Free Republic

In a New York Times op-ed, Russian President Vladimir Putin takes issue with President Obama's reference to American exceptionalism during his speech on Syria on Tuesday, calling the notion "extremely dangerous "It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States," Putin wrote. "Is it in America’s long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan 'you’re either with us or against us.' "We must stop using the language...

An ex-KGB agent who defected to the West has said 'paranoid' and 'insane' Putin is likely to be suffering from Parkinson's and early stage dementia, but added that members of his inner circle may be kept in the dark about his physical state. Boris Karpichkov former KBG agent who defected from Russia, told The Sun that Putin was 'insane' and becoming 'obsessed by paranoid ideas'. 'He sees literally everyone, including those inside the Russian security services and even inside his close inner circle, to be "traitors"', he said. Putin may be keeping those closest to him unaware of his health...

Hunter Biden flew to Moscow for a meeting with a now-sanctioned Russian oligarch with reportedly close ties to Vladimir Putin, laptop files reveal. Vladimir Yevtushenkov, 73, owns a company which reportedly supplied Putin's forces with drones used for deadly bombing raids in Ukraine and until last year owned key Russian defense contractor RTI. But while he was added to the UK and Australian sanctions lists this month but remains one of a handful of oligarchs unsanctioned by the Biden administration. Hunter's multiple meetings and apparent business deals with him are the latest in a troubling web of his connections to...

Russia is modifying its invasion of Ukraine into a broader war against the West, The Wall Street Journal reports. Kremlin leaders and state media have been warning Russians that the war with Ukraine could become a global war. The U.S. and some allies, increasingly seeing an opportunity to contain Russia’s possible imperial ambitions, have increased military assistance to Ukraine. In response, Moscow has been preparing the Russian population for a potential larger war. The Kremlin has been using the May 9th celebrations, which commemorate the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, to draw parallels between World War II and the invasion...

Vladimir Putin's top military commander has been flown out of the war zone with shrapnel wounds after being to sent to Ukraine by the Russian president to secure victory, a former Russian internal affairs minister has claimed. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of staff of the Russian army, was today wounded in Izyum in Ukraine's Kharviv region, which has been at the centre of intense fighting since Russia's invasion. Putin had sent Gerasimov to the region to take personal control of his push to grab territory in eastern Ukraine, after the Russian army abandoned its plans to take Kyiv at the...

Russian forces are setting conditions to establish permanent control over the areas of southern Ukraine they currently occupy, either as nominally independent “People’s Republics” or by annexing them to Russia. Russian sources reported that stores in occupied Melitopol and Volnovakha are beginning to transition to using the Russian ruble.[1] British Defense Intelligence reported that the ruble will be used in Kherson City starting on May 1 as part of a 4-month currency transition scheme enacted by the occupation administration.[2] These measures, which are not necessary or normal in military occupation administrations, indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely intends to...