PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 28th, 2025: Putin Announces Ceasefire In Ukraine & Pakistan Warns Of Imminent Indian Military Incursion
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It's Monday, the 28th of April. Look at that. We are almost into May. Welcome to the BDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right.

Let's get briefed. First, following a pivotal meeting between Ukrainian President Zelensky and US 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.

Hi, today's afternoon spotlight. 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 must include international recognition of Russia's control of Crimea, along with the four Ukrainian regions currently under Russian military occupation, turn

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. And frankly, I'm just happy I was able to finally use the word "tepid" in the PDB. Ukraine's foreign minister said, "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.

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.

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, quote, 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, quote, "...we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in." End quote.

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.

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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. In escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, Pakistan's defense minister warned today that an Indian military incursion was imminent following last week's deadly terror attack in the disputed region of Kashmir. The warning follows the deadliest civilian assault in Indian-administered Kashmir in a quarter of a century, an attack that left 26 tourists dead and triggered outrage across Hindu-majority India, with calls for retribution

against Muslim-majority Pakistan. New Delhi wasted no time in pointing fingers, accusing Islamabad of "backing militants and fueling cross-border terrorism." Pakistan, for its part, flatly denied the allegations and demanded a neutral investigation.

Speaking from his office in Islamabad, Pakistan's defense minister told Reuters that Pakistan had reinforced its military presence along the de facto border and made, quote, strategic decisions to brace for a potential Indian strike, an attack he warned was, quote, imminent now. He declined to provide specific evidence for his claim. The defense minister also issued a chilling reminder. Pakistan would consider deploying its nuclear arsenal if faced with a, quote,

direct threat to our existence." Meanwhile, the situation on the ground continued to deteriorate. India and Pakistan traded gunfire for a fourth consecutive night along the 460-mile line of control that's the heavily fortified frontier that slices through the heart of Kashmir.

The Indian Army claimed it was responding to "unprovoked small arms fire" from Pakistani posts around midnight Sunday. No casualties were reported, and Pakistan's military has yet to comment on the latest exchange. At the same time, India ramped up nationwide military exercises, though defense officials insisted that some drills had been planned prior to the terror attack.

In Kashmir, the security crackdown has been swift and sweeping. Police detained roughly 500 people for questioning and searched nearly 1,000 houses in an ongoing hunt for the gunmen, according to local officials.

But the narrative only grew murkier over the weekend. The Resistance Front, or TRF, the Islamist terror group that initially claimed responsibility for the attack, abruptly reversed course on Sunday, alleging that its earlier admission was the result of a cyber attack orchestrated by Indian intelligence. New Delhi dismissed the claim as disinformation.

The United States, caught between its strategic ties to India and its broader regional interests, reacted carefully. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce over the weekend stated that Washington was "monitoring developments closely" and was in contact with both New Delhi and Islamabad at multiple levels. Bruce emphasized that the U.S. "stands with India and strongly condemns the terrorist attack."

reflecting the deepening partnership between Washington and New Delhi, part of America's broader Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China's growing influence. China, a long-time ally of Pakistan, weighed in too, backing Islamabad's call for an independent investigation and urging both sides to exercise restraint. Beijing also welcomed efforts to de-escalate tensions.

And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Monday, the 28th of April. If you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. Now, as you've probably seen from all the full-page ads in many of the swankier, glossy magazines, if you want to listen to the show ad-free, just become a Premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com.

It's that simple. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.

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