April 18th, 2025: China Accused Of Supplying Weapons For Russia's War On Ukraine & UN Warns Iran On Verge Of Building Nuclear Bomb
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It's Friday, the 18th of April. 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. We'll start things off with new accusations from Ukrainian President Zelensky, who

who claims his nation has gathered intelligence that shows China is now supplying Russia with artillery and munitions, which, of course, would be a major escalation of Beijing's involvement in Moscow's war effort. We'll have those details later in the show. As the U.S. and Iran once again head to the negotiating table this weekend, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog chief warns that Tehran is not far from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Plus, the Kremlin is reportedly planning to use a U.S.-owned food producer that the Kremlin seized this past year to supply canned goods to the Russian military. And in today's Back of the Brief, movement on that much-discussed U.S.-Ukraine mineral steel. According to both President Trump and the Ukrainian government, that agreement is set to be signed next week. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.

We'll begin with the latest developments from the war in Ukraine, where it appears that China may be taking on a far more involved role in the conflict than leaders in Beijing would have the world believe.

Ukrainian President Zelensky said Thursday that intelligence shows the communist nation is supplying the Putin regime with weapons and munitions, marking the first time that Kyiv has openly accused China of providing Russia with direct military aid. While it did not disclose the specifics, Zelensky said the weapons included artillery and that Ukraine would be providing a more detailed report on the military coordination next week. That's according to Reuters.

But Beijing's assistance reportedly doesn't stop there. Zelensky also said they have evidence that the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, is actively manufacturing certain weapons from Moscow right from Russian soil. Such actions would, of course, constitute a major escalation of Beijing's involvement in Russia's war effort and directly contradict the CCP's longstanding claims of neutrality when it comes to the conflict.

As we've previously discussed on the PDB, China has spent much of the war attempting to position themselves as unbiased mediators between Ukraine and Russia, sending envoys to both countries when the war first kicked off. But their actions have consistently undermined their public claims.

For example, they've never condemned the invasion by Putin or even formally called the conflict a war. Last year, they even pushed a peace proposal for Ukraine that was universally rejected by the West for granting Russia major portions of Ukrainian territory while asking for little in the way of concessions from the Kremlin.

And then, of course, there's China's direct economic support of the Putin regime. You'll recall that back in February of 2022, just days before Putin launched his invasion, China and Russia agreed to a, quote, no-limits partnership that many say enabled Putin's aggression and has helped rebuild Russia's defense industrial complex.

The CCP has also provided computer chips, advanced software, and dual-use technological components to Russia that have military applications, including for drones. Now, if the reports are accurate, it seems that China's been caught red-handed by Ukrainian intelligence covertly trying to tip the scales of the war in Russia's favor.

Zelensky told reporters Thursday, quote, We finally have information that China is supplying weapons to the Russian Federation. As of today, we have general information from the SBU intelligence service and reconnaissance about gunpowder and artillery. The Ukrainian leader added, quote, We believe that Chinese representatives are engaged in the production of some weapons on the territory of Russia.

China has so far been silent on the new accusations, though, as I noted, the regime has previously denied any involvement in the war. But adding weight to Zelensky's claim, it looks like Russia is openly recruiting Chinese mercenaries, something that the Kremlin would almost certainly not do without Beijing's direct blessing.

As we reported last week, two Chinese nationals were recently captured on Ukrainian territory, fighting alongside Russian soldiers. Ukrainian intelligence later said that as many as 150 Chinese nationals have been recruited to fight for the Putin regime.

One of the Chinese POWs subsequently disclosed that he was directly approached by Russian officials who had traveled to China in search of recruits. The Russian officials reportedly offered him an attractive salary of 250,000 rubles, significantly more than the average salary in China. He then traveled to Moscow in February of this year to sign a military contract.

The other captured Chinese national reportedly arrived in Russia in December of 2024 and signed a contract with the Russian military after responding to an advertisement promising a payout of 2 million rubles.

Both men, however, said that they were duped into fighting against Ukrainian forces on the front lines. One said he was told he would be serving as a rehabilitation therapist for Moscow's troops, but was subsequently forced to undergo weapons training before being sent into Ukrainian territory.

Both men said they were tightly monitored and there was no opportunity to flee. Now, we should note that both POWs made these claims at a press conference where they were appealing to China to negotiate their release. So their version of events is frankly impossible to verify.

After the news of their capture broke, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry issued a vociferous denial, oh, good use of the word vociferous, of any direct Chinese involvement, calling such claims, quote, unfounded.

The spokesman said they have always told their citizens to stay away from the conflict, adding, quote, China is not the initiator of the Ukrainian crisis, nor is China a participating party. We are a firm supporter, he said, and active promoter of a peaceful settlement of the crisis, end quote.

All right. Coming up next, as nuclear talks resume, the U.N. warns Iran is dangerously close to developing nuclear weapons and Russia eyes a seized U.S. company in order to feed its military. I'll be right back.

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Offer is valid for a limited time. Terms and conditions may apply. Welcome back to the BDB. In a stark assessment, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog warned Wednesday that Iran has nearly all the components for a nuclear bomb, further raising, of course, the stakes just before the second round of U.S.-Iran talks this weekend in Rome.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, told French newspaper Le Monde that while the Iranian regime still has steps left to complete a nuclear weapon, quote, they're not far off and that has to be acknowledged. Grossi likened the situation to a, quote, puzzle, with Iran now holding nearly all the pieces needed to assemble a bomb.

The IAEA's latest report confirms that Iran possesses roughly 605 pounds of uranium enriched up to 60%, well beyond the 3.67% limit imposed by the now-failed 2015 nuclear deal, and perilously close to the 90% threshold required for weapons-grade material.

That 2015 deal, formerly known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, collapsed in 2018 after President Trump, in his first term, withdrew the U.S. and reinstated sweeping sanctions on Iran under his maximum pressure campaign.

The IAEA chief touched down in Tehran on Wednesday in an effort to obtain transparency, and revive international monitoring. Considering that the international community has never had transparency on Iran's program, it does seem unlikely to happen now.

The IAEA chief met with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Nuclear Chief Mohammad Islami, pressing for what he called, quote, indispensable cooperation. Grossi stated the IAEA needs, quote, "...credible assurances about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program at a time when diplomacy is urgently needed."

But the mullahs were quick to strike a defiant posture. Arakci emerged from the meeting blaming, quote, spoilers for trying to, quote, derail current negotiations and warned Grossi to, quote, keep the agency away from politics. Arakci,

Iran continues to insist its program is solely for civilian use. Yeah, nothing to see here, folks. Move along. Though the IAEA chief emphasized that declarations alone are insufficient. Yeah, that would be true. Bluntly stating, quote, we need to be able to verify. The tension follows a fiery back and forth exchange between Washington and Tehran in recent days.

As we've been tracking this week on the PDB, Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, demanded in a post on X that Iran, quote, stop and eliminate uranium enrichment as part of any final deal. That marked a pivot from comments that he made on Fox News on Monday, suggesting that the U.S. would accept enrichment capped at 3.67 percent. That was the threshold again under the 2015 deal.

Arakshi declared the demand, quote, non-negotiable, while Tehran's foreign ministry spokesman accused Witkoff of committing a, quote, professional foul. In a post on X, the spokesman warned that diplomatic whiplash like this could cause talks to collapse altogether.

President Trump, for his part, made clear this week that he won't tolerate delays or defiance. He told reporters that the Iranian regime cannot have a nuclear weapon, stating, quote, if we have to do something very harsh, we'll do it, threatening potential military action.

With the second round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks set for tomorrow, Iranian President Massoud Bezeshkin expressed cautious optimism, saying that he hopes a deal can be struck, though with both sides hardening their positions, expectations are low.

Okay, turning to Russia. Despite the Trump administration's ongoing efforts at rapprochement with the Putin regime, and yes, I did pronounce it with the French accent, rapprochement, Moscow continues to thumb their nose at the White House. In the latest development that is sure to irritate President Trump, the Kremlin is planning to use an American-owned food company that it recently seized to supply canned goods to the Russian army.

Glaf Product, the company in question, was placed under state control last October and is the only American-owned firm to be seized by Russia since their war on Ukraine began more than three years ago.

According to internal Russian military documents reviewed by Reuters, the seizure of GLAV product was deemed necessary to ensure stable food production as the war grinds on, particularly for future supplies to the Russian National Guard and Defense Ministry forces. We should note the American-owned company had not previously provided food to the Russian military.

The seizure of Glafproduct, which was founded by Los Angeles-based businessman Leonid Smirnov, followed a Kremlin decree signed in May of last year allowing for the confiscation of U.S.-owned property and securities as, quote, compensation for Western sanctions against the Putin regime.

While the canned food company was taken last October, its assets weren't frozen until mid-March. As justification, Russian prosecutors accused Smirnov of illegally transferring $17 million out of Russia between 2022 and 2024. Smirnov denies any wrongdoing, calling the Kremlin's seizure of his company a, quote, Russian-style corporate raid.

According to a report from the Kiev Independent, the company is now being overseen by Moscow's Federal Property Management Agency in coordination with a major Russian food supplier with ties to Kremlin security forces. The Kremlin has been asserting greater control over strategic industries in recent months, particularly food production, to sustain their war effort as the conflict enters its fourth year and their economy flounders.

The news comes as back-channel negotiations between Washington and Moscow to end the war in Ukraine continue, though critics have said that the Putin regime is simply stringing along the Trump administration with false promises as they prepare for expanded offensives into Ukrainian territory. While U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously said that Russia's seizure of GLAV product would be part of broader diplomatic talks to, quote, reset relations with Moscow,

Its new use as a food supplier for the Russian military, well, is sure to complicate those efforts. OK, coming up next in the back of the brief, President Trump says the long-stalled Ukraine mineral deal is finally moving forward, with the signing set for next week. We'll have those details next.

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In today's Back of the Brief, big news out of the White House as President Trump confirms the U.S. and Ukraine will sign a long-delayed deal on Washington's access to critical minerals next week. Speaking from the Oval Office yesterday, Trump told reporters, quote, We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday, and I assume Ukraine is going to live up to the deal, end quote.

The announcement puts the agreement, which previously collapsed in February in that now infamous Oval Office clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky, back on track. As for what we know at this moment, both sides have appeared to reach a consensus on the broad contours of the post-war accord, one that would grant the U.S. privileged access to Ukraine's vast mineral deposits and, in return, offer a framework for reconstruction.

Under the terms, revenues generated from the extraction of Ukraine's mineral resources, whether by state-owned enterprises or private firms, would be deposited into a jointly administered investment fund for reconstruction overseen by Washington.

The U.S. would hold equity in the fund and claim a share of the profits, reflecting Trump's broader demand that American assistance be treated not as foreign aid, but as a financial investment. That premise had long been a sticking point for Keefe, which initially balked at efforts to retroactively frame nearly $90 billion in American assistance, most of it delivered under the then-Biden administration, as a loan.

But following back-channel talks in Washington, Trump's team dropped its earlier demand to peg total USAID at over $300 billion, helping pave the way for a tentative agreement. The stakes of Thursday's deal are significant. Ukraine sits atop one of the richest deposits of critical minerals in Europe, including nearly a third of the continent's lithium and roughly 7% of its titanium.

It also holds substantial reserves of cobalt, copper, uranium, and rare earth elements essential to weapons manufacturing, high-tech electronics, and energy development. According to Ukraine's Ministry of Economy, an estimated 5% of the world's critical raw materials lie within Ukraine's borders. There is one catch, however, as a vast portion of those assets, worth upward of $350 billion by some estimates,

remain under Russian occupation in eastern and southern Ukraine. Whether the deal serves as an on-ramp to a ceasefire remains to be seen, but it could mark a pivot point in how the U.S. wields its influence over Ukraine's post-war future and how it profits from it.

And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, the 18th of April. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And as always, well, Fridays mean new episodes of our extended weekend show, the PDB Situation Report. This week's guests include economist Preston Brasher from the Heritage Foundation and Bill Roggio from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

We look at the economics of tariffs and trade wars and take a spin around the Middle East, with an emphasis on Yemen, the Houthis, and the Iranian regime.

This latest episode hits the airwaves in full technicolor and surround sound at 10 p.m. this evening on The First TV. And as always, as you know, this episode and past episodes can be found on our YouTube channel. And you can find our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief and podcast platforms everywhere. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.