PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 21st, 2026: Putin Personally Ordered Attacks on NATO Countries & Turkey Prepares Saudi Deployment

It's Wednesday, the 21st of October. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. The first up, U.S. intelligence reportedly believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered a wave of sabotage attacks against NATO countries. Now, a new investigation reveals how Russian operatives targeted military aircraft in Germany, and a warning that the Kremlin allegedly delivered afterward. But, well, at least U.S. envoy Steve Whitkopf thinks Putin is a humanitarian. So that's nice. Later in the show, Turkey moves closer to deploying military personnel to Saudi Arabia to help defend against coup d'etats. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We've been following the fallout from the attempted Russian sabotage attack on military cargo aircraft at an airport in Germany earlier this summer. Now, a new investigation from the Wall Street Journal reveals new details regarding that attack. According to European officials, familiar with American intelligence assessments, Vladimir Putin personally ordered an escalating campaign of sabotage operations against NATO countries, with the attack in Germany marking one of its opening moves. And investigators are uncovering new details about the Russian intelligence network, allegedly responsible, along with a warning that the Kremlin reportedly delivered to German officials. Now, let's start with what happened back in August. At Leipzig-Gahalla Airport in Eastern Germany, Russian operatives allegedly launched several explosive-laden drones against cargo aircraft, involved in transporting military supplies to Ukraine. One drone struck a large Ukrainian antitalk transport plane but failed to detonate, another collided with a second aircraft, while a third exploded near the airport's perimeter. Nobody was killed, but investigators say the attack could have destroyed multiple aircraft and caused significant casualties at one of Europe's busiest cargo airports. German authorities subsequently blamed Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU, for the operation. Moscow, as you might suspect, well, they denied involvement. But according to the journal, the attack was part of something much larger. Three European officials, familiar with American intelligence findings, say Putin personally ordered Russian intelligence agencies to intensify sabotage and covert operations against NATO countries over the summer. The decision reportedly came as the Russian president grew increasingly frustrated with the course of the war in Ukraine. Russian forces had failed to achieve Moscow's objectives on the battlefield, while Ukrainian attacks were increasingly reaching targets deep inside Russia. Meanwhile, negotiations with Washington had failed to produce the concessions that Putin wanted from Kiev. According to the intelligence assessments, the Kremlin responded by expanding its campaign against European countries, supplying Ukraine with weapons, equipment, and other military support. And the investigation into the leap to get Hala attack provides a look at how that campaign allegedly operates. Western intelligence officials traced the operation to a specialized branch of the GRU, responsible for covert missions abroad. Investigators believe the network used Serbia as a staging ground, moving explosives, modified drones, and other equipment across European borders. According to the journal, a former Russian military officer recruited by the GRU, helped coordinate Belarusian operatives, who transported explosives, assembled drones, and positioned them for the attack. Serbian authorities subsequently arrested seven suspects connected to the operation, including an individual holding both Russian and Serbian citizenship. Investigators also uncovered evidence of a broader clandestine network, preparing operations against European military and industrial targets. Following the failed attack in Germany, a Kremlin representative reportedly contacted the German government official through an unofficial communications channel. According to officials familiar with that conversation, the Russian representative warned that Leapzig Hala would not be Moscow's last target. The journal reports that advisors to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believed a more successful operation, particularly one causing mass casualties, could have raised the possibility of invoking NATO's Article V, collective defense provision. That's the principle under which an armed attack against one NATO member is considered an attack against the Alliance. Now, Germany never invoked Article V, but the fact that officials reportedly contemplated that possibility illustrates just how dangerous these covert operations could become. And Leapzig Hala was not the end of the story. Since August, suspected sabotage operations have targeted facilities involved in supporting Ukraine across Europe, drone manufacturers in Estonia and Poland have suffered arson attacks. Slovak authorities say they disrupted another plot, targeting a factory producing drones for Ukraine. More recently, Poland, Lithuania and Bulgaria have reported suspected sabotage against starling communications infrastructure. Now, not every incident has been conclusively linked to Russian intelligence, but Western officials are increasingly concerned about the pattern. CIA Director John Radcliffe reportedly warned European intelligence leaders and government officials that Moscow was expanding its covert campaign. All the targets to date have been important to Ukraine's ability to continue fighting. Rather than attacking these assets on the Ukrainian battlefield, Russia is allegedly going after the infrastructure supporting Kiev from inside NATO countries. It's a strategy that could disrupt military supplies, create economic damage and force European governments to devote more resources to protecting their own territory. And it allows Moscow to apply pressure without openly launching conventional military attacks against NATO. Now, even as American intelligence reportedly concludes that Putin personally ordered this campaign against NATO countries, the White House is making it clear through public statements that, well, apparently, Ukraine is the problem that Kiev is at fault for not conceding and accepting Putin's demands, with sanctions being eased on Russia and President Trump and US envoy Steve Whitgolf praising Putin. All right, coming up next, another major military power prepares to help defend Saudi Arabia against the Houthis. As Turkey builds new defense partnerships with Qatar, Pakistan, and Indonesia. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. The President's Daily Brief is brought to you by Maud. Maud prescribes a once or twice daily McDafinil drink that can keep you energized, focused, and alert. And that all sounds very good. Here's the science. Caffeine energy drinks block adenosine. That's the chemical that makes you tired. It builds up and when caffeine wears off, well, there you go. There's the crash. McDafinil works differently. It engages pathways in your brain. Dopamine, no repiniferin, misdemeanorexin, to achieve energy and alertness for 10 to 12 hours. McDafinil was invented in the 1970s. And since then, it's been used by soldiers and astronauts and pilots in really anyone in high-stakes situations, looking for concentration and alertness. Visit Maud.com. That's M-O-D. 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Turkey is moving closer to deploying military personnel to Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom continues battling missile and drone attacks from Yemen's Iran-backed khutis. The move would bring another major. military power into the effort to strengthen Saudi defenses, just one day after Britain announced it was sending fighter jets to the kingdom. According to Reuters' Ankara, plans to seek parliamentary authorization to send military specialists under a mutual defense agreement signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan back in August. The personnel would focus on air defenses, electronic warfare and technical support, rather than offensive operations. As we've noted here on the PDB, the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement commits Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to treating an attack against one as an attack against all three. No Turkish troops have been deployed under the pact so far, but Ankara is now taking steps toward putting that commitment into practice. Turkey possesses NATO's second largest military, while Pakistan brings its own considerable conventional forces and, of course, a nuclear arsenal. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has spent billions over the years building one of the most heavily equipped militaries in the Middle East. According to a lawmaker from President Erdogan's ruling party, the initial Turkish deployment would involve specialists helping Saudi forces improve their ability to detect, intercept, and defend against incoming missiles and drones. Meanwhile, another Mecca Defense Partnership is emerging, this one stretching from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. On Wednesday, Turkey signed a new military cooperation agreement with Qatar, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Known as the "botter memorandum of understanding," the deal brings together four countries seeking to expand military production, share technology, and develop new weapons systems through joint research and manufacturing. Unlike the agreement with Saudi Arabia, the "botter arrangement" does not establish a mutual defense obligation. Instead, it focuses on building the industrial and technological capabilities that modern militaries depend on. According to Turkey's Defense Ministry, the agreement will encourage joint weapons production, technical training, research and development, and greater cooperation between the participating country's defense industries. The idea is to combine their manufacturing capabilities rather than have each country develop and purchase expensive military systems entirely on its own. Turkey already has substantial defense relationships with all three countries, and Ankara has spent years building a domestic defense industry, producing everything from advanced drones and precision-guided weapons to armored vehicles, warships, and electronic warfare systems. Its defense exports have expanded rapidly, exceeding $10 billion just last year. Qatar already hosts a Turkish military base and maintains close defense ties with Ankara. The country has purchased Turkish weapons while also developing its own domestic defense industry as it confronts growing security threats in the Persian Gulf. Pakistan has also worked extensively with Turkish defense manufacturers, including a naval program involving the construction of modern core vets for the Pakistani Navy. And Indonesia has partnered with Turkey to develop and manufacture armored vehicles, including the Kaplan medium tank, with technology transferred to Indonesian factories. The new agreement is intended to bring those existing relationships into a broader framework. Pakistan participates in both agreements, linking Turkey's mutual defense commitment with Saudi Arabia to a broader military partnership involving Qatar and Indonesia. These are separate arrangements, it's not a five-country alliance, but they come as Saudi Arabia, battles the Iran-backed Houthis, Qatar, strengthens its defenses amid the war with Iran, and Gulf governments question how much protection they can continue expecting from Washington. In fact President Trump's envoy Tom Barrick recently warned Gulf leaders that the US cannot guarantee their security indefinitely, encouraging them to build stronger defense partnerships of their own. For President Erdogan, these agreements offer an opportunity to expand Turkey's military influence, open new markets for its weapons manufacturers, and strengthen relationships stretching from the Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia. For Saudi Arabia, the question is how quickly these arrangements translate into actual military capabilities, and whether they can help in this short term to battle and ultimately defeat the Iran-backed Houthis. And that my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Wednesday 21 October. Now if you have any questions or comments and I hope you do, just reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show Add Free, well you can do that, you know the ad is very simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow, until then stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Hey Mike Baker here, now if you like me, you enjoy the occasional night out, right? But not the morning after. And that's why I want to tell you about a game-changing product, Zbiotics Pre-Alcohol. It's the world's first genetically engineered probiotic, invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings. Here's the science, when you drink alcohol converts into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's the buildup of this byproduct that can ruin your next day. Every alcohol produces an enzyme to break that byproduct down. 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