The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 6th, 2025: Zelensky Reveals Conditions For Ending The War & Israel Prepares For Palestinian Exodus From Gaza
06 Feb 2025
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, we’ll begin in Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested that the U.S. provide Kyiv with nuclear weapons as an alternative security guarantee if NATO membership remains off the table. We’ll discuss the implications, and how President Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine is responding. Then, an update on Donald Trump’s proposal for a US-led takeover of the Gaza Strip, as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructs the IDF to prepare plans to allow Palestinians to voluntarily leave the enclave. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
It's Thursday, 6 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, we'll begin in Ukraine, where President Zelensky has requested that the US provide Kyiv with nuclear weapons as an alternative security guarantee if NATO membership remains off the table.
We'll discuss the implications and how President Trump's special envoy to Ukraine is responding. Then, following President Trump's remarks proposing a U.S.-led takeover of the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the IDF to prepare plans to allow Palestinians to voluntarily leave the enclave. But first, our afternoon spotlight.
Ukrainian President Zelensky is revealing his conditions for ending the war with Russia, and they come with a major ask from the United States. Provide Kyiv with nuclear weapons to serve as a deterrent. Oh, is that all you want?
Zelensky made the request on Tuesday during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, arguing that if there is to be any lasting and just peace in Eastern Europe, Ukraine must be granted meaningful security guarantees by the U.S. and Europe that will keep the Putin regime at bay.
Now, while Zelensky would prefer to be granted NATO membership, he said if the Trump administration remains opposed to their accession to the alliance, nuclear weapons would serve as a viable alternative. So you either put us in NATO, or how about you give us some nukes?
Zelensky acknowledged that even if Kyiv is offered a pathway to NATO membership, the process could drag on for years or even decades, and that in the meantime, nuclear weapons could deter Vladimir Putin from attempting to invade Ukraine again. Zelensky said, "...what will be defending us against this evil? Will we be given nuclear weapons? Then let them give us nuclear weapons."
During the interview, Zelensky noted that Ukraine once had a stockpile of nuclear weapons that they inherited after the fall of the Soviet Union, but voluntarily gave them up in 1994 after receiving security assurances from the US, the UK, and believe it or not, Russia.
Zelensky was highly critical of that decision, arguing that the security guarantees lacked real teeth, well apparently so, leaving them vulnerable to Russia over the long term. He wants to avoid putting Ukraine in a similar position under any potential peace plans offered by the Trump administration. The Ukrainian leader continued, quote, Let's do this. Give us back nuclear arms.
Give us missile systems. Help us finance a million-strong army. Or deploy your contingents in parts of our country where we want stability so that people feel safe, end quote. But Zelensky's hopes are likely to be dashed by the Trump administration.
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