The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 6th, 2025: Zelensky Reveals Conditions For Ending The War & Israel Prepares For Palestinian Exodus From Gaza
Thu, 06 Feb 2025
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, we’ll begin in Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested that the U.S. provide Kyiv with nuclear weapons as an alternative security guarantee if NATO membership remains off the table. We’ll discuss the implications, and how President Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine is responding. Then, an update on Donald Trump’s proposal for a US-led takeover of the Gaza Strip, as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructs the IDF to prepare plans to allow Palestinians to voluntarily leave the enclave. 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 Zelensky's conditions for ending the war?
It's Thursday, 6 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, we'll begin in Ukraine, where President Zelensky has requested that the US provide Kyiv with nuclear weapons as an alternative security guarantee if NATO membership remains off the table.
We'll discuss the implications and how President Trump's special envoy to Ukraine is responding. Then, following President Trump's remarks proposing a U.S.-led takeover of the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the IDF to prepare plans to allow Palestinians to voluntarily leave the enclave. But first, our afternoon spotlight.
Ukrainian President Zelensky is revealing his conditions for ending the war with Russia, and they come with a major ask from the United States. Provide Kyiv with nuclear weapons to serve as a deterrent. Oh, is that all you want?
Chapter 2: Why does Ukraine want nuclear weapons from the U.S.?
Zelensky made the request on Tuesday during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, arguing that if there is to be any lasting and just peace in Eastern Europe, Ukraine must be granted meaningful security guarantees by the U.S. and Europe that will keep the Putin regime at bay.
Now, while Zelensky would prefer to be granted NATO membership, he said if the Trump administration remains opposed to their accession to the alliance, nuclear weapons would serve as a viable alternative. So you either put us in NATO, or how about you give us some nukes?
Chapter 3: What did Zelensky say about NATO membership?
Zelensky acknowledged that even if Kyiv is offered a pathway to NATO membership, the process could drag on for years or even decades, and that in the meantime, nuclear weapons could deter Vladimir Putin from attempting to invade Ukraine again. Zelensky said, "...what will be defending us against this evil? Will we be given nuclear weapons? Then let them give us nuclear weapons."
During the interview, Zelensky noted that Ukraine once had a stockpile of nuclear weapons that they inherited after the fall of the Soviet Union, but voluntarily gave them up in 1994 after receiving security assurances from the US, the UK, and believe it or not, Russia.
Zelensky was highly critical of that decision, arguing that the security guarantees lacked real teeth, well apparently so, leaving them vulnerable to Russia over the long term. He wants to avoid putting Ukraine in a similar position under any potential peace plans offered by the Trump administration. The Ukrainian leader continued, quote, Let's do this. Give us back nuclear arms.
Give us missile systems. Help us finance a million-strong army. Or deploy your contingents in parts of our country where we want stability so that people feel safe, end quote. But Zelensky's hopes are likely to be dashed by the Trump administration.
Chapter 4: How did Trump’s envoy respond to Zelensky's request?
Retired General Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, dismissed the idea during an interview on Wednesday night, arguing that it was a non-starter. Kellogg said, quote, the chance of them getting their nuclear weapons back is somewhere between slim and none. And that's frankly, so there'd be none. Let's be honest about it, he said.
Chapter 5: What are the implications of a U.S.-led takeover of Gaza?
Chapter 6: What are the security concerns surrounding Ukraine?
Zelensky was highly critical of that decision, arguing that the security guarantees lacked real teeth, well apparently so, leaving them vulnerable to Russia over the long term. He wants to avoid putting Ukraine in a similar position under any potential peace plans offered by the Trump administration. The Ukrainian leader continued, quote, Let's do this. Give us back nuclear arms.
Give us missile systems. Help us finance a million-strong army. Or deploy your contingents in parts of our country where we want stability so that people feel safe, end quote. But Zelensky's hopes are likely to be dashed by the Trump administration.
Retired General Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, dismissed the idea during an interview on Wednesday night, arguing that it was a non-starter. Kellogg said, quote, the chance of them getting their nuclear weapons back is somewhere between slim and none. And that's frankly, so there'd be none. Let's be honest about it, he said.
Chapter 7: What plans are underway for peace talks?
We both know that's not going to happen, end quote. Kellogg did confirm that plans are underway for meetings between President Trump, Zelensky, and Putin, and said both sides would need to make significant concessions if peace is to be achieved.
But a timeline is still unclear and the administration remains tight-lipped on how they plan to bring the nearly three-year-old conflict to a just resolution. Coming up, an update on President Trump's proposal for a U.S.-led takeover of the Gaza Strip as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructs the IDF to prepare plans to allow Palestinians to voluntarily leave the enclave.
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Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, instructed the IDF Thursday to draft a plan allowing Palestinians to voluntarily leave the enclave, aligning with President Trump's proposal for a U.S.-led takeover of the territory. Though details remained vague, Katz lauded Trump's initiative, suggesting it could, quote, allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world.
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