TRUMP TO PUTIN: ‘VLADIMIR, STOP!’: It’s come to this. The man who never misses an opportunity to claim the war in Ukraine would have never happened if he had been president in 2022 — because Russian President Vladimir Putin so deeply respects him — has been reduced to begging Putin to stop bombing innocent civilians.
This is how President Donald Trump put it in a Thursday morning post on Truth Social. “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets (sic) get the Peace Deal DONE!”
In response, a Russian drone hit yet another apartment building in the southeastern Ukraine city of Pavlohrad today, killing three people and injuring 10 others — one day after the deadliest attack on Kyiv since last July, in which at least 12 people were killed and 90 were injured.
“These missile strikes against Ukrainian civilians are a big ‘F U’ to the Administration’s efforts,” retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of the U.S. Army Europe, posted on X. “They only respect strength. The Kremlin has zero respect for this Administration.”
“I hope that the administration will read this strike for what it is. It’s a thumbing your nose really at U.S. efforts,” former Supreme NATO Commander retired Gen. Wes Clark said on CNN. “I know President Trump believes he has a relationship with Mr. Putin, but it’s not the kind of relationship that he might think.”
“Putin sees an opportunity. He sees the United States preparing to turn its back on Europe, especially Ukraine, and walk away. So, this is the moment for Putin. Really, it’s what he’s been waiting for,” Clark said. “He wants Ukraine. He wants the Baltics. He wants Eastern Europe back under the Russian thumb. And so it’s not just about Ukraine. It’s not just about this peace agreement.”
“Vladimir Putin playing rope-a-dope in this most recent volley of strikes, right in the middle of the Trump team trying to get to a negotiation, looks extremely disrespectful to the president,” retired Adm. James Stavridis, another former top NATO commander, said on CNN. “It looks to me like a signal to the White House that ‘you’re not calling my shots for me.’ And it really feels like kind of thumbing your nose at President Trump.”
TRUMP: ‘WE ARE USING A LOT OF PRESSURE ON BOTH’: At a White House meeting with the prime minister of Norway, Trump repeated his displeasure about the latest Russian attacks, but refused to label Putin the obstacle to peace.
“I don’t think so. I think they both want peace right now. They’re ready to do something. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “We are using a lot of pressure on both. You know, if you think we just stand there because we’re nice people — we are nice people, but we’re using a lot of pressure on both.”
Asked if Russia has made any concessions, Trump cited “stopping the war, stopping taking the whole country,” adding that’s a “pretty big concession.”
Independent analysts, including those at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, have assessed that Russia’s loss of “staggering amounts of manpower and equipment” and failure “to break Ukrainian lines or even drive them back very far” have indicated that “Russia likely cannot sustain continued efforts along these lines indefinitely.” In other words, the “concession” is just an acknowledgment of the facts on the ground.
“This war is end-able. Both sides just have to agree to it,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a White House session. “We’ve shown the path forward, we can see the finish line, but both of them have to get there. And we’re going to do everything we can to help them get there, but they have to ultimately say yes, both of them.”
TRUMP SAYS HE HAS A PERSONAL ‘DEADLINE’ FOR RUSSIA-UKRAINE CEASEFIRE DEAL
ZELENSKY: “RUSSIA MUST STOP ITS MASSIVE STRIKES ON UKRAINE’: At a news conference in South Africa yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the suggestion that he had rejected Trump’s seven-point peace plan. Instead, he said that his team and his European partners, who were meeting in London, carefully examined the U.S. proposal and suggested some amendments.
Of particular concern was the idea that the United States would recognize Crimea as Russian territory, which would both violate international law and put Ukraine in the position of sanctioning something that its Constitution prohibits. “We are doing everything our partners have proposed. The only thing we cannot do is what contradicts our legislation and Constitution,” Zelensky said.
According to the London Telegraph, Ukraine has suggested five conditions:
- Peace should be based on international law and should not be seen as capitulation.
- No recognition of Crimea as Russian under any circumstances.
- Ukraine must be brought back to the center of peace negotiations.
- Russia should not decide how many soldiers or weapons Ukraine will have after the peace agreement.
- Ukraine needs clear security guarantees.
“If Russia claims it’s ready for a ceasefire, it must stop its massive strikes on Ukraine,” he said.
ZELENSKY CLAIMS TRUMP CAUGHT UKRAINE OFF GUARD WITH PUSH TO RECOGNIZE CRIMEA AS RUSSIAN TERRITORY
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HAPPENING TODAY: Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Moscow today, where he is scheduled for another meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This will be his fourth face-to-face meeting with Putin as he seeks to convince Russia to accept a 30-day ceasefire as a first step to peace talks.
In an interview recorded Thursday for airing Sunday on Face the Nation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told CBS’s Margaret Brennan that Russia is “ready to reach a deal” with the U.S. on Ukraine, though he also said some elements need to be “fine-tuned.”
“The President of the United States believes, and I think rightly so, that we are moving in the right direction,” Lavrov said.
Meanwhile, Trump and Zelensky are scheduled to arrive in Rome today for tomorrow’s funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square. Zelensky said he wanted to meet with Trump, and Trump said he’d like to meet with other world leaders attending the funeral “to talk trade” but did not say if Zelensky was on his dance card.
DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION: There are two reports out this morning describing tumult, backstabbing, and general dysfunction in the office of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in the wake of a series of firings that have, in the words of Politico, “has blown a hole in his leadership team, severing essential lines of communication across the department and leading to fears about dangerous slip-ups such as weapons program delays.”
“The circle of top advisers in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s orbit has shrunk in recent days to little more than his wife, lawyer, and two lower-level officials — leaving the Pentagon’s lead office without longtime expertise or clear direction,” says the report based on insider accounts. “It’s a free-for-all,” said one person described as “familiar with the office dynamics.”
At the same time, the Wall Street Journal reports that the leaks from his office have whipped Hegseth into a fury. At times, he has lashed out at senior military officers whom he has accused of being behind the leaks in an effort to undermine his authority and undercut the Trump agenda to radically reform the Pentagon.
The newspaper recounts an episode that was said to have followed a leak that killed a planned classified briefing on China that Hegseth arranged for Elon Musk.
“‘I’ll hook you up to a f—ing polygraph!’ Hegseth shouted at Adm. Christopher Grady, the then-acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” the Wall Street Journal reported, citing “two people familiar with the exchange.”
“Hegseth demanded proof that Grady hadn’t leaked news of the March 21 briefing,” the report said, noting, “Grady was never subjected to a polygraph, and Hegseth would go on to accuse several other people for the leak, including Lt. Gen. Doug Sims, the Joint Staff director, who Hegseth also threatened with a polygraph test.”
Politico also reported that Joe Kasper, Hegseth’s chief of staff, is also leaving the Pentagon, rather than accept a different job in the building.
HEGSETH CONNECTED TO SIGNAL APP THROUGH UNSECURED ‘DIRTY LINE’
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Zelensky claims Trump caught Ukraine off guard with push to recognize Crimea as Russian territory
Washington Examiner: ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ Trump urges Putin to end barrage on Kyiv as he pushes for peace
Washington Examiner: Trump says he has a personal ‘deadline’ for Russia-Ukraine ceasefire deal
Washington Examiner: Hegseth connected to Signal app through unsecured ‘dirty line’
Washington Examiner: Pentagon to restart Biden-era medical policy for transgender service members
Washington Examiner: Trump support from voters on immigration dips in latest polling
Washington Examiner: Trump administration ordered to return second man deported to El Salvador
Washington Examiner: Judge gives Trump administration deadline to transfer detained anti-Israel student to Vermont
Washington Examiner: Trump’s ’51st state’ rhetoric does Carney no favors in Canada election home stretch
Washington Examiner: Trump to sit for interview with Signalgate journalist Jeffrey Goldberg
Washington Examiner: Fetterman calls for US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites
Washington Examiner: Vance serves up beer to US airmen in Germany and signs a kegerator
Washington Examiner: Kaptur faces challenge for vulnerable seat from Air Force veteran
Washington Examiner: White House turbulence seeps into second Trump term
Wall Street Journal: Polygraph Threats, Leaks and Infighting: The Chaos Inside Hegseth’s Pentagon
Politico: Pentagon leadership vacuum overwhelms Hegseth’s office: ‘It’s a free-for-all’
AP: Houthi rebels have shot down 7 US Reaper drones worth $200 million in recent weeks
Reuters: Exclusive: Trump poised to offer Saudi Arabia over $100 billion arms package, sources say
Military.com: Trump Takes Fight over Transgender Troops to Supreme Court
Defense One: China’s Military Aims to Harness the Coming ‘ChatGPT for Robotics’
SpaceNews: Report Warns US Rsks Strategic Drift in Space as China Gains Ground
The War Zone: F-47 6th Generation Fighter Future Force Size Questions Emerge
Air & Space Forces Magazine: USAF Doubles Down on More F-16 Fighters near North Korea
Space.com: US and UK Militaries Pick Rocket Lab’s HASTE launcher to Help Test Hypersonic Tech
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Futures Boss Leans Toward ‘Low End’ CCA in Next Increment
DefenseScoop: Pentagon’s FutureG Office Gearing Up for New Prototyping Effort
Air & Space Forces Magazine: What a ‘Ferrari’ Version of the F-35 Might Look Like—and What the Pentagon Thinks
Air & Space Forces Magazine: SDA Hires an Integrator to Keep Its Next Satellite Tranche on Schedule
Breaking Defense: Pentagon Sets November Timeline for Largest-Ever Spectrum Sharing Demo
Defense News: Defense Innovation Unit to Expand US Outposts with Three New Hubs
THE CALENDAR:
FRIDAY | APRIL 25
8 a.m. — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs Institute for European, Russian, and European Studies virtual Third Annual Petrach Program Conference on Ukraine: “Understanding Wartime Ukraine” https://tinyurl.com/4fa4amak
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies Project on Nuclear Issues report launch: “The Future of Arms Control and Euro-Atlantic Strategic Stability,” with Heather Williams, director of the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues and senior fellow in the CSIS Defense and Security Department; Nicholas Adamopoulos, associate director and associate fellow at the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues; Lachlan MacKenzie, research associate at the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues; Catherine Murphy, program coordinator and research assistant at the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues https://www.csis.org/events/report-launch-future-arms-control
9 a.m. — Peterson Institute for International Economics virtual discussion: “Europe’s Future in 3D: Fiscal Trade, and Defense Challenges,” with Cecilia Malmstrom, PIIE nonresident senior fellow, former European Commissioner for Home Affairs and former European Commissioner for Trade; Constanze Stelzenmuller, director and senior fellow for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the U.S. and Europe and chair on Germany and Trans-Atlantic relations at the Brookings Institution; Oliver Blanchard, PIIE senior fellow; and Adam Posen, PIIE president https://www.piie.com/events/2025/europes-future-3d-fiscal-trade-and-defense-challenges
10 a.m. — National Institute for Deterrence Studies virtual seminar: “Strengthening Deterrence for the 21st Century: Missile Defense and a New Nuclear Arsenal for a New Era,” with Bob Peters, senior research fellow for strategic deterrence at the Heritage Foundation https://thinkdeterrence.com/events/strengthening-deterrence
12 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Global Counterspace Trends,” with former Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability Mallory Stewart; Victoria Samson, chief director of space security and stability at the Secure World Foundation; Clayton Swope, deputy director of the CSIS Aerospace Security Project and senior fellow at the CSIS Defense and Security Department; Makena Young, fellow at the CSIS Aerospace Security Project; Laetitia Cesari Zarkan, researcher and legal practitioner at the Secure World Foundation; and Karl Bingen, director of the CSIS Aerospace Security Project and senior fellow at the CSIS Defense and Security Department https://www.csis.org/events/report-launch-space-threat-assessment-2025
TUESDAY | APRIL 29
1:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW— Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “Army force planning, readiness, and initiatives to build a modern, capable force,” with Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus https://www.csis.org/events/strategic-landpower-dialogue