The President's Daily Brief
December 19th, 2025: Russia Deploys Nuclear-Capable Missiles On NATO’s Doorstep & China Rages Over Taiwan Arms Sale
19 Dec 2025
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Congratulations, we made it to the end of another week. 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, Russian provocation yet again on NATO's border. Moscow has deployed its newest nuclear-capable missile system to Belarus, putting a new class of weapons on the alliance's doorstep. I'll have the details.
Later in the show, Beijing lashes out as Washington approves a massive new arms package for Taiwan, including missiles, drones, and heavy artillery worth more than $10 billion. Plus, a report claims President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu laid the groundwork for a possible strike on Iran long before the public knew, using an elaborate deception effort to keep plans under wraps.
And in today's Back of the Brief, just days after the deadly attack on Bondi Beach, Australian police launch a dramatic operation in Sydney amid intelligence warnings of a possible follow-on plot. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. Russia has now placed its latest generation nuclear capable missile system inside neighboring Belarus.
That's a move that brings some of Moscow's most advanced weaponry closer to NATO territory than at any point in the post-Cold War era. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed that Russia has deployed the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system to Belarus, where it has officially entered combat duty.
While Lukashenko did not provide details on how many missiles were deployed or exactly where they are positioned, the announcement alone is enough to raise alarms across Europe. The Ereshnik is not just another missile.
It's an intermediate-range weapon capable of carrying either conventional or nuclear warheads, and it is believed to travel at hypersonic speeds, meaning it could potentially strike targets in minutes, not hours. That combination of speed and range and potential maneuverability and payload makes it especially challenging for air and missile defense systems to intercept.
And that's the key issue here. By positioning the system in Belarus, Russia shortens NATO's warning times and complicates defensive planning. Missiles that might once have been launched from deep inside Russian territory are now positioned far closer to alliance members like Poland and Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. This deployment also carries symbolic weight.
Intermediate-range missiles were once banned under the now-defunct INF Treaty as a Cold War-era agreement between the US and the Soviet Union that eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons from Europe. Their return signals a move away from arms control frameworks that helped stabilize the continent for decades and toward a more openly confrontational posture.
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Chapter 2: What recent military actions has Russia taken near NATO's borders?
Putin's missile deployment is not happening in a bubble, of course. The Kremlin is engaged in other provocations across Europe's borders, including the drone incursions and hybrid operations that we've been tracking here on the PDB. Taken together, these moves suggest a strategy aimed at keeping NATO off balance while steadily expanding Russia's military footprint.
For NATO, the challenge is clear. Strengthen defenses without triggering a wider confrontation. The goal is deterrence, not provocation, making it unmistakably clear that any aggression against one member would be met with a unified response. Russia's decision to deploy nuclear-capable missiles in Belarus puts that challenge into sharp focus.
The strategic landscape in Europe is shifting, and NATO is adjusting in real time. All right, coming up after the break, Beijing lashes out as Washington approves a massive arms package for Taiwan. And new reporting claims President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu quietly laid the groundwork for a potential strike on Iran long before the public knew. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here.
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The latest turn in the U.S.-China relationship happened on Wednesday, with the Trump administration rolling out one of the largest arms packages ever offered to Taiwan. It's a more than $11 billion sale. That's billion with a B. No surprise, that sale drew immediate fury from Beijing.
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