The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 19th, 2025: Trump's Limited Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Already Risks Collapse & China Looks To Thwart US Panama Canal Deal
Wed, 19 Mar 2025
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Chapter 1: What is the status of Trump's ceasefire agreement with Russia and Ukraine?
It's Wednesday, the 19th of March. 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, President Trump's much-discussed and anticipated 30-day partial ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which was supposed to halt strikes on energy infrastructure, is already collapsing.
Chapter 2: What were the immediate reactions from Ukraine regarding the ceasefire?
We'll look at what happened just hours after the call between Trump and Russian President Putin. Later in the show, China is looking to scuttle the sale of two critical ports in the Panama Canal to the U.S. asset firm BlackRock, jeopardizing President Trump's plans to regain control of the strategic waterway from the Chinese Communist Party. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
Chapter 3: How did Russia respond to the ceasefire agreement?
It appears that the Trump administration's hopes for a limited ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine are already at risk of collapsing, as Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of launching air attacks on civilian targets and energy infrastructure.
Chapter 4: What are the implications of Putin's demands for peace?
Less than 24 hours after Trump's lengthy phone call with Putin, where the Russian strongman reportedly agreed to cease attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack, striking civilian buildings and energy sites.
Chapter 5: What steps are being taken to negotiate a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea?
The overnight bombardment involved roughly 145 Russian drones, four cruise missiles, and two ballistic missiles, which struck two hospitals in Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, as well as a power substation in the eastern Donetsk region. That's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Zelenskyy condemned what he described as a deliberate provocation and said Ukraine will be forced to respond in kind. He also held the strikes up as clear evidence that Putin is not acting in good faith when it comes to Trump's diplomatic outreach and is using the discussions to manipulate the situation to his advantage.
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy stated, quote, You see, this ceasefire is already not working. Putin's words are very much at odds with reality, end quote. The Ukrainian leader added that, quote, there won't be a situation where Russia will continue to shell our energy infrastructure and that we won't respond. We will respond, end quote.
Russia, meanwhile, said that Ukraine already launched its own overnight attack on Russian oil infrastructure in the country's south. and accused leaders in Kyiv of trying to undermine the tentative deal struck between Trump and Putin. The Russian Defense Ministry said multiple Ukrainian drones had entered their airspace and that a drone attack caused a fire at a major oil depot.
The dueling accusations underscore the fragile nature of Trump's negotiations with both Russia and Ukraine and lingering uncertainties over how to implement and enforce any potential ceasefire proposals. Zelensky said that the U.S. must closely monitor Russia's military activity and hold them accountable to their stated promises.
He said he would be discussing next steps with Trump on a phone call that actually took place Wednesday morning. Details of the discussion are scarce at this time, but we will have more on that call in tomorrow's PDB.
As we discussed on this morning's show, President Trump was initially seeking to convince Putin to agree to a full 30-day ceasefire that would pave the way for discussions on a more permanent peace deal. While Kiev accepted the proposal last week, Putin rejected the offer, saying that it did not go far enough in addressing Russia's strategic concerns and objectives.
Putin is insisting that any lasting ceasefire must include Ukraine abandoning its NATO ambitions and recognizing Russian territorial gains. Additionally, the Kremlin said on Monday that a key condition for ending the war is to fully end all foreign military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine, and assurances that Ukraine will cease the mobilization and rearmament of its military.
Putin also reportedly wants a pony and a golden ticket to Wonka's chocolate factory. Look, the dude essentially expects everything and, to date, appears uninterested in actual negotiations. Putin's demands are so steep that many are skeptical, really, as to whether he has any real interest in peace, at least in the short term.
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