The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 28th, 2025: Putin Announces Ceasefire In Ukraine & Pakistan Warns Of Imminent Indian Military Incursion
Mon, 28 Apr 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
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
President Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis' 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.
Chapter 2: What did Putin announce regarding Ukraine?
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, though 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
Chapter 3: What are the implications of the ceasefire in Ukraine?
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 Kyiv and the vast majority of EU nations. The Kremlin added that they expect Kyiv to reciprocate the temporary ceasefire and that they will respond forcefully to any violations.
Chapter 4: How are international leaders reacting to Putin's ceasefire?
Chapter 5: What is the current situation between India and Pakistan?
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, though 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 Kyiv and the vast majority of EU nations. The Kremlin added that they expect Kyiv to reciprocate the temporary ceasefire and that they will 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.
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Chapter 6: What are the latest developments in US-Ukraine relations?
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.
Chapter 7: What are the challenges facing peace negotiations in Ukraine?
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 Kyiv 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.
Chapter 8: What does the future hold for the Russian-Ukraine conflict?
The White House was similarly skeptical, with Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt 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, "...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 a pivotal meeting over the weekend between Zelensky and Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis' 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 into 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 Kyiv 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 join 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 Witkoff met again with Putin on Friday. But whether Putin's latest ceasefire offer will be 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, "...we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in."
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.
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