The Washington Times

Threat Status for Monday, April 28, 2025. Share this daily newsletter with your friends, who can sign up here. Send tips to National Security Editor Guy Taylor.

President Trump says he believes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be willing to cede Crimea as part of a potential peace deal with Russia.

… The comment dovetailed with remarks from Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who says Ukraine may have to give up land to spur an end-of-war deal.

… Russia, meanwhile, carried out a new drone assault against Ukraine, even as President Vladimir Putin said his forces will adhere to a brief ceasefire during World War II anniversary celebrations in early May.

… The Pentagon says U.S. forces have hit more than 800 Houthi targets in Yemen over the past six weeks.

… The latest episode of the Threat Status weekly podcast examines the ongoing media and political storm over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the Signal commercial messaging app.

… Authorities in Spain and Portugal are still trying to determine what caused Monday’s massive power outage that shut off electricity throughout the countries.

… And the American rocket and launch company United Launch Alliance says its Atlas V launch carrying the Kuiper 1 mission for Amazon’s Project Kuiper is on track for a Monday evening blast-off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station if weather permits.

U.S. has hit more than 800 Houthi targets in six weeks

Pentagon officials say the strikes have significantly curtailed the Iran-backed militant group’s attacks from Yemen on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea. U.S. Central Command said in a statement the strikes have reduced Houthi missile launches by 69%, while attacks from Houthi one-way attack drones have decreased by 55%.

The statement late Sunday made no mention of any specific attacks over the weekend. But the Houthis alleged early Monday that an American airstrike hit a prison in Yemen holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others.

The campaign against the Houthis, which began on March 15, is the most significant military action by U.S. forces abroad since Mr. Trump took office in January. The Defense Department has been tight-lipped about details. Over that same period, the Houthis say they’ve shot down seven MQ-9 Predator drones, including three during a one-week stretch earlier this month.

Russia says it will hold brief ceasefire in May

The Russian president on Monday declared his forces will adhere to a May 8-10 ceasefire in Ukraine to mark World War II Victory Day, saying a full cessation of hostilities will occur on “humanitarian grounds” as Russia celebrates the anniversary of its defeat of Nazi Germany.

Mr. Putin made the announcement a day after Russian forces ramped up a major drone assault on Ukraine, while Mr. Trump expressed a new skepticism about Mr. Putin’s interest in ending the 3-year-old conflict. The Ukrainian president said after meeting with Mr. Trump at Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday that “more tangible pressure on Russia is needed” to create diplomacy and the situation remains “difficult.”

Mr. Trump suggested after the meeting that Mr. Zelenskyy would be willing to cede Crimea as part of a peace deal with Russia. Flying on Air Force One from his Bedminster, New Jersey, property to the White House, Mr. Trump was asked whether Kyiv was willing to give up Crimea. “I think so,” he said.

Pyongyang confirms North Korean troops fighting in Kursk

North Korea finally confirmed Monday that it had sent military forces to fight in Russia’s Kursk area. The belated confirmation of the mission, in which well over 10,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to assist the Russians, has been tracked closely by Ukrainian, South Korean and U.S. officials since October 2023.

It also notably comes ahead of one of the biggest dates on Russia’s annual calendar: the May 9 “Victory Day” celebrations, which this year mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk in August “decided our armed forces’ participation in the war,” the official Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang stated in a report early Monday.

The agency explicitly called the deployment “a sacred mission” consolidating Pyongyang’s friendship with Moscow. It also quoted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as parroting Russian propaganda on Ukraine, saying the mission is meant to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area.”

Ex-Biden national security adviser says Iran deal possible

Jake Sullivan, who served as a national security adviser in the Biden administration, said over the weekend that he believes Mr. Trump can get a new nuclear agreement, but it will likely be similar to the 2015 deal brokered by President Obama that Mr. Trump scrapped in 2018.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as JCPOA, allowed Iran to continue its nuclear program but imposed restrictions on uranium enrichment among other things. Trump administration officials expressed optimism following the latest talks with Iranian officials in Oman over the weekend. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks were “very serious and work-focused.”

Some analysts say the current trajectory of negotiations is cause for concern. While U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has publicly said any deal must include the elimination of Iran’s nuclear enrichment, there were signs over the weekend that Tehran seeks to retain limited enrichment capabilities.

Opinion: Take out Iran’s nuclear facilities now

Washington Times columnist Cal Thomas writes that Iran appears to be “freezing” negotiations with the U.S. while finishing the final stages of nuclear enrichment on the way to building a deliverable nuclear weapon.

“Past deals with Iran, including initially agreed inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations, have been violated,” writes Mr. Thomas. “Why does anyone believe the Iranians will abide by a new agreement?”

“Iran is in a weak position domestically and internationally. Regime change would be the best option, but rulers are unlikely to willingly relinquish power. The time to strike Iranian nuclear facilities is now,” he writes. “Delay means we will likely have to face a nuclear-armed Iran with the ability to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles at Israel and American cities. Who thinks that is a risk worth taking?”

Threat Status Events Radar

• April 28-May 1 — RSAC 2025, RSA Conference

• April 29 — The Stakes of Sino-American AI Competition, Center for a New American Security

• April 29-May 1 — Modern Day Marine Convention

• April 30 — Rebuilding America’s Maritime Industrial Base with Sens. Mark Kelly and Todd Young, Hudson Institute

• April 30 — The Hill & Valley Forum

• April 30 — Robins Air Force Base Tech Expo, NCSI

• May 5-8 — SOF Week 2025: The Asymmetric Strategic Option for a Volatile World, U.S. Special Operations Command & Global SOF Foundation

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