The Wire - May 1, 2025

//The Wire//2300Z May 1, 2025//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: UKRAINE SIGNS MINERAL DEAL WITH USA. NSA MIKE WALZ AND DEPUTY FIRED.//

 -----BEGIN TEARLINE-----
 
-International Events-

Europe: Yesterday afternoon the White House announced that the United States and Ukraine have signed the previously mentioned mineral deal.

 -HomeFront-

Washington D.C. - This morning National Security Advisor Mike Walz and Deputy advisor Alex Wong have resigned from their positions for their roles in the recent scandal involving the editor of The Atlantic being added to a secret group chat on Signal. This afternoon, President Trump announced that Mike Walz is to become the US Ambassador to the United Nations.

AC: No word yet on who will be Walz's replacement though Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has been speculated to be in the running for the role by various commentators.

USA: Around the nation, various May Day protests and demonstrations were carried out in most major US cities, with varying levels of turnout. Continuing tradition, the largest demonstration was conducted on the National Mall, with thousands of protesters engaging in the traditionally anti-Capitalist protest actions customary of the holiday.

AC: Most of these protests remained relatively docile (by historical comparison), though in Europe several riots were reported (such as in Paris, again continuing tradition). In the United States however, turnout was rather low compared to years past. A few thousand people rallied on the National Mall, and a few hundred/thousand showed up to hear Bernie Sanders speak in Vermont, but that was more or less the highlight of today's May Day events.

-----END TEARLINE-----

Analyst Comments: The details of the mineral deal signed by the USA and Ukraine have not been released. However, this is unlikely to matter much in the long run. The mineral deal was never really that much of a serious effort anyway, and was really just an attempt by the United States to financially recoup some of the heavy costs of funding this war. As such, the specific details of the deal probably don't matter as much as one might imagine; the United States will take what they can get, which will without question be less than what Ukraine has to offer. What's far more important is that this deal signals an end to the recent spat between Trump and Zelenskyy, which is a necessary first step towards a peace agreement being put on the table at some point.

Analyst: S2A1
Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground
//END REPORT//