It's Wednesday the 7th of January. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed.

First up, Russia lashes out over the fall of Nicholas Maduro, because, well, you know how

much the Kremlin hates messing with the sovereignty of other nations.

But the outrage from the Kremlin may be masking a serious strategic loss for Vladimir Putin.

I'll bring you the details.

Later in the show, the despot is gone, but the crackdown remains, as Venezuelan authorities

detain and deport members of the foreign press.

Well, that's because all the other despots leading the Maduro regime are still in power.

Plus, new details on what a post-war Ukraine could look like, as the U.S. says it's ready to lead ceasefire monitoring alongside European allies.

Now, they just need Putin to decide he actually wants a ceasefire.

And in today's back of the brief, North Korea

rings in the New Year with missile launches into the sea of Japan. What a better way to say

Happy New Year than a missile launch. The Hermit Kingdom is claiming another advance in its

hypersonic weapons program. But first, today's PDB spotlight. Moscow is responding forcefully to the

removal of Nicholas Maduro, at least on paper. In formal statements this week, the Kremlin

condemned the U.S. operation that took Maduro into custody, calling it a violation of

Venezuelan sovereignty and demanding his release.

And there are few things as ridiculous as the Kremlin acting righteous about sovereignty.

Russian officials have echoed that criticism, though, through diplomatic channels and at the UN.

It, of course, is an argument that rings hollow when it comes from a country currently waging

the largest land war in Europe since World War II.

Russia's reaction, despite its obvious hypocrisy, was predictable, but it's also revealing.

...