The President's Daily Brief
April 18th, 2025: China Accused Of Supplying Weapons For Russia's War On Ukraine & UN Warns Iran On Verge Of Building Nuclear Bomb
Fri, 18 Apr 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We’ll start things off with new accusations from Ukrainian President Zelensky, who claims his nation has gathered intelligence that shows China is now supplying Russia with artillery and gunpowder—a major escalation of Beijing’s involvement in Moscow’s war effort. Later in the show—as the US and Iran once again head to the negotiating table this weekend, the UN’s nuclear watchdog chief warns that Tehran is not far from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Plus, in what would appear to be a slap in the face to President Trump, the Kremlin is reportedly planning to use a U.S.-owned food producer it seized last year to supply canned goods to the Russian military. In our 'Back of the Brief—good news for those waiting on that big US-Ukraine minerals deal. According to both Trump and the Ukrainian government, that agreement is set to be inked next week. 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 Kikoff: Tax season is the perfect time to take control of your financial future. Get your first month FREE at https://getkikoff.com/mike Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: Who is hosting The President's Daily Brief for April 18th, 2025?
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.
Chapter 2: What are the new accusations against China regarding the Ukraine war?
We'll start things off with new accusations from Ukrainian President Zelensky, 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 US and Iran once again head to the negotiating table this weekend, the UN's nuclear watchdog chief warns that Tehran is not far from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Plus, the Kremlin is reportedly planning to use a US-owned food producer that the Kremlin seized this past year to supply canned goods to the Russian military. Hmm.
Und in heute's Back of the Brief, Movement on that much discussed US-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.
Chapter 3: How is China allegedly supplying weapons to Russia according to Zelensky?
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 Zelenskyy 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, Zelenskyy 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.
Zelenskyy 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 have 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. Und dann, natürlich, gibt es Chinas direkte ökonomische Unterstützung des Putin-Regimes.
Sie werden sich erinnern, dass es im Februar 2022, nur Tage bevor Putin seine Invasion eröffnete, China und Russland zu einer, Quote, No-Limits-Partnerschaft verabschiedeten, die viele sagen, Putins Aggression ermöglichte und Russlands Gefängnis-Industrie-Komplex erweitert hat.
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 has been caught red-handed by Ukrainian intelligence covertly trying to tip the scales of the war in Russia's favor.
Zelenskyy 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.
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Chapter 4: What evidence exists of Chinese mercenaries fighting for Russia?
Vantage score 3.0 between January 2023 and January 2024. For kick-off credit account users who started with a score below 600, who paid on time and who had no delinquencies or collections added to their credit profile during the period. Late payments may negatively impact your credit score. Hey, Mike Baker hier. Let's talk about sleep.
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Get that, 100 nights. Plus, every bedding product comes with a 10-year warranty for long-lasting comfort. Welcome back to the PDB. 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 US-Iran talks this weekend in Rome.
Raphael Grossi, Direktor 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 likt die Situation zu einem, Quote, Puzzle, mit Iran, der jetzt fast alle Teile braucht, um eine Bombe zu verbinden.
Der neuesten Bericht der IAEA bestätigt, dass Iran rund 605 Pounden Uranium besitzt, die bis zu 60 Prozent erzeugt sind, weit über die 3,67 Prozent-Limit, die durch den jetzt fehlenden 2015-Nukleardeal geimpft wurde, und perillös nahe an den 90-Prozent-Threshold, der für waffengradierte Materialien benötigt wird.
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 Mohammed 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.
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Chapter 5: How has China responded to the accusations about involvement in the Ukraine conflict?
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%, and that was the threshold again under the 2015 deal.
Aragshi declared the demand, quote, non-negotiable, while Tehrans Foreign Ministry spokesman accused Witkow 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. Präsident Trump, für seinen Teil, hat diese Woche klargestellt, dass er keine Verlängerungen oder Verlängerungen tolerieren wird.
Er hat den Rednern gesagt, dass der iranische Regime kein nukleares Waffen haben kann. Stattdessen, wenn wir etwas sehr hart machen müssen, werden wir es tun. Verrückte potenzielle militärische Aktionen.
With the second round of US-Iran nuclear talks set for tomorrow, Iranian President Massoud Bazeshkin 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. GLAV-Produkt, 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 GLAV-Product, 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 dollars 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.
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Chapter 6: What is the current status of Iran's nuclear weapons program according to the UN?
Get 20% off your first order when you use promo code Baker, that's B-A-K-E-R, at American-Giant.com. That's 20% off when you use code Baker at American-Giant.com. 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. Die Annahme stellt den Vertrag, der im Februar vorhin in dem jetzt berühmten Oval-Office-Klatsch zwischen Trump und dem ukrainischen Präsidenten Zelensky, zurück auf den Weg.
Was wir jetzt wissen, sind, dass beide Seiten einen Konsens auf die breiten Konturen des Post-Kriegs-Akkords erreicht haben, einen, der den USA-privilegierten Zugang zu Ukrainiens vasten Mineraldepositen bieten würde, und in der Folge ein Framework für die Reconstruktion bieten würde.
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 US 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 Kiev, 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 USA 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. Es hält auch hohe Reserven von Kobalt, Kupfer, Uranium und rarer Erde-Elementen, die notwendig sind für die Produktion von Waffen, hohe Technologien und Energieentwicklung.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of the collapsed 2015 Iran nuclear deal?
Laut der Ukraine-Ministerie für die Wirtschaft, liegt ein bestimmtes 5% der weltweit kritischen rauchen Materialien in den Grenzen der Ukraine. 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 pdb at thefirsttv.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. Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.
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Chapter 8: How are US-Iran nuclear negotiations progressing amid rising tensions?
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