May 9th, 2025: Putin Embraces China's Xi, Violates His Own 'Victory Day' Ceasefire & India Trades Blows With Pakistan In Another Dangerous Escalation
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It's Friday, the 9th of May. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, Vladimir Putin violates his own unilateral ceasefire with a wave of airstrikes on Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Russian strongman met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro in Moscow ahead of the big Victory Day celebrations.

Later in the show, military tensions escalate between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, as both sides accuse each other of launching drone and missile attacks. Plus, Israeli leaders say they are prepared to defend themselves without American support against the Iranian-backed Houthis in the wake of the Trump administration's surprise ceasefire with the terror group.

And in the back of the brief, the Catholic Church has elected a new pope, for the first time in history selecting an American to serve as the new Bishop of Rome. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.

We'll start things off with the latest from the war in Ukraine, as Russian President Putin violates his own unilateral ceasefire just hours after it took effect. That's quite the surprise. And by that, I mean, well, there's no surprise there at all. Launching a barrage of guided bombs on several Ukrainian cities, killing and wounding a number of civilians.

As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Putin is gearing up for his big Victory Day celebrations all day Friday, which will be attended by 29 foreign leaders commemorating the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Putin had recently announced a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire to coincide with the ceremonies, which in theory took effect at midnight on Wednesday.

But Ukrainian President Zelensky had rejected the ceasefire proposal as little more than a cynical public relations maneuver by Putin.

And it appears, well, that he was right. Ukraine's foreign minister said Thursday that Russian forces had already violated the ceasefire hundreds of times in the hours after the Kremlin claimed all military actions in Ukraine had been suspended. While combat activity reportedly decreased, Russian forces launched a number of attacks, including in the embattled Sumy region in northeast Ukraine near the Russian border. That's according to a report from CNN.

Ukraine's foreign minister said, "Predictably, Putin's parade ceasefire proves to be a farce. Russian forces continue to attack across the entire front line. From midnight to midday, Russia committed 734 ceasefire violations and 63 assault operations, 23 of which are still ongoing." Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to keep the pressure on the Kremlin through their drone warfare campaign.

launching several towards Moscow on Wednesday for the third consecutive day. While the drones were intercepted, the attacks forced Russia to temporarily suspend flights at 13 airports, including four in Moscow.

Now, it was the second time this week that the airports had to temporarily halt traffic, embarrassing the Kremlin, of course, and raising questions over their ability to protect their domestic airspace just as world leaders began arriving in the Russian capital.

As we discussed on yesterday's PDB, Putin's Victory Day celebrations will be attended by some three dozen foreign dignitaries, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, he's the guest of honor, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, voted most likely to be a really despotic dictator, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who came in second in that voting, and Brazilian President Lula da Silva. Military units from 13 countries, including China,

will participate in a massive military parade in Moscow's Red Square alongside Russian troops and an array of military vehicles. Despite the threats to Russia's airspace, China's Xi arrived in Moscow on Wednesday and met with Putin at the Kremlin on Thursday. Xi proclaimed Russia and China, quote, friends of steel, well, that sounds serious, and mutually pledged with Putin to expand their relations across all areas, including militarily.

In a joint statement, the pair vowed to, quote, strengthen coordination in order to decisively counter Washington's course of dual containment of Russia and China. Xi aligned himself with Putin regarding the war in Ukraine, saying a peaceful settlement can only be achieved with a deal that addresses the, quote, root causes of the conflict. Now, that's a phrase that's commonly used by the Kremlin to perversely place blame on Kiev for the war, which, as you may recall,

started when Russian forces invaded Ukraine's territory. But their remarks should frankly come as no surprise. The pair signed a "no limits" partnership just days before Putin launched his invasion in February of 2022, one that analysts say enabled Putin's aggression and has helped rebuild Russia's defense industrial complex. Frankly, the truth is that without China's assistance, Putin could not keep his war machine humming along.

Throughout the war, China has provided computer chips, advanced software, and dual-use components to Russia that have military applications, including for drones. Despite China's claim of neutrality, last month, Zelenskyy said Ukraine has intelligence showing that the communist nation is now directly supplying the Putin regime with weapons and munitions and actively manufacturing certain weapons from Moscow from facilities located on Russian soil.

While she will be Putin's guest of honor for the Victory Day celebrations, Putin also made time for Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. On Wednesday, the pair signed a strategic partnership agreement in a ceremony broadcast on state TV. They agreed to pursue joint oil and gas initiatives within OPEC and expand trade, according to Reuters.

Venezuela joins the company of China, North Korea, and Iran, which have all signed joint pacts with Moscow over the past two years. As authoritarian leaders convene in Russia for Victory Day, Zelensky derided Putin's planned celebrations in Moscow as a "parade of cynicism." The Ukrainian leader said, "You simply cannot call it anything else. It's a parade of bile and lies," as if not dozens of allied states, but Putin personally, defeated Nazism.

He added that Ukraine would not be, quote, playing games to create a pleasant atmosphere to allow for Putin's exit from isolation on the 9th of May. All right, coming up after the break, military tensions escalate between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, and Israeli leaders say that they are prepared to defend themselves without American support against the Iranian-backed Houthis. I'll be right back.

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Welcome back to the PDB. In a dangerous new escalation, India and Pakistan traded deadly drone and missile attacks Thursday, pushing both nuclear-armed rivals closer to the point of full-scale war, with each side blaming the other for launching unprovoked strikes on military targets. Indian officials say their air force struck Pakistani air defense radar systems in Lahore late Thursday, a move they insist was in direct response to

to what they called, quote, coordinated drone and missile attacks launched by Islamabad on Indian military sites across the disputed Kashmir region. India's foreign secretary called the strikes, quote, defensive and measured and emphasized that they were prompted by Pakistani shelling earlier this week that killed 16 Indian civilians and wounded nearly 60 others.

Meanwhile, Pakistani military officials claimed that Indian drones targeted multiple major cities, including Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi, that's home to Pakistan's military headquarters, killing at least three people and injuring four more. Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations Wing said their air defenses shot down 29 Indian drones across several regions,

and accused India of deploying Harop drones. Now, these drones are capable of loitering for hours above high-value targets to conduct intelligence before striking. One Harop drone reportedly struck a Pakistani military facility near Lahore, damaging key infrastructure. India, for its part, claims that the strike was deliberate and successful, part of what it described as a, quote, calibrated retaliation.

India's foreign secretary made the government's position clear on Thursday, stating, quote, our intention has not been to escalate matters, but instead to respond proportionally to what he called original Pakistani aggression.

That aggression, as we've been tracking here on the PDB, traces back to the late April massacre of 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. That terror attack is something that New Delhi blames on Islamabad-backed Islamic terrorists. Pakistan continues to deny any involvement. In Islamabad, Pakistan's top military spokesman, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, lashed out at New Delhi's narrative

accusing India of manufacturing what he called, quote, war hysteria. Speaking to local media, Chowdhury said the Indian government had, quote, lost the plot and was acting out of, quote, hubris in an already volatile environment. He added that New Delhi is escalating the crisis to satisfy its mindset rather than choosing rationality.

Meanwhile, the city of Jammu in Indian-administered Kashmir was rocked by loud explosions late Thursday night as sirens blared and red flashes lit up the sky. Indian officials described it as a Pakistani drone and missile barrage on military installations. Five districts in the region were blasted, they said, plunging Jammu into a blackout. Indian security forces confirmed eight incoming missiles were intercepted by air defense units.

The U.S. is still scrambling to pull both nations back from the brink of full-scale war. President Trump said Wednesday that New Delhi and Islamabad had gone, quote, tit for tat, so hopefully they can stop now, and added, quote, if I can do anything to help, I will be there. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke separately with India's foreign minister and Pakistan's prime minister on Thursday, urging calm.

That should do it. The U.S. Consulate General in Lahore has since ordered staff to shelter in place. Now, while both sides insist their actions are defensive, well, the scale and tempo of the attacks suggest something far more dangerous is in motion, which may soon prove difficult to contain.

Okay, shifting to Israel. The Israeli government is threatening to strike Iran directly if Yemen's Houthi terrorists don't stop launching missile and drone attacks, warning that the Islamic Republic will meet the same fate as its other regional proxies. The sharp escalation from Jerusalem follows frustration over a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with the Houthis this week that excluded Israeli input.

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday was blunt, declaring the Houthis would "absorb heavy blows" if their assaults on Israeli territory did not stop before turning his attention to the Iranian regime. Katz reminded Iran of recent Israeli campaigns in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon and issued a stark threat, stating, "What we did to Hezbollah in Beirut, Hamas in Gaza, to Assad in Damascus, and the Houthis in Yemen will also be done to you in Tehran."

The warning came on the heels of Israeli airstrikes targeting Houthi infrastructure in Yemen this week in response to Sunday's Houthi missile strike that landed in the perimeter of the Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport. That was the Houthi's most direct strike on Israel since the start of the war. The Israeli retaliatory airstrikes have blasted Houthi strongholds, including Sana'a International Airport and industrial areas in Hodeidah and Bajil.

But, the more enduring concern, Israeli officials say, lies in Washington's diplomatic maneuvering. On Tuesday, President Trump announced a ceasefire agreement with the Houthis, under which the Iran-backed group pledged to stop targeting maritime assets in the Red Sea. Israeli leaders were not informed of the deal beforehand and were reportedly blindsided by its scope and implications. Compounding Jerusalem's frustration, a senior Houthi official confirmed the ceasefire covers

only attacks on American targets, not Israeli ones. Houthi leader Mohammad Ali al-Houthi went further, declaring the agreement a, quote, victory that separates U.S. support for the temporary entity of Israel and a failure for Netanyahu, end quote.

Israeli officials described the agreement as, quote, astonishing, according to the Times of Israel, and privately voiced concerns that the White House is sidelining Israel in broader regional talks, including ongoing U.S. engagement with Hamas and nuclear diplomacy with Iran.

The IDF, meanwhile, said it intercepted a drone likely launched from Yemen on Wednesday and confirmed another Houthi missile crashed outside Israeli territory. Both incidents came after the ceasefire, serving as immediate proof in Israel's eyes that the U.S. deal failed to deter threats to the Jewish state.

Later that day, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said simply, quote, Israel will defend itself by itself. Katz, similarly to Netanyahu, declared that Israel must rely on itself, quote, as was true in the past and will be in the future.

For months, Jerusalem has relied on more than 1,000 U.S. airstrikes on Houthi positions as part of Operation Roughrider to suppress threats in the Red Sea. But now, with Washington pulling back, that security umbrella is vanishing, and Israeli leaders are signaling that any future escalation from Yemen could lead to a direct military confrontation with Iran.

Alright, coming up next in the back of the brief, the Catholic Church has elected a new Pope, for the first time selecting an American to serve as the new Bishop of Rome. I'll have those details next.

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My name is Mike Slater. I have a podcast called Politics by Faith. I was just talking to a friend of mine who said he hasn't been able to follow the news lately. It's been too much. It's too crazy. It's driving him crazy. And

and he's just checked out. If you feel that way sometimes too, I think you'll really like our podcast, Politics by Faith. We take the main story of the day and we run it through the Bible. What does the Bible say about this? It's amazing, but it's all there. And then God tells us what to do. We don't even have to figure it out. The answers are right there. He gives us the answers. Politics by Faith. Please join us over there. You can listen to it wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. Politics by Faith.

In today's Back of the Brief: White smoke billowed from the chimney atop the Vatican Sistine Chapel on Thursday morning, signaling the end of conclave and selection of a new pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church. For the first time in history, the body of cardinals elected an American to serve as the new bishop of Rome, giving the U.S. unprecedented new prominence in the Holy See.

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a 69-year-old Chicago native, emerged as the 267th pontiff, selecting the papal name Leo XIV. His election came on just the second day of conclave in Vatican City during the fourth round of ballot casting, that's according to a report from the New York Post. A visibly emotional Leo later appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to

to address the cheering crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square. His first words, as the new leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, was a simple quote, Peace be with you all.

Leo then paid tribute to the legacy of his predecessor, Pope Francis, before giving his first blessing and briefly outlining his own vision for the future of the Catholic Church. Pope Leo, speaking in Italian, told the gathered faithful, quote, "...we have to seek together to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges and dialogue." He called on all Catholics to, quote, "...show our charity and be in dialogue with love."

The newly minted Pope Leo attended Villanova University outside Philadelphia in his youth where he received a degree in mathematics before earning his diplomacy in theology from the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago. He later studied canon law at the Pontifical St. Thomas Aquinas University in Rome and was formally ordained as a priest in June of 1982, according to CNN.

Leo spent more than half of his career abroad as a missionary in Peru, later becoming a bishop of the Peruvian city of Chiclayo, a role that he served in from 2014 to 2023. His selection came as a bit of a surprise to church observers, beating out perceived frontrunners from Italy, Africa, and Southeast Asia. But Pope Leo had long been entrusted with various leadership positions across the world by Pope Francis.

suggesting that his predecessor had favored him as a possible successor. Since 2023, the same year that he was made a cardinal, Leo has served as the head of the Vatican's bishop vetting and appointment process, overseeing reforms instituted by Francis, including allowing women to vote on the selection of bishops. While the cardinals have historically shied away from choosing an American pope, his decades of missionary work in Peru was said to have mitigated fears among his peers

that he would be too Western-focused. A Vatican analyst told CNN, quote, "He's somebody that even though he's from the West, would be very attentive to the needs of a global church. He's able to accomplish things without necessarily being authoritarian about the way he did things." He's reportedly seen in Vatican circles as a highly capable and accomplished leader, known for his reserved and balanced demeanor. Faithful will now be keenly watching to see what style of leadership he brings to the role.

And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, the 9th of May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And, as you may well know by now, if you'd like to listen to the show ad-free, just become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com.

I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.