapse. Plus, authorities in the U.K. have taken down a sprawling billion-dollar Russian money-laundering network used by foreign spies and Russian elites seeking to bypass international sanctions. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, a tragic update out of Israel, as a long awaited probe by the Israeli Defense Forces has found that six hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza in August were likely killed by their Hamas guards back in February as Israeli forces closed in. 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 Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What talks are happening between Ukraine and the Trump administration?
First up, senior members of the incoming Trump administration have begun holding high-level talks with leaders from Kyiv, seeking to narrow large differences in their visions for how to bring the war in Ukraine to a close ahead of Trump's return to the White House in January.
Later in the show, Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants have declared their intention to fight against rebel insurgents in Syria on behalf of the Assad regime, as Israel warns that the regime's defenses are at risk of collapse.
Plus, authorities in the UK have taken down a sprawling billion-dollar Russian money laundering network used by foreign spies and Russian elites seeking to bypass international sanctions.
And in today's Back of the Brief, a tragic update out of Israel as a long-awaited probe by the Israeli Defense Forces, the IDF, has found that six hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza back in August were likely killed by their Hamas guards back in February as Israeli forces closed in. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
We'll start with Russia's war on Ukraine, as officials in Kyiv begin holding high-level talks with senior members of the incoming Trump administration on how to bring an end to the brutal conflict. Now, according to an exclusive report from The Wall Street Journal,
Retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, Trump's choice for special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, and Mike Walz, his incoming national security advisor, met with a top aide to Ukrainian President Zelensky on Wednesday. They're seeking to narrow what remain wide differences, frankly, regarding Trump and Zelensky's respective visions for how to achieve a lasting settlement.
The trip by Zelensky's closest advisor is part of an effort to forge relationships with Trump aides who will likely play a pivotal role in determining what Ukraine's future looks like. He met with incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in Florida earlier Wednesday before heading to Washington to meet with Kellogg and Waltz to communicate Keefe's readiness for a just peace.
According to the Journal report, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance also joined the discussions, though details of the conversations were not immediately available. The foundation of Trump's vision reportedly includes ceding large parts of Ukraine's eastern territories to Russia, areas that Moscow's forces currently occupy, as well as blocking Ukraine from joining the NATO alliance.
But there are apparently multiple proposals being floated by his advisers at this time. Zelensky, meanwhile, recently broke from his past statements, vowing that Kyiv would not relinquish control of any territory to Russia.
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Chapter 2: How is Hezbollah involved in the Syrian Civil War?
As the IDF advanced its ground operations into Khan Yunis in December of 2023, Hamas relocated the hostages to a residential neighborhood, distancing them from senior commanders. In mid-February, the IDF conducted airstrikes targeting Hamas commanders in the area, killing six militants and unaware of the hostages location.
Initial speculation suggested the hostages might have died in those strikes, but the IDF also suspected that Hamas executed them beforehand. On August 20th, the IDF's Elite 98th Division led a recovery operation for the bodies of the slain hostages.
Now, more than three months later, the investigation revealed on Wednesday that all six hostages had gunshot wounds confirming their execution, while according to forensic analysis, the Hamas commander's wounds aligned with airstrike impacts.
The Hostage Families Forum, advocating for relatives of the roughly 100 hostages still held captive in Gaza, issued a statement in the wake of the findings, calling for immediate international action, stating, quote, Time is of the essence. Many of the hostages are still alive and enduring impossible conditions of abuse, starvation and isolation.
As we've been tracking on the PDB, President-elect Donald Trump has echoed these concerns, urging for their release before his January inauguration. Efforts to negotiate the hostages return are reportedly ongoing, involving Trump's team, the outgoing Biden administration and international mediators.
The findings of the IDF investigation underscore the urgency, of course, of resolving the hostage crisis finally. As negotiations continue, families remain in anguish, of course, waiting for any news of their loved ones and hoping for a resolution. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, 6th December.
Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And if it's Friday, and I'm pretty sure it is Friday, well, that means that the PDB team is busy producing the next extended weekend show that we call the PDB Situation Report. Always great guests, solid insight, excellent news, and brought to you every Friday evening at 10 p.m.
on The First TV and, of course, on our YouTube channel. Please check that out. That's at President's Daily Brief. And, of course, every podcast platform where you might get your podcast stuff. And to listen to the show ad-free, well, it's simple. Become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later on with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.
Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
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