The President's Daily Brief
January 15th, 2025: French Troops to Ukraine? & A Russian Mercenary in Texas
Wed, 15 Jan 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Ongoing talks between Paris and Kyiv could see French troops deployed to Ukraine, even as the war with Russia continues. NATO announces a new mission to safeguard undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, following incidents raising fears of Russian sabotage and espionage. The latest TikTok drama, as Chinese officials consider a potential deal for Elon Musk to acquire the app's U.S. operations if it can't avoid a ban. And in today’s Back of the Brief, new security concerns at the U.S. border after a Russian mercenary was arrested near Roma, Texas, carrying two passports, a drone, and $4,000 after illegally entering the country. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are the talks about French troops in Ukraine?
Es scheint, dass die Führer in Europa eine größere Rolle in der Krieg in der Ukraine beteiligen, als Präsident Donald Trump, der am Montag in der Office gezwungen wird, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy said he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday to discuss the current state of the conflict, including the possibility of deploying French troops inside Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader did not elaborate on whether he was talking about using Western troops in a combat or peacekeeping role, though in recent months French officials have repeatedly hinted at the possibility of deploying a military contingent in non-combat capacities.
These capacities include having French troops train Ukrainian soldiers from inside the country, replace Ukrainian forces guarding the country's borders of Belarus to free up Ukrainian troops for combat, or serve as peacekeepers to enforce a potential ceasefire with Russia.
The topic reportedly came up again on Monday, as the pair spoke about the need for Western security guarantees for Kiev, if any just peace with Russia is going to be achieved. In einem Social-Media-Post hat Zelensky gesagt, dass er eine solche Garantie hat, dass wir die französische Initiative diskutieren, um die militärische Kontingenz der Ukraine zu eröffnen.
Wir haben praktische Schritte für ihre Implementierung, potenzielle Erweiterung und die Einwanderung anderer Nationen in diesem Versuch. Während die Idee eines westlichen Truppeneinbruchs in der Ukraine nicht neu ist, bleibt es hochkontroversiell.
Last February, the French President made a similar suggestion after discussions with other European leaders in Paris, although those talks explicitly centered on deploying troops in a combat capacity. The idea went nowhere at the time, with alarmed NATO officials dismissing it outright.
But more recently, President-elect Trump laid out a vision for peace that would involve deploying a European-led coalition of ground troops to secure and support a limited ceasefire with Moscow. Trump has said he wants European allies to shoulder the main financial and military responsibilities for overseeing a halt to Russian hostilities.
But even if Western troops were deployed as a part of a peacekeeping mission rather than a formal NATO operation, there's no shortage of challenges. Fears of Russian retaliation, logistical headaches and divisions within Europe all cast doubt on the feasibility of this united approach.
Complicating matters, the Kremlin has rejected calls for a limited ceasefire outright and bristled at any suggestion of Ukraine hosting Western troops inside their borders. Last June, after Macron suggested using NATO forces to train Ukrainian soldiers, the Kremlin warned they'd be fair game for attack, saying, quote, it doesn't matter whether they're French or not.
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Chapter 2: What is NATO's new mission in the Baltic Sea?
Musk has opposed banning TikTok in an April post on X, framing the move as a threat of free speech, therefore suggesting he might be willing to entertain the idea of buying it. Währenddessen hat Trump, dessen verteidigte Regierung die Druck auf China mit potenziellen Tarifen und Exportkontrollen intensiviert, die möglichen Negotiativen über TikToks Fortschritte gehandelt.
Während er die App als potenzielles Bereich für die Begegnung mit Beijing bezeichnet, hat er seine Regierung auch mit berühmten China-Hawks gestaffelt, insbesondere Staatssekretär Marco Rubio, der empfiehlt, dass irgendein Deal mit internen Komplexitäten verursacht wird. Marco Rubio's confirmation hearing is today in front of the U.S. Senate. We'll see if this issue comes up.
ByteDance for its part has floated alternative strategies, such as shifting U.S. users to a rebranded platform to sidestep the ban. However, such measures remain speculative and unlikely to satisfy Washington's national security concerns.
For now, all eyes are on the Supreme Court's impending decision, which could come as soon as Friday, and the behind-the-scenes negotiations between Beijing, Musk and the Trump team. Whether Musk will emerge as an 11th-hour wildcard in the battle over TikTok's future in the U.S. remains to be seen.
Coming up in the back of the brief, new fears at America's border after a Russian mercenary was arrested in Texas, carrying multiple passports after illegally entering the United States. More on that when we get back.
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