TRUMP: ‘EVERYBODY’S TO BLAME’: Frustrated that his plan to pressure both sides to accept a quick ceasefire that could lead to a broader peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine is faltering, President Donald Trump is once again blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for starting the war he says never “should have been allowed to happen.”
During his Oval Office meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, Trump complained that Zelensky was incompetent and seemed to blow off his offer to buy up to $50 billion in U.S. weaponry, including $15 billion for 10 more Patriot missile batteries.
“I don’t know. He’s always looking to purchase missiles, you know,” Trump grumbled. “Listen, when you start a war, you’ve got to know that you can win the war, right? You don’t start a war against somebody that’s 20 times your size, and then hope that people give you some missiles.”
Trump complained that Zelensky — who accepted the U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire 35 days ago — is part of the problem. “I don’t know what he is. We had a rough session with this guy. He just kept asking for more and more,” Trump said, while in the next breath, seeming to concede that Russian President Vladimir Putin started the war.
“This should not be happening in our time,” Trump said. “Biden could have stopped it, and Zelensky could have stopped it, and Putin should have never started it. Everybody’s to blame.”
“And all I can do is try and stop it. That’s all I want to do. I want to stop the killing, and I think we are doing well in that regard,” he said. “I think you’ll have some very good proposals very soon.”
ZELENSKY: CAN’T WE FIND A WAY TO PROTECT UKRAINE?: In an outtake from his 60 Minutes interview that was not included in Sunday night’s broadcast, Zelensky, speaking in Ukrainian, expressed consternation that Trump, who rails against the weapons freely given to Ukraine by the Biden administration, won’t sell Ukraine, for cash up front, the Patriot systems that have proven to be the most effective defense against Russian glide bombs and drones.
“We are grateful for the United States giving us a lot of things. We are grateful for everything,” Zelensky said, prefacing his remarks as he always does with gratitude for American support. “But when children are killed by missiles, and adults are killed by missiles, I feel sorry for everyone. They are people.”
“I don’t understand why we can’t agree on additional Patriot systems, especially because there was such an agreement at the NATO summit in Washington, the anniversary summit, and we didn’t receive those additional Patriot systems.”
Zelensky is in a position to write a check for the Patriots largely because European countries have promised billions of dollars in further funding to keep Ukraine in the fight. However, the one thing European allies don’t have is large inventories of Patriot missiles.
“I respect the choice of the United States of America, but when the United States has not given us such systems, or has not sold them to us .. the question is not about money,” Zelensky told CBS’s Scott Pelley. “The United States says there is no possibility today, but at the same time, they transfer such systems, for example, to Israel. I’m not saying Israel doesn’t need them, but if we are fair partners, can’t we find a way to protect Ukraine?”
KREMLIN: ‘RUSSIA’S MILITARY ONLY STRIKES MILITARY TARGETS’: Russia denies that it deliberately targeted civilians in the deadly Palm Sunday missile attack that killed at least 34 people, including two children, and wounded 119.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the strike targeted a gathering of senior military officers and accused Kyiv of using civilians as shields by holding military meetings in the city’s center. “I can repeat and remind you of the statements made by the president and military officials that our armed forces strike exclusively military and quasi-military targets,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing Monday.
“The BBC Russian Service reported that Russian forces struck the Sumy State University’s Congress Center and noted that locals reported that the Congress Center hosts various classes and clubs, including classes for children,” the Institute for the Study of War noted in its Sunday assessment.
“Following the strike on Sumy, nearly 50 countries and international organizations have spoken out in support of Ukraine,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address, “Heads of state, heads of government, heads of foreign ministries — I want to thank each and every one. The world knows the truth, what happened, and who is to blame.”
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HAPPENING TODAY: GEN. DAN CAINE BEGINS TOUR AT TOP GENERAL: In his first action after being sworn in as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine issued a Message to the Joint Force, in which he promised to engage with fellow Joint Chiefs as well as four-star combatant commanders “to listen to their perspectives before issuing my priorities.”
“The most important thing you should know from me is that I trust you. I trust you — to make hard decisions, to persevere in adversity, and to do the right thing,” Caine wrote. “None of this will be easy …Our world remains a dangerous and dynamic place.”
“Defending our Homeland remains fundamental to our national security. Our most basic responsibility is to be a force properly armed, globally integrated, and ready to fight and win the Nation’s wars now and in the future. There is no more important job,” he wrote.
“I am deeply humbled to serve as the 22nd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Our Joint Force is the most professional and capable military on the planet,” he said. “As an American, I am deeply grateful for your sacrifices, and as a warfighter, I am incredibly honored to serve alongside you.”
GEN. CAINE HAS TAKEN OVER AS CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
SHAHEEN: ‘WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD WE CUT FUNDING FOR NATO?’ Democrats are expressing alarm over a draft internal memo, which, according to the New York Times, would cut the State Department budget by nearly half.
The newspaper says it has obtained a copy of the internal memo, which it reports “proposes eliminating almost all funding for international organizations like the United Nations and NATO, ending the budget for supporting international peacekeeping operations and curtailing all of the department’s educational and cultural exchanges, like the Fulbright Program.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, says she is “deeply troubled” by the reported budget proposal, which she says “would leave our country alone and exposed and allow China and Russia to fill the vacuum.”
“Why in the world would we cut funding for NATO at a moment when war is raging in Europe and security threats on the continent grow?” Shaheen said in a statement. “When America First becomes America Alone, our economy, security and prosperity will suffer as adversaries fill the void the Trump Administration leaves behind.”
“I intend to immediately and directly raise my serious concerns to Secretary Rubio and at future hearings on the State Department’s budget request,” she said.
IS TRUMP DEFYING THE SUPREME COURT? Shaheen was one of many Democrats accusing the Trump administration of defying the courts, specifically an unsigned unanimous order of the Supreme Court, by failing to request the release from a Salvadoran maximum security prison.
“Disregarding the rule of law, ignoring unanimous rulings by the Supreme Court and subjecting individuals to detention and deportation without due process makes us less safe as a country,” Shaheen wrote in a statement following the Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador.
Bukele insisted yesterday he has no authority to order the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and the Trump Justice Department is relying on some vague language in the court’s order to argue it has no responsibility to effectuate the return of Abrego Garcia, beyond providing a plane to bring him back, if he were to be released.
“The [lower court] order properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,” the high court opinion says, but adds “The intended scope of the term ‘effectuate’ in the District Court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the District Court’s authority.”
“First and foremost, he was illegally in our country, and he had been illegally in our country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That’s not up to us.”
“How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don’t have the power to return him to the United States,” Bukele said yesterday, sitting beside Trump. “We’re not very fond of releasing terrorists into our country. I mean, we just turned the murder capital of the world into the safest country in the Western Hemisphere, and you want us to go back into releasing criminals so we can go back to being the murder capital of the world?” he said, “That’s not going to happen.”
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN VOWS TO VISIT EL SALVADOR IF MARYLAND MAN DEPORTED THERE ISN’T RETURNED BY MIDWEEK
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Trump says Iran talks are ‘easy’ but taking too long as Russia advises Tehran
Washington Examiner: Xi Jinping warns ‘tariff war’ has ‘no winner’ as he courts ‘socialist neighbors’
Washington Examiner: Top Trump adviser says ‘no upper limit’ on deportations to El Salvador prison
Washington Examiner: International student enrollment at US colleges under fire amid visa revocations
Washington Examiner: Trump officials project defiance ahead of court hearing on man’s mistaken deportation to Salvadoran prison
Washington Examiner: Chris Van Hollen vows to visit El Salvador if Maryland man deported there isn’t returned by midweek
Washington Examiner: Oldest known military veteran survivor of Pearl Harbor attack dies at 106
Washington Examiner: Editorial: Trump is failing to provide coherent leadership on tariffs
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Strikes Spur Plans for Yemeni Ground War Against Houthis
AP: Another US aircraft carrier in Mideast waters ahead of second round of Iran-US nuclear talks
AP: Russia Claims Its Deadly Attack on Ukraine’s Sumy Targeted Military Forces as Condemnation Grows
New York Times: Trump Administration Memo Proposes Cutting State Department Funding by Nearly Half
Politico: ‘Honey Badger’ Admiral Emerges as Top Contender for Navy Chief
AP: Female soldier becomes the first woman to compete in the grueling Army Ranger contest
Defense News: Space Force Commercial Office Eyes Pilot for Quick-Reaction Launches
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Paparo: Airlift and Tanker Fleets ‘Below What We Need’ in Pacific
The War Zone: China’s New KJ-700 Multi-Intelligence Radar Plane’s Interesting Features
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Tournear Reinstated as SDA Director After Investigation
Breaking Defense: DIU Selects 8 ‘Eligible’ Companies for Nuclear Microreactors that Could Power US Bases
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Paparo: Airlift and Tanker Fleets ‘Below What We Need’ in Pacific
Defense Scoop: NATO Inks Deal with Palantir for Maven AI System
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Could This Breakthrough in Robot Manufacturing Reshape Warfare?
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Tells Congress: Better to Demolish Vacant Buildings than Maintain Them
THE CALENDAR:
TUESDAY | APRIL 15
10 a.m. — German Marshall Fund of the U.S. virtual discussion: “Reintegration of Ukraine’s Veterans: Charting a Path Forward,” with Iryna Khomiak, program officer, GMFUS Ukraine Relief, Resilience, and Recovery Program; Iryna Dobrohorska, GMFUS fellow; and Mariia Kudelia, senior program manager, Veteran Hub https://www.gmfus.org/event/reintegration-ukraines-veterans-charting-path-forward
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Enhancing U.S.-ROK Space Cooperation,” with Karen Feldstein, associate NASA administrator, Office of International and Interagency Relations; John Lee, deputy administrator, Korea AeroSpace Administration’s Mission Directorates; HAN Minyoung, director-general of the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Climate Change, Energy, Environment, and Scientific Affairs Bureau; and Valda Vikmanis, director, State Department’s Office of Space Affairs https://www.csis.org/events/enhancing-us-rok-space-cooperation
10 a.m. — Arms Control Association virtual discussion: “Can Trump and Putin Agree on Nuclear Limits after New START?” with former Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman, ACA board chairman; Alexey Arbatov, Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations Center for International Security; and Maria Antonieta Jaquez, coordinator for disarmament, nonproliferation and arms control at the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
3 p.m. 1744 R St. NW — German Marshall Fund of the U.S. discussion: “A World Divided: Global Perspectives and the Path to Peace in Ukraine,” with George Chewning, founder and executive director, U.S.-Ukraine Veterans Bridge and U.S. Army veteran and former infantry officer in Afghanistan; Meaghan Mobbs, director, Independent Women’s Forum’s Center for American Safety and Security, president of the Romulus T. Weatherman Foundation and former paratrooper and combat veteran; and John Boerstler, GMFUS visiting senior fellow, head of public sector at Ipsos Public Affairs and former chief experience officer at the Veterans Affairs Department https://www.gmfus.org/event/world-divided
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 16
8:45 a.m. 1201 15th St. NW — Defense Strategies Institute Unmanned Autonomous Systems Summit, April 16-17 with Amy Smith-Carroll, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for platform and weapon portfolio management delivering remarks on “DoD Efforts to Supply the Joint Force with Critical Unmanned and Autonomous Capabilities” https://unmanned.dsigroup.org/
9:30 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “The U.S. Role in Ukraine’s Energy Sector,” with Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/german-galushchenko
THURSDAY | APRIL 17
8:10 a.m. — Association of the U.S. Army “Transforming Army Installations Conference,” with Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. David Wilson; and Lt. Gen. Omar Jones, commander, Installations Management Command, delivers keynote remarks https://www.ausa.org/events/hot-topic/transforming-army-installations
8:45 a.m.1201 15th St. NW — Defense Strategies Institute Unmanned Autonomous Systems Summit with Vice Adm. James Pitts, deputy chief of naval operations for warfighting requirements and capabilities in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, delivering remarks on “Prioritizing Innovation to Enhance Current Naval Capabilities for Future Warfighting Needs” https://unmanned.dsigroup.org/
FRIDAY | APRIL 18
9 a.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies Russia Program Annual Conference, with discussions on: “Russia as a Semi-Closed Society” and “War Transformations in Russia” https://therussiaprogram.org/conference_2025
TUESDAY | APRIL 22
6:15 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia — Association of the U.S. Army “Coffee Series” discussion with Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus https://www.ausa.org/events/coffee-series/gen-mingus
10 a.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security and Special Competitive Studies Project Defense Writers Group Zoom report discussion: “Applying AI to Strategic Warning,” with Nandita Balakrishnan, a co-author, and Special Competitive Studies Project Director for Intelligence [email protected]
