PUTIN: ‘DON’T RAIN DRONES ON OUR PARADE’: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of a three-day unilateral ceasefire around Moscow’s celebration of victory in World War II is being seen by Ukraine and the West as a ploy to create the appearance of a willingness to seek peace while continuing to prepare for a summer offensive.
In a presidential order released by the Kremlin, Putin says that “guided by humanitarian motives,” he’s announcing a ceasefire for “the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War,” as Russia calls World War II, from May 8 to May 11.
“Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” Putin said while promising that “any violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side” would be met with “a proportionate and efficient response.”
PUTIN CLAIMS NEW UNILATERAL CEASEFIRE WEEKS AFTER BREAKING LAST ONE NEARLY 3,000 TIMES
‘WE VALUE HUMAN LIVES, NOT PARADES’: In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Putin’s ceasefire “another attempt at manipulation.”
“For some reason, everyone is supposed to wait until May 8 before ceasing fire, just to provide Putin with silence for his parade,” Zelensky said. “We value human lives, not parades.”
“We made our own proposal to Russia, bilaterally, to halt strikes at least on civilian targets, at the very least. We also proposed making the Easter ceasefire full and extending it for thirty days. Russia has consistently rejected everything and continues to manipulate the world, trying to deceive the United States,” Zelensky said.
“There is no reason to wait until May 8. The ceasefire should not be just for a few days, only to return to killing afterward. It must be immediate, full, and unconditional — for at least 30 days to ensure it is secure and guaranteed,” Zelensky said. “This is the foundation that could lead to real diplomacy.”
“I think Putin is trying to fireproof his parade. I see zero sincerity in it. I think it’s unlikely to move the needle,” said former Supreme NATO Commander retired Adm. James Stavridis. “The worst thing that could happen for Putin on the global stage would be during the big military parade, Stavridis said on CNN, where he is currently a military analyst. “It’s a very big deal in Russia. What if there were a bunch of drone strikes by the Ukrainians right in the middle of that?”
TOM ROGAN OPINION: WILL TRUMP LET PUTIN PLAY HIM WITH THREE-DAY CEASEFIRE BLUFF?
TRUMP: ‘I’M SAVING THAT NATION’: In an interview with the Atlantic conducted last Thursday, but published yesterday, President Donald Trump told his Signalgate nemesis Jeffrey Goldberg he’s not Russia’s side, he’s just frustrated with Zelensky.
“Not necessarily on Zelensky’s side, but on Ukraine’s side,” Trump said in the Oval office sitdown with three Atlantic writers. “I’ve had a hard time with Zelensky. You saw that over here when he was sitting right in that chair, when he just couldn’t get it.”
“All he had to do is be quiet, you know? He won his point. He won his point. But instead of saying ‘Okay’ when I made the statement, I said, ‘Well, we’re working to get it solved. We’re trying to help.’ He said, “No, no, we need security too.”
“Well, isn’t he supposed to advocate for his country?” Goldberg interjected. “Yeah, he is,” Trump conceded, “but somehow, let’s get the war solved first.”
Goldberg pressed Trump on his “Vladimir, STOP!” Truth Social post. “[Putin] doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who will say, ‘Oh, well, Trump told me he wants to stop, so I’m going to stop.’”
“You may be surprised,” Trump retorted.
“Do you ever see a situation in which you’re going to come in, not with troops, but with more weaponry, with full-blown support for Ukraine to keep its territorial integrity?” Goldberg asked.
“Doesn’t have to be weapons. There are many forms of weapons. Doesn’t have to be weapons with bullets. It can be weapons with sanctions. It can be weapons with banking. It can be many other weapons,” Trump said, arguing that his effort to end the war is not just about saving lives, but saving Ukraine from being wiped off the map.
“I think I’m saving that nation. I think that nation will be crushed very shortly. It’s a big war machine,” he said, adding that if didn’t get involved, the war would never end. “I think I’m doing a great service to Ukraine. I believe that.”
THUNE SAYS SENATE ‘READY TO HELP’ WITH RUSSIA SANCTIONS IF PEACE TALKS FALTER
Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.
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HAPPENING TODAY: The House Armed Services Committee meets at 10 a.m. to begin marking up a package that would add $150 billion in “defense priorities” to the current 2025 Pentagon budget.
The legislation — crafted by Republicans on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and developed in close consultation with the White House — includes $34 billion for shipbuilding to compete with China, $25 billion for Trump’s Golden Dome for America missile shield program, and $21 billion to expand the U.S. industrial base to restock munitions and support higher levels of munitions production in the future.
“Our military’s resources have declined over the years, and defense spending as a percentage of GDP has dropped to the lowest levels since before WWII. Our defense industrial base has weakened. America’s deterrence is failing, and without a generational investment in our national defense, we will lose the ability to defeat our adversaries,” said Mike Rogers (R-AL), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, in a press release. “With this bill, we have the opportunity to get back on track and restore our national security and global leadership.”
The White House is expected to submit a proposed budget for the fiscal year 2026 that begins in October, which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has promised will be the first to reach the $1 trillion mark.
REPUBLICANS ADJUST TIME FRAME FOR TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL’ TAX BILL
TRUMP: ‘HEGSETH SAFE, WALTZ FINE’: Hegseth seems to have ridden out what one former aid called his “Month of Hell” at the Pentagon, with the firing of most of his inner circle and the Signalgate debacle, at least as far as President Trump’s concerned.
“Pete’s gone through a hard time. I think he’s gonna get it together. I think he’s a smart guy. He is a talented guy. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s been beat up by this, very much so. But I had a talk with him, a positive talk, but I had a talk with him,” Trump told the Atlantic’s Ashley Parker in last week’s interview.
“For now, you think Hegseth stays?” Parker asked. “Yeah, he’s safe,” Trump replied.
“Does he stay longer than Mike Waltz?” Parker followed up. “Waltz is fine,” said Trump. “I mean, he’s here. He just left this office. He’s fine. He was beat up also.”
PETE HEGSETH’S ‘MONTH FROM HELL’
CARROLL: IS HEGSETH OK? ‘I DON’T KNOW I’M NOT SURE’: In an interview on the The Megyn Kelly Show this week, Colin Carroll, the former chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary before Hegseth fired him, painted a picture of his former boss as someone consumed by leaks, and focused more on his image than the nitty gritty of Pentagon policy.
Carroll, who denied ever leaking and still supports Hegseth, told Kelly that Hegseth suffers from inexperience with a staff that gave him poor advice, especially when it came to denying that sensitive details of an impending attack weren’t classified.
“He’s out there yelling about how it wasn’t war plans, it wasn’t classified. All he literally needed to say was, as the secretary of defense, I got an e-mail from Gen. [Erik] Kurilla that was secret, and I am an original classification authority and I declassified portions of it and provided it to the Cabinet team because I would need them to be aware of certain things.”
That’s “100% legal,” Carroll said, “The problem is that the people that were advising him don’t even know what an original classification authority is, they never heard of it, it wasn’t something that they could have suggested because the team he has isn’t they’re not like people that know what to do.”
Carroll suggested Hegseth had a sort of Jekyll and Hyde personality. One minute he was “crushing” a meeting with the House Freedom Caucus, the next minute he was raging about leaks and is “super focused” on “weird details and very agitated” and “yelling that just nothing’s good.”
“It’s like a tale of two Petes,” he said. “When you ask if he’s OK, I don’t know. I’m not sure. I wish I could definitely say he’s totally fine, but I don’t know.”
FIRED HEGSETH ADVISER RAISES CONCERNS OVER HIS TEMPER: ‘TALE OF TWO PETES’
NEW DETAILS, NEW QUESTIONS ABOUT CRASH OVER THE POTOMAC: A Sunday story in the New York Times revealed new details about the horrific collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet over the Potomac River on Jan. 29.
Like many aircraft investigations, it found a series of mistakes and lapses, any one of which, if avoided, could have prevented the accident that claimed 67 lives. The Times story listed “five takeaways,” but on social media, much of the focus was on the fifth takeaway — the last link in the chain of events, which described a pilot error by Capt. Rebecca Lobach, who was on an annual evaluation flight with her instructor pilot.
“In the final seconds before impact, Warrant Officer [Andrew] Eaves told Captain Lobach that the air traffic controller wanted her to turn left,” the Times reported. “Turning left would have opened up more space between the helicopter and Flight 5342, which was heading for Runway 33 at an altitude of roughly 300 feet. But there is no indication that she ever turned left. Instead, the helicopter flew directly into the jet.”
POTOMAC PLANE CRASH CAUSED BY PILOT, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER ERROR: INVESTIGATION
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Putin claims new unilateral ceasefire weeks after breaking last one nearly 3,000 times
Washington Examiner: Tom Rogan Opinion: Will Trump let Putin play him with three-day ceasefire bluff?
Washington Examiner: Thune says Senate ‘ready to help’ with Russia sanctions if peace talks falter
Washington Examiner: Republicans adjust time frame for Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill
Washington Examiner: US Navy Super Hornet aircraft and tow lost at sea after going overboard off USS Harry S. Truman
Washington Examiner: China, US dispute whether Trump-Xi called happened
Washington Examiner: Liberals projected to win Canadian elections with Carney remaining as prime minister
Washington Examiner: House GOP unveils asylum application fees and new border buoys in budget agenda
Washington Examiner: Five takeaways from White House on border and immigration at 100-day mark
Washington Examiner: Judge grills DOJ over Trump decision to suspend security clearances of Big Law firm
Washington Examiner: Pakistani defense minister: Indian military incursion ‘imminent’
Washington Examiner: Fired Hegseth adviser raises concerns over his temper: ‘Tale of two Petes’
Washington Examiner: Potomac plane crash caused by pilot, air traffic controller error: Investigation
Washington Examiner: Trump announces FEMA Review Council members to fix ‘broken system’
Wall Street Journal: Russia Hopes Warmer Weather Will Boost Flagging Spring Offensive
The Economist: Ukraine’s fighters fear Russian attacks and Trump’s ceasefire
The Guardian: China and Philippines Display Competing Flags on Disputed South China Sea Sandbank
The Hill: Hegseth Orders Review of Medical Conditions that Disqualify Recruits
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Lawmakers Eye $7.2B for New Fighters, CCAs and More—but Nothing for F-35
The War Zone: Tempest Future Fighter Aims For ‘Really Extreme Range,’ Twice F-35 Payload
Breaking Defense: ‘Blatant Disregard’: Air Force, Senate Panel Face Off over Infrastructure Spending
Breaking Defense: Amazon Launches First 27 Operational Kuiper Satellites to Compete with Starlink
Air & Space Forces Magazine:
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Rethinks Having Trainees Carry Real Rifles in Boot Camp
Defense Scoop: What’s Next for the Pentagon’s AI-Enabled GigEagle Talent Matching Tool
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Ramstein Airmen Work Together to Change ‘Lie to Fly’ Culture
THE CALENDAR:
TUESDAY | APRIL 29
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee markup: “Committee Print – Providing for reconciliation pursuant to H. Con. Res. 14, the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025” https://armedservices.house.gov
9:30 a.m. SD-G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to consider the nominations of Michael Cadenazzi to be assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy; and Vice Adm. Scott Pappano to be principal deputy administrator National Nuclear Security Administration https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
10 a.m. 2247 Rayburn — House Oversight and Government Reform Government Operations Subcommittee hearing: “Tracking Progress: Updates to DoD’s Financial Management Scorecard,” with testimony from Acting Defense Comptroller/CFO Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell; Brett Mansfield, deputy Defense inspector general for audit; Lt. Gen. James Adams, deputy Marine Corps commandant for programs and resources; and Asif Khan, director for financial management assurance in the Government Accountability Office http://oversight.house.gov
12 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual book discussion: Ideology and Meaning-Making Under the Putin Regime, with author Marlene Laruelle, research professor of international affairs and political science and director, Illiberalism Studies Program at George Washington University https://quincyinst.org/events/book-talk-what-are-russians-thinking
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
2 p.m. HVC-210, U.S. Capitol — House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing: “Securing the Skies: Addressing Unauthorized Drone Activity Over U.S. Military Installations,” with testimony from Rear Adm. Paul Spedero, vice director for operations, Joint Chiefs of Staff; Mark Roosevelt Ditlevson, acting assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs; and Timothy Arel, COO of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Organization http://oversight.house.gov
3:30 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee hearing: “Energy, Installations, and Environment Update,” with testimony from Robert Thompson, acting assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations, and environment; Daniel Klippstein, performing the duties of assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment; Brenda Johnson-Turner, performing the duties of assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment; and Michael E. Saunderse, acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, installations and environment http://www.armedservices.house.gov
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 30
8 a.m. 1099 14th St. NW — Axios “News Shapers” discussion with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) https://newsshapersapril2025.splashthat.com
8:45 a.m. 151 St. George Blvd, Oxon Hill, Md. — Defense Strategies Institute MOSA (Modular Open Systems Approach) for Defense Summit, April 30-May 1, with Nickolas Guertin, former assistant Navy secretary for research, development and acquisition https://mosa.dsigroup.org
9 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “Rebuilding America’s Maritime Industrial Base,” with Sen. Todd Young (R-IN); Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ); Michael Roberts, senior fellow, Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology; and Bryan Clark, senior fellow and director, Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology https://www.hudson.org/events/rebuilding-americas-maritime-industrial-base
12 p.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs book discussion: “My Russia: What I Saw Inside the Kremlin,” with author Jill Dougherty, former Moscow bureau chief for CNN https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/my-russia-what-i-saw-inside-the-kremlin
1 p.m. — Henry Stimson Center virtual discussion: “America at 100 Days: National Security and Global Influence” https://stimsoncenter.zoom.us/webinar/register
2 p.m. — Business Council for International Understanding discussion: “Germany’s defense priorities and the German – U.S. defense relationship,” with Rear Adm. Axel Ristau, German defense attaché to the U.S. http://www.bciu.org/events/upcoming-events [Note: Event is off-the-record and closed press. Members of the business community may RSVP to attend and to receive event location.]
3 p.m. 2118 Rayburn House — House Armed Services Committee Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing: “Missile Defense and Missile Defeat Programmatic Updates,” with testimony from Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command; Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, director, Missile Defense Agency; Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, commanding general of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command; and Andrea Yaffe, performing the duties of the assistant secretary of defense for space policy http://www.armedservices.house.gov
3:30 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing: “Military Department Personnel Chiefs: Personnel Posture,” with testimony from Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte, deputy commandant of the Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs; Vice Adm. Richard Cheeseman, deputy chief of naval operations for personnel; Lt. Gen. Brian Eifler, deputy Army chief of staff; Katharine Kelley, deputy chief of space operations for human capital; and Lt. Gen. Caroline Miller, deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel, Air Force http://www.armedservices.house.gov
THURSDAY | MAY 1
8 a.m. 14750 Conference Center Dr., Chantilly, Virginia — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Northern Virginia Chapter “Space Force IT Day, with the theme ‘Space Resilience,’” with Maj. Gen. Dennis Bythewood, special assistant to the chief of space operations, Space Force; Col. Nathan Iven, acting deputy chief of space operations for cyber and data; and Stacie Williams, chief science officer, Space Force https://afceanova.swoogo.com/spaceforceitday2025
8:05 a.m. 151 St. George Blvd., Oxon Hill, Maryland — Defense Strategies Institute MOSA (Modular Open Systems Approach) for Defense Summit, with Raymond O’Toole, acting director of operational test and evaluation, Defense Department https://mosa.dsigroup.org/
9 a.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee hearing: “Small UAS and Counter-Small UAS: Gaps, Requirements, and Projected Capabilities,” with Doug Beck, director, Defense Innovation Unit; Lt. Gen. Eric Austin, deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for capabilities development and integration and commanding general, Marine Corps Combat Development Command; Army Lt. Gen. Robert Collins, principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics, and technology, and director, Army Acquisition Corps: Army Maj. Gen. David Stewart, Director, Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office https://armedservices.house.gov
10 a.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council discussion: “Strengthening U.S. Shipbuilding: Congress’s Role in Maritime Revitalization,” with Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ); Sen. Todd Young (R-IN); and Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/revitalizing-us-shipbuilding
1 p.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council Global Energy Center and Eurasia Center discussion the the report: “Underwater Mayhem: Countering NATO Energy and Critical Infrastructure Threats,” with co-author Benjamin Schmitt, senior fellow, University of Pennsylvania; co-author Michael Kurtyka, fellow, Atlantic Council Global Energy Center; co-author Alan Riley, nonresident senior fellow, Atlantic Council Global Energy Center; John Herbst, senior director, Atlantic Council Eurasia Center; and Justina Budginaite-Froehly, nonresident senior fellow, Atlantic Council Europe Center and Transatlantic Security Initiative https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/underwater-mayhem
2 p.m. — Henry L. Stimson Center virtual discussion: “Gambling on Armageddon: Costs and Risks of Nuclear Modernization,” with Christopher Preble, Stimson senior fellow and director of Stimson’s Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy Program; Elizabeth Threlkeld, Stimson senior fellow and director of Stimson’s South Asia Program; and Geoff Wilson, Stimson fellow and strategic adviser at Stimson’s National Security Reform Program https://www.stimson.org/event/gambling-on-armageddon
5 p.m. — Common Good virtual discussion: “The Limits of Presidential Power,” with former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, chairman of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy; former Rep. David Jolly (R-FL); and Richard Salomon, lawyer and CEO of Vantage Point Consultants https://www.thecommongoodus.org/upcoming-events/the-limits-of-presidential-power
8 p.m. Tuscaloosa, Alabama — President Donald Trump delivers the commencement Address at the University of Alabama at Coleman Coliseum.
FRIDAY | MAY 2
8:30 a.m. 14th and F Sts. NW — National Press Club “World Press Freedom Week” event: Alsu Kurmasheva, journalist for Radio Free Europe who was held in detention in Russia, delivers remarks on her detention in Russia, her return to reporting, and ongoing efforts to free the 10 VOA and RFE/RL and RFA journalists still imprisoned worldwide https://www.press.org/newsroom/world-press-freedom-week2 p.m. Sedona, Ariz.— McCain Institute Sedona Forum: “Wielding America’s Preeminent Power” https://www.mccaininstitute.org/resources/events/sedona-forum
