Free Republic

President Trump’s threat to put new tariffs on countries embracing the policies of the Brics group has added fresh uncertainty to global trade and prompted pushback from Moscow and Beijing. Trump posted on social media that countries aligning themselves with “the Anti-American policies of Brics, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff.” -snip- Responding to Trump’s threats, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry stated on Monday its oft-repeated line that trade wars and tariff wars have no winners. Brics “does not target any country.” The Kremlin echoed those remarks, saying that Brics “has never been and will never be directed...

Russia's sacked transport minister has been found dead in his Tesla outside Moscow with a gunshot wound and the principal hypothesis is that he took his own life, state investigators said on Monday, hours after President Vladimir Putin fired him. A presidential decree published earlier on Monday gave no reason for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit after barely a year in the job, though political analysts were quick to raise the possibility that he may have been dismissed in connection with an investigation into corruption in the region he once ran. Reuters could not independently confirm these suggestions, though a...

Russia’s former Transport Minister Roman Starovoit who was fired by President Vladimir Putin has shot himself dead, Russian authorities said Monday. According to Kremlin-controlled media, Starovoit was found dead with a gunshot wound in Odintsovo near Moscow. Officials said they believe it was a suicide. “The circumstances of the incident are being established. The main version is suicide,” Russia’s Investigative Committee Official Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement, as speculation swirled in Moscow.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on any country aligned with the BRICS group of nations, which includes Russia, delivering a potential economic blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The bloc—which also consists of Brazil, India, China, South Africa and five other emerging economies—held a summit over the weekend in which it condemned Trump's "indiscriminate" import tariffs and the Israeli-U. S. strikes on Iran. Trump posted on Truth Social late on Sunday that "any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10 percent Tariff," adding: "There will...

Moscow struggles with drone attacks as turmoil grips civilian aviation sector. Russian President Vladimir Putin fired Transport Minister Roman Starovoit early Monday, according to a decree published by the Kremlin. The government provided no official explanation for Starovoit's firing, but it comes after Ukrainian drone attacks over the weekend sparked turmoil for Russian air traffic, with stranded passengers stuck in airports as flights were canceled. According to Russia's federal air transport agency and the Russian transport ministry, Russian airlines canceled 485 flights, while 88 flights had to be redirected and 1,900 flights were delayed in the period from Saturday to...

He walks with a cane and is a bit hard of hearing. Yet Boris Chertok, 95, a former deputy chief designer in the Soviet bureau that put the first Sputnik satellite into orbit 50 years ago, still has strong opinions on the evolution of the country's space program. Chertok says the free-market changes instituted by President Boris Yeltsin after the Soviet Union fell apart were disastrous for Russian science. "We need to restore what we have lost over 15 years of destructive reforms," said Chertok, whose very name was once a state secret. "The market economy is incapable of fulfilling...

Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that he discussed his country's role in helping America win its independence during a call with President Donald Trump on July 3 in a bid to highlight the history of cooperation between their nations, according to Russian news agency Tass. -snip- But on Sunday, he revealed that he also tried to press upon Trump the historical ties between the two countries, going back to the founding of America. "We have always had, for a very long time, very good and special relations with the United States," Putin told Russian television host Pavel Zarubin. "We supported...

On July 3, Putin and Trump held a phone conversationWASHINGTON, July 5. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump acknowledged that Russia has been able to cope with the sanctions imposed on it and called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a professional. "We talk about sanctions a lot," the US leader told reporters, recalling his July 3 telephone conversation with Putin. "He has been able to manage sanctions," Trump said, referring to his Russian counterpart. "But these are pretty binding sanctions," he added, referring to the possibility of new anti-Russian restrictions in connection with the conflict in Ukraine. "Now we talk about...

Mr. President, we know you understand that the primary obstacle to peace in Ukraine is Russia’s aggression. You said you were “disappointed” in the conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and that you “don’t think he’s looking to stop.” Putin again insisted he was unwilling to commit to a ceasefire until the “root causes” of the conflict were addressed. For Vlad, the “root cause” is the existence of Ukraine. He followed your call with the largest drone and missile strike of the war, killing at least one. So why, Mr. President, is your administration punishing Ukraine? The Pentagon has halted...

US President Donald Trump voiced strong criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing deep frustration over their latest conversation about the ongoing war in Ukraine. Calling the situation “no good", Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy" with the call, as he accused Vladimir Putin of wanting to “keep killing people." “It’s a very tough situation," Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding, “He wants to go all the way- just keep killing people. It’s no good." The US president also suggested that additional US sanctions on Moscow could be imminent, saying sanctions were a recurring topic in...

US President Donald Trump said Ukraine would need Patriot missiles for its defence, after speaking to President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 4, and voiced frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s failure to end the fighting. Mr Trump told reporters on board Air Force One that he had a good call with Mr Zelensky, repeating that he was “very unhappy” about his call with Mr Putin a day earlier, given what he called the Russian leader’s refusal to work on a ceasefire. When asked whether the US would agree to supply more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, as requested by Mr Zelensky,...

President Trump expressed dismay with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin early Friday, admitting that the Kremlin tyrant has no interest in stopping his bloody war on neighboring Ukraine anytime soon. “I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had [Thursday] with President Putin because I don’t think he’s there. I’m just saying, I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad,” Trump told reporters after returning to Washington following a pre-Independence Day event in Iowa. “It’s [former President Joe] Biden’s war, and I got stuck in the middle of it, just like I did with immigration and a lot of...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Friday he spoke with his United States colleague Donald Trump on the phone, stating that he discussed potential joint defense programs with Washington, as well as recently Russian strikes on his country. "We spoke about opportunities in air defense and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies. We have also agreed to a meeting between our teams," the Ukrainian leader wrote on X. He stated that Kiev is ready for "direct projects" with the US "especially when it comes to drones and related technologies." The two presidents also considered...

A top Russian oil executive was killed after falling from a window in a Moscow tower block. His demise is just the latest in a string of high-profile and unexplained deaths among senior executives in Russia's energy sector. Andrey Badalov, 62, was confirmed dead after falling from his penthouse on Rublyovskoye Highway. He was the vice-president of Transneft - Russia's state oil pipeline operator and the largest such company in the world. The company transports 82% of the oil produced in the country through its pipelines. -snip- Transneft confirmed Badalov’s death but did not comment on the circumstances. The company...

Vladimir Putin has claimed in a phone call with Donald Trump that Russia played a role in the formation of the United States. Speaking a day before America celebrates Independence Day, the Russian leader reportedly congratulated Mr Trump about its national holiday, held on July 4. According to a report by Tass, a state-owned news agency, Yury Ushakov, the Russian presidential aide, said during the call “it was noted from our side that Russia played an important role in the formation of American statehood including during the War of Independence 250 years ago, and then during the Civil War, which...

Vladimir Putin has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at the USA as the nation gears up to celebrate its Independence Day on July 4. The Russian President couldn't resist pointing out that he considers Russia to have played a key role in helping the much younger country achieve statehood during a call with his American counterpart on Thursday. Putin said: "Russia played an important role in the formation of American statehood, including through the War of Independence 250 years ago, and then during the Civil War, which ended 160 years ago." Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov added: "Of course, he congratulated Trump...

President Trump spoke by phone Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine but made no headway on halting the fighting. “I didn’t make any progress with him today at all,” Trump said of Putin, speaking to reporters as he left Washington to deliver a speech in Iowa. According to a Kremlin briefing on the call, Trump urged Putin to quickly end the war in Ukraine but Putin refused. It was the two leaders’ first conversation since U.S. officials said this week they had paused a series of weapons shipments for Ukraine. Trump indicated the U.S. hadn’t...

President Donald Trump said Thursday that no progress was made in ending the war with Ukraine after he conducted another lengthy call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump spoke to reporters at Joint Base Andrews ahead of a trip to Des Moines, Iowa. -snip- We had a call. It was a pretty long call. We talked about a lot of things including Iran and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine,' Trump said. 'And I'm not happy about that,' he said. Trump was then asked if he made progress with Putin on a peace deal with...

Russian President Vladimir Putin swiftly exited an interview to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump. A video that emerged online shows Putin amid a panel interview with a packed crowd, informing them that he needs to leave to speak with Trump or risks upsetting him. "Please don't be angry, I understand that we could talk more, but it's so awkward to make [Trump] wait, he could get offended. Thank you very much, good luck," Putin told the crowd.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his United States counterpart Donald Trump held a phone call lasting over an hour on Thursday, during which the two leaders addressed the ongoing war in Ukraine as well as the situation in the Middle East. According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Putin reaffirmed Russia's stance, insisting Moscow would not abandon its aims of addressing what he called the "root causes" of the conflict. Trump, for his part, again emphasized the need for a rapid cessation of hostilities. Despite speculations, Ushakov said the issue of halting US arms supplies to Ukraine was not brought up....