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The President's Daily Brief

February 17th, 2026: Wagner Group's Secret Comeback Inside NATO & Iran Talks Resume

The President's Daily Brief

The First TV

News, Politics

4.7 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 February 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Western intelligence officials say Russia’s shadow war inside Europe may be entering a new phase, with former Wagner recruitment networks allegedly helping coordinate sabotage operations across NATO states — and in some cases, the recruits aren’t trained operatives. They’re teenagers. We break down what this shift could mean for Europe’s security landscape. Talks resume in Geneva as Iran floats potential energy and aviation deals alongside a renewed nuclear agreement with the United States. We’ll explain what Tehran appears to want — and what Washington may demand in return. Plus, Ukraine’s former energy minister has been detained after allegedly attempting to flee the country, as a sweeping corruption probe reaches into the upper ranks of government. In today’s Back of the Brief — a bipartisan funding deal collapses over immigration policy, triggering a partial government shutdown that directly impacts the Department of Homeland Security and reignites tensions over border enforcement. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief HomeServe: Protect your home systems from costly repairs with HomeServe—plans start at $4.99/month at https://HomeServe.com.  Acre Gold: Start building physical gold with simple monthly payments and enter to win two Ancient Collection gold bars at https://GetAcreGold.com/PDB.  American Financing: Call American Financing today to find out how customers are saving an avg of $800/mo. NMLS 182334, https://nmlsconsumeraccess.org APR for rates in the 5s start at 6.196% for well qualified borrowers. Call 866-885-1881 for details about credit costs and terms. Visit http://www.AmericanFinancing.net/PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

It's Tuesday, the President's Day, welcome to the President's Daily Brief.

0:16.6

I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage.

0:19.8

And if I might say, RIP, rest in peace, to Robert Duval, the absolute great actor.

0:28.5

Now, look, if all Mr. Duval had done was Tom Hagan in the first and second Godfather movies

0:36.1

and Colonel Kilglor and Apocalypse Now, and of course,

0:40.4

Losome Dove, then he would be considered legendary, but he did so much more during his career.

0:47.1

Incredible. So again, rest in peace, Mr. Robert DeVall.

0:52.6

All right. Let's get briefed.

0:54.6

First up, Western intelligence says Russia's shadow war inside Europe may be entering a new

1:00.3

phase, with former Wagner recruitment networks allegedly helping coordinate sabotage operations

1:06.8

across NATO states, and in some cases, the recruits include teenagers. I'll have the details.

1:14.5

Later in the show, talks resume in Geneva as Iran floats potential energy and aviation deals

1:21.0

alongside a renewed nuclear agreement. We'll explain what's on the table and what's not. Plus, Ukraine's former energy

1:29.5

minister has been detained after allegedly attempting to flee the country as a sweeping

1:35.0

corruption probe expands and reaches into the upper ranks of the Ukrainian government.

1:40.4

And in today's back of the brief, a bipartisan funding deal falls apart, no surprise, over immigration

1:46.5

policy, triggering a partial government shutdown that directly impacts the Department of Homeland

1:52.1

Security. But first, today's PDB spotlight. We're starting today by returning to Russia's

1:58.4

shadow war inside Europe, something we've been

2:01.0

tracking here for quite a while on the PDB. The shadow war is basically Russia's covert effort

2:07.5

to create chaos across Europe without triggering open conflict. Its rail lines disrupted,

2:14.2

its warehouse is torched, its assassination plots, its cyber intrusions and influence campaigns.

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